The Emotional Labor of Public Librarians Becoming STEAM Facilitators

Abstract

This paper shows what urban librarians who went out in the community to work with families in communal spaces learned about going outside the library walls and how they emotionally processed the experience. Few studies have considered the emotional burden placed on informal learning providers as they take up new practices and organizational goals. Although it is widely recognized that informal learning spaces are valuable to help children and families learn new skills and develop STEM interest (NRC, 2009), little thought and effort generally goes into the curriculum and reflection practices necessary to support facilitators who provide such programs. Since these workshops are important sources of learning for people who might not otherwise have access to STEM learning outside of a classroom, the project team involved in this study felt was important to fully support facilitators in the learning and execution of the work.