Get Ready…Get Set…Fail! Okay, Try Again…

I recently began my own foray into a 3D printing program in my library, and to get beyond my hesitancy and dig in I sought inspiration at the Tri-State College Library Cooperative’s Spring Program, “The Maker Movement & You: Creating, Collaborating, and Crafting in your Library” which served as a fantastic forum to see what librarians and information professionals are doing under the large umbrella of “making”. Presentations from both sides of the academic/public library arena highlighted some of the large and small projects being supported through a little bit of money and a lot of creative energy from our peers.
As you may have guessed, the projects and initiatives showcased were designed for a very particular user base with differing interests in Making…from hobbyists to engineers…but what surprised me most was a common thread of best practices that ran through these disparate users and programs. Here are my (uber simple) takeaways:

• Failure isn’t an option…it’s a certainty – Failure is a critical part of any ‘making’. Don’t put undue pressure on your makers to get it right the first time, or on yourself to show them how to get it right the first time. The beauty and joy of making is in the process…learn to explore and enjoy it.
• 3D printing??? Who needs it?!?! – Yes, 3D printers are sexy right now. Anyone who has used one can tell you that, while we’re still on the ground floor of how this technology will change our daily living, we are a long way off from “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot!” The good news is that being a Maker Space doesn’t mean you need thousands of dollars in tech. Combining tried and true craft fodder such as clay, foam, glue, or stencils with dynamic free apps already on your phone or iPad and a bit of social media savvy can take you from zero to maker-space in a flash. Imagination > budget constraints.
• Use the resources you already have – Whether it be an app on your smartphone or the closet full of leftover crafting supplies from last year’s program—use it. Again, it’s the process not the product we care about. If the energy is there then the medium becomes less important. Is it cooler if the play dough sculpture gets filmed as a stop-motion animation video with a user-created soundtrack? Yes. But it was a great idea when it was just the play dough. Create for creation’s sake and you won’t regret it.

• Sit on your hands – Tied closely to the “fail” point above, a key to the process of designing a useful and engaging space is letting those you’ve brought in explore. Let them make odd choices…unusual approaches…something you know will not work…the entire point is the process. It’s the process that will drive success, not the produc

For anyone interested in the program or reaching out to the presenters who shed so much light on my own processes, I would encourage a visit to http://tclclibs.org/.