Fayetteville Free Library Fab Lab and Makerspaces

This week I'd like to talk about a concept popping up in public libraries around the country, makerspaces. I've heard buzz about this concept for a while, and then saw the cover of the October issue of Library Journal, with several articles about makerspaces and decided to talk about the topic this week.

What is a makerspace? These are spaces that provide equipment and resources for people to collaborate on projects and make things. That's it in a sentence, but they are really much more. For more detail, read the three part series from the October issue of Library Journal.
1. The Makings of Maker Spaces
2. Express Yourself
3. Fabricating a Fabulous Home for CoCreation



There are several notable library blogs that have great information about makerspaces, such as The Unquiet Librarian and Librarian.net. See also this article on Sharable which includes an interview with Lauren Britton, who developed the Fayetteville Free Library Fab Lab and co-authored the three part series in Library Journal.

To learn more about makerspaces in public libraries, check out this webinar series from the American Library Association.. There is one recording available from the October 15th session, and three upcoming, November 19, December 3, and January 7. Also read up on Tekventure, an Indiana effort to provide makerspace to the public. For images of what these spaces can look like, check out these articles from Makerbot.

San Diego Zoo Library

Zoos have libraries. Go figure. I discovered this bit of information recently when I saw a job posting for an Associate Director of Library Services at the San Diego Zoo Global Library. The position closed to applications on October 11th, however here is the link to the job posting for anyone interested, and this is a link to a .pdf I've uploaded to Google Docs for posterity. The existence of libraries in zoos had never occurred to me. Then I realized, of course zoos have libraries. Zoos need access to veterinary collections for animal care, biological research, zoo history, current practice in animal care, to name a few needs.

I spent some time on the San Diego Zoo's library website and was impressed with the resources available. Check out these Fact Sheets. They are HTML pages that cover a breadth of topics. I dig the hippopotamus photo.


The zoo library has over 11,000 books and 400+ journal titles. There are archives and rare books, as well as general reference services and information. It looks like a great library resource. I borrowed some photos from the website to give you a look. Click the photos to visit the library home page.

Books that Shaped America

This week I'd like to bring the focus back to the Library of Congress to take a look at the Books that Shaped America exhibit on display now through September 29th. The exhibit is part of the multi-year Celebration of the Book. I visited a few weeks ago and very much enjoyed the experience. The exhibit is located in the Southwest Exhibition Hall in the Jefferson Building on Capitol Hill, just outside the Thomas Jefferson Library Exhibition.

The Jefferson Building is open on Saturdays and there was quite a crowd when I was there. It was nice to hear the common exclamation, "I love that book" and to overhear stories of how a particular title was personally influential, or brought up fond memories spent reading. I saw many books that have mattered to me over the years, and each selection was thought provoking in how its existence and influence helped shape America.

If you are able to visit before the end of the month, I highly recommend it. I also want to plug the National Book Festival, taking place on the National Mall September 22-23. I am glad to be able to check it out this year. If it's a bit far for a visit, check out the list of books online to find your favorites. These are a few of mine.

United States Military Academy's Jefferson Hall Library

The United States Military Academy's Jefferson Hall Library was listed in the Princeton Review Annual The Best 377 Colleges as #2 for Best College Library. Congratulations USMA Library! (Harvard College got #1) USMA may be more familiarly known as West Point. In checking out the Library's website I came across a 12 page tour book that provides a lot of great detail and some images of the Jefferson Hall Library. It's worth taking a look at the six floors and to get a little jealous of the beautiful views.

The catalog is publicly searchable, and some of the Special Collections and Archives might be accessible by request.

"The Special Collections and Archives Division reading room is open to researchers Monday through Friday, 0800-1630; exceptions will be posted. Researchers (excluding USMA Cadets, staff and faculty) are accommodated by appointment only and require approval from the Associate Director for Special Collections and Archives. To request a research appointment, please complete the Researcher Registration form in advance of your visit. Please allow time for us to respond; appointments are not set until confirmation is received." --Library Website

You can fill out a researcher request form online after browsing the Special Collections or Archives collection descriptions and finding aids. Lucky you who are be granted access to this beautiful building and collections. For those unable to visit in person, this Online Photo Gallery will have to suffice. There are also a few digital collections accessible on the website for you to browse through, like these Colonial and Federal Era Maps Collection

Wine Library of Sonoma County

The Sonoma County Wine Library has been curating an extensive collection of wine information since its inception within the Healdsburg Regional Library in 1988. Founded by Millie Howie, the special collection contains about 5,000 books on the subject of wine as well as access to over 80 wine journal titles. According to the library website, The Sonoma County Wine Library has four stated collecting areas:

• The science and technology of growing grapes and making wine
• The business and economics of the wine industry
• The history of wine worldwide
• The history of wine in Sonoma County

The library collection includes historical wine labels and oral histories of the wine industry by the library and other sources. Check out this bibliography of Oak in Winemaking. I found some pictures of the library collection on the blog, Along the Wine Road. Check out this post for more pictures of the library see the full post here:
A Wine Library? What!? Sign Me Up!


