Rural librarians' perspectives on makerspaces and community engagement

Abstract

This study investigates eight rural librarians' perspectives related to makerspaces, community engagement, and youth informal learning through cultural probes and semi-structured interviews. Preliminary findings through content analysis suggest the importance of aligning the librarians and the youths' interests in making to support learning within library-based makerspaces and highlight the need to support rural librarians to develop STEM competencies and strategic partnerships.