The Sunday Mail
Learnmore James Kagwiro, Senior Librarian Belvedere Technical Teachers College
STEM is now a common word, but not everyone understands what it is or why we need to pursue knowledge on STEM. Information not put to meaningful use is no information at all. Its usefulness is what determines how important it is.
This is where the link between the producer and the consumer in information science becomes vital. Libraries and Information Centres form this important link. People need to know the managers, organisers and disseminators of this initiative. People also want to know the ingredients for STEM for it to be successful. This article provides an overview of STEM in libraries and why it is important for Zimbabwe to embrace it for sustainable socio-economic transformation.
STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The term was introduced by Dr. Judith Barnely in 2001 and has won widespread acceptance as a convenient way of referring to academic subjects. But why is STEM shrouded only in schools and not in places like Siya So and Glen View Home Industries. Does a layman walking in the streets understand this animal called STEM? Following the speech by His Excellency President R. G. Mugabe, “there is need to equip learners with knowledge skills and values that guarantee economic growth and increased opportunities for employment creation, well-rounded citizens who are relevant nationally and competitive globally.” The programme is meant to promote the uptake of science technology, engineering and mathematics and is being promoted through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development. Captains of industry maintain that the fastest growing and highest earning careers in the future will be in STEM fields. Sustainable socio-economic transformation can be driven by investing in STEM disciplines. The study of STEM subjects will result in the industrialisation of the economy and will also create employment.
This is true, but when the information on STEM is haphazardly generated, organised, stored and documented it goes to waste. Libraries are the storehouses of knowledge and the repositories of mankind’s achievements and discoveries. They conserve and transmit our culture. They underpin education, both individual and formal. They feature significantly in our economic welfare; they are crucially related to all intellectual, artistic and creative activities. They are instruments of social and political change. As the guardians of freedom of thought, they are the bastions of liberty. As repositories of information, libraries are the right warehouses for STEM information. Libraries (e.g. academic) must transform concurrently with their parent institutions and ensuring that adequate and relevant resources are available and accessible for this government initiative to bear fruits. Libraries in academic institutions should try their best to disseminate and acquire current and relevant reading materials to students and lecturers. Libraries, though working under stringent financial budgets should align to the needs of STEM (users) because they want to train human capital skills required for the industrialisation of Zimbabwe. Libraries in institutions of higher learning should ensure that resources are made available to users through imbedding in the e-research cyber infrastructure and scholarly communication processes and in information management. Libraries should also add value to the profession through embracing technological changes and upgrading to new technologies.
However, for STEM to be successful it calls for wholesale contribution from the information profession. Information produced in the varied professions need to be created, collected, captured, stored, used and organised in a form most readily accessible to the ‘’consumer-professions’’ which often require current information quickly. The librarian comes quite handy with his/her ‘’Omnibus profession.’’ It is worrying that although essential information is fast being generated on a daily basis, researchers and other professionals are still starved of information in the ever growing information flow. The community expects the library to provide the necessary information required for the accomplishment of this initiative. As experts, librarians should expertly anticipate the information needs of the users in these fields. They should not only collect, organise and store the information, but should make deliberate efforts to disseminate it as much as possible to the relevant target users. To be effective in this, it is important to repackage the information into appropriate media which suit the user categories. This demands a high level of selective dissemination of information (SDI). The librarian must provide outreach services to the practicing users within the locality instead of waiting for the user to come to the library in anticipation.
FUNCTIONS OF A STEMITISED LIBRARIAN
To penetrate to the user needs and gain their acceptance the librarian must produce quality products through synthesising and analysing information. To achieve this he/she should have knowledge of the problems facing the client. No user in his/her correct senses can shun useful information when in dire need of improving his/her academic and professional empowerment. The library and information profession should be able to closely monitor the information requirements of the STEM sector. It is thus important that librarians be adequately involved in the activities of the sector in order to play a more meaningful role in the field. As already mentioned they should endeavour to provide outreach services with keen interest and go out to the practicing user in their locations. The librarian should work in cooperation with Officers in the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, who can offer expert advice in developing outreach services and repackaging of information. It is also important that the librarian maintain links with other nationals and international databases and research centres. It is common practice that librarians are given low status and recognition with instances where any person is tasked to look after a collection of books. Librarians are a special breed of information experts whose education and training is geared to the tasks of articulating of information handling.
