Is "Makerspace" One Word or Two?

The short answer

Both forms are in use, but the closed compound makerspace is now the dominant spelling, and it is the safer default for signage, grant applications, and web copy. The open form maker space still appears in library and education writing and is not wrong — it is the older spelling, from the period when "maker" was still being attached to things. The hyphenated maker-space is rare except as a modifier, as in "maker-space budget."

Why there are two spellings at all

English compounds tend to migrate from two words to hyphenated to one word as they become familiar — the same path web site took to website. "Makerspace" is mid-migration but well past the tipping point. You can see the one-word form in professional usage: the Public Library Association files its planning and programming hub under Makerspaces, and the national maker association's resource library uses the closed compound throughout its operations and funding material.

The two-word spelling persists mainly in three places: older institutional documents that were never restyled, academic writing that treats "maker" as an adjective describing a kind of space, and house styles at organizations that adopted the term early.

Capitalization

Lowercase makerspace is correct in running text. Capitalize only when it is part of a proper name — the name of a specific facility, as in "the Riverside Public Library Makerspace."

Two related terms do take capitals:

Fab Lab is conventionally capitalized when it refers to a lab in the global network defined by the Fab Charter, though lowercase "fab lab" is extremely common and generally accepted. It is two words either way; "fablab" as one word appears in European usage and in domain names.
Product and program names — vendor-packaged school labs, for instance — are trademarks and should be written exactly as the vendor writes them. If you are weighing one of those against a self-built room, see SmartLab vs. makerspace.

Plurals and derived forms

Plural: makerspaces. No apostrophe, ever.
As a modifier: makerspace equipment, makerspace budget. The hyphen is optional and usually unnecessary.
Person: there is no settled noun for someone who uses one. "Maker," "member," and "user" all appear; institutional documents tend to say "user" because it matches policy language.
Related compounds follow the same drift: hackerspace is almost always one word, tool library almost always two.

Practical consistency advice

The spelling matters less than picking one and holding it. A few places inconsistency causes real friction:

Grant applications and board proposals. Reviewers notice when the title, the budget narrative, and the appendix disagree. Choose the closed compound and run a find-and-replace before submitting.
Signage and wayfinding. Door signs, floor plans, and the campus directory should match, or people will search the directory for the wrong string.
Policy documents. Safety and access plans get cited and quoted; institutional examples such as Binghamton University's makerspace safety program use one consistent form, which makes the document easier to reference. Our overview of how spaces structure training and access covers what those documents typically contain.
Web copy and directory listings. Search engines handle the variants well, but internal site search and spreadsheet filters do not. If you maintain a directory, normalize the field.

If you are searching rather than writing

When you are looking for a facility, try both spellings plus the alternative names — "fab lab," "fabrication lab," "hackerspace," "innovation lab." Different institutions index themselves differently, and a university shop may only be listed under its department. Other names for makerspaces covers the full vocabulary, and how to find an official fab lab near you explains the one case where the name is a verifiable claim rather than a style choice.