Developing an identity as a teacher can be challenging for instructional librarians. This chapter introduces and explains four primary professional development proficiency areas that positively contribute to professional identity formation, addresses teaching perspectives, and describes instructional situations for teaching information literacy skills. Readers will discover key aspects of what and how instructional librarians teach.

Information literacy learning is addressed through an overview of its’ history and the establishment of definitions of information literacy. Example information literacy definitions from multiple professional organizations are outlined for easy comparison, and an interactive table facilitates additional opportunities to understand features and benefits of information literacy learning. Useful models of information literacy based on theories of information behavior are identified and explained. The American Association of School Librarians standards and the Association of College and Research Libraries frameworks are introduced.

Disability, accessibility, and inclusion are presented and explained from various contexts. Reading this chapter is an opportunity for pre- and in-service instructional librarians to focus on what it means to prioritize accessibility in virtual and non-virtual learning spaces. The importance of community conversations and universal design for learning in libraries are highlighted as vital to instructional librarianship and essential to the library’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion.

In today’s digital world, instructional librarians have unlimited opportunities to combine their knowledge and skill set of instructional librarianship with that of an educational designer with abilities to apply technology in the teaching-learning process. In support of this premise, the concept of blended librarianship is emphasized as useful in understanding multiple roles and competencies for instructional librarians. Highlighted are learning theories, instructional design models, pedagogy, and technical knowledge relevant to the instructional librarians’ roles as instructional librarian and instructional designer in effective learning environments.

Instructional librarians must be well prepared to write learning outcomes, design learning experiences, and use instructional techniques that enable students to achieve specific learning goals. Instructional librarians have responsibilities to collect evidence indicating what students learn and accomplish as a result of direct information literacy skills instruction. Approaches to effective instructional design, including Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction, are presented to guide instructional librarians in development and implementation of library and information literacy instruction.

High impact teaching in libraries and its' benefits are made clear with real-life scenarios describing teaching in various library types, videos addressing pedagogical choices for high impact teaching and learning, and research-based methods for instruction. A list of example information and technology skills will inspire conversations about what and how to teach.

Instructional librarians can always benefit from more opportunities to learn about lesson planning, particularly at the micro-level of lesson planning beginning with the lesson title and description, learning outcomes, content and materials, process and procedure, and assessment methods to determine student learning. In addition, in all library types involving adults, library instruction should be evaluated by participants. Best practices examples for creating information literacy skills instruction, assessment, and evaluation of instructional sessions are presented and discussed.

Experience and evidence-based research affirms the importance of involvement in continuous professional learning throughout the instructional librarian’s career. Instructional librarians recognize that cultural, economic, political, and technological changes in society result in the need to approach their continuous professional learning as independent learners by addressing new knowledge and skills applicable in their immediate and wider environment. A model useful to educators, including instructional librarians, in writing self-directed professional goals for individual growth in library and information literacy instruction is recommended and explained with example goal statements organized in five areas known as the “Five R’s”: relationships, relevance, responsive culture, rigor, and results.