The librarian’s main task is to provide for the speedy flow of information between the producers and the users. In other words, the results of research need to be quickly disseminated to the users as soon as they get published. In this process, there is need for the librarian to recognise the importance of new technologies in this area. The combination of sophisticated techniques used to produce the printed word with the newer information media technologies has changed the life of the librarian. There is need therefore for librarians to keep abreast of these new technologies as part of continuing education and training. According to Dr. Tirivangana in his instalment in the Patriot posits that it has become increasingly important that librarians keep abreast, if not ahead, of technology and have certain basic skills. For instance, they must have the knowledge of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), networking, scripting, languages, the ability to deal with the back-end of the Open Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), the ability to translate library services into the online medium, the ability to troubleshoot basic computer and printer problems, or just a good healthy knowledge of emerging technologies.
In academic institutions, library professionals need to do so much online these days, way beyond basic cataloguing and database searching. Stemitised librarians should be able to use search engines and use them well. They need to be able to find quality online resources and educates students on how to use the library and its resources using latest technologies. Although some scholars may have known their way around catalogues, indexes, and the book shelves, most of the newly enrolled students are unfamiliar with what academic libraries contain and how to access information. Stemitised librarians need to help students set up e-mail and teach basic internet skills. As a matter of fact librarians must be able to troubleshoot new technologies. The librarian is supposed to aid the students in the selection of relevant reading materials. One of the major roles of the librarian is to serve as a readers’ advisor, recommending materials that fit each reader’s interests and ability. They also promote the library within the academic community. The more freely a librarian mingles with readers, the greater the amount of assistance he/she renders them, the more intense does the conviction of users, also, become, that the library is a useful institution where resources are availed for the STEM project to succeed.
There are a lot of things that can be done by a stemitised library for its community. The basic functions of a library have gradually changed to encompass not only the collection of books and other printed materials, but the provision of both published and unpublished documents in various forms and formats. Computers and other digital gadgets have taken the lead as tools of information services provision because of their versatility by increasing access. Users would like quick references on many areas of interest to them and the stemitised library should always be ready to provide quick reference using locally generated tools and publications where possible.
Students, YOU CAN SEND YOUR ARTICLES THROUGH E-MAIL, FACEBOOK, WHATSAPP or TEXT Just app Charles Mushinga on 0772936678 or send your articles, pictures, poetry, art . . . to Charles Mushinga at [email protected] or [email protected] or follow Charles Mushinga on Facebook or @charlesmushinga on Twitter. You can also post articles to The Sunday Mail Bridge, PO Box 396, Harare or call 0772936678.
STEM is now a common word, but not everyone understands what it is or why we need to pursue knowledge on STEM. Information not put to meaningful use is no information at all. Its usefulness is what determines how important it is. This is where the link between the producer and the consumer in information science becomes vital.
Libraries and Information Centres form this important link. People need to know the managers, organisers and disseminators of this initiative. People also want to know the ingredients for STEM for it to be successful. This article provides an overview of STEM in libraries and why it is important for Zimbabwe to embrace it for sustainable socio-economic transformation.
STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The term was introduced by Dr. Judith Barnely in 2001 and has won widespread acceptance as a convenient way of referring to academic subjects. But why is STEM shrouded only in schools and not in places like Siya So and Glen View Home Industries. Does a layman walking in the streets understand this animal called STEM? Following the speech by His Excellency President R. G. Mugabe, “there is need to equip learners with knowledge skills and values that guarantee economic growth and increased opportunities for employment creation, well-rounded citizens who are relevant nationally and competitive globally.” The programme is meant to promote the uptake of science technology, engineering and mathematics and is being promoted through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development. Captains of industry maintain that the fastest growing and highest earning careers in the future will be in STEM fields. Sustainable socio-economic transformation can be driven by investing in STEM disciplines. The study of STEM subjects will result in the industrialisation of the economy and will also create employment.
This is true, but when the information on STEM is haphazardly generated, organised, stored and documented it goes to waste. Libraries are the storehouses of knowledge and the repositories of mankind’s achievements and discoveries. They conserve and transmit our culture. They underpin education, both individual and formal. They feature significantly in our economic welfare; they are crucially related to all intellectual, artistic and creative activities. They are instruments of social and political change. As the guardians of freedom of thought, they are the bastions of liberty. As repositories of information, libraries are the right warehouses for STEM information. Libraries (e.g. academic) must transform concurrently with their parent institutions and ensuring that adequate and relevant resources are available and accessible for this government initiative to bear fruits. Libraries in academic institutions should try their best to disseminate and acquire current and relevant reading materials to students and lecturers. Libraries, though working under stringent financial budgets should align to the needs of STEM (users) because they want to train human capital skills required for the industrialisation of Zimbabwe. Libraries in institutions of higher learning should ensure that resources are made available to users through imbedding in the e-research cyber infrastructure and scholarly communication processes and in information management. Libraries should also add value to the profession through embracing technological changes and upgrading to new technologies.
