Dr. Don Latham, Professor at the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), Florida’s iSchool, has been awarded a National Leadership Planning Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

The grant will be led by Dr Latham (Principal Investigator) and includes Dr. Melissa Gross (School of Library and Information Studies, FSU), Dr. Shelbie Witte (School of Teacher Education, FSU), and Dr. Heidi Julien (Department of Library and Information Studies, University at Buffalo).

The collaborative research project will collect and analyze data on how STEM teachers can most effectively collaborate with librarians. The data will be collected at focus groups held at four national conferences: the American Association of School Librarians, the Public Library Association, the National Science Teachers Association, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. This variety of participants at these conferences will allow for diverse opinions, thoughts, and ideas to be compiled, supporting the analysis of how the collaboration between STEM teacher and librarian is working today and providing recommendations on how it could be improved. The overall goal of this planning grant is to assess what is happening in the field so the information can then be shared with the educational and library communities for greater impact.

According to Dr. Latham, “Our team is very pleased to have the opportunity to investigate both best practices and challenges in STEM teacher and librarian collaboration. We are looking forward to sharing what we learn with various constituent groups and identifying partners for future research projects on this important topic.”