New from ACRL – “Hidden Architectures of Information Literacy Programs”

CHICAGO – The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) announces the publication of “Hidden Architectures of Information Literacy Programs: Structures, Practices, and Contexts,” edited by Carolyn Caffrey Gardner, Elizabeth Galoozis, and Rebecca Halpern. This book collects authors from a variety of diverse institutions detailing the day-to-day work of running and coordinating information literacy programs and the soft skills necessary for success in the coordinator role.

Creating, running, and coordinating an information literacy program requires not only the visible labor of scheduling and teaching classes, but a host of invisible mechanics that makes a program function in its entirety. Hidden Architectures of Information Literacy Programs captures some of the tacit knowledge information literacy coordinators accumulate through trial and error and informal conversations with professional networks, and details practices of information literacy programs that are both innovative and the core functions of our jobs.

In 39 chapters organized into five program types—Teaching Team Model, Subject Liaison Model, Combination of Teaching Team and Subject Liaison Models, Solo Librarian Model, and Focused on a For-Credit Course—authors discuss the institutional context into which their work fits, their collaborators, students, marketing, and assessment, as well as the many varied duties they perform. Chapters examine the delicate balancing act of labor distribution, minimal or absent positional authority coupled with making decisions and assignments, generating buy-in for programmatic goals and approaches, and maintaining positive relationships throughout the organization. 

Hidden Architectures of Information Literacy Programs attempts to make all information literacy program labor visible, raise its importance, and encourage more scholarship on what might seem like the “boring” parts of program development. This book is for graduate students learning about information literacy programs, administrators who may never have taught an information literacy session, instruction librarians looking to step out of the everyday and understand the depth and breadth of their program, and all educators interested in the accomplishments and inner workings of information literacy programming. 

“Hidden Architectures of Information Literacy Programs: Structures, Practices, and Contexts” is available for purchase in print and as an ebook through the ALA Online Store; in print through Amazon.com; and by telephone order at (866) 746-7252 in the U.S. or (770) 442-8633 for international customers. Join editors and authors of the book for a three-part interactive webcast series beginning Tuesday, July 21, 2020. 

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The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) is the higher education association for academic libraries and library workers. Representing nearly 10,000 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.