STEM, Teens, and Public Libraries: It’s Easier Than You Think!

Before delving into the assimilation of STEM in teen library services, it’s important to establish exactly what STEM is. STEM is officially an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math. There are also other versions of the same concept floating around. For example, one might append “medicine” to the end of the acronym to create STEMM. Rhode Island School of Design created a website http://stemtosteam.org, to promote the idea of adding arts to the emphasis on STEM education. For the purposes of this article, we will consider STEM only, assuming that medicine fits into the broader term of science. Why STEM? STEM is in the national pedagogical zeitgeist, so promoting it in your libraries will keep you at pace with the national dialogue on education. Everyone, from Obama to Elmo, is talking about STEM these days. The White House’s STEM coalition writes on its website: “In 2009, President Obama set an ambitious goal: to move U.S. students from the middle to the top of the pack in math and science achievement over the next decade.” (1) Obama and Elmo are promoting STEM education because the United States currently faces a shortage of skilled workers in the science, engineering and technology sectors. (2) We know STEM is important to education, but thinking about STEM in the library can be daunting. We spend so much time on readers’ advisory and working to make books appealing, but we don’t always think about including web resources or nonfiction into our readers’ advisory or other responsibilities. But even the most die-hard liberal arts majors need not fear. You don’t have to have a Ph.D. in chemistry to better serve the teens, parents, and educators in your community who are hungry for STEM. You are supporting schools and parents by explicitly offering and promoting these resources. How It All Started for Us The teen staff of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh began our endeavor to consciously integrate STEM resources in 2009. The library applied for and received a generous grant from J.B. Finley Charitable Trust and Elizabeth Shiras Charitable Trust through the PNC Charitable Trust Grant Review Committee. The purpose of the grant was to build and promote the library’s STEM nonfiction collection to better serve middle and high school students. This grant allowed us to purchase items for many different collections housed throughout the entire system. At the main library; the teen department; the Job, Career, and Education Center; and the film and audio department all collected materials within the grant parameters. In addition, all neighborhood locations received new STEM materials. We also had funds to add STEM resources to our website and to create print promotional materials, such as booklists and posters. Collections Staff had one year to collect STEM items with the grant funds. The team chosen to collect had years of experience with nonfiction written for middle or high school audiences. Luckily, as the publishing industry has seen growth in young adult fiction, so has young adult nonfiction experienced growth. STEM subject books series such as The Manga Guide to … (with individual titles such as Calculus and Electricity) from No Starch Press 2009, and standalone titles such as Why Pi by Johnny Ball (DK Publishers, 2009) appeal to teens with their colorful graphics and website like graphic design. In our Job, Career, and Education Center, series such as Careers in Focus (Ferguson Publishers) offer a contemporary look at fields like chemistry, engineering, and the internet. The grant also allowed for the collection of nonfiction documentary DVDs on scientific and mathematical topics and career fields. These have been of use to local classrooms. We recognized going into the project that STEM materials in library collections tend to become outdated quickly, and so the items will be reviewed with regularly scheduled deselection projects.