Main Content
Date of Lecture: September 16, 2026
Bio
Megan Lotts is an artist, educator, and visionary academic librarian whose work reimagines libraries as dynamic spaces for creativity, connection, and play. She is the author of The Playful Library: Building Environments for Learning and Creativity (2024) and Advancing a Culture of Creativity in Libraries: Programming and Engagement (2021). As Art Librarian and faculty at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Lotts brings an interdisciplinary approach to librarianship by blending scholarly research, art, and imagination to create inclusive and inspiring learning environments. She collaborates across the visual arts, humanities, landscape architecture, and other disciplines, supporting faculty and students through research instruction, creative programming, and innovative collection development. Widely recognized for her pioneering work advancing creativity and play in academic libraries, Lotts’s scholarship explores how maker culture, experiential learning, and hands-on exploration can transform information spaces into living laboratories for innovation. Through her teaching, research, and artistic practice, she invites people to engage with art in unexpected and participatory ways, reflecting her belief that libraries are not only repositories of knowledge but also catalysts for collaboration, experimentation, and joy.
Abstract
Creativity thrives on curiosity, experimentation, and play. Discover how art, making, and playful thinking can spark fresh ideas, strengthen collaboration, and inspire new approaches to teaching, research, design, and everyday challenges. Together we will explore simple, accessible practices that can help cultivate a more creative life at work and beyond.