Makerspaces and what are they about? Librarians as cheerleaders and how to stay connected to the users of your library.

This and much more in this week’s episode of TWIL: your weekly dose of library innovation! http://vimeo.com/99820584 Dear Subscribers and Viewers, Episode 112 is a special episode recorded in wonderful city of Bremen ( Germany) at theBibliothekartag 2014. This annual event brings together almost 5,000 librarians and is the place to be if you want an update on the status of libraries in Germany. We were invited by Julia Bergmann of the innovative Zukunftswerkstatt and Hans-Christhoph Hobohm of the Fachhochschule Potsdam to speak about innovation in libraries and to record a This Week in Libraries episode with the keynote speakers. In Episode 112 we have the pleasure to speak with Tara Radniecki of DeLaMare Science & Engineering Library at the University of Nevada, Reno and Meg Backus, who at the time was at the Chattanooga Public Library. The beautiful set up stand of the Zukunftswerkstatt looks like a state of the art library makerspace with 3D printer, the Google Glass and the Oculus Rift and that is what Meg and Tara are talking about at this conference. Tara works at an Academic library and is responsible for the Makerspace there and Meg worked at the public library in the US that everybody is talking about. We talk about how these spaces can positively affect student achievement and faculty research, but also how they can help in building communities. Librarians as coaches to provide people with equipment, skills and strategies and above all to inspire. How do we create a Rainforest library environment where people love to work and let their creativity flow and flourish? or as Meg, the inventor of the self-watering Tweeting cactus, says: “Libraries have to change, … [and] that’s what we’re doing here, you can call it innovation and leading the pack and all these things, but what we’re doing is evolving.” Enjoy and hope to see you soon on TWIL: your weekly dose of library innovation! Erik & Jaap This week in libraries is also available in  iTunes You can also sign up for our Newsletter: Or join in the discussions at our Linkedin group: This week in libraries is sponsored by: The Netherlands Institute for Public Libraries (SIOB) The National Library of the Netherlands (KB)