Welcome Yoonmi. I love your watercolor. I get the watercolor sets out all the time for our youth at the library. It is such a nice medium for beginning artists, I think.
Hello Everyone!
My name is Doria Ramos! I work as a Senior Library Technician for the Youth Services Division at the Santa Ana Public Library! I was motivated to join the PLIX Community because I firmly believe that a person never stops learning! Libraries in my future thoughts will continue to be safe spaces to learn about anything a mind could want, a space to experiment, to grow, and to nourish the community. We provide the space, time, materials and tools that our community needs when they can’t obtain it themselves another way.
I recently created at home a set of beanie bunny ears for my niece’s Halloween costume… she is 8 and loves Louise from Bob’s Burgers. My ADHD has me in multiple half-finished creative projects…at work we are going to be working on our Pumpkin for our Employee Pumpkin Carving/Decorating Contest… I see Dragon Pumpkin in my near future.
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Welcome, @dramos! We are happy to have you here and be a part of your learning journey! 
I love your vision of what libraries will continue to be in the future - a hub for community. A pumpkin contest sounds like so much fun! Maybe we can convince @ada for the PLIX team to do one. 
We’d love to see the final result!
Chat soon!
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Hello! I’ m Olivia, and I am a Youth Services Library Associate in International Falls, MN. I recently began working here, and have fallen in love with working in my community. I am passionate about opportunities for people to learn and expand their skills; especially in the small community where I live. There are so many bright and wonderful minds, and I love to see people of all ages enjoying the different resources that libraries provide. My dream for the future of libraries is that they can continue to grow and be a pillar within our communities. Libraries are wonderful, and I hope to see more and more people coming to the library!
I learned about PLIX from my Library’s director. I was immediately intrigued, and am so excited to be a part of this program! My most recent project has been a “Libratory” bag where kids can take them home and create gears using cardboard circles and candy corn! It’s such a great activity for fall, as well as a great learning activity for younger patrons. It’s also candy, and I am finding myself gravitating towards other candy-related activities that would also be educational and edible!
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I’m Lesa. I am the Youth Services Librarian at our library. I also work with the after school program at our elementary school here. I do lots of programming and event planning. I enjoy it so very much working with the youth.
My relaxation is my new found hobby. I taught myself to watercolor in July this year. I am getting better at it every day.
I paint a picture every day. I really enjoy it.
My other fun thing is spending time with my 5 grand sons. They are my heart. 
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Here is the pumpkin my Library entered in our City’s Contest. Halloween is Employee Appreciation Day and we have lots of contests. We are competitive, sadly we did not win most creative category.
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Whoa Doria! I love the detail and work put into the scene. That must have been fun to imagine and create!
Wow, that is great! It is amazing that some of these are even pumkpkins!
Hello! My name is Christy and I am a first-year undergrad student at MIT working with Ada on the PLIX project!
I wanted to join this community since I want to get more involved in education and learn how to express ideas and concepts in creative, “non-traditional” ways. I think teaching things in ways that are engaging and matter personally to people is important, so I hope to learn more about that from PLIX and others.
I envision libraries as a community center for everyone and that has resources to help issues that people are struggling with. I’m from the Greater Boston area, and I remember going to the teen center at Boston Public Library often and it being a safe space for myself and friends. I remember seeing different college access resources, financial information, and internet safety workshops, to name a few examples, and I think that’s really amazing and important for libraries to offer these resources freely (especially other resources like translation services for immigrants).
Something I created recently was tiramisu cake with my friend!
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Hi everyone!!
My name is Grace Dessert and I am a STEAM Coach volunteer at the La Jolla Public Library in San Diego.
I’ve been hoping to get connected to a community of passionate educators who believe in the potential of public libraries in the modern world.
I work as a software engineer at an Ed tech company and I think that our communities need libraries more than ever to provide connection and relevant educational opportunities regardless of class and background and age. I dream of a future where every Library has a makerspace that brings people together and helps us dream and prototype toward improving the world around us.
I recently organized workshops on Lego robotics, digital design, and laser cutting. I’ve also done many paper circuit workshops.
