Sunday, September 24, 2017

My Journey to Starting a School Library Makerspace: Part 2

2:37 PM
When starting a Library Makerspace, one of the most important things to consider is funding.  In these times of library budgets getting slashed, many schools simply do not have the funds to invest in the items needed for a Makerspace.    It was no different in my school district.  Most of my students are middle class or above, so we are not considered to be low poverty.  Unfortunately, the library budget is rather low and every cent is needed for library resources.  Since we are not low poverty, many of the big grants out there were not available to us.  Those are given to the schools that have the highest need (the schools with the highest poverty)

So how does someone get funded for a Makerspace if they are ineligible for need based grants?

Librarians need to tap into their local resources, such as the school's education foundation, the home and school association, and other local grants.  Organizations that truly care about your school and students, because they have a vested interest.  When I first started working in Shamong, NJ, I knew I wanted to start a Makerspace.  I also knew that the funding would need to come outside of my budget.  I walked into a library situation that was in desperate need of updating.  My entire budget was needed so I could make the necessary updates.  

Our district is very blessed, because we have an education foundation who is willing to fund projects that are creative and innovative.  When the Spring Grant submissions started, I decided to submit a grant to start our Library Makerspace.  

The grant process involved:

  • Talking to other teachers who had previously had a project funded through the foundation.
  • Doing my homework ahead of time, prior to writing the grant proposal.
  • Finding a way to integrate the items requested for the funding,  into my curriculum.
  • Working with my technology director to plan out purchases for the grant proposal - this included getting pricing for IPads, a 3D printer, and a shelf for the IPads.
  • Writing and submitting the grant to the foundation.
  • Responding to questions about the grant from the foundation.
The final grant requested $13,307 in materials.  I opted for those higher tech items.  The items decided upon were based on a survey sent out to students.  I wanted the students in my middle school to take ownership of the Makerspace.  The items requested were things that were most important to my students.  Some of the items we requested were:
  • 10 IPads
  • Cases for the IPads
  • Shelf for the IPads
  • 4 Dash and Dot robots
  • 4 Sphero Spark robots
  • 1 K'nex robot kit
  • 4 boxes of legos
  • 2 Raspberry Pi
  • 1 3D Printer with filament
Here is a copy of the grant request.

I am happy to say that our grant was fully funded, and we were also able to get another grant through the state for an additional $10,000.  We have used this money to renovate our once computer lab, and turn it into a Makerspace lab.  We have also used the additional money to purchase new furniture for our space, shelving, and additional supplies.

                                                  Students enjoying our Makerspace Room.

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