Please join us for the STS Hot Topics Winter Virtual Panel Discussion on Science Communication and Libraries!
Discussion Description:
Libraries have long played a role in gathering and providing access to scientific research. However, in today's media landscape, the ways in which our patrons find, interpret, and engage with scientific information is constantly changing. For many, it is becoming increasingly difficult to discern credible scientific information from false and misleading claims. How should librarians adapt to these changing circumstances? What role should librarians play in communicating science to patrons and the broader community? What do other professions, such as popular science writers and public information officers, teach us about effectively communicating scientific findings to a broader audience? Please join us for a lively panel discussion featuring a science reporter, a public information officer for a science institution, and an academic science librarian as they explore ways libraries can engage with students, researchers, and the public in communicating, interpreting, and evaluating scientific information.
Discussion Format:
This session will be a moderated panel discussion. During this session, the panelists will discuss ways that librarians can engage in science communication and answer questions submitted by the audience. To help guide this discussion, audience members will be able to submit questions when they register for this session. Audience members will also be able to comment and ask questions via chat during the session. Zoom polling of audience members will be used to facilitate group discussion. This session will not be recorded and will only be available live.
Panelist Bios:
Leah Crane is a reporter at New Scientist, a UK-based science magazine. She writes primarily about physics and space, and is particularly interested in planetary science, cosmology, and quantum weirdness. Before joining New Scientist, she was a freelance science writer. She received her bachelor's degree in physics with a minor in European studies at Carleton College in Minnesota and now lives in Chicago.
Natasha Metzler. As the Associate Director for Digital Media and Content Strategy at the Carnegie Institution for Science, Natasha Metzler helps about 400 Earth, space, and life scientists share their work with the press and the public using social media, news releases, and digital storytelling. She is also overseeing a website redesign across the institution and implementing a digital-first communications strategy for many of the organization's collateral products, including an annual report microsite. Before joining Carnegie's team, she was a reporter at the Associated Press in Washington and covered scientific research for a pharmaceutical industry trade magazine in New York. She has a master's in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism and a bachelor's in biology from Earlham College.
Jeanine Scaramozzino is a tenured Librarian (i.e. Professor), at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She currently serves as the Librarian for the College of Science and Mathematics & School of Education. She co-created a Science Café series, and created a Data Studio speaker series as well as a STEAM series with a local art museum open to the campus and local community. Her current research focuses on the sharing of history and research through Artificial Intelligence. Ms. Scaramozzino has served as the Cal Poly Academic and Scholarly Communications (ASC) Coordinator, Institutional Repository Librarian, and Data and GIS Services Librarian. She has previously worked as a Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics Librarian and an adjunct reference and instructional librarian, and at Stanford University. Ms. Scaramozzino has a bachelor's in biology and graduate degrees in biology, information sciences, and history.
Registration:
Participation in this discussion is free of charge and open to all. To participate in this Hot Topics Discussion, you must first complete an online registration. You will be emailed a Zoom link and instructions for joining this session after you register.
Please direct any questions or comments to the STS Hot Topics Committee co-chairs, Isabella Baxter (ibaxter@umd.edu) and Michael Goates (michael_goates@byu.edu).
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Michael Goates
Life Sciences Librarian
Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
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