Kentucky's SOS (Sharing Our Selves) Learning Networks are community-owned, volunteer-run, informal learning/development programs incorporating community needs and the skills/knowledge/experience of individuals regardless of academic credentials. The Cooperative Extension Service administers the programs. Interested community members list subjects they would like to study and subjects they know well enough to share with others. A volunteer committee selects learning exchange possibilities and volunteer sharers, develops/distributes a catalog, finds free space throughout the community for classes, registers community members, and conducts a simple evaluation. In 1984, 11,205 participants enrolled in 474 courses such as cheesemaking, creative writing, computer programming, and auto tuneup, and in discussion forums on zone changes, drug abuse, and similar community issues. A statewide survey of 661 people found 45% willing to share talents and hobbies in informal educational settings and 64% interested in attending such sessions; rural inhabitants showed more interest than urban residents; 45% of Network participants listed development of empowerment as an important benefit. SOS Learning Networks overcome limitations of community education by involving a variety of community groups/agencies, maximizing volunteer participation, charging no fees, being administered by the Cooperative Extension Service, and offering classes beyond the scope of usual community education programs. One community's response to the formation of a Learning Network is described as a real life example of the program's appeal. (LFL)