The Learning Library in Context: Community, Integration, and Influence

The learning library is a construct based on the sociocultural theories of Lev Vygotsky and Jean Lave. These theories hold that learning happens through social interaction, that learners move through increasingly complex zones of development through the assistance of more capable others, and that real learning is situated only in specific cultural environments. The learning library bases its programs and services on these ideas through programmatic partnerships with specific groups such as learning communities and cohorts of students; through curricular integration so that learning about information resources is situated within the daily life of the college or university; through using the library as a locus for, and facilitator of, sustained interactions among students, faculty, and librarians; and by using the social interactions developed among communities of learners to extend the influence of the library throughout the institution. This article examines how these facets of the learning library are reflected in four programmatic models at George Mason University's Johnson Center Library: the course-integrated model (New Century College, NCC), the course-related model (English 101: Composition), the orientation/peer advising model (University 100: University Life), and the information/term paper counseling and coaching model (partnership with the University's Writing Center, WC). © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.No embarg