IMPACT Learning: Librarians at the Forefront of Change in Higher Education. By Clarence Maybee. Cambridge, UK: Chandos, 2018. 182 p. Paper $80.95 (ISBN-13: 978-0-0810-2077-7).

Since the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education was released and adopted by the ACRL, academic librarians have been challenged to rethink how they teach information literacy to college students. This rethinking has led to a new approach in information literacy called “informed learning,” which teaches students how to use information within a context. In IMPACT Learning, Professor Clarence Maybee details an example of informed learning, namely the Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation (IMPACT) program.

IMPACT Learning is organized into three parts: part 1 discusses the fostering of learning through librarianship, part 2 presents course development at Purdue University, and part 3 deliberates the re-envisioning of information-literacy education. While the target audience is instructional and reference librarians, the organizational structure is such that, no matter what stage he or she is at in his or her career, a librarian will find something relevant.

Part 1 covers an introduction, the definition and history of information literacy, and the definition of informed learning and its theories. For the librarians who do not have a sound understanding of educational theories and practices, Professor Maybee explains in detail the pedagogical ideals that underpin the IMPACT program. While interesting, the information is very dense, potentially causing the reader to become bogged down with too many details and miss the suggested ways to teach information literacy contextually.

Parts 2 and 3 contain more practical information, particularly covering how Purdue University integrated information literacy into disciplinary courses. This portion is especially relevant as it includes the classroom teacher’s perspective as well as the librarian’s. In addition, Professor Maybee offers applicable ideas of integrating information literacy into courses at other institutions, including partnering outside the library, and outlines the necessary skills to possess in order to successfully participate in campus initiatives. Professor Maybee concludes with a call for change in how academic librarians think about and teach information literacy. He writes, “Informed learning offers a new pathway for developing information literacy efforts that are, to use the words of a poet, ‘one less traveled by,’ but that may make ‘all the difference’” (164).—Magen Bednar, Student Success and Engagement Librarian, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma