Maker Space to Celebrate One Year of Innovation in Westport

A year of innovation and changing the role of community libraries will culminate on Wednesday, July 17, when the Westport Public Library celebrates the first "birthday" of the Maker Space.

Since it was created in July 2012, the Maker Space has become a place for invention, creation, and learning -- especially for the youths and teens drawn to the space and its 3-D printers. The printers can be used to design and create a multitude of things -- from whistles to toys to iPhone cases.

"It wasn't designed as a teen space, but it's a teen magnet," Bill Derry, the library's assistant director for innovation and user experience, said.

About 75 percent of the Maker Space users are teens, Derry said, and the rest are adults, including one 77-year-old man being tutored in 3-D printer use by one of the library's young volunteers.

There are approximately 16 volunteer trainers -- mainly teens, though there is one 9-year-old who has mastered the 3-D printers and teaches others to use them.

"When they come in, they're working with the world," Derry said of the volunteers. "They get to teach, and in teaching, they learn."

Adding the Maker Space to the library's repertoire of services has not only expanded a nationwide Maker Movement, but has begun to revolutionize the way libraries serve their towns.  Westport led the charge in Connecticut for the creation of a Maker Space and use of 3-D printers in libraries.

"The roles of libraries are changing," Communications Coordinator Marcia Logan said. "[The Maker Space] is perfect for the library because it's a service. We're educating people."

And not just people -- library staff and volunteers have visited their counterparts across the state to educate them on the use of 3-D printers in libraries. Libraries from across the region -- including the Boston Public Library -- have sent representatives to learn from the technology Westport embraced.

"It's really a movement," according to Derry. "Getting people back in touch with making, using their hands, understanding how things work."

The interest for such a space in the library was palpable to the staff after the inaugural Mini Maker Faire in 2012, when more than double the number of expected attendees came out to learn about the Maker Movement.

"We saw the interest there. We're on an important track to changing the way libraries are viewed," Derry said.   

The upcoming birthday party will celebrate that movement, Westport's role in it, and all the people who made the Maker Space and its innovations possible.

The library will honor its volunteers, donors who covered the cost of the 3-D printers and plastic (like the Rotary Club, CLASP Homes, and Ring's End), and the first Maker-in-Residence at Westport, Joseph Schott, who spearheaded the creation of the large model planes hanging from the library ceiling.

Attendees can participate in Maker activities and enjoy a special cake at the festivities on July 17, scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Space.

Staff and Maker Space volunteers and experts will discuss the future of the Maker Space and the opportunities it presents.

Derry said there is a potential for economic development with the space, and the library has hosted a few inventors, who prototyped new ideas.

Those interested in learning more about the Maker Space or who wish to be trained to use the 3-D printers should email Bill Derry at bderry@westportlibrary.org.