You are being asked to be a participant in a research study about the value and impact of makerspaces in public libraries. The purpose of this research is to measure the value and impact of public library makerspaces. You have been asked to participate in this research because you are a member of the local public library community. Approximately 40 participants will be involved in this research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Your participation in this research is voluntary. Your decision whether or not to participate will not affect your current or future dealings with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw at any time without affecting that relationship.

The study procedures are 1 focus group with approximately 4-6 other people. There are approximately 20 questions.

This research will be performed at your local public library. You will need to come to the study site once. The focus group will last approximately 1 hour.

We will ask everyone in the focus group to respect the privacy of other participants and to treat anything said in the group as confidential. However, please remember there is no guarantee that other participants will abide by that request. Faculty, students, and staff who may see your information will maintain confidentiality to the extent of federal and state laws and university policies.

You will receive a $30 Amazon gift card for participating in this study.

If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw your consent and discontinue participation at any time. The researchers also have the right to stop your participation in this study without your consent if they believe it is in your best interests.

Your de-identified information could be used for future research without additional informed consent.

Contact the researchers Emily Knox at 217-300-0212 or knox@illinois.edu, Kyungwon Koh at kkoh@illinois.edu, or Andrew Zalot at azalot2@illinois.edu if you have any questions about this study or your part in it, or if you have concerns or complaints about the research.

If you have any questions about your rights as a research subject, including concerns, complaints, or to offer input, you may call the Office for the Protection of Research Subjects (OPRS) at 217-333-2670 or e-mail OPRS at irb@illinois.edu.

If you would like to complete a brief survey to provide OPRS feedback about your experiences as a research participant, please follow the link on the OPRS website: https://oprs.research.illinois.edu/. You will have the option to provide feedback or concerns anonymously or you may provide your name and contact information for follow-up purposes.