The library is supported by the active Wine Library Associates of Sonoma County. An article written in Metroactive in 2003 details some of the rare books in the collection. For those not able to visit the library in person, some of the collection resources are publicly available online. Check out the Online Historical Image collection. Also check out Wine Files, a database of wine information supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Millie Howie passed away in 2011 and the library is honoring her with a project to create the Millie Howie Courtyard. This special collection exists through support of the community it serves and is a great example of special collections developed and perpetuated through associations and involved organizations to serve a broad community of users. Wine lovers visiting the Sonoma region should definitely add a visit here to their list.

Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room at the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the ultimate special library. Taken as a whole it's in a class akin to national libraries around the globe. The library is comprised of many buildings, divisions, and collections. It's too difficult to cover the library in one post. This is the first in a series of posts about the special collections and reading rooms found within the Library of Congress (LOC). The LOC has hosted a series of webinars through Fedlink about Area Studies. I attended a recent one titled "Research Treasure Troves of the Serial & Government Publications Division: Collections and Services" (Link to Webinar) which was hosted by the Serial and Government Publication Division of LOC. The webinar was entirely fascinating, however what impressed me most was the revelation that Library of Congress preserves an impressive collection of Comic Books.

The Library of Congress has many reading rooms for researchers to access the plethora of materials in the collections. The Newspaper and Current Periodicals Reading Room is inside the Madison building, one of three LOC buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.



I have not yet found the time to visit this reading room, but hope to eventually. For those not able to make a trip in person, some resources are available online through the division's work with national programs such as the National Digital Newspaper Program, some webcasts about the collection, search tools, and a bibliography of Internet resources outside of the Library of Congress. The bulk of the collection is only available inside the reading room, however some duplication services may be available for off site patrons, for a fee.

The Comic Book Collection at LOC is probably one of the largest in the United States. Full access to the fragile materials is limited to serious researchers, but there are an extensive number of titles available in the Comic Book Fiche collection which can be photocopied following the general photocopy guidelines. For some instant gratification, and fun times also check out the digitization project at University of Nebraska - Lincoln Libraries, Government Comics Collection. These two covers, taken as screenshots from the digital copy online link to the full online version. These are just two of the many gems worth browsing through in the University of Nebraska Libraries digital collections.

Libraries without Books

Merriam Webster defines 'library' as "a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for sale" or "a collection of such materials" as the first definition. The second definition is the topic of this week's post as well as an ongoing series of "collection[s] resembling or suggesting a library." There are many library collections that comprise physical materials. These are considered libraries because they function as a library, a "collection of materials that are kept for use but not for sale." Museums tend to be look don't touch to preserve objects for posterity, while libraries (and archives) are for the most part hands on working collections.

[I wrote this post before the news broke about the ATF losing 1,400 guns in an unrelated project, but still wanted to feature the tracing library despite the news.]

First up, the ATF Tracing Center's gun library, which was featured on Minnesota Public Radio in 2011. The tracing center is, among other things, a resource for law enforcement to trace guns used in crimes. The center receives over 300,000 requests to trace in a year, and keeps a library of over 12,000 firearms as reference for their work. This picture taken from the article is one of many fairly impressive shots of the extensive collection. Check out the article for more photos. Lucky the person who scored the job as library staff here.

Another common library of physical objects are tool lending libraries. The Berkley Public Library tool lending program. Their program began in 1979 through a grant and is one of the earliest public library tool lending programs.
There are many tool lending libraries in the United States, and Share Starter provides a handy online guide for starting a tool lending program in your area. For more heavy duty projects, there are also subscription services such as Tech Shop where you can gain access to very expensive equipment for those projects you just can't do at home. Here's a shot of the gardening tool collection at the Fletcher Free library in Burlington Vermont (taken from this Wikipedia Article)

There are many more libraries of physical objects outside the standard print, audio, and video media collections than can be covered in one post. These libraries will appear as an ongoing theme of libraries without books, keep checking back for more special libraries to love.

Hugh and Jane Ferguson Seattle Room

Many public libraries contain special collections, which are specifically curated subject or format collections that are generally, but not necessarily locally focused. Several special collections have developed over time at the Seattle Public Library (SPL). twenty-seven branches and mobile services create the SPL system. The Seattle Room at SPL contains the Seattle collection:

"The Seattle Collection contains items about Seattle's history and includes published materials, Seattle city documents, newspaper clippings, maps and atlases, high school yearbooks, oral histories and more than 30,000 photographs, including photos of historic Seattle, Native Americans, streets, businesses and portraits. The collection also features paintings, drawings, metalwork, sculpture, prints and photographs, and includes works by notable local artists such as Paul Horiuchi, George Tsutakawa and Frank Okada. The Albert Balch Autograph Collection, part of the Seattle Collection, features original letters, photographs and signed copies of published works. It includes signatures by Helen Keller, Babe Ruth and T. S. Elliot." - SPL Website

The Central branch also holds two additional special collections, an extensive genealogy collection focused on records and families in North America, and an aviation history collection. The library has also made an effort to provide access to collection through curation of digital collections on their website.

The central library has an interesting history, and made many headlines after opening doors to a newly built Central branch, an architecturally fascinating building designed by Rem Koolhaas in 2004.



Another interesting aspect of the Seattle Room are the architectural models of some of the other branches built or re-modeled during the Libraries for All Campaign.