Beyond makerspaces: Wayne State alumni help build a collaborative library community

When you think of attending the latest "con," comic books, cosplay and celebrity appearances may come to mind. GoLMCon offers a different kind of gathering. This September, librarians and makerspace professionals from across Michigan and the country will come together to share ideas, showcase innovative programs and celebrate the growing maker movement in libraries, helping transform their institutions into welcoming hubs of creativity, learning and community.

One of those library innovators is School of Information Sciences alumnus Adam Pecar. After graduating in 2021, Pecar accepted a position as DREAM (Design, Record, Experiment, Access, and Make!) Lab librarian at the Grosse Pointe Public Library's Woods Branch, where he oversees the library's makerspace. As one of the Guild of Library Makers ' (GoLM) founding members, he helped transform an informal network of librarians sharing ideas into a growing volunteer-run professional organization that now connects makerspace professionals across Michigan, the United States and beyond.

"I reached out to other libraries that had labs, and we got to talking about what worked and what didn't," Pecar said. "We started meeting every month, and the idea of making the Guild came about because we thought, 'This is a great thing to have. Every library should have access to this kind of information.'"

What began in 2023 as informal conversations among a handful of southeastern Michigan librarians quickly evolved into a thriving professional network. Today, GoLM includes more than 230 members representing approximately 80 library systems across the country and even Germany. The organization recently received nonprofit status and will host its second GoLMCon event in September with sponsorship funding from the Library of Michigan.

"Something that we always talk about is the need to not reinvent the wheel and to not be alone," said Matt Grayvin, GoLM executive director and makerspace manager at Rochester Hills Public Library. "It's been incredibly inspiring to work with all of these people who have no financial incentive to help somebody out except that they've been there before and they don't want the next person to have to go through that same thing again."

This year's conference will take place on September 18 at the Southfield Public Library and will feature presentations on makerspace safety, Cricut programming, digital preservation and other hands-on topics, giving attendees opportunities to explore new technologies while learning directly from colleagues who have already tested them in their own libraries.

Between monthly meetings and annual conferences, members stay connected through GoLM's social media, Discord community and collaborative Wiki, where they exchange ideas, troubleshoot equipment, share programming resources and document best practices. Those online spaces have enabled librarians from across the country and around the world to learn from one another. "Discord is a platform that gives you 24-hour access to hop on and ask a question, and it's not unusual to get an answer at any time of the day or night," McEvoy said. "Even if you ask one at three in the morning, you're likely to get an answer."

That collaborative culture has also drawn other School of Information Sciences graduates into leadership roles within the organization. Alex Centala, who serves as GoLM's director of communications while working as an adult services and makerspace librarian at the St. Clair Shores Public Library, said the organization immediately felt like a place where experienced and new makerspace librarians could learn from one another.

"I felt like this was something where I could contribute, and at the same time ask questions for the stuff that I didn't really know that much about," Centala said. "That's kind of what this is all about, creating a community where there's open communication and resources."

For GoLM co-founder Michael McEvoy, head of information technology at the Northville District Library, those shared ideas ultimately help libraries create meaningful experiences for their communities. He recalled helping one patron digitize old home movies so she could see footage of a grandmother she had never met, while another family preserved memories of a beloved family pet through the library's digital conversion equipment.

"There's no day that's exactly the same," McEvoy said. "We get to do so many interesting things."

Pecar has seen firsthand how a library makerspace can inspire creativity far beyond its walls. After welcoming a family displaced by a Florida hurricane into the Dream Lab, he taught their children how to use the makerspace's design software. Months later, one of those children returned wearing a shirt he had designed himself and sold to help rebuild his school's playground.

"You never know how such a little thing can turn into something that will touch a community so far away," he said.

For Grayvin, that's exactly what GoLM hopes to encourage, both through its growing network and at GoLMCon. "Making itself is fun. Learning itself is fun," he said. "What maker spaces do is allow for the accessibility of these tools. What we want is for more people to experience the joy of creating."

Connect with the Guild of Library Makers and learn more about GoLMCon at guildoflibrarymakers.com.