Ideas for Supporting Service Learning in a Library

Last week's post was about Service Learning and serving as the client for a class that hopes to be involved in some way with the community. I covered the experiences we have had at Joyner Library with SL classes, and if you need a definition of Service Learning, please go back and see that post. There is another way that the library can be involved with Service Learning--as co-teachers or in an instructional capacity. Admittedly, I have less experience with this realm of support of SL courses. I did see a great presentation at the LOEX Conference in 2015 in Denver on the topic entitled, Where Knowledge Meets Experience: Emphasizing the Library’s Role in an Experiential Learning Initiative bu Elizabeth Price and Rebecca Richardson. I have had some time to digest their presentation and consider it with what I have learned from serving on the Service Learning Committee at ECU. This has led to some possible concrete ways that we as librarians can bring meaning to Service Learning work.

But first, an explanation for the uninitiated. Service Learning courses do not often have traditional research needs. Most of the writing assignments are reflective writing, where the students think about their major, the experiences that they have had, and then write about what they learned and how they feel. For the purposes of this blog post, let's say that the students in our SL class are Nutrition students learning about food deserts. The USDA defines "food deserts" as:

"Food deserts are defined as urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. Instead of supermarkets and grocery stores, these communities may have no food access or are served only by fast food restaurants and convenience stores that offer few healthy, affordable food options."

Source: Department of Agriculture, Centers for Disease Control

In our scenario, I will play the part of the instructional librarian that is assisting in this course. Read on to hear some ways I would suggest to support a Service Learning course.

Maps, Data, & Simply Map 
One powerful way to frame the information for a student is to provide maps and other statistical data about the topic. Above, you will see a map with food deserts demarcated on a US Map. Government documents are a great place to get this information, and students tend to be overwhelmed by finding and making use of Gov Docs. Librarians can help. In the case of ECU, we are in Eastern NC, which may not have ready-made maps for topics like food deserts. The product SimplyMap, which is listed in our Database List, can be of great assistance in plotting Census and other data for a particular area. I love this database and suggest that anyone with access to it check it out. I took a moment to record a video of me using this product and I have put the video online here (2 minutes long).

Finding Journal Articles, Encyclopedias, Newspapers, and more
Of course, this is what we are traditionally known for, but there are trade journals, popular periodicals, and other "less scholarly" readings that may be a positive way for students to connect with the material, too.

Suggesting Associations & Businesses
Another way that librarians can help is to assist with research in to professional associations, businesses, and possible clients for a Service Learning class. Put your research skills to use! In the case of food deserts, you could help find a food bank or put students in touch with the USDA or American Nutrition Association.

Serving as an Embedded Librarian to Answer Research-Related Questions
We simply have too many courses to act as an embedded librarian to many of them, but if Service Learning is your interest and you are able to, you could take a more active role as a co-teacher in the course. Bonus points if you get to go along on a trip somewhere!

Here are some ways to get started:

• Reach out to professors teaching Service Learning courses to offer library services.
• Learn how to use SimplyMap and how to find government documents online.
• Get an OrgSync account (if your school uses this product) and see what service opportunities are out there in your community. Consider volunteering on a day of service.
• Go along with the class to their service location so you can experience what they are doing.