Resources

Public Libraries & STEM Background Reports

Conference resources highlight public libraries’ current needs, barriers, and opportunities to accessing and/or producing STEM programs, products, services, or staff training. Six Background Reports have been commissioned to provide a common framework for conference participants. Background information addresses the need for collaborations in our fast-changing world and highlight the unique capabilities and reach of public libraries. These documents set the stage for examining how libraries can be valued players within the “STEM Learning Ecosystem” — a network that includes schools, museums and science centers, community settings, and home experiences — working in harmony to facilitate STEM learning. Resources in this section are available as PDFs. These papers should also be a useful resource for STEM and library professionals as part of ongoing Leadership Forum activities after the conference. Check out the resources below.

• Paul Dusenbery (Director, National Center for Interactive Learning/Space Science Institute): A Bibliography of Key Papers and Reports Related to STEM Learning in Libraries
• John Falk (Sea Grant Professor of Free‐Choice Learning, Oregon State University): The Science Learning Ecosystem
• Margaret Glass (Director, Professional Development, Association of Science-Technology Centers): Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums: Case Studies in Collaboration
• David Lankes (Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies): Expect More: Why Libraries Cannot Become STEM Educators
• Marsha Semmel (Principal, Marsha Semmel Consulting): “Collective Impact” and STEM Learning: Joining Forces to Make a Difference in Communities 
• Maddie Zeigler (Museum Education Outreach Specialist and Cultural Expert):  Engaging Audiences Underrepresented in STEM Fields

Other Relevant Resources

• John Baek: Public Libraries as Places for STEM Learning
• John Baek: The Accidental STEM Librarian
• Paul Dusenbery: The STEM Education Movement in Public Libraries
• Paul Dusenbery: STAR Library Education Network (STAR_Net)
• John Falk and Lynn Dierking: The 95% Solution
• IMLS: Museums, Libraries, and 21st Century Skills
• The Aspen Institute: Rising To The Challenge-Re-Envisioning Public Libraries and Strategies for Success
• The Noyce Foundation, Kathleen Traphagen and Saskia Traill: Report from the Field: How Cross-Sector Collaborations Are Advancing STEM Learning
• The National Research Council:  STEM Learning Is Everywhere: Summary of a Convocation on Building Learning Systems
• Beverly B. Hobbs, Barbara Sawer, and Oregon State University:  Engaging Latino Youth in Community-based Programs:  Findings from the first ten years of the Oregon 4-H Latino Outreach Project
• Pew Research Center:  Public’s Knowledge of Science and Technology
• John Kania and Mark Kramer: Collective Impact
• New York Hall of Science:  Making Meaning [M2]
• Marsha Semmel:  Museum Leadership in a Hyper-Connected World:  Six Skills for Leaders at All Levels
• IMLS:  Growing Young Minds