Instruction Librarians' Toolkit

Critical library instruction can break down barriers to learning because it requires self-reflection on pedagogical theory, teaching practices, and assessment. It places emphasis on process rather than product, and considers the historical, cultural, social, economic, and political forces that interact with information in order to foster criticism, disruption, and interrogation of these forces.

Approaching the library classroom through a critical lens disrupts the traditional power dynamic between teacher and student, and can open up spaces for students to develop their own understanding of the oppressive structures upholding a non-neutral information system (e.g. publisher paywalls, biased algorithms, and hegemonic controlled vocabularies). Incorporating the Framework into our teaching practices can help us move beyond tool-centric instruction to promoting critical habits of mind (see "Authority is Constructed and Contextual" for example).

From the critlib list of recommended readings...

Elmborg, J. (2006). Critical information literacy: Implications for instructional practice. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32(2), 192–199.

This article uses critical literacy theory to define information literacy. It argues that to be educators, librarians must focus less on information transfer and more on developing critical consciousness in students. Using concepts from literacy theory, the author suggests ways library practice would change if librarians redefined themselves as literacy educators.

Doherty, J. (2007). No shhing: Giving voice to the silenced: An essay in support of critical information literacy. Library Philosophy and Practice (E-Journal). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/133

The Information Literacy agenda of academic libraries has recently been critically examined to uncover some of its inherent problems. This paper frames these discussions in the critical theoretical perspective present in educational research, suggesting that the emergence of critical information literacy is long overdue and in need of serious examination by library practitioners who wish to empower student learning.