Frequently Asked Questions

Contact your local library – Discuss this opportunity with local library staff. If your library doesn’t currently participate in citizen science, find out who oversees new programs and share the free resources SciStarter.org offers at https://scistarter.org/library.

Suggest partnership opportunities – Ask your library if they would like to partner with a community based organization to get support to develop and offer citizen science activities. SciStarter has developed partnerships with groups like the Girl Scouts, 4-H, amateur astronomers, and the 55+ year old community to help local libraries with citizen science.

Complete the online course – Take the free Foundations of Citizen Science online course at https://scistarter.org/training. Share with your library staff so that together you can gain a solid understanding of citizen science.All of the project kits resources are available digitally. SciStarter provides everything you need to get you started at https://scistarter.org/library-kits page.

Use https://scistarter.org/finder to search for projects by subject, location, age, and even by projects that offer classroom materials.

Your local library may determine a project is important to the community, and be willing to fund building a kit that all interested library users can check out to contribute to scientific research. Local civic groups or clubs like amateur astronomy or gardening groups can also be helpful in learning about and accessing specialized tools. Find a library near you with an interest in citizen science programs on our Library Network Page.

Yes! Citizen science is being offered by public, academic, and school libraries. State libraries are offering grants to help fund citizen science project kits, and activities. Join the National Citizen and Community Science Network to learn about free training, webinars, and resources for your citizen science program.

Do you have library users who are curious about science issues? Are people checking out materials, or asking for information about subjects like space, gardening, health, and biodiversity? If you answer yes to any of these questions, then offering citizen science research project kits and programs help fill a community need.

SciStarter offers a variety of free resources to assist library staff in developing citizen science activities and programs for your community.

Utilize digital, graphic and print resources – Go to https://scistarter.org/library-promotional-resources to download bookmarks, posters, and fliers for book displays, signage, and outreach programs.

Learn how to build kits – Go to https://scistarter.org/library-build-a-kit to view the complete build-a-kit guides including build instructions, supply lists, and promotional resources.

Many activities and programs can be done for free or low-cost including partnering with local subject matter experts, putting up posters and sharing information about citizen science, and creating book displays.

Creating citizen science kits that fit your community needs is another way to provide tools for collecting project data. Consider speaking with your state library about funding kits or writing a grant proposal to organizations like the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), NASA, private foundations, your Friends of the Library or your local civic organizations and environmental clubs, such as Rotary.

SciStarter has lots of free resources and ideas to help get the word out.

Join the Network! – Join the International Citizen and Community Science Library Network to receive newsletters, opportunities for professional development, and assistance from the Citizen and Community Science Network Team.

Build kits – Build and circulate citizen science kits to your library users. The Build a Kit Guides have links to tools, free downloadable posters, fliers, and bookmarks.

Share your events – Host events and post them on the SciStarter Event Finder webpage at https://SciStarter.org/Events (requires free SciStarter account).

We’d love to hear from you! Please send additional questions to the Library Network Team at: librarynetwork@scistarter.org.