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