Service Learning as a Tool for Student Growth, Community Action, and Information Research Inclusion for Diverse Older Adults

The information society is also an aging society. Its members are diverse with complex needs and find themselves more interconnected than ever before. But despite these intersections, the needs of older people are often absent or lagging in information-related job advertisements, coursework, and scholarship. More conversations among scholars, practitioners, educators, students, community organizations, older adults, and others are needed in order to ensure that the LIS discipline is prepared to support successful aging for the world’s growing and diverse elderly population. This poster explores the tentative roadmap of a Ph.D. student who is using a small grant as a catalyst for increasing inclusion of diverse older adults in LIS research, teaching, and community service. These steps include action research in partnership with a community-embedded aging services organization, outreach to LIS master’s students, and dissemination of research findings to academic and community audiences. This poster is part of a larger, ongoing study entitled, "We Serve All Seniors: Creating Information Resources for Diverse Older Adults in Community Context" which is funded by an ALISE Community Conn@ct mini-grant