Makerspaces, a truly transformative pedagogy, can be found in both schools and libraries. As a distance education librarian at a university, I don't have the opportunity to be directly involved in the development of library makerspaces, but I have been following the discussion on it. 

Makerspaces invite creativity by providing the tools and space to explore, tinker, create, innovate, and collaborate. They nurture student ownership of work, and as opposed to a more didactic approach, the teacher becomes the guide on the side instead of the sage on the stage (R. Kurti, D. Kurti, & Fleming, 2014).

Makerspace at the New York Hall of Science

"While you're here, you can actually get something done."

Click the image above for a 3-minute video on the Mt. Elliott Makerspace in Detroit.

The collaborative and social learning aspect should not be overlooked. "Making in the 21st century has moved out of the individual workshop and gone networked. Today's tinkerer work in vast, distributed communities where information sharing is the norm, where the ethics and practices of the free/open source software movement has gone physical" (Doctorow, 2013). 

Collaborative tinkering at Mt. Elliott in Detroit

References

Doctorow, C. (2013). Libraries, hackspaces and E-waste: How libraries can be the hub of a young maker revolution. Retrieved from http://www.raincoast.com/blog/details/guest-post-cory-doctorow-for-freedom-to-read-week/ 

Kurti, R.S., Kurti, D,, & Fleming, L. (2014). Practical implementation of an educational makerspace. Teacher Librarian, 42(2), 20-24. Retrieved from http://http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/