#LILAC preview: Making, makerspaces and the role of information literacy

Only one day to go before LILAC! My final two posts are from the library team at Sheffield University. Firstly, Making, makerspaces and the role of information literacy. Vicky Grant writes: 

Day one of LILAC26 sees a parallel session from the Sheffield team (Graham McElearney, Rosa Sadler, Jack Emmens and Vicky Grant) and a fun opportunity to have a go with the digital sewing machines at a workshop on library makerspaces (Monday 30 March 2026, Parallel Sessions 3 (15:55 - 16:55) in Wave Seminar Room 5.)
The recent JISC Digital Transformation Framework (2025) and accompanying work on library perspectives on digital transformation recognises the core role libraries take in supporting knowledge creation. Citing interdisciplinary library makerspaces and the provision of equipment and training in digital content creation as an example of a library activity that can contribute to library transformation, this work opens up new and innovative possibilities for libraries. But how does this materialise in practice, and which library teams should take responsibility and lead?
This workshop will showcase participatory research and pedagogical approaches adopted to develop the University of Sheffield’s Digital Commons, an interdisciplinary library makerspace led by the Library Learning and Teaching Services team. Using a hands-on practical activity, we will focus on how student learning, the pedagogy of making, and the literacy of knowledge creation within our information and digital literacy offer gave a natural home for library based makerspaces within our information literacy practice.
Information literacy frameworks increasingly encompass creative literacies which enable individuals to become active knowledge creators, not just sophisticated information consumers (ACRL, 2015, Coonan & Secker, 2011; Open University Library, 2012; University of Sheffield Library, 2019, UNESCO, 2013). Libraries’ support for this "creative turn" (Grant 2024) in IL is reflected in the increasing establishment of makerspaces within university libraries, and the burgeoning role for librarians in supporting the development of these creative or ‘making’ literacies (Curry, 2017; Curry, 2022).
The Digital Commons is our new library makerspace. It was conceived from and builds on the outcomes of participatory action research conducted in our Creative LIbrary Project and LibFest programme (Whitehead-Wright et al., 2024, Sadler et al. 2025). This participatory co-creation is continuing this year via partnership projects with student societies.
In addition to "conventional" makerspace pedagogies (Curry, 2017; Curry 2022; Long and Hicks, 2022), we have recently been exploring anthropological and ideological pedagogical approaches, building on work by e.g. Ingold (2013) and Rowsell (2025). These include "making as a way of knowing", emphasising the importance of the "process" of making rather than just the "outcome", iterative experimentation, and the importance of engaging with the materiality of making tangible objects (e.g. stitchcraft as in this workshop). We see these as essential pedagogical principles in the age of AI, where creativity and knowledge creation can be so easily bypassed by its transactional nature.

References 

ACRL (2015) Framework for information literacy for higher education. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework (Accessed 13 November 2025).
Coonan, E. & Secker, J. (2011) A new curriculum for information literacy: curriculum and supporting documents. Available at: http://ccfil.pbworks.com/f/ANCIL_final.pdf (Accessed: 13 November 2025).
Curry, R. (2017) ‘Makerspaces: a beneficial new service for academic libraries?’, Library Review, Vol. 66(4-5), pp. 201–212. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-09-2016-0081.
Curry, R. (2023) ‘Insights from a cultural-historical HE library makerspace case study on the potential for academic libraries to lead on supporting ethical-making underpinned by ‘Critical Material Literacy’’, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Vol. 55(3), pp. 763–781. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006221104796.
Grant, V. (2024) ‘A creative future for information and digital literacy’, Journal of Information Literacy (JIL), Vol. 18(1), pp. 14-20. doi: https://doi.org/10.11645/18.1.577.
Ingold, T. (2013) Making. London: Routledge. 
Jisc (2025) Digital transformation library lens. Available at: https://repository.jisc.ac.uk/10295/19/digital-transformation-library-lens.pdf (Accessed: 13 November 2025).
Long, J. & Hicks, J. (2022) ‘Maker Literacy: Connecting IL within the maker movement’, Librarians Information Literacy Annual Conference (LILAC). Manchester, April 2022. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/maker-literacy-connecting-il-within-the-maker-movement-jessie-long-jennifer-hicks/251667818 (Accessed: 13 November 2025).
Open University Library (2012) Digital and information literacy framework. Available at: https://www5.open.ac.uk/library-skills-framework/DIL-framework (Accessed: 13 November 2025).
Rowsell, J. (2025) The Comfort of Screens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sadler, R., Stephenson, R., Broad, G., Grant, V., & Rocha-Lawrence, T. (2025) ‘LibFest: critical information literacy and connected relations’, Librarians Information Literacy Annual Conference (LILAC). Cardiff, April 2025. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/libfest-critical-information-literacy-and-connected-relations-rosa-sadler-rhian-stephenson-georgie-broad-vicky-grant-and-tomas-rocha-lawrence/277511792 (Accessed: 6 November 2025).
UNESCO (2013) Global Media and Information Literacy Assessment Framework: country readiness and competencies. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000224655.locale=en (Accessed 31 October 2025).
University of Sheffield Library (2019) Framework for information and digital literacy. Available at: https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/idl-framework (Accessed: 13 November 2025).
Whitehead-Wright, R. Grant, V. Rocha-Lawrence, T. and Wood, C. (2024). Reflections on liberating the library through information creation: a ‘messy’ workshop at LILAC 2024. Information Literacy Group Blog, October. Available at: http://infolit.org.uk/reflections-on-liberating-the-library-through-information-creation-a-messy-workshop-at-lilac-2024/ (Accessed:13 November 2025). 
Image from Vicky Grant: turtlestitch