Libraries around the world are evolving. No longer merely places of silent reading and book lending, modern libraries increasingly aspire to become hubs for creative learning, innovation, and community engagement.
One of the most compelling trends in recent years is reimagining story corners—those warm, cozy nooks for children’s storytelling—into makerspaces or maker corners, where patrons of all ages can tinker, invent, and collaborate.
In this guide, you’ll find step-by-step strategies, data, examples, and practical advice to transform your library’s story corner into a vibrant maker space.
- Libraries have long been centers for knowledge access and quiet study. But contemporary expectations have shifted: patrons now expect hands-on learning, access to emerging technologies, and dynamic spaces for creation.
- Professional associations like ALA note that creative technology labs, makerspaces, and media labs are becoming key components in academic and public libraries.
- In public libraries in the U.S., surveys suggest that nearly 90% of libraries already offer maker programming, and around 40% have production equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters.
- As one library researcher phrased it, “A makerspace is a hands-on space where people can create, repair, and tinker.”
- Story corners and makerspaces share common foundations: imagination, play, exploration, and narrative. Children often conceptualize projects as stories (e.g. “my robot will rescue a princess,” “my puppet show tells a tale”).
- By co-locating or integrating story and maker elements, libraries can scaffold from narrative to design: after listening to a story, participants might design related props, dioramas, or puppets.
- This promotes literacy, STEM/STEAM learning, fine motor skills, and creative thinking in tandem.
Thus, transforming a story corner into a makerspace is not just repurposing space, but weaving together two pedagogical approaches for deeper engagement.
Before jumping into tools and furniture, it helps to anchor your plans in core principles. Below are the foundational themes to guide your transformation.
| Principle | Description | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Flexibility & Modularity | Use furniture (tables, benches, storage) that can be reconfigured easily | Allows reconfiguration for story hours, group making, individual work |
| Inclusivity & Accessibility | Design for all ages, abilities, and backgrounds | Ensures participation from diverse user groups |
| Safety & Supervision | Clear rules, safe tool access, proper ventilation | Mitigates risk and ensures user comfort |
| Scaffolding & Instruction | Provide guides, prompts, templates, and staff facilitation | Helps beginners transition into creative independence |
| Sustainability & Maintenance | Plan for consumables, waste, wear & tear | Keeps the makerspace functioning long term |
| Community & Co-creation | Invite user input, run design challenges, host maker events | Builds ownership and sustained engagement |
These principles align with best practices found in library makerspace literature and recommendations by public library associations.
See also Tips for Running Virtual Maker Programs for Young Children
Here’s a roadmap for converting a story corner into a maker corner.
- Conduct surveys or focus groups with current users, particularly children, parents, and educators. Ask: what kinds of making would you like? (art, electronics, microcontrollers, robotics, crafts)
- Audit your physical space: measure dimensions, note lighting (natural vs artificial), power outlets, ventilation, storage capacity, and adjacency to staff desks or quiet areas.
- Clarify your mission: e.g. “Encourage STEAM literacy in early learners through hands-on projects” or “Foster community innovation and prototyping.”
- Prepare a budget estimate: initial tools, consumables, furniture, staff time. Many successful makerspaces begin small and scale.
- Layout: allocate zones for making, story/listening, tools & materials storage, and display/finished work.
- Furniture: modular tables with casters, stools or child-friendly seating, pegboards or slat walls, bins, and shelving.
- Power & Wiring: ensure sufficient outlets (with surge protection), floor raceways or wire covers, good lighting especially at workbenches.
- Ventilation & Safety: if you plan soldering, laser cutting, or spray paints, install fume extraction or enclose work zones.
- Acoustic control: maker activities can be noisier than reading; install partitions or acoustic panels where appropriate.
Start with a tiered approach: low-tech and safe tools first, then expand to more advanced equipment.
- Low-tech / tactile tools: scissors, glue, tape, colored paper, markers, cardboard, LEGO or building blocks, clay, beads, yarn.
- Mid-level tools: sewing machines, Cricut (vinyl cutter), basic electronics kits (LEDs, resistors, Arduinos), glue guns, hot wire foam cutters.
- Digital fabrication tools: 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers, vinyl cutters, CNC milling, woodworking tools (if safe).
- Media tools: tablets, digital cameras, green screens, audio recording, video editing stations.
- Consumables: filament, craft supplies, adhesives, wires, tools replacement parts.
See also How Grandparents and Caregivers Can Support Early Making
Tip: Some libraries adopt a “tool ladder” where newcomers begin with simpler tools and gradually “level up” to more advanced ones under supervision.
- Train staff or volunteers in tool safety, maintenance, and pedagogical facilitation.
- Create user policies: usage protocols, reservation systems, liability waivers.
- Establish maintenance protocols: cleaning schedules, consumables ordering, tool calibration.
- Schedule regular workshops and drop-in maker sessions to seed usage and build user confidence.
- Kickoff events: maker fairs, LEGO build nights, craft & storytelling mashups.
