What some call the makers movement is catching on in the Erie area.
The word makerspace wasn’t in the dictionary or even on anyone’s lips when Mary Rennie started her library career 35 years ago.
But the concept of a makerspace — loosely defined as a shared space for making things — looms large as Rennie, executive director of the Erie County Public Library, looks ahead to a $1 million renovation of the Blasco Library that’s expected to be complete by the end of the year.
Plans include transforming about 5,000 square feet into a space called the IdeaLab, equipped with a range of equipment that is expected to include 3-D printers, sewing machines, vinyl-cutting equipment, laser engravers and metalworking tools.
What’s happening at the library, however, only scratches the surface of a movement that’s catching on in Erie County, where a number of makerspaces have…
