Hacking School Libraries: 10 Ways to Incorporate Library Media Centers into Your Learning Community (Hack Learning Series)

by Kristina A. Holzweiss

Bring in recyclable materials from home, such as cardboard tubes, newspapers, and bottle caps. Use these as examples of resourcefulness, sustainability, and thrift, and ask your students to bring stuff as well, to help create the library makerspace with you. Purchase consumable materials and invest in a few sturdy tools, such as Klever Kutter box cutters, Makedo cardboard building components, ZipSnip cordless cutters, Ryobi battery-operated glue guns, battery chargers and rechargeable batteries, and scissors. Include resources that represent all students, including construction paper, crayons, pipe cleaners, and puppets that reflect diverse skin shades. Nurture the culture of making in your library as an organic environment that you and your students can develop.