Investigating a Peer-to-Peer Community Service Learning Model for LIS Education

This research explores the professionalization of Library and Information Science (LIS) students who participated in a peer-tutoring service, "Research Rescue." Research Rescue was a collaboration of the Chapman Learning Commons and the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS) at the University of British Columbia. The purpose of the service was to provide an experiential learning opportunity for LIS students, benefit undergraduate students in need of assistance with term papers, and increase undergraduates' awareness and use of the campus libraries through targeted referrals. Research Rescue interactions were documented as "shift notes" in a wiki, which was moderated by a learning services librarian and SLAIS faculty. The wiki acted as a shared learning resource and a means of observing and exploring LIS students' learning and professional development as an outcome of participating in the service. In this paper, we report on our qualitative analysis of the shift notes, which provide evidence that peer tutors took steps towards the formation of their professional identities. We explore the learning and socialization that occurred as part of tutors' involvement in Research Rescue, while also advocating that peer tutoring is a viable model for LIS education.