Today's post is by guest author Shauna Edson, Instructional Design Librarian at University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

Today's post is by guest author Lorelei Rutledge, Associate Librarian, Faculty Services at University of Utah Marriott Library

Libraries have been involved in service-learning for years through instruction for service-learning courses, displaying and archiving related course projects, and providing assistance in finding and conducting research necessary for community-based work. But it’s only recently been moving toward a more systematic and programmatic approach. One tool that can assist libraries is the Self-Assessment Rubric for Development of Service Learning Programs in Academic Libraries, developed by Katherine Kott.

As the editorial team prepares to relaunch the Service-learning Librarian blog, we reviewed the blog's purpose. We envision this blog as the hub of a wheel, connecting those in academic libraries supporting service-learning efforts on their campuses. Our work may look different in our various settings, but we can learn from each other. To use another metaphor, a tree as the blog's new graphic shows, library workers can and do support the growth and vitality of community engagement and impact.

Moderator’s note: This post was written by Anne Marie Gruber, Instruction & Liaison Librarian, University of Northern Iowa

Every once in awhile, I'll check around to see if there are any new examples of libraries or librarians partnering with service-learning projects in higher education.  What I've noticed is that quite a few libraries provide a service-learning libguide (research guide, for you non-librarians...and even that may not make sense!).  This seems to be the most popular example of library support for service-learning.  In most cases, these are guides to support faculty for finding articles, books, etc.

Academic librarians:  If you're going to the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) conference in April, I hope you'll consider attending the panel presentation:  "From research to action: pairing information literacy and service-learning."  I will be co-presenting with my friend and co-instructor, Dr. Sarah Twill, a Wright State Social Work professor, my friend and fellow service-learning enthusiast, Jennifer Nutefall, University Librarian at Santa Clara University, and Dr. Maggie Stevens, Executive Director of Indiana Campus Compact.

The new issue of LOEX Quarterly is out, and my article is finally published!  Thank you, Brad Seitz, Managing Editor, for your patience and guidance while I was working on this article.  Part II will be published in the next issue. Barry, M. (2011).  Librarians as Partners in Service-Learning Courses (Part I).  LOEX Quarterly: 38(1), Article 5. Check it out if your library belongs to LOEX!

Let me begin this guest post with a short introduction.  My name is Chris Sweet and I am the Information Literacy Librarian at Illinois Wesleyan University (Central Illinois). I had been following Maureen's blog as well as her publications for some time prior to meeting her in-person at this year's LOEX Conference in Columbus, OH. Both of us have discovered a real passion for service-learning and have seen first-hand how adding information literacy elements to service-learning courses can create even stronger and more effective classes.

This morning, I read an article posted in the online American Libraries, called Community Reference:  Making libraries indispensible in a new way by Colbe Galston, Elizabeth Kelsen Huber, Katherine Johnson, and Amy Long.  It reminded me a lot of why I chose to explore service-learning as an option for my information literacy course 5 years ago.  They highlight many of the same concepts in their endeavors to get out into the community that are vital to a successful academic service-learning relationships.  The authors stress the importance of w