Service Learning: Putting the World in LIS Education

Service Learning: Bringing the World into

LIS Education

Carolyn Doi, McGill University

Melanie Sellar, Marymount College

Erin Walker, Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library

Session Goals

Introduce the concept of service learning (SL)

Connect SL to work of Librarians Without Borders (LWB)

Present case studies of LWB-SL projects

Overview of Presentation

1. Introduce Service Learning (SL)

2. Introduce Librarians Without Borders (LWB)

3. Connect work of LWB to SL

4. SL case-study: LWB initiative in Costa Rica

5. SL case-study: LWB initiative in Guatemala

6. Answer your questions!








What is Service Learning?

It is a form of experiential educationin which students engage in activities

that address community needs together with structured opportunities

intentionally designed to promote student learning and development.

History of Service Learning• Renaissance of civic engagement on campuses

• Peace Corps, Civil Rights Movement

• First conference in United States1960s

• Resurgence in response to materialistic image

• Launch of many national service organizations

• Campus Compact is founded1980s

• Becomes a formally established field

• Emergence of conferences, journals

• Growing body of research literature1990s

• Adoption of pedagogy begins in Canada

• Canadian Alliance for Community Service Learning

• LIS Literature begins to recognize SL2000s

Service Learning is Different From:Recipient BENEFICIARY Provider

Service FOCUS Learning

CommunityService

Field Education

Volunteerism Internships

Pictorial from Andrew Furco, “Service-Learning: A Balanced Approach to Experiential Education.” 1996.

Service- Learning

At the Intersection: Service Learning

Academic Material

Critical Reflection

Relevant Service

Why Care About Service Learning?

Internationalize Campuses

Enrich Pedagogy

Respond to Workforce Needs

Access Funding Opportunities

Higher Education Priorities








Linguistics Course, UWO

LIS program,

UWO

Angola –UWO

collaboration

Where We Began

How We Grew

2005 2007 2007 2009 2010

Executive Team (across North America)

Board of Directors (across North America)

>1,000 members (across the world)

Who We’ve BecomeLibrarians Without Borders is an non-profit organization that strives to narrow the information divide worldwide by supporting libraries in developing regions.

We collaborate with partner communities to identify their needs and then mobilize our volunteers — the core being student librarians — for in-the-field development.








At the Intersection: Service Learning

Academic material

Critical reflection

Relevant service

Attributes of Effective Service Learning

Ownership of projects

Via autonomy, but not independence

Sense of mastery and fulfillment

Via accomplishments of clear goals and feedback from clients

Sense of connectedness

With colleagues, instructors, community

Meaningful experience

Prolonged involvement, intensity of effort

Reflection and assessment

Frequent, structured, and guided








LWB in Costa Rica

Project Overview

September 2009-April 2010

Student-led project

Goal: to build school library in El Humo, Costa Rica

Fundraise for books & building supplies

Develop start-up collection

Service-learning trip to construct & set-up library

Partner with local organization, VIDA

Local Partner: VIDA

Costa Rica

Pre-departure

Timeline: September 2009 to April 2010

Recruiting trip participants & forming work teams

Planning trip itinerary and budget

Fundraising activities

Collection development

Learning about Costa Rica

Fundraising

Calendar sales; Pancake Breakfasts; Wii Raffle; Silent Auction; Button Sales; Knit-a-Thon; Donations

Fundraising Goal = $5,000

Collection Development

Start-up Collection

Spanish-English

dictionaries

Science & Geography

books

Costa Rican Literature

Basic English

• Picture Books

• English Language Learning


Questions & Challenges

Curriculum support or

recreational reading?

Size of collection

How to find & evaluate Spanish-language children’s

books?

Cultural considerations:

• Language

• Relevant & appropriate

Getting the books to El

Humo?

How much could we purchase

locally?

