Makerspaces in Libraries in The Netherlands

In the last years, making has become an intrinsic part of western culture. Citizens have transformed from mere consumers to prosumers (producers-consumers) unlocking an ever wider active cultural participation. Technology has empowered people to be self-servicing, while in turn public and private life greedily reorganize accordingly. This broad cultural and economic change comes from the position that we are all makers and that through our choices, we can make our reality. Making as an activity is not just about the objects manufactured, but about the purpose and reality change it produces. Beer brewing, knitting, robotics and woodworking are now more accessible than ever to citizens thanks to both digital and physical resources. Contemporary society is like a big supermarket: consumers/makers need the right skills to make the right choices.

This trend has also transformed libraries. As literary resources have become readily available online, libraries have had to search for new functions and ways to remain significant to their communities. Library spaces have shifted towards performative spaces where visitors are invited to act, create and innovate.

In some countries, such as the US, Denmark, or the Netherlands libraries have started to introduce makerspaces to serve their active users. Leaving behind the passive idea of libraries as places of knowledge consumption, they are now becoming places of knowledge production where prosumers interact with the collections and the space to expand the boundaries of their capabilities. Besides traditional ways of learning, enjoying, and growing, libraries today are more and more offering ways to obtain new skills and experiment with them. Digital literacy, for instance, or the ability to become your own entrepreneur-these spaces are making makers.

This shift in the function of public libraries presents  exciting new perspectives for designers. Introducing makerspaces can increase the public relevance of libraries and eventually produce positive social changes. How does spatial design and organization of performative spaces / makerspaces in public libraries contribute to cross fertilization and the development of a healthy makers culture?