JANE COLLABORATIVE:
A DINOSAUR, A MUSEUM, AND 64 LIBRARIES
Betsy Carlson (’71)
Burpee Museum
737 North Main Street, Rockford, IL 61103
Burpee Museum of Natural History of Rockford, Illinois designed the Jane
collaborative as one partnership between sixty-four small urban and rural public
libraries throughout Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Burpee is in the
second year of the Jane Collaborative, a two year program funded by an Institute
for Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant. Here we present
the results of various aspects of the Jane Collaborative and its outreach programs
as computed by an independent evaluator from Northwestern University, using
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The collaboration is built around “Jane,” the
Tyrannosaurid dinosaur found by the museum in 2001. The museum used Jane as
a bridge into the world of science through existing institutions of learning: the
Burpee Museum and local libraries. Since roughly one-fifth of the American
population lives in rural area, the Jane collaborative is a model that can be applied
nationwide. With small rural schools frequently lacking real science
opportunities, these libraries have invited science classes to attend Jane
Collaborative programs. Prior to the Jane Collaborative only 45 percent of the
libraries had sponsored any type of science or technology program in the previous
year, and those appeared to have been a type of computer training course. The
libraries have now established Jane Corners that provide the public with engaging
information about paleontology and “Jane.” The Jane Collaborative serves as a
nationwide model for small and rural library/school/museum partnerships to use a
high impact specimen and/or exhibit to create greater awareness of both library
and museum resources. While the exhibit will change, the core concepts
proposed by the Jane Collaborative model will remain the same: 1) professional
development training for librarians by museum staff; 2) educational resources for
libraries; 3) museum staff-led outreach activities for libraries; 4) web-based
discussion boards for librarians to interact with one another and museum
educators and scientists. To date, the outreach presentations reached 6088
individuals. The library staff gave an average score of 9 out of 10 (high) for the
presentations.