Fix-it, Repair, and Recycle Programs at your Library

Webinar presented by Erin Gray (gray@amigos.org), Library Services and Technology Trainer, Amigos Library Services. 

"Right to repair" is a global movement to have greater access to parts and tools to fix things around the house and avoid waste, including tools and manuals used by manufacturers. More and more states are considering right to repair laws. Fix-it clinics are a way for libraries to be part of this movement.

Fixit resources:

• Ifixit- repair guides, answers forum, teardowns of trending gadgets
• Repair.org
• Repair Cafe-ready to go guides on how to get started with fixit events, attract volunteers, etc.
• Fixit Austin--samples of forms, supplies, signage, volunteer recuitment tips, etc. for your own fixit clinic
• Fix-it DC- coaches and training centers

Types of fixit clinics:

• All-day fixit fair
• Series of workshops
• Specific focus- clothes, bicycles, even coffee!
• Patrons drop-off items
• Patron and volunteers work together to fix items
• Take-apart or teardown programs
• Pop-up events offsite

Clinic tips:

• Let patrons know what items will and will not be accepted.
• Partner with local fixit organizations or tool libraries.
• if you have the capacity, record clinics for patrons to learn from later.
• Let patrons know if there are limits. Some clinics limit to one item per person.
• Have sign-up sheets for volunteers.
• Promote your home repair collections, whether books, databases, or kits.
• Create a directory of your volunteer fixers to promote local businesses.

Handout is here.

-Andrea H. @GLCL

PLAY MAKE LEARN CONFERENCE, DAY 2

 

 

Keynote by Cassidy Puckett:

 

The stereotype is you are born a geek, but that’s not true, everyone can learn. What does it mean to be good at technology?

Five habits key to learning:

·         Being willing to fail- celebrate failure loudly and use it to get better

·         Being able to manage frustration

·         Using other people as models

·         Understanding design logic

·         Creating efficiencies- understanding that there are short and long pathways and figuring out shortcuts--e.g., keyboard commands

 

These habits exist in every group but are not being recognized. Black and female computer pioneers are forgotten. Telling people that they are good with tech can help. We need everyone’s ideas in these trying times.

 

Escape Rooms for Education:

Kari Kozak of University of Iowa created a virtual escape room called “Capture the Creature” to teach undergrads about Library of Congress. It was presented as a live event on Zoom.

 

Escape room creation:

·         Made a storyboard

·         Set up clues and hints in a virtual world

·         Used Wordpress for the web site

·         Used VYOND for video creation

·         Used Libanswers to answer chat questions

·         Hired a voice actor for the voiceover from the theater department

·         Created a fake library record and put it on Google Sites

·         Pre-trained three helpers for breakout rooms- sometimes hard to get people who don’t know each other to work together

·         Had an exit survey

 

They will do it in person next time with a fake physical book.

 

Improving Equity in Makerspaces:

 

Abigail Phillips, UW-Milwaukee, former public librarian, received a grant from IMLS to improve accessibility in makerspaces.

 

Key takeaways:

·         Disabilities can be visible or invisible

·         Reading off the slides for a presentation is more accessible

·         Libraries need to hear from the disability community

·         Offer ASL interpreters and speech-to-text

·         Create a focus group

·         Have a variety of desks and chair options- stools do not accommodate all bodies

·         Create new relationships- once word is out in the community, more and more will come

·         Vet the library web site for accessibility

·         Think of different events for different communities-e.g. pottery for the visually impaired.

 

We can use making as a way toward social inclusion--disabled patrons are often isolated. It is about welcoming them to the space, not giving them a “ticket” to the dominant culture.

 

Social Emotional Learning in Maker Education:

 

BitSpace is a youth-only makerspace in Chicago that uses the CASEL framework for learning.

 

CASEL principles:

·         Use setbacks as part of learning

·         Help students increase frustration tolerance

·         Focus on the experience with your questions, not results

·         Create random pairings

·         Give groups social structure - e.g., engineer, designer, draftsman, observer/notetaker, etc.

·         Create space for appreciation and acknowledgments at the end

PLAY MAKE LEARN CONFERENCE, DAY 1

 

Here are some highlights from day one of the 2022 Play Make Learn conference in Madison, Wisconsin.

 

Making Making Happen:

 

The Peoria Playhouse is a children’s museum in Illinois that includes a makerspace for teaching tool literacy. The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium is in Dubuque, Iowa with a makerspace open to visitors all museum hours.

Makerspace tips:

·         Have a great advisory board

·         Ask for help!

·         Passive activities are great- encourage patrons to self-explore with open-ended questions

·         Cast a wide net when looking for staff- skills, not degrees

·         To help patrons be creators and explorers, staff need to see themselves as creators and explorers - give staff a chance to learn & work on projects

·         Makers in the Library has a good toolkit

·         Maker Ed offers professional development for makerspace staff

 

Building with the Bauhaus:

 

The Bauhaus was an art school in Germany in the early 20^th Century. Its principles are much like the makerspace movement today.

Bauhaus principles:

·         Materials should be chosen for their function- form follows function

·         Union of art and craft

·         Students and teachers learn from each other

·         Peer to peer learning and problem solving

·         Learn how materials behave before creating, then create your own thing--everyone doesn’t have to have the same outcome

 

Sarah Nagle used these principles when creating the makerspace at Miami University in Ohio.

 

Maker-centered learning:

·         Shift from consumer to creator--students think about how things are designed--how they can make things better

·         Empowerment and civic-mindedness --e.g global makerspace community creating COVID protection, 3D printed prosthetics

·         Intro maker activities for students who don’t know what to make in the makerspace--introduces them to materials

·         Bauhaus-inspired exercises

 

Transformed Reality: Using VR to create empathetic soft skill training:

 

DePaul University created trauma-informed virtual-reality training for members of law enforcement interviewing sexual assault victims.

 

Advantages of VR training:

·         Cost effective

·         Can be accessed remotely

·         Easy to customize

·         Can’t be distracted by emails when wearing a headset

·         More emotional connection

·         Users were more confident applying lessons

·         Low-stakes environment --can say what you think without being judged

·         Victims aren’t re-traumatized by going through their experiences

·         Can create a wide variety of scenarios

 

VR training tips:

·         Many narrative choices make the experience more real – mind mapping tools like Mind Meister

·         At least 3 paths: best, mixed, bad--write the good path first

·         Have a table read

·         CoPilot Designer good for software- can also do browser-based if user doesn’t have VR access

·         Meta Quest 2 for headsets-wireless – requires a Facebook account

 

Creative Collaborations with Cardboard: Developing community informed maker events

The Science Museum of Minnesota was looking for a way to attract more diverse families. They had to think outside the box, as it is hard to get satisfaction surveys from people who don’t use the museum.

 

BIPOC family listening sessions:

·         Gave families wearable GoPro cameras to use as they went through the museum and then had a conversation with the family

·         Partnered with community organizations like American Indian Family Center, Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, Hmong American Partnership, St. Paul Promise Neighborhood

·         Asked what is preventing families from attending- families wanted transit help, translation- didn’t want to tell museum what activities to have

·         Closed building to the rest of the public and provided a meal

 

Results:

·         Created cardboard city maker activity

·         had attendees take polaroid pictures and add “today I made”, “What is it?” “I make _at home” “I am _ years old”- hung it on laundry line

·         Joined cohort of 3 other museums for in-house events and pop-ups

 

Presenters:

·         Nora Beckemeyer

·         Laura Geake

·         Robby Callahan Schreiber