Please reach out, I’d love to connect!
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Hi Grace 
@dessertgrace ! Welcome to the PLIX community. \(ᵔᵕᵔ)/
I love your educational equity goals, and am here for it! PLIX is all about using creative learning pedagogy as a framework for offering STEAM activities. Browse our facilitation techniques here.
Recently, we’ve ran a play testing of the Data Gems activity (playing with data wearables, friendship data bracelets, and data journaling) — here’s the forum thread for that: Data Gems Play Testing.
Bonus: For another community of library makerspace coordinators, check out our friends at Library Makers.
Hello, hello!
My name is Karen Stern and I am an early childhood library assistant at the Appleton Public Library in Appleton, Wi.
I was at the Play, Make, Learn Conference last week, and this site was recommened to me.
I have been working in libraries since 2003, starting with volunteering in school libraries when my children were small.
I completed my MLIS in 2017 and in 2018, I began working in public libraries.
Until recently, I worked with the K-6th grade patrons. My fellow librarian and I created a program titled MakerQuest, a full STEAM program. Each month we had a theme, and each week we would set up eight activities, four of them would be something we would use througout the entire month, while the other four were new ideas each week.
I am now working with the birth to preschool crowd, and I look forward to trying new things with the young ones. Especially, activities that give our little hands on experiences.
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Welcome @Karen!
It’s great to have you here. Thank you for sharing about MakerQuest. The program sounds so thoughtfully designed!
Regarding your interest in the birth to preschool age range, I know that many of the PLIX activities can be challenging to adapt for this audience. Feel free to share your ideas or reach out with questions!
Hello :). I work at Poplar Bluff Library in Poplar Bluff, MO.
I just recently became a program coordinator for the library after working in the Children’s Department. The Children’s Librarian, Connie, was using PLIX programming in our Library and it looked so fun! It is something that I really want to continue, especially because of all the support and resources make me feel that it would be possible to really help the children in this community thrive in STEM.
A specific future dream for libraries would be maker spaces in all public libraries!
I have a craft studio on our property, so I am always working on something! I recently painted a china hutch to look better in our dining room. I am also looking for a used commercial sewing machine because I would like to make teepees and put in a glamping resort lol!
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Welcome @MelissaC ! We’re thrilled to have you here.
Having makerspaces (and craft spaces 
) in all public libraries would be incredible. Congrats on the china hutch painting! It’s so important how a space feels in addition to what it can do for you. I believe one of our past ambassadors @Carine has an extensive collection of (over 80?!) sewing machines.
Also check out our friends Library Makers for a community more specifically targeted at the variety of ways makerspaces can happen in libraries.
Hello, this is Amy Chamberlin and I work as a library associate for the Grand County Library District at the Juniper branch in Grand Lake, Colorado. One of the district administrators invited me to apply to PLIX. I obliged because I am interested in innovation and I am a lifelong learner. My background is a Masters in Educational Leadership, a Bachelors in English, and a minor in Spanish. I left the public school system and am happy I found another place to teach. Our rural mountain community does not have a community college, so my dream for the future of our library is to fill that void. I have included a photo of our bulletin board. I started a new program that involves collaborative community creations. Patrons made origami butterflies that I integrated into the design. Next month is donuts.
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Hi from Fond du Lac (and Play Make Learn)!
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Hi! I’m Hannah, rhymes with “banana,” Han for short. I’m a youth services librarian at the Fond du Lac Public Library; I’ve been a full-time YS librarian for TEN YEARS (more accurately, this will be true in November). Before that I was a page at the lovely Iowa City Public Library, and worked seasonally doing summer educational programming with the Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University of Iowa… so I’ve been doing STEAM programming for kids and teens since I was a teen. I’m really excited to pick PLIX’s brain(s) and step up our library’s game, especially with regard to tween and teen programming and take-and-make activity kits for all ages. If you want cat pics, you know who to ask!
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This is A-maze-ING! Good job on your creation!!
Hello, My name is Nita Ford. I work at Grants Public Library in Grants, NM. We are trying to learn about new things to reach our community. I hope to learn a lot in the mini course.
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