Dealing with foreign vendors


Selection Tools & Resources:

IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People)

Fundalectura (Columbia)

Banco del Libro (Venezuela)

Barahona Center for the Study of Books in Spanish for Children & Adolescents

School Library Journal reviews

Críticas (English-lang review source for Spanish-lang books)

CR Ministry of Education curriculum & required reading

http://www.ibby-canada.org/


http://www.fundalectura.org/

http://www.bancodellibro.org.ve/

http://www2.csusm.edu/csb/



http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/

http://www.criticasmagazine.com/


Booksellers: Tap Peques ̶ Oakville, ON

Libreria Lehmann ̶ San José, Costa Rica

Libreria Legado ̶ San José, Costa Rica

Publisher Donations: Annick

Kids Can Press

Scholastic Canada

Groundwood Books


http://www.tappeques.com/

http://www.librerialehmann.com/

http://www.editlegado.com/



On the Ground

Getting to know the El Humo school and community

National Library of Costa Rica

Physical construction of library building

Setting up the library

Created a cataloguing method, processed books, created a basic card catalogue, and wrote a policy/handbook for the school staff

Escuela

Una casa típica

Los chiquitos

¿Habla Español?

¡Bailamos!

¡Bailamos!





Building site

Digging post holes

Mixing cement by hand = least favourite job!

Moving very heavy concrete beams

Concrete wall slabs

Concrete wall slabs

We were never short on spectators

Walls are up!

Working on the floor

Peeking from behind the newly installed door


Basic system based on subject area and author surname – had to be simple enough for staff and volunteers to maintain

Simple card catalogue

Policy manual & procedures




Finished space

Finished space

Finished space

Presenting the library to the school

Impact of the Library

El Humo students learned about libraries and how they work in class

Project inspired the El Humo community to fundraise to purchase computers for the library & additional resources

Practicum student from LIS program at University of Costa Rica from neighbouring village

Presentación de gratitud

Presentación de gratitud

One Year Later

Update from school principal, Don Jorge

Continue to benefit from presence of LIS practicum student

Computer now available for student use in library

Source of pride for the school and greater El Humocommunity

Believe that it is inspiring student success and encouraging literacy

What did we learn? Practical application of “hard” professional skills

Information Resources

Reference & User services

Community Development

Development of essential “soft” skills Creativity

Leadership

Project Management

Time Management

Communication

Flexibility








LWB in Guatemala The Asturias Library Project

Project Overview

Partner institution: Miguel Angel Asturias Academy

Location: Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

Started in 2009 by McGill student committee

Asturias identified a need for library experts

Ongoing fund raising

Service-learning trips in spring 2010 and 2011

Project GoalCollaborate with the Asturias Academy to implement a library at the school.

The Miguel Angel Asturias Academy

Introduction to the Asturias Academy

Private, non-profit Pre K-12 school

Location: Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

Founded: 1994

Serves students from varying background: Indigenous, non-indigenous, poor, working class and middle class.

Implements teachings of Paulo Friere

Two main missions

(1) Get ALL Guatemalan children in school

(2) Break cycles of poverty through education

The Asturias Library

When LWB arrived in Guatemala in 2010, the Asturias Library was in a pre-construction phase.

Since then, the Asturias Library has gone from being an idea to a functional library space.

The library is currently open during school hours, and is used on a daily basis by Asturias students and staff.

Partnership Benefits for LWB students

Make a positive impact on a community in need

Partner with an organization that can use expertise in the field

Apply lessons and knowledge from the classroom

Prepare to enter the workforce by getting hands on experience

Asturias Library Project – Year One

Begin and develop relationship with Asturias

Initial work in Guatemala – 2010 TripManual of recommendations

Deliver books and school supplies

Reflection

Articles

Presentations

Asturias Library Project - Year OneOn the ground in Guatemala (April – May 2010):

Cultural ActivitiesGOAL: Better get to know the community

One week of service work at the schoolDeveloped handbook of recommendations including

cataloguing, layout, shelving, programming, etc.

