Constructing authority: Using the ACRL Framework to connect with underserved students

Abstract

At the community college level, rethinking library instruction in light of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education often feels like a puzzle. But like many things we do at the library, it all comes back to helping our most vulnerable students. In this column, we outline our library’s outreach efforts to engage with two intersecting and underserved groups: returning adult students and students in the LGBTQ+ community. As job markets become more competitive, older adults are returning to community colleges in order to obtain degrees and earn credentials. As awareness and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community increases, so does the need to provide supportive services for these students. At our library, engaging with the Framework provided an opportunity to design innovative instruction and programming.