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STEaM into Sydney conference Title of the presentation Steaming into professional developmentAbstractStaff in Public Library Services (PLS) at the State Library of NSW have been providing support to public libraries interested in STEaM and making through the provision of an email list and video conferences, in partnership with the Reference and Information Services working group, highlighting what is happening across NSW public libraries in the area of STEaM and making. These videoconferences build on a seminar organised by PLS about making and craftivism in 2015 which encouraged partnerships. The email list is used for discussions of making including STEaM. There is also a board about making on the PLS Pinterest account and images are included in the PLS Flickr and Instagram accounts which are used to share information about public libraries visited by Public Library Services staff. In addition, the Know Your Standards kit, developed by the Drug Info service at the State Library of NSW can be used for learning about science. Support has also been provided for several STEaM projects in NSW public libraries through Library development grants, Public library infrastructure grants and Local priority grants. The work by Public Library Services staff encourages community partnerships, information sharing between public library staff, provides openly accessible information (videos, photographs, Pinterest) and encourages staff across NSW to share ideas. Author(s) name, professional affiliation, postal address, e-mail addressAndrea Curr andrea.curr@sl..auEllen Forsyth ellen.forsyth@sl..auMylee Joseph mylee.joseph@sl..au State Library of NSW, Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 Andrea, Ellen and Mylee work in Public Library Services at the State Library of New South Wales. They are part of a team which provides specialist advice and support to all local councils providing public library services to the people of NSW.IntroductionSTEaM draws together five disciplines: science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. Historically public libraries have included these areas in the development of collections, catalogues and some public programming. In more recent times, public libraries are embracing the opportunity to incorporate STEaM activities into public library programs for all ages, the redevelopment of library spaces and the provision of specialist equipment. The State Library's Public Library Services team provides specialist advice and support to all local councils providing public library services to the people of New South Wales (NSW) so it follows that providing professional development opportunities for library staff embracing STEaM helps to build capability and opportunities across the network.STEaM connections can be found in a variety of public library activities including readers’ advisory work (eg. Book to art club, the book group for the New England Quilt Museum), local studies (eg. Trove articles and Ravelry knitting patterns, reproduction of heritage sites in Minecraft or 3D printing), reference (eg. creating a 3D printed model to answer a client enquiry), adult programs (eg. Know Your Standards and culinary literacy programs) as well as programming for children and young people. In NSW there have been talks at reference seminars and meetings, and local studies meetings to explore the implications of making on other aspects of library services as Making/STEaM are part of everything which libraries do. It has a place as part of the information service provided by public libraries as well as in how local studies information is recorded. This connection has not been explored in much detail in NSW. Seminar The State Library hosted a seminar Makers, Craftivists and Public Libraries on 6 May 2015 to engage a broad audience of NSW public library staff in exploring a range of ideas and opportunities in the many different areas of creative endeavour that are variously described as makers, hobbyists or STEaM focused programs. We deliberately used the broadest possible definition of makers "... those who love to create things in their spare time (often electronic, often with their own hands). Also called hobbyists." to incorporate a wide variety of inspiration for library activities and initiatives, relying on the local knowledge of public library staff to select the ideas that would be a good fit for their own communities. A couple of industry experts joined the seminar via Google hangout to share their experiences, Jessica Pigza author of BiblioCraft: A Modern Crafter’s Guide to Using Library Resources to Jumpstart Creative Projects and Leann Praine, author of three books Strange Material: Storytelling Through Textiles ; Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti and Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery. These keynote presentations continue to be available via YouTube. Live streaming these talks and making them available via YouTube as well as archiving the tweets and links that were shared during the seminar via Storify and blog posts expands the opportunities for public library staff to view them in regional and remote locations and at a later date as required. We also showcased public libraries who are involved in making so that people would think of a diverse range of programs from knitting to coding as all being about making. These presentations are available from Slideshare.Part of the aim of the seminar was to encourage people to think about partnerships, so presentations from people from Indigenous Digital Excellence, dLUX MediaArts, and Three farm to help library staff see that there were other groups and organisations they could work with.Pinterest, Flickr and InstagramA Pinterest board was created to complement the seminar presentations and to offer a resource for library staff interested in researching maker and STEaM activities further. The board is Makerspaces - collections and connections, a title that reflects the variety of links to be found. The Public Library News journal published a themed issue on makerspaces and STEaM activities in August 2015 following on from the seminar.Other examples of makerspaces and initiatives in public libraries are captured and shared with the network via Flickr (eg. the Imaginarium at Port Macquarie-Hastings Library) and Instagram (eg. poppies at Orange Library and 3D printing at Hornsby Library) accounts. These images are photographed by staff in Public Library Services during visits to public libraries. Email listAn email list was set up after the seminar to create a community of interest and to encourage NSW public library staff to discuss how they are using “making” initiatives and programs at their libraries. There have been some structured discussions, however