Transforming Information Literacy Programs: Intersecting Frontiers of Self, Library Culture, and Campus Community ed. by Carroll Wetzel Wilkinson and Courtney Bruch (review)

Edited by Carroll Wetzel Wilkinson and Courtney Bruch, Transforming Information Literacy Programs: Intersecting Frontiers of Self, Library Culture, and Campus Community is number 64 of the ACRL Publications in Librarianship (PIL) series. It is divided into four sections, each offering a particular viewpoint on information literacy. The first section examines current challenges and opportunities in developing information literacy programs. The chapters by Wilkinson and Bruch and Celene Seymour provide an overview of the issues related to developing, planning, and implementing information literacy. Through a variety of examples, the authors demonstrate how librarians are challenging resistance to change and how the lack of both institutional support and acceptance as equals by non-library faculty are affecting their work. The second section investigates the many definitions and the cultural background of information literacy. While James Elmborg takes a traditional approach, focusing on the theoretical implications of the terms critical, information, and literacy, Noel Kopriva discusses information literacy from a feminist perspective. Both authors argue that although instruction librarians have moved away from their marginalized role in education, they are still struggling with old issues that slow the process of achieving a more proactive and engaging position in the educational process.

The third section features three chapters that focus on practical aspects of information literacy. Anne E. Zald and Michelle Millet discuss the importance of gathering data to support requests related to information literacy programs. Robert Schroeder explores the success of a few institutions that have merged the concepts of critical thinking and information literacy. The importance of developing collaborations between K-12 and higher education librarians is the focus of Jo Ann Carr’s essay. She recommends that instruction librarians in higher education become more aware of trends in K-12 to aid students’ transition into higher education. The last section of the book, Charting Next Steps, makes a nice counterpart to the first section because it examines future issues in developing information literacy programs. All of the authors, April D. Cunningham and Carrie Donovan, and Nancy H. Seamans, emphasize the importance of recognizing the role of teaching librarians, developing best practices in the tenure-review process, and thinking about long-term program goals.

This book is essential reading for instruction librarians because it highlights the multifaceted aspects of information literacy including teaching, assessment, and library culture. The essays are unique in their emphasis on the role of the instruction librarian in education. They will encourage the campus community to engage in new initiatives that will positively influence the future of information literacy programs.