Sources: The One-Shot Library Instruction Survival Guide

The One-Shot Library Instruction Survival Guide. By Heidi Buchanan and Beth McDonough. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2014. 136 p. Paper $40.50 (ISBN: 978-0-8389-1215-7).

Based on their combined thirty years of experience in information literacy instruction, Heidi Buchanan and Beth McDonough speak honestly of the challenges and opportunities associated with one-shot library sessions and provide readers with practical, creative, and inspirational resources. The authors begin each chapter with an attention-grabbing title, such as “They never told me this in library school” and “There is not enough of me to go around!” After capturing the readers’ attention, they proceed to continually captivate readers which covering relevant topics, such as how to effectively collaborate with departmental instructors, how to create a meaningful session despite severe time constraints, how to utilize active learning activities to engage students, how to instruct in non-traditional learning environments, how to successfully assess instruction sessions, and how to efficiently follow time management strategies. The authors’ conversational writing style allows readers to easily grasp and stay engaged in the concepts being addressed. In addition, the authors’ use of informative and clarifying tables allows readers to learn visually, and their use of storytelling boxes, such as “Lesson Learned!” and “Vignette,” provides readers with the chance to be encouraged by the successes and learn from the frustrations of their fellow instruction librarians.

This book is highly recommended for all instruction librarians, as they will find The One-Shot Library Instruction Survival Guide to be a useful and engaging read. In fact, following the sage advice of the authors, Buchanan and McDonough, will likely help instruction librarians to go beyond the “survival” promised by the title and find themselves with the strategies and resources needed to excel at any and all one-shot library instruction sessions they may encounter. Furthermore, all instruction librarians will find themselves encouraged by the relatable and sometimes humorous stories from fellow instruction librarians included in The One-Shot Library Instruction Survival Guide. Buchanan & McDonough make it abundantly clear that no instruction librarian stands alone in his or her challenges and all instruction librarians can learn from one another.—Calantha Tillotson, Graduate Assistant, Bizzell Memorial Library, the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma