Boulder Library's BLDG 61 Makerspace Apprenticeship Program

Janet Hollingsworth is a librarian who runs BLDG 61 makerspace in Boulder Colorado.

  

  "I spent the last week reading Maker City, what a fantastic resource. This book deeply recognizes the systemic relationship makerspaces have in their communities. Thank you for this!

  

Here at BLDG 61 (the Boulder Library Makerspace) we are launching a major apprenticeship initiative in 2017. We are developing a series of 3-month intensive sessions for under-served youth as well as sessions aimed at helping the homeless re-enter the workforce by learning woodworking and transferable job skills in our makerspace. All of our apprentices are paid (grant funded) and encouraged to become mentors for subsequent sessions and co-teach public workshops towards the culmination of the apprenticeship. The resulting products crafted by our apprentices are exhibited in a local art gallery and sold to fund future sessions. We are just now completing our first session, and it has truly been life changing for some of our apprentices. 

Additionally, we serve the community as a hub of all-ages maker education, one-on-one training, and no-fee access to cutting edge equipment (woodworking, metalwork, laser cutter, fiber arts, glass fusing, screen printing, and more). I believe what we are doing as a library makerspace is quite innovative and a highly impactful use of our resources." 

Janet herself is an engineer by trade who learned fine woodworking after studying with her grandfather (a master craftsman) for over a year learning traditional American joinery and woodworking techniques. She then started a furniture design/build company and... became a librarian. She says that her current position co-managing BLDG 61 "brings all of these elements together through maker education, and I love what I do more than I ever thought possible." 

 

Here's a short video about the program.