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Enhancing awareness of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
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New knowledge created/knowledge gaps filled
The paper is unique in that it is the first publication documenting local initiatives which Jamaican academic libraries can implement, and it is also the first publication highlighting the initiatives of a Jamaican academic library in promoting the STEM concept.
Specific benefits to be derived - potential impact on society
This study is of value as it not only underscores the value of emphasising STEM in a developing country context, pointing to its nexus with economic advancement, but it also highlights strategies that can be used to enhance STEM awareness. Moreover, it specifically documents, by way of case study, the initiative that has been taken by the UWI Mona library in this area, and this should be helpful for lesson drawing. It could also be used as a prompt to encourage industries to get involved in, and partner with institutions, such as libraries, to promote STEM initiatives that align with their own needs and interests.
Possible direct application of outcomes to industry
The information provided in this qualitative case study highlights the strategies that libraries, in general, and school libraries, in particular, can use to promote STEM awareness. The study revealed strategies ranging from those that may be done solo, to those that may require partnering with others to implement; those for patrons and non-patrons, and those for members of the library team. These strategies have implications for practice and policy, namely: librarians will need to utilise the available opportunities and spaces to enhance awareness of STEM information.
New partnerships being developed
The study points to the need for librarians to adopt a multi- pronged approach to STEM awareness which should include initiatives aimed at collaboration and partnership with those outside the library fraternity. Librarians will also need to create an innovative and inclusive marketing policy to promote STEM resources within and without the library.
Cognisant of the pivotal new role librarians will need to play, the paper suggests that the UWI’s Department of Library & Information
Studies (DLIS), which is the largest trainer of librarians in the Caribbean, will need to revise the Library Information Services (LIS) curriculum to place emphasis on the STEM concept. The Department may also need to re-brand some of its courses. For example, the course “Information Resources in the Sciences” may need to be re-branded “Information Resources for STEM” and the content may need to be expanded to give added impetus and focus to each area within the concept STEM. At the same time, it is observed that changing one course will not solve all the problems, neither can LIS schools. LIS schools cannot cover every detail; the courses are designed to provide the basic elements for effective librarianship.
It is further argued that STEM librarians will need to embark on continuing education with a view to including not just technology and math related courses, but also courses in science and engineering. Indeed, given the pervasive importance of STEM, LIS schools may also want to add another dimension to the fieldwork experience whereby students are aligned to an institution focusing on one or more of the following: science, technology, engineering or math. LIS schools should also consider partnering with STEM departments to offer LIS degrees with majors in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. School libraries need, now more than ever, to create an environment that promotes and supports STEM.
Significantly, the Ministry of Education in Jamaica is currently collaborating with the Human Employment and Resource Training Trust / National Training Agency (HEART Trust/NTA) to establish STEM academies in the nation’s technical high schools. The partnership with the HEART Trust will provide for a focus on technical education so that STEM subjects may become preferred options for students. In this regard, all the HEART Trust/NTA libraries have embarked upon a programme to enhance their awareness of STEM strategies that they can implement toward this goal. It is instructive to note that this paper and its findings formed the foundation for the very first STEM seminar for HEART Trust/NTA librarians’ islandwide in 2014.
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