A systematic review of library makerspaces research

Abstract

Despite the abundance of research on library makerspaces, systematic reviews of library makerspace research are lacking. As research on library makerspaces advances, the field needs reliable empirical findings to examine the impact of library makerspaces and identify research areas that are valuable for future research. Guided by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement, 43 out of 838 records were selected for the systematic review. The overall trend of research methodologies and theories, settings, participants, research purposes, as well as tools, technologies and programming in library makerspace research were identified. The findings reveal that qualitative studies that were descriptive in nature were the predominant approaches. While appropriate literatures were explored, theoretical frameworks were less used. This systematic review contributes new areas and directions for future research, including the need for expansion of research methodologies and theoretical frameworks and investigation of diverse users and types of making.