I honestly think a library is the best place for a general public makerspace for 90% of cases. That last 10% encompasses famous ones in specific cities like Noisebridge in SF or c-base in Berlin (all of which can only exist in that city’s culture scene) and also smaller, niche spaces such as Curious Forge, DIY or die (sadly defunct), etc.

My local library system offers a limited “makerspace” program[0] that does some of this stuff within the library, but I think something that should be more integrated is their Library of Things[1] program which allows patrons to take home all sorts of tools and equipment that are just not used very often.

I think more library systems should be granted the freedom and funding by their governing bodies to create a makerspace.

Footnote: The other option I didn’t address was to have schools/universities maintain them, but those are always reserved for student and faculty.

[0]: https://www.saclibrary.org/Education/Tech-Creation/Makerspac...

[1]: https://www.saclibrary.org/Books-Media/Specialty-Checkouts/L...