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Abstract As makerspaces continue to proliferate in academic and public libraries, researchers and educators are increasingly concerned with ensuring these STEM‐rich learning environments are inclusive to historically marginalized student communities. This article offers a new framework, the Description Framework of Makerspaces, to outline the relationship between the spatial qualities of makerspaces and the user population it attracts. This study represents the first phase of a 5‐year research program dedicated to analyzing the everyday life information seeking practices that students (un)intentionally make when deciding to engage with a STEM­rich learning environment such as a makerspace. Using constructivist grounded framework to analyze interview data from 17 academic makerspace leaders, we theorize 2 propositions from the main findings: (a) the act of defining a makerspace is difficult and in tension with several imaginings of a makerspace: imagined, ideal, and experienced and (b) a makerspace is significantly composed of affective features that are often unarticulated and abstract. By conceptualizing makerspaces as environments that are configured by both physical and affective characteristics, we reveal insights regarding a baseline conceptualization of the features of a conventional academic makerspace and the design decisions that makerspace leaders make and are confronted with. 

To better grasp the issue of underrepresentation in makerspaces, it's crucial to closely examine the environment where these problems arise. A spatial enumeration of a makerspace, which is a complete listing of items within a collection or environment, extends such an evaluation. By responding to this overarching research question, “why do students from underrepresented communities turn away at the threshold of a makerspace,” this article provides findings from the frost phase of a five-year, qualitative research program. Specifically, this paper presents the sensory features (sight, sound, smell) that comprise a university makerspace. The process and findings from enumerating a makerspace offer vital insights into how STEM-focused environments convey inclusivity. Seventeen makerspace leaders from a university network were asked to discern what a typical makerspace looks, sounds, and smells like. The findings from this study provide information professionals with entry points to analyze their makerspace from a DEI standpoint. 

The Maker Movement has highlighted the challenge of balancing inclusivity and traditional aesthetics in makerspaces. Despite the marketing of makerspaces as democratic and open, attracting diverse user groups remains a persistent issue. This research study focuses on an overlooked aspect of makerspace engagement—the decision students make at the makerspace threshold. By investigating the reasons behind students' choices to enter or turn away from makerspaces, this study aims to shed light on the complexities of makerspace design and its impact on inclusivity. The entrance of a makerspace serves as the site of inquiry, where students must make a quick decision that can have significant implications. This fleeting moment holds valuable, previously uncollected data, particularly from historically excluded communities. To address this issue, the study shifts the focus from individuals to the makerspace environment itself, examining its underlying values, ideologies, and design elements that may inadvertently undermine inclusivity. By critically evaluating these aspects, educators can identify the causes of tension and work towards creating a more equitable and inclusive makerspace environment. This study responds to the research question of why students from historically excluded communities turn away from the makerspace threshold. Through qualitative research informed by Grounded Theory principles, the study generates theories directly from the data, employing an inductive approach. Data collection methods include surveys, think-aloud reporting, and post-observation debriefing to gather comprehensive and nuanced insights into participants' perspectives and experiences. The study aims to uncover actionable approaches to designing makerspace environments that communicate a sense of welcome to first-time users from diverse communities. The paper focuses on one major finding related to first impressions at the makerspace threshold, specifically exploring the impact of small details, such as artifacts and signage, on creating an inclusive environment. By combining various data collection methods, this research program provides a comprehensive exploration of the topic, grounded in empirical evidence and reflective of participants' perspectives. The findings contribute to ongoing conversations on addressing underrepresentation in makerspaces and inform the development of inclusive makerspace design strategies. 

Makerspaces have proven to be mainstays within library ecosystems. However, alongside the continued popularization of library makerspaces, there remains a seemingly immovable issue endemic to these environments; makerspaces continue to attract a narrow demographic of patrons. The threshold of the makerspace serves as a critical site for inquiry, specifically, for insight around students' everyday life information seeking (ELIS) behaviors. This study responds to the research question, “Why do students from underrepresented communities turn away at the threshold of a makerspace?” The research design is methodologically informed by participatory action research (PAR) and grounded theory and uses a virtual reality (VR) makerspace to provide a consistent “threshold” experience to capture students' fleeting first impressions. The research findings offer novel insight into the information seeking behaviors of students by capturing and analyzing critical data that haven't been collected before: the real-time thoughts and feelings of students from underrepresented communities entering a makerspace for the first time. 

The paper will outline two synergistic analyses that engage with the themes of resilient futures and education: a case study on the pandemic’s impact on LIS makerspace course curricula that was quickly converted from face-to-face to remote learning, and a broader analysis that explores how makerspace information professionals in higher education have adapted their services in response to safety protocols and to the holistic needs of their user communities. This paper contributes both to the conversation of LIS curricula as it pertains to teaching and training upcoming information professionals for careers in makerspaces, while also contextualizing these adaptations within the larger changes that were implemented by academic library makerspaces in North Carolina. 

The paper will outline two synergistic analyses that engage with the themes of resilient futures and education: a case study on the pandemic’s impact on LIS makerspace course curricula that was quickly converted from face-to-face to remote learning, and a broader analysis that explores how makerspace information professionals in higher education have adapted their services in response to safety protocols and to the holistic needs of their user communities. This paper contributes both to the conversation of LIS curricula as it pertains to teaching and training upcoming information professionals for careers in makerspaces, while also contextualizing these adaptations within the larger changes that were implemented by academic library makerspaces in North Carolina.