Rural Gateways: Fostering the Development of Rural Librarians as Informal Science Facilitators

由于地理上的隔绝，农村社区往往得不到非正式的STEM(科学、技术、工程和数学)教育系统的服务。作为加强在非正规环境中学习的总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习(AISL)计划为创新资源提供资金，供包括农村社区在内的各种环境使用。因此，该项目将有助于将农村图书馆和图书馆管理员发展成为STEM学习中心和促进者，他们将利用社区资产为青年提供职业选择的新视野，并在增强的STEM知识库上为成年人提供新的视野。透过网上专业发展计划，图书馆员工将增进知识，在社区发展和支援新的STEM学习机制。这项计划将从申请者中选出110间乡村图书馆，让他们掌握有关如何促进STEM学习的先进知识。预计工作人员将从STEM知识传授的顾问转变为促进者。该项目是达特茅斯学院、多米尼加大学、学习创新研究所、道森、媒体集团和Califa集团的合作项目。研究问题涉及：对农村图书馆员的STEM效能和职业认同感进行量化评估，以及确定多种形式的专业发展和学习工具对农村图书馆员参与和促进非正式STEM学习的能力的效力和影响。

Due to geographical isolation, rural communities are often underserved by the informal STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education system. As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings including rural communities. Thus, this project will help to develop rural libraries and librarians into STEM learning centers and facilitators who will use community assets providing new horizons for youth on career choices and adults on an enhanced STEM knowledge base. Through online professional development exercises, the library staff will enhance their knowledge, enabling them to develop and support new STEM learning mechanisms in their communities.In this project, 110 rural libraries will be chosen from applicants to obtain advanced knowledge of how to facilitate STEM learning. It is anticipated that the staff will change from being resource persons to facilitators of STEM knowledge transfer. The project is a collaboration between Dartmouth College, Dominican University, the Institute of Learning Innovation, Dawson, Media Group, and the Califa Group. The research questions address: a quantitative assessment of rural librarian's STEM efficacy and professional identity, and a determination of the efficacy and impact of multiple forms of professional development and learning tools on rural librarians' ability to participate in and facilitate informal STEM learning.