Artists often require visual and inspirational information sources that range outside of library walls and websites, and develop their work within the complex social environment of the studio. Librarians historically engage with studio art and design students using multiple standards documents. This article offers an analytical literature review…

Brittany Brannon is an MLIS candidate in the School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University. In this essay, she makes an argument for incorporating a rhetorical approach when assisting students with their information seeking and use. A rhetorical approach focuses on how the student will use the information they seek, and thus…

As information literacy continues in its centrality to many academic libraries' missions, a line of inquiry has developed in response to ACRL's charge to develop information literate citizens. The literature of critical information literacy questions widely held assumptions about information literacy and considers in what ways librarians may…

Library instruction continues to evolve. Regardless of the myriad and conflicting opinions academic librarians have about the ACRL "Framework for Information Literacy," the debates and the document itself have engendered greater discourse surrounding how and why librarians teach. The "Framework" provides an additional push…

The development of the ACRL "Framework for Information Literacy" has sparked an immense amount of conversation among academic librarians, though the profession is still far from consensus with regards to if, when, or how the document should be implemented. This essay argues that despite debates over various points within the text, the…

Following the action of the ACRL Board in February 2015 in accepting the "Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education" as one of the "constellation of documents" that promote and guide information literacy instruction and program development, discussion in the library community continues about steps in implementing…

Libraries have a long, though not uncomplicated, history with social justice and social advocacy. The new ACRL "Framework for Information Literacy," which is more conceptual and flexible than the original Standards, offers an opportunity for librarians to approach teaching and learning from a social justice perspective. Indeed, the…

This essay raises questions about the future of information literacy in higher education, given the prevalence of the "Information Literacy Competency Standards" in the library profession for the past 15 years, and the heated debate that took place regarding whether the "Framework for Information Literacy" and the…

Motivational design theory complements instructional design theory and, when used together, both principles can affect learning, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge retention. In information literacy instruction, motivational design exists throughout the appropriate standards documents. However, there is limited current research on the best…

This article provides an overview of recent literature illustrating a troubling disconnect between (a) the importance of teaching and information literacy instruction for the future of libraries and (b) the apparent lack of education training many librarians receive during library school. We argue that it is essential for the future success of…

The flipped classroom, a teaching method that delivers lecture content to students at home through electronic means and uses class time for practical application activities, may be useful for information literacy instruction. This article describes many of the characteristics of the flipped classroom teaching model, illustrated with examples from…

While most disciplines have responded to the generic openness of the ACRL Standards by creating discipline-specific guidelines and competencies, there is a need for us to consider other ways to approach information literacy in the disciplines. Critical information literacy reminds us to engage ourselves and our students with what Freire described…

Many academic librarians who provide library instruction have never received formal training in educational theory and methods. To bridge this gap and improve the teaching skills of instruction librarians, some academic libraries have established peer review of teaching programs. Despite the recognized benefits of peer review, it may not be…

The current "ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standard Review Task Force" presents information literacy practitioners with an engaging intellectual endeavor: how might these standards be revised, rethought, re-envisioned? Regardless of what the review yields, the process is an excellent opportunity for us to think broadly and…

The publication of educational standards inspires a variety of responses, from wholesale acceptance and deployment to criticism and blame. The author of this paper contends that the revision of the ACRL's "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education" must be accompanied by a critical, conscious, and conscientious…