Weekly update (05 May 2015)
Today Zoe and I will be doing a brief presentation at the State Library NSW on the Hub and our digital making workshops, as part of the “Makers and craftivists” seminar.
Libraries play such an important role in so many communities, and I’m aware of a big shift in thinking that’s been emerging in the space over the past few years, reimagining and reframing perceptions about what libraries can be. (Some might say “returning to” the original conception of what libraries were intended to be.) One thing that’s emerging is the idea of maker spaces within libraries, something highlighted by Warren Cheetham from Townsville Library in his talk at the Makers Place recently.
The program for today’s (sold out) seminar looks great, and it’s disappointing that we can’t attend for longer today. With speakers like Jessica Pigza (New York Public Library), Rebecca Conroy (dhub/dlab) and our friends Joy Suliman (Irresistible Learning) and Mel Fuller (Three Farm), it is going to be a day full of insights I think…
We see libraries as holding a lot of potential in our work moving forward, so we’re delighted to be part of the dialogue.
We’ll be continuing this theme in Brisbane on 2 June when we present at the State Library of Queensland as part of the Digital Literacy Forum. From my perspective it’s really promising to see the idea of digital making featuring in the conversation around digital literacy. As is probably evident in our recent posts, we see great value in digital making as a means of motivating engagement with digital technology, moving beyond using technology to making new technology.
Tickets are still available for the Digital Literacy Forum—we’d love to meet you there if you’re in Brisbane on that date…