Our Mission
Little STEM Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on a mission to increase access to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics books for curious minds of all ages โ everywhere, for free.
We do this by building a global network of community-maintained STEM mini-libraries: small, weather-proof book-sharing boxes installed in neighborhoods, parks, schoolyards, and community centers. Anyone can take a book, and anyone can leave one.
We were founded in 2018 after our founder, Dr. Priya Nair, a pediatric oncologist and passionate STEM advocate, noticed that the children she cared for in under-resourced communities had almost no access to engaging science books outside of school.
Our Vision
A Little STEM Library in every community. A science book in every curious hand.
We envision a world where a child who falls in love with robotics in rural Montana, or marine biology in inner-city Baltimore, or astrophysics in a township outside Cape Town, can find a book that speaks to that passion โ for free, right in their neighborhood.
STEM literacy is not a luxury. It is a civic right. When communities understand science, they make better decisions about health, environment, technology, and democracy.
Our Story
Dr. Priya Nair placed the first Little STEM Library โ a handmade cedar box painted with the periodic table โ outside her home in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the spring of 2018. Within a week, all 40 books were gone. Within a month, neighbors were refilling it.
By the end of 2018, six more libraries had sprung up across the city. By 2020, the network had grown to 800 libraries across 12 states. Today, Little STEM Library is a global movement with registered libraries on all seven continents.
We are headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with regional hubs in London, Nairobi, Bengaluru, and Sรฃo Paulo.
Start Your Own LibraryMeet Our Team
Dr. Priya Nair
Founder & Executive Director
Pediatric oncologist, STEM advocate, and the person who painted the first periodic-table library box.
James Okafor
Chief Technology Officer
Software engineer and open-source advocate who built our steward map platform and mobile app.
Maria Santos
Director of Programs
Former K-12 science teacher who designs our school partnership curriculum and Girls in STEM program.
๐ Awards & Recognition
National Science Foundation Community Impact Award 2022 ยท Library of Congress Innovation in Literacy Prize 2023 ยท Fast Company World Changing Ideas (Education) 2024 ยท Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Impact (Dr. Nair) 2021