STEM in libraries: in conversation with Keliann LaConte, 22 August 2019
This presentation (PowerPoint slides) accompanies the webinar summarising the state of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) programming in Australian libraries.
Over the past decade, Keliann LaConte has worked with library, education, and STEM professionals to support the “STEM in libraries” movement in the United States. She is the co-manager of the NASA@ My Library initiative, which is funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorate and provides hands-on NASA activities, kits, and training to public and state libraries, nationally.
As a 2018-19 Fulbright Global Scholar, Keliann is conducting research and professional development on the topic of STEM learning in libraries in Australia and the UK. Keliann is the Principle Investigator of the project, STAR Library Network Phase 3: Enhancing STEAM Equity and Learning Opportunities in Libraries and Their Rural Communities, which is generously funded by the National Science Foundation. Her training includes a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Denver; she also has a master's degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from Caltech, and she performed astrobiology research at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Last year she spent some time in Australia undertaking research to provide a snapshot of the state of STEM programming in Australian libraries and developed directions for ongoing collaboration at the intersection of STEM and libraries. This year she's in the UK, looking at how they do things there.
