ArticleAuthors: Cinthya Ippoliti; Kiersten Merkel; Shea Swauger (2020)
Libraries are increasingly building makerspaces and technology
labs which are aimed at portraying them as innovative, progressive,
and future-oriented to meet the changing need of a
technology-centered society. The Auraria Library designed several
spaces with these ideals in mind, yet after running them
for several years, the authors have redesigned and re-prioritized
its services, staffing, and values. Using critical making as a
framework, the authors interrogate some of the implicit logic
of library makerspaces that contributes to sexism and ableism
and outline how libraries can create inclusive creative technology
spaces and services that center people over technology.