Community Learning Development Resource 200 – 05
STARTING TO USE THE LOCAL LIBRARY – AN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING EXAMPLE
SUMMARY
Any learning is naturally complex – every piece, no matter how small, is a mixture of changes and gains in knowledge, understanding, skills and feelings. The learning for a first-time user at a local library was explored with Library Development Workers and recorded in this resource (200 – 05). We were interested in finding out what learning would do for someone, how they could use and apply the learning, and how learning success could benefit them.
Starting to use the local library – what’s the learning for the new user?
As library workers we need to connect with individuals and with their learning needs. In order to relate to people and support them to address their learning needs, we would need to understand the why, what and how of each individual relevant learning situation.
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Learning for the Learner
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Some Implications for the library worker and their practice? |
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How aware are individuals of their own needs?How aware and skilled are individuals?
What abilities do they each have? How is the library service perceived by individuals and communities? Who helps develop positive feelings for the service? Does the service speak to everyone? How welcoming is the service and the environment? Are we sensitive to the learner’s needs and comfort zone? Are all people able and confident to relate effectively to us and communicate with us? How important is the style and nature of the first contact? How good is our conversation? How do we respond to individuals, each with different communication and learning skills? How can each person be enabled and supported to use and apply the knowledge and understanding, to their benefit? Is hard copy information limited in its use and effectiveness with many people? Is the person still in their comfort zone and engaging with the worker? Is the person gaining in confidence? How is the person coping? How successful and comfortable is the person feeling? Are there barriers to be addressed and overcome? Has the person been stimulated and motivated by the experience? How does the person now feel? How will they feel after leaving us? What lasting impression does the person have of their experience of us? How might they relate their experience of us to others? Might they have no-one to share this with? Have we gained a connection and invited them to return? Is what they have taken away with them going to prompt re-connection? Have they connected what they have gained with what the learned through their connection with the library service?
Do we understand the gains and benefits to the individual and others around them, and can we connect with these and build on them? Are we aware of the individual? Do we recognize them as a developing person? Are we building an ongoing relationship, for their benefit? Are we interested and able to confirm and celebrate their achievements with them, and sensitively with others? |
Within the example we can also explore the nature of constraints and barriers in the learning situation, which get in the way of an individual starting to use the library service.
Just providing information about the library and its services is a limited learning model.
- How is this tailored to connect with individual adults?
- What scope is there for adaptation of the messages and interaction with different people?
- What scope is there for achieving successful outcomes away from the library – in local neighbourhood and community settings?