Library Service and Learning: Empowering Students, Inspiring Social Responsibility, and Building Community Connections

Service learning is a type of experiential learning through which students learn while engaged in a service project. A librarian’s role might involve helping students frame research questions, introducing library resources, or teaching information literacy concepts. In “Introduction to Library Service and Learning,” the editors note the transformative learning potential of service learning opportunities. These types of learning experiences allow students more self-direction and a chance to have a real impact on the community; they are hands-on, student-focused, and authentic. Twenty-one chapters detail unique examples of how academic librarians collaborated with campus or community partners to integrate the library into a service learning project. A final chapter presents a review of literature on service learning that complements the book’s contents.