Disciplinary Applications of Information Literacy Threshold Concepts. Samantha Godbey, Susan Beth Wainscott, and Xan Goodman, eds., for the Association of Research Libraries. Chicago: American Library Association, 2017. 368p. Paper, $72.00 (ISBN 978-0-8389-8970-8).

Abstract

Approaches to student learning and information literacy continue to evolve. Threshold concepts in information literacy (IL) are a relatively new way of critically considering the learning that students do. The editors note in their introduction that “threshold concepts are currently defined by the following characteristics: transformative, integrative, irreversible, bounded, and troublesome” and include a discussion of what each defining characteristic means. The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education , introduced in 2015, is based in part on the idea of threshold concepts, and each frame was developed with threshold concepts in mind. The discussion of what constitutes an information literacy threshold concept has been an important part of a larger conversation of how to approach the use of the ACRL Framework . This book strives to address some of the questions surrounding information literacy threshold concepts within specific disciplines with the ultimate goal of improving student-learning experiences in impactful ways.