- Integrated programs: pair stories with making (e.g. after reading “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” kids build caterpillar models).
- Design challenges / prompts: seasonal themes, STEAM tasks, community problem solving.
- Display & sharing: walls or digital portals to showcase maker creations, invite users to present their work.
- Partnerships: local schools, makerspaces, technology companies, arts centers.
- Track usage metrics: footfall, tool checkouts, attendee demographics, repeat users.
- Gather feedback via surveys, suggestion boxes, maker focus groups.
- Adjust layout, tool inventory, programming offerings according to feedback.
- Plan periodic refreshes of materials and rotating themes to keep users returning.
- The Pasco County Libraries system (U.S.) operates seven makerspaces across branches and even a mobile makerspace. One branch, The Foundry, includes two 3D printers, CAD stations, Oculus Rift VR, and an audio studio.
- In K–12 school libraries, several districts have transformed media centers into innovation labs where children can move between reading areas and maker tables within the same flexible space.
- Academic libraries also embrace maker labs: many universities now host media labs, extended reality studios, and creative tech hubs inside their libraries.
- The James B. Hunt Jr. Library showcases a cutting-edge model: it includes a makerspace, 3D printing, audio/video studios, and technology lending alongside robotic storage.
These examples illustrate that makerspaces need not be isolated in basement labs—they can be integrated inside libraries and aligned with storytelling, reading, and community programming.
| Challenge | Mitigation Strategy |
|---|---|
| Budget constraints | Start with low-cost, high-impact tools; apply for grants; crowdsource donations; rotate tool use across branches |
| Staff expertise | Partner with local maker communities, host training, create peer mentoring |
| Consumables & maintenance costs | Track usage, set small user fees or membership models, seek sponsorships |
| Noise and disruption to quiet reading zones | Use partitions, acoustic panels, scheduling maker sessions during less quiet hours |
| Sustainability / burnout | Rotate responsibilities, involve volunteers, refresh themes periodically |
| Safety / liability | Clear rules, supervised access to hazardous tools, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) |
One additional consideration is material waste. In maker activities, prototyping often involves trial and error, which produces discarded “failed” parts. Sustainable practices—reusing scrap materials, encouraging recycling, limiting excess consumable usage—should be incorporated from the start.
See also Tiny Hands, Big Ideas – Early Learning Through Library Makerspaces
Here’s a sample weekly schedule and spatial layout for a small library maker corner.
| Time Slot | Activity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 – 10:00 | Open free-make drop-in | Low-tech stations like paper, clay, LEGO |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Story + Make session | Read a children’s book, then related craft |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Open work time | For walk-in users or school groups |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Robotics or electronics workshop | Guided by staff or volunteer |
| 16:00 – 17:00 | Maker club or challenge time | Users present and share their work |
| 17:30 – 18:00 | Clean up + display setup | Rotate showcased projects |
Spatial zones might include:
- Story / reading zone with soft seating
- Maker tables in the center, modular and mobile
- Tool & material storage wall with pegboards, bins
- Display / gallery wall for finished works
- Tool checkout & staff station near entrance
You might choose a layout like a “U” shape or linear setup, depending on room constraints.
When implemented thoughtfully, transforming story corners into maker spaces yields multiple benefits. Here are key impact areas and metrics to follow:
- Increased Footfall & Engagement
- Monitor library visits during maker hours
- Track repeat usage by individual users
- Enhanced Learning Outcomes
- Pre-/post surveys assessing self-confidence in STEM/arts
- Portfolio of user projects showing growth in complexity
- Community Building
- Number of partnerships (schools, maker groups)
- Attendance at maker events and fairs
- Skill Development
- Usage counts of tools (e.g. how many times 3D printer used)
- Workshops completed by users
- Sustainability Indicators
- Consumables usage vs budget
- Maintenance incidents, tool downtime
- Surveyed satisfaction from users and staff
These metrics help librarians justify continued investment in the maker corner and iterate for continuous improvement.
Transforming your library’s story corner into a full-fledged maker space is a powerful way to bridge literacy, creativity, and hands-on learning. With careful planning—zoning, tool selection, staffing, policies, and programming—libraries can become engines of innovation, learning, and community engagement.
The synergy between storytelling and making can delight and inspire users of all ages. Start small, iterate often, and build a culture of making that continues to evolve. Your library can become not just a place to consume knowledge, but a space where users actively design, build, experiment, and tell their stories through creation.
There is no fixed size rule; a compact maker corner can function well in as little as 100–200 sq ft if carefully zoned. The key is efficient layout, modular furniture, and clear pathways. Expand as demand grows.
Implement a tool ladder model: allow open access to low-risk tools (e.g. glue guns, scissors) and require training or staff permission for higher-risk tools (e.g. laser cutter). Use sign-out sheets, supervision, and mandatory safety orientation.
Start with mini projects tied to popular stories or seasonal themes, host maker fairs or “open house” events, and actively market the space to schools and communities. Use guided sessions to seed usage until self-sustaining demand emerges.
