Service Learning and Librarians Without Borders

Service Learning: Bringing the World into

LIS Education

Melanie SellarCo-Executive Director, LWB

Today’s 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 Presentation1. Introduce Service Learning (SL)2. Introduce Librarians Without Borders (LWB)3. Connect work of LWB to SL4. SL case-study: LWB initiative in Costa Rica5. SL case-study: LWB initiative in Guatemala6. Preview 2011-12 7. Answer your questions!

Overview of Presentation1. Introduce Service Learning (SL)2. Introduce Librarians Without Borders (LWB)3. Connect work of LWB to SL4. SL case-study: LWB initiative in Costa Rica5. SL case-study: LWB initiative in Guatemala6. Preview 2011-127. Answer your questions!

What is Service Learning?

It is a form of experiential education in 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 States

1960s

•Resurgence in response to materialistic image

•Launch of many national service organizations

•Campus Compact is founded

1980s

•Becomes a formally established field

•Emergence of conferences, journals

•Growing body of research literature

1990s

•Adoption of pedagogy begins in Canada

•Canadian Alliance for Community Service Learning

•LIS Literature begins to recognize SL

2000s

Service Learning is Different From:Recipient BENEFICIARY Provider

Service FOCUS Learning

Community Service 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

Why Care About Service Learning?

To what extent “does the program arrange library internships or other real experience in libraries? ” – it should be a major determining factor in selection of an LIS school.

Berry, J. (1998). Choosing a Library School. Library Journal, 123(19), 36.Retrieved from EBSCOhost.


Linguistics Course,

UWO

LIS program,UWO

Angola – UWO

collaboration

Where We Began

Our People

2005 2007 2007 2009 2010 2011

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 RicaProject 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

Costa Rica

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

Collection DevelopmentSelection 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://www2.csusm.edu/csb/

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/

http://www.criticasmagazine.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

Los chiquitos

¿Habla Español?

¡Bailamos!

¡Bailamos!

National Library of Costa Rica

National Library of Costa Rica

Digging post holes

Moving very heavy concrete beams

Concrete wall slabs

Never short on spectators

Walls are up!

Working on the floor

Setting up the library 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

Setting up the library

Setting up the library

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

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 Humo

community Believe that it is inspiring student success and

encouraging literacy

What did students 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

Support continuing into 2012

Project Goal Collaborate 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

Founded: 1994 Serves students from

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

Implements teachings of Paulo Friere

Mission(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 Trip

Manual of recommendationsDeliver books and school supplies

Reflection Articles Presentations

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

Cultural Activities GOAL: Better get to know the community

One week of service work at the school Developed handbook of recommendations including

cataloguing, layout, shelving, programming, etc. Met the students: classroom visits, recess, reading

club Built relationships with Asturias staff and volunteers

Library Space PlanningConceptual 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

Total Participants= 27

U of T (11)Guatemalan folklore,

folk tales and mythology

Dalhousie (3)Fiction for ages 13+

Western (3) Guatemalan and

global history materials

McGill (6)Non-fiction materials for young adults and adults with literacy

challenges

Executive (2)

Board (1)

Cultural Activities

Activities at AsturiasDeveloped & 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


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

Meet the students

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 ManagementWiki

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

Blogging/Photography Team

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

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

Articles Group Discussions

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.

What’s next?Continue to create opportunities for reflectionContinued collaboration with Asturias As their priorities change, so will our

relationship with them: Another service trip Continued fundraising Expansion of the library

Into the community Into new school sites

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 PlanningCollection Development Information LiteracyUser services Group WorkProgramming Writing Training Manuals

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

were most important during the Asturias Library Project?”

Spanish Team WorkCommunication Presentation skillsAnalysis of user needs FlexibilityCataloguing Understanding needs of user group

Summary of Benefits of LIS StudentsConnects 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


Preview 2011-12

How can we formally integrate LWB with the LIS curriculum?

Libraries Across Africa

Save the Dates!

Oct 26: Special Event with Stephen Abrams (Toronto)

Fall 2011: Apply for Asturias Guatemala Trip

Fall 2011: Apply for LAA participation

Nov/Dec: 6th Annual General Meeting (online)

May-June: LWB Social/Retreat at CLA Annual (Ottawa)

Overview of Presentation1. Introduce Service Learning (SL)2. Introduce Librarians Without Borders (LWB)3. Connect work of LWB to SL4. SL case-study: LWB initiative in Costa Rica5. SL case-study: LWB initiative in Guatemala6. Answer your questions!

www.libarianswithoutborders.orgtwitter: lwb_online

Thank You!

Service Learning and Librarians Without Borders

Education

lwb initiative

history of service learning

costa ricasl casestudy

library school

borders lwbconnect work

slsl casestudy

study of books

library internships