there is little activity by the 221 subscribers. The email list is open, and anyone anywhere is welcome to subscribe.Videoconferences Public Library Services hosts a series of videoconferences about making, in partnership with the Reference and Information Services working group. The purpose of these is to highlight what is happening across NSW public libraries in the area of STEaM and making. There is the potential to include online presentations from libraries in other states and other countries. The series started with a talk from Laura Damon Moore and Erinn Batykefer from the Library as Incubator Project which “highlights the ways that libraries and artists can work together, and works to strengthen these partnerships”. They had been originally invited to present at the seminar, but as the date did not suit their presentation this seemed an excellent way to start a video series on making. For this and other video presentations either Google+ Hangouts or Blue Jeans are used and the meeting urls are emailed to the making and PLN email lists. People could choose to participate in the hangout or videoconference or watch after the video was available on the Reference and Information Services Youtube channel. Picture: Stephanie Denyer and Dasha Maiorova, Sutherland Shire Libraries, present via videoconferenceVideoconferences, rather than another seminar, were chosen because people did not have to travel to participate. They could be watched at a time which suited and the presenters could share screens and show things on site. The talks have included:Sutherland Library maker spaceLake Macquarie Library and a 3D printed picture bookMakers at Riverina Regional LibraryMaking at Port Macquarie-Hastings LibraryVideoconferencing has meant a wider range of public library staff have been able to present. Most libraries elect to have two presenters for the session and this interaction between presenters works well. These are conversational discussions and the format can be altered to meet the preferences of the presenters. Prior to each presentation the video conference software is tested with each speaker. The videoconferences have improved over time as staff skills in delivering them have increased. We do not aim for perfection but still want to provide a very good professional development experience.While the State Library of NSW values face to face to face meetings for public library staff, to be broadly inclusive for staff working at 368 public libraries across NSW, it is necessary to have videoconferences in the professional development mix. This provides staff across NSW with the ability to access these presentations, whether at the time when they can ask questions or later on. It also enables staff across NSW to connect with the State Library of NSW as the facilitator but without having to travel. Know Your Standards kit Know Your Standards is an alcohol awareness program delivered in public libraries in NSW. The aim of the program is to provide community members with information and resources to improve their knowledge and awareness of standard drinks and the Australian Alcohol Guidelines. This is an example of a STEaM activity for adults to develop community understanding of what a standard drink size is in various types of alcohol. Each library service in NSW has been supplied with a standard drink educational pouring and display kit (resin kit) for use in public programs and displays as part of the Know Your Standards program. The resin kit comes with an interactive activity outline which enables any facilitator to deliver an interactive and informative session regarding standard drinks. The kit can be used with small or large groups.The aim of the kit is to:increase clients knowledge of standard drinksintroduce clients to the different strengths of alcoholic beveragesvisually demonstrate the differences in what constitutes astandard drink for commonly used alcoholic beveragesprovide clients with engaging and interactive activities toincrease sustainable learning regarding alcohol.The resin kit is supported by the print resources held in public libraries such as the Know Your Standards pocket guide, postcards and information on the Drug Info website. The print resources reinforce learning concepts regarding standard drinks and the Australian Alcohol Guidelines.The resin kit can be used in library displays or to deliver an educational standard drinks session. After attending a session clients will:understand what a standard drink is for different alcoholic beveragesbe able to use resources, such as the AlcoCup (standard drink measuring cup) and standard drinks pocket guide or postcard, to developa greater understanding of standard drinksunderstand the importance of knowing about standard drinks to reduce the harms and risks for themselves and others (Australian Alcohol Guidelines).Funding potentialSupport has also been provided for several STEaM projects in NSW public libraries through Library development grants, Public library infrastructure grants and Local priority grants. Other states have built capability in their public library networks through targeted grant programs like the Advance Queensland STEM.I.AM coding and robotics public library grants for libraries to run STEM engagement programs for Indigenous students from grades 5 to 12. Following fads or future focussed?Supporting lifelong learning in their communities is a priority for public libraries. However, the rapid pace of change in technology and community needs is making lifelong learning a professional characteristic of library workers. In supporting public library staff to provide responsive, engaging services that anticipate community needs, the Public Library Services team will continue to facilitate innovation and information sharing in the network. We are still experimenting with what activities have the best impact for professional development and no one method suits everyone. Being together in a room has a different energy to being together online. We are not using an either/or strategy but are applying tools in different ways sometimes with a simple solution like livestreaming via YouTube or Blue Jeans being provided at some seminars. We use the idea of ‘good enough’ technology to provide a workable solution deliberately modelling an experimental approach for library colleagues. It is about trying and improving things rather than aiming for perfect and being too scared to start. Doing this and talking about the methods and what we are learning fits in with an iterative and a maker approach. As Public Library Services staff share their learning, others start a step along and then in turn we can learn from them. We feel this models a STEaM approach to offering professional development. ................
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