“I work at Bibliotheekservice Fryslân (BSF, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands) as Innovation Advisor. I’m a strong believer in open technologies and the way libraries can and should learn from maker culture. This is one of the main reasons why I was on the board of the FabLab Benelux Foundation. One of the main projects I currently work on is FryskLab, a Mobile Library FabLab.
I write regularly on my personal blog and in professional magazines. I give presentations about libraries, innovation and makerspaces at (international) library conferences.
In 2012 and 2014 I was awarded with the BibliotheekInitiatiefPrijs (Library Initiative Award). In 2012 for SocialMediaCaster, an interactive kiosk with a touchscreen and RFID reader that bridges the physical library collections to the digital realm of social media. In 2014 for FryskLab, together with my two project members at BSF. In 2015 the FryskLab project was awarded with the Mediawijzer.net Aanmoedingsprijs (Stimulation Award) 2015.
Together with Terri Wilingham I wrote Makerspaces in Libraries, published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2015. In 2015 I was nominated for Librarian of the Year in the Netherlands, in which I was awarded second-best. I was on the Europeana Task Force Public Libraries, focusing on library maker spaces in relation to (re)-use of cultural heritage content.”