New from ACRL - “Instructional Identities and Information Literacy”

CHICAGO – The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) announces the publication of “Instructional Identities and Information Literacy,” edited by Amanda Nichols Hess, a three-volume set that uses transformative learning theory to examine how we think about and can develop our teaching, programs, institutions, and student learning and experiences. 

Are librarians teachers? Many academic librarians enter teaching roles with limited experience or education in instruction, discovering how to engage students in learning from their own observations, trial-and-error, or professional learning opportunities. 

Grappling with this potentially unexpected identity comes amid a time of significant transition for higher education itself. Academic librarians must figure out how to counter mis-, dis-, and malinformation, address shrinking funding for collections while costs increase, and establish meaningful partnerships in diverse, data-driven environments. And writ large, librarianship as a profession continues to grapple with its responsibility to challenge information illiteracy across contexts, its support of systemic systems of oppression under the guise of neutrality, and its value to a society flooded with information.

Instructional Identities and Information Literacy uses transformative learning theory—a way of understanding adult learning and ourselves—to explore the ways librarians can meaningfully advance how we think about our identities, instructional work, and learning as transformation. Three volumes explore:

• Transforming Ourselves
• Transforming Our Programs, Institutions, and Profession
• Transforming Student Learning, Information Seeking, and Experiences

Chapters include transforming a critical, feminist pedagogy with antiracist pedagogy; becoming an advocate for library instruction to promote student success; the intersection of reluctant professionals and the academy; transforming STEM learning and information-seeking experiences; using the Framework to reshape student responses to media narratives; and much more. Instructional Identities and Information Literacy contains many ways to consider the programming, dispositions, behaviors, and attitudes we can use as we continue to advance information literacy instruction and reshape our profession.

“Instructional Identities and Information Literacy” is available for purchase in print and as ebooks through the ALA Online Store, individually or as a set; in print through Amazon.com; and by telephone order at (866) 746-7252 in the U.S. or (770) 442-8633 for international customers. 

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The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) is the higher education association for academic libraries and library workers. Representing nearly 8,500 individuals and libraries, ACRL (a division of the American Library Association) develops programs, products, and services to help those working in academic and research libraries learn, innovate, and lead within the academic community. Founded in 1940, ACRL is committed to advancing learning, transforming scholarship, and creating diverse and inclusive communities. Find ACRL on the web, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.