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HOW TO THINK ABOUT AND USE THIS BOOK Before accessing the treasury of innovative learning experiences that live in the chapters ahead, it is important to clarify and establish a common understanding of the persistent mindfulness and language used throughout the course of this book. This introduction will not only lay the groundwork for those understandings it will also provide a breakdown of the structure used in each chapter that follows. Defining Community Partnerships A community partnership is a connection that is made between the learner and an indi- vidual, organization, or physical place outside of the school building. This connection can be made solely by the librarian or with the collaborative efforts of an instructional partner, to support student learning. Types of Community Partnerships There are two different types of community partnerships: • Those that support learning inside the school building • Those that support learning outside of the school building The type of learning experience that is provided to learners is dependent upon the learners’ needs, resources, the curriculum, standards, and goals and mission of the school. Partnerships are designed to support student learning, foster student engagement, expose students to broad experiences, and provide innovative student-centered learning opportunities. INTERNAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES During internal learning experiences, the connected learning between community part- ners and the learner most often takes place within a school building. However, there are cases when the learning happens in the building but the partner is not physically present (refer to Chapter 3). Introduction