In this 2nd Friday session, hear from 3 Makerspaces. How they began, what’s going on and how their makerspace have made an impact in their communities. Our speakers are Cherie Bronkar from Kent State Tuscarawas, Kelly Czarnecki, from Idea Box (Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library Main Library) and Maryann James-Daley of the Labs at DC Public Library.

About our speakers:

Cherie Bronkar – MLS, Kent State Tuscarawas Makerspace. Cherie been the Regional Library Director for Kent State Tuscarawas for nearly 4 years. Over the past 28 years, Cherie served in public, school and academic libraries, worked on literacy initiatives with the Madagascar public schools, developed and delivered online courses, served on many literacy and program advisory boards, and fully embraced the changing roles of libraries.

The Tuscarawas Makerspace is located on the Kent State University Tuscarawas Campus in New Philadelphia Ohio. The Makerspace is the result of obtaining a $24,000 LSTA grant through the State Library of Ohio in 2015. They partner with the Ohio Small Business Development Center, Blackstone Launchpad out of Kent State, and the Office of Business and Community Support to incorporate support services for entrepreneurs using our Makerspace. The Makerspace is open to the public and in the summer months offer tours and training to 4H groups, local library groups and take shows on the road to attend Makerfaires.

Kelly Czarnecki is a Teen Services Librarian at ImaginOn located in Charlotte, NC. She co-leads the makerspace at her Main Library branch titled, Idea Box. It has been in existence since February 2015. We’ve encountered over 1000 people whether it’s through community outreach events to promote Idea Box or that attend programs throughout the month. We’ve been fortunate to have the expertise of teen interns through the Young Adult Library Services Association as well as a knowledgeable and generous community base to help enhance our services. Idea Box is a place where we help make ideas come to life!

Maryann James-Daley is manager of the Labs at DC Public Library, a space that encompasses the Digital Commons, a space with 80+ public access computers, the most in DC Public Library’s 26-library system; the Dream Lab, a co-working space for D.C. nonprofits and startups; the Studio Lab, a space for audio/visual production; the Fab Lab, a public maker space that includes 3-D printers, laser cutters and other high-tech tools; and the Memory Lab, a DIY-style space that enables library patrons to digitize their photos, videos, audio and more that are on old or obsolete mediums.

Maryann earned her MLS from University of Pittsburgh in 2011. Before becoming manager of the Labs, she spent 3 years as DC Public Library’s Web and Social Media Librarian, and, previous to that, spent nearly 10 years as an editor, reporter and Web editor for newspapers such as the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun and Newsday.