Libraries as Emerging Spaces for Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning in Schools and Communities

Abstract

Libraries are undergoing a reconceptualization in their roles as lifelong learning centers for local communities, with STEM content areas and Maker activities receiving special emphasis. This represents a critical and unique research, design, and partnership opportunity for learning scientists and computer-supported collaborative learning scholars. This symposium brings together project teams from four different locales in the United States that have partnered with libraries to bring about new resources and activities that emphasize computer-supported collaborative learning. These projects represent major urban libraries, special collections, community branch libraries, and school libraries. By bringing together these different teams, this symposium aims to promote dialogue about the affordances and constraints associated with CSCL-oriented activity design in libraries, identify commonalities and differences across region and library types, and ground-truth what specific challenges and solutions have been identified in researcher-library partnerships.