Professors Carli Spina, head of Research and Instructional Services, and Helen Lane, Instructional Design librarian, wrote a book that was published last summer called E-Textiles in Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians. E-textiles—including soft circuits, conductive fabrics, and sewable electronics—are used in applications from light-up scarves to solar-powered backpacks to health monitoring fabric, innovative combinations of electronics and textiles that are becoming more prevalent all the time.
Using the Gladys Marcus Library’s own MakerMinds events as examples in the book, Lane and Spina describe e-textile projects that combine STEM topics with fun, familiar crafts making them popular for library programs, interesting to diverse groups, and a tool for teaching new skills and techniques.