US academic librarians and community service: a case study

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of community service in academic librarianship in the USA and models for developing local community service programs that encourage participation from academic librarians. Design/methodology/approach - After providing a review of literature related to academic librarianship and community service in the USA, a description of community service opportunities for librarians at Mississippi State University is presented. Suggestions are made regarding development of similar opportunities at other institutions. Findings - Community service is an important element of academic librarianship, and the service opportunities available to Mississippi State University librarians offer a variety of long- and short-term projects that allow for active participation. Originality/value - It is hoped that this case study - dealing with community service opportunities for academic librarians - will be used as a model by other librarians who wish to develop service options in their own communities.