Meet the students: classroom visits, recess, reading club

Communicate with Asturias staff and volunteers

Blogging 2847 visitors during the trip

Library Space Planning

Conceptual Drawings – April 2010

January 2011

First story time at Asturias Library, January 2011

Asturias Library Project – Year One Participants

Asturias Library Project – Year Two Participants

Asturias Library Project – Year Two

Bigger scope

Organization wide: Fundraising push

Collection development projects

2nd service learning trip to Guatemala 27 participants

Members from executive and 4 library schools

Cultural activities

Week of work at the school

Cultural Activities


• 350 Books purchased by 4 LWB student committees• Increase size of Asturias collection to 2000 items.

Activities at Asturias

Developed & based on discussions with library staff

Day 1: brainstorm, prioritize, pitch (short & long term)

Day 1: division into project teams; set goals:

Organization Team

Information Literacy Team

K‘iche‘ Audio Books Team

Knowledge Management Team

Blogging/Photography Team

Day 2-5: work, work, work towards goals!

Day 6 + (in Canada): document and compile materials

Meet the students

Library Organization

Library Organization

Information Literacy

Guides for teachers on how to use the library

Classification

Floor plans

How to implement library into curriculum

Resource lists

Book talk best practices

Information literacy games

Knowledge Management

Wiki

High turnover rate among Asturias volunteers

Goals Capture best practices

Document and organize collective knowledge

Share knowledge with future volunteers

Survey Evaluate trip for future improvement

K’iche’ Audio Book Project

K’iche’ is the predominant Indigenous language in Xela

Audio to support Asturias K’iche’ language curriculum

Work with students to create audio material for the collection

Build library holdings

Give students a sense of ownership over the collection

Manual of best practices

Blogging/Photography Team

http://lwb-online.org/?cat=27

What’s next?

Continue to create opportunities for reflection

Continued collaboration with Asturias

As their priorities change, so will our relationship with them:Another trip

Continued fundraising

Expansion of the library

“We can never repay you, but know that you are cultivating a love of reading in Guatemalan students. We hope you take with you in your hearts a sense that you have done something good, not only for our students, but for the whole of Guatemala, you have made a difference.”

Jorge Chojolán,

Founder and Director

Opportunities for Reflection

Reflection

ArticlesWrap up webinar

Presentations Blogging

Trip Document

“Structured opportunities for reflection can enable learners to examine and form their beliefs, values, opinions, assumptions, judgments and practices related to an action or experience, gain a deeper understanding of them and construct their own meaning and significance for future actions.”

Moon, J. Reflection in Learning and Professional Development . London : Kogan Page Limited, Stylus Publishing Inc, 1999.

Student learning outcomes

Experience

Collection development

Budget management

Cataloguing

Collection Maintenance & Organization

Technical Writing

Skills

Problem Solving

Time management

Flexibility

Team Work

Communication

Leadership

Project Management

Social Justice

Education and Literacy in Guatemala

Challenges facing local population

Paulo Friere teachings

Incorporating local challenges into library

planning

Relevant course work2010 Trip: “What aspects of your MLIS program were

applicable to the Asturias Library Initiative?”

Cataloguing Library Space Planning

Collection Development Information Literacy

User services Group Work

Programming Writing Training Manuals

Relevant Skills 2010 Trip: “What skills or knowledge did you feel

were most important during the Asturias Library Project?”

Spanish Team Work

Communication Presentation skills

Analysis of user needs Flexibility

Cataloguing Understanding needs of user group

Summary of Benefits of LIS Students

Connects curriculum to real-world, complex experiences, which:

Engages them in problem-solving, critical thinking

Promotes deeper learning: no “right” answers

Develops interpersonal skills and teamwork approach

Develops leadership and management skills

Provides immersion into societal issues relating to LIS, which:

Socializes them into values of the profession

Sensitizes them to the realities, experiences, and needs of marginalized people

Develops civic responsibility through community involvement

Into the Future

How can we formally integrate LWB with the LIS curriculum?








www.libarianswithoutborders.org

twitter: lwb_online

Thank You!