However, for STEM to be successful it calls for wholesale contribution from the information profession. Information produced in the varied professions need to be created, collected, captured, stored, used and organised in a form most readily accessible to the ‘’consumer-professions’’ which often require current information quickly. The librarian comes quite handy with his/her ‘’Omnibus profession.’’ It is worrying that although essential information is fast being generated on a daily basis, researchers and other professionals are still starved of information in the ever growing information flow. The community expects the library to provide the necessary information required for the accomplishment of this initiative. As experts, librarians should expertly anticipate the information needs of the users in these fields. They should not only collect, organise and store the information, but should make deliberate efforts to disseminate it as much as possible to the relevant target users. To be effective in this, it is important to repackage the information into appropriate media which suit the user categories. This demands a high level of selective dissemination of information (SDI). The librarian must provide outreach services to the practicing users within the locality instead of waiting for the user to come to the library in anticipation.
FUNCTIONS OF A STEMITISED LIBRARIAN
To penetrate to the user needs and gain their acceptance the librarian must produce quality products through synthesising and analysing information. To achieve this he/she should have knowledge of the problems facing the client. No user in his/her correct senses can shun useful information when in dire need of improving his/her academic and professional empowerment. The library and information profession should be able to closely monitor the information requirements of the STEM sector. It is thus important that librarians be adequately involved in the activities of the sector in order to play a more meaningful role in the field. As already mentioned they should endeavour to provide outreach services with keen interest and go out to the practicing user in their locations. The librarian should work in cooperation with Officers in the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, who can offer expert advice in developing outreach services and repackaging of information. It is also important that the librarian maintain links with other nationals and international databases and research centres. It is common practice that librarians are given low status and recognition with instances where any person is tasked to look after a collection of books. Librarians are a special breed of information experts whose education and training is geared to the tasks of articulating of information handling.
The librarian’s main task is to provide for the speedy flow of information between the producers and the users. In other words, the results of research need to be quickly disseminated to the users as soon as they get published. In this process, there is need for the librarian to recognise the importance of new technologies in this area. The combination of sophisticated techniques used to produce the printed word with the newer information media technologies has changed the life of the librarian. There is need therefore for librarians to keep abreast of these new technologies as part of continuing education and training. According to Dr. Tirivangana in his instalment in the Patriot posits that it has become increasingly important that librarians keep abreast, if not ahead, of technology and have certain basic skills. For instance, they must have the knowledge of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), networking, scripting, languages, the ability to deal with the back-end of the Open Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), the ability to translate library services into the online medium, the ability to troubleshoot basic computer and printer problems, or just a good healthy knowledge of emerging technologies.
In academic institutions, library professionals need to do so much online these days, way beyond basic cataloguing and database searching. Stemitised librarians should be able to use search engines and use them well. They need to be able to find quality online resources and educates students on how to use the library and its resources using latest technologies. Although some scholars may have known their way around catalogues, indexes, and the book shelves, most of the newly enrolled students are unfamiliar with what academic libraries contain and how to access information. Stemitised librarians need to help students set up e-mail and teach basic internet skills. As a matter of fact librarians must be able to troubleshoot new technologies. The librarian is supposed to aid the students in the selection of relevant reading materials. One of the major roles of the librarian is to serve as a readers’ advisor, recommending materials that fit each reader’s interests and ability. They also promote the library within the academic community. The more freely a librarian mingles with readers, the greater the amount of assistance he/she renders them, the more intense does the conviction of users, also, become, that the library is a useful institution where resources are availed for the STEM project to succeed.
There are a lot of things that can be done by a stemitised library for its community. The basic functions of a library have gradually changed to encompass not only the collection of books and other printed materials, but the provision of both published and unpublished documents in various forms and formats. Computers and other digital gadgets have taken the lead as tools of information services provision because of their versatility by increasing access. Users would like quick references on many areas of interest to them and the stemitised library should always be ready to provide quick reference using locally generated tools and publications where possible.
Students, YOU CAN SEND YOUR ARTICLES THROUGH E-MAIL, FACEBOOK, WHATSAPP or TEXT Just app Charles Mushinga on 0772936678 or send your articles, pictures, poetry, art . . . to Charles Mushinga at [email protected] or [email protected] or follow Charles Mushinga on Facebook or @charlesmushinga on Twitter. You can also post articles to The Sunday Mail Bridge, PO Box 396, Harare or call 0772936678.
