Service Learning Librarian
A discussion hub focused on service-learning and its connections to libraries, librarians, and information literacy.
The blog chronicles several instruction models that integrate service-learning with information literacy and explore other connections between community-engaged learning and libraries. Librarians, teaching faculty, and community engagement professionals alike will find inspiration for creative pedagogies and partnerships that encourage deep reflection, community connections, and research skills. Guest posts welcome!
Recent Posts
The Concert for Literacy last week raised about $12,000 for Project READ in ticket sales alone (according to Project READ's Facebook post). And that didn't include all of the raffle tickets the volunteers (myself included) sold! It was a great time and a beautiful night.
... Continue readingAbout this time last year, I approached a friend, Craig This, who teaches a UVC 101 course (first-year seminar or FYS). I told him I'd like to try a service-learning research project with a UVC 101 class. He jumped at the opportunity and said "Sign me up!" I had already approached a community partner, Project READ, about the potential partnership, and they had also (enthusiastically!) agreed to accept students' research and service. I wasn't sure what kind of project we could accomplish in just two short class sessions. FYS instructors have so much other ... Continue reading
Our EDT 110 class community partner, Project READ, has a huge fundraiser next week. The 7th annual Concert for Literacy will take place Thursday, June 30 at 8 p.m. at the Fraze Pavillion in Kettering, Ohio, featuring Parrots of the Caribbean (A Jimmy Buffett Tribute Band). Tickets are $10 for adults and $3 for children 10 and under. All proceeds benefit Project READ. My co-instructor, Cheryl, and I will be there to support our partner. This is a great way to maintain and strengthen our relationship with them.
... Continue readingThe American Library Association received a grant from the Fetzer Institute to support conversations about community, civility and compassion. Although libraries by their very nature are civically engaged, a program like this will give them a chance to label themselves as such - which might remind others (read: policy makers, patrons, taxpayers, etc.) what they stand for. Read the story in American Libraries to get more details.
... Continue readingSOCHE (Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education) will host the Ohio Teaching & Learning Conference in Dayton October 27 & 28. The theme of the conference is High Impact Learning in a Time of Change, and it will feature George Kuh (founder of the National Survey for Student Engagement) as the keynote speaker. SOCHE is hosting the event in conjunction with the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of College and Universities, Northeast Ohio Council for Higher Education, and the Ohio Board of Regents. The call for proposals is out, and the (priority) deadline is July 29.
... Continue readingOne of the emerging themes at the ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries) conference was demonstrating the value of academic libraries (see Megan Oakleaf: Evolution or Revolution? Strategies for Demonstrating the Library's Impact in a New World of Assessment). This current discussion on the value and impact of academic libraries, including a post by Derek Rodriguez, "Understanding Library Impacts on Student Learning" ( http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2011/understanding-library-impacts-on-student-learning/) has again gotten me thinking ... Continue reading
In October, Jennifer Nutefall & I will lead an ACRL Webcast, Service Learning and Information Literacy: Models for Engagement. Details are available here: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/events/elearning/courses/service…
... Continue reading"Research for the greater good: Incorporating service-learning in an information literacy course at Wright State University" was published in this month's (June 2011) College & Research Libraries News. I hope this encourages other librarians to try a similar service-learning model for their information literacy course.
... Continue readingWright State University is graduating its very first citizen scholar this June. The citizen scholar program was designed by the WSU Office of Service Learning and supports WSU's mission to "engage in significant community service." Students in the program complete multiple service-learning courses throughout their college careers. You can read more about it if you click on the link above. Yesterday, Tara Purvis, a social work major, presented her capstone research project about a gardening program in a juvenile rehabilitation center. The program was implemented in 2009, and evaluated in ... Continue reading
How could libraries become the community partner in a service-learning partnership? What kinds of projects could service-learners do WITH libraries? This is one of the questions that was discussed at the roundtable discussion about service-learning at the ACRL (Assoc. of College & Research Libraries) annual conference. One of the Research Academy attendees I met last week (who works in her institution's equivalent of the Office of Service-Learning) told me she had just approached the library director at her institution to explore opportunities for the library to become involved in ... Continue reading