Information Literacy and Social Media: Empowered Student Engagement with the ACRL Framework. Michele Santamaría and Nicole Pfannenstiel. Association of College and Research Libraries, 2024. 118 pp. Paperback, $50.00 (979-8-89255-545-6)

Michele Santamaría, learning design librarian at Millersville University, and Nicole Pfannenstiel, who teaches college composition, draw on their interdisciplinary collaboration, which began on X (formerly Twitter), to argue for a new approach to information literacy instruction. In Information Literacy and Social Media: Empowered Student Engagement with the ACRL Framework, Santamaría and Pfannenstiel make a compelling case for why and how educators should move beyond traditional “walled gardens” of peer-reviewed scholarship (p. vii) to engage students with the complex, risky, and vital “rainforest” (p. x) of social media when teaching information literacy. The authors argue that traditional information literacy methods are inadequate for the current information landscape. Challenges such as misinformation and deepfakes, coupled with the neglect of these issues, can lead to serious implications for public life and the information environment. The authors’ core argument posits that by teaching students to embrace their role as information creators within social media platforms—utilizing the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and a metaliterate approach—they can become flexible, accurate evaluators and participants in communities of learning. Metaliteracy, in this context, incorporates perspectives from media literacy, digital literacy, news literacy, and critical thinking. The authors explicitly choose the term “creators” over “producers” to emphasize the empowered agency users have, even in seemingly passive actions, such as liking or sharing, which contribute to the algorithmic feedback loops that shape information landscapes (p. x).

The book is structured into four chapters, along with an introduction and appendices. The introduction situates the book’s methods in the context of social media’s “messiness” and the need for empowered learning (p. v). Chapter 1 broadly conceptualizes information literacy teaching with social media and includes a literature review. Chapter 2 addresses student pushback to using social media in academic settings and maps ACRL Framework concepts onto specific platforms, while also emphasizing instructor self-reflection. Chapter 3 provides concrete cross-disciplinary lesson plans. Chapter 4 considers creativity and ethics as key components of metaliteracy and reflects on the future pedagogical mission.

A key strength of the book is its unwavering focus on “praxis and action” (p. xi). Rather than debating the theoretical boundaries between different literacies, the authors provide practical guidance for how educators can serve as “educator-guides” or facilitators to help students navigate social media environments critically and ethically (p. 6). They argue that social media spaces, with their inherent risks and complexities, are precisely where impactful, lifelong information literacy education can occur. The book explicitly acknowledges the volatility of social media platforms but maintains that the focus should be on developing enduring habits of mind and dispositions aligned with the ACRL Framework that can transfer to any information environment.

Chapter 2 delves into the challenge of student resistance to using social media for academic purposes, a perspective often reinforced by schooling and acceptable use policies. The authors propose that by validating students’ existing digital practices and helping them interrogate their real-world internet use, educators can foster a sense of belonging and support skill development. This chapter also emphasizes the crucial role of educator self-reflection regarding their own social media habits and dispositions as a foundation for inclusive teaching and guiding of students.

The practical heart of the book lies in Chapter 3, which presents adaptable lesson plans designed to integrate social media into information literacy instruction. These plans empower students as creators and focus on the process and reflection necessary to develop information literacy habits of mind. A comprehensive lesson plan template is included, structured around several key components: the teaching scenario, learning objectives aligned with the ACRL Framework, recommendations for social media or digital environments, the activity steps, guided post-activity reflection for students, and a space for instructor notes. Examples include using hashtags to understand keywords and authority; exploring authority through social media influencers; engaging with AI writing bots on platforms like X to discuss research ethics and iteration; annotating readings through public sharing; and using social media for sharing resources and scholarly conversation. The lessons are often designed with the reality of one-shot instructional sessions in mind, using formative assessment techniques like peer review and guided reflection.

A significant aspect of this work is its approach to concepts such as authority and citation within the social media context. The authors illustrate how social media practices—using likes, comments, tags, and hashtags, for example—can be used to discuss the construction of authority and the importance of attribution, sometimes mirroring academic citation practices. The book also contains some interesting real-world references. The example of the Ticketmaster/Taylor Swift incident illustrates the value of keeping an open mind and a critical stance. When Ticketmaster’s website crashed, both fans and the company used social media to navigate and communicate (p. 36). This highlights how users conduct research on social media for understanding, and how companies leverage these spaces for communication. Similarly, the Wikipedia “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game, where the goal is to navigate from a starting Wikipedia page to a target Wikipedia page by clicking hyperlinks in fewer than six steps or “moves,” is presented as a way to practice strategic searching and understanding information pathways (p. 40).

The final chapter highlights creativity and ethics as fundamental to metaliteracy, with the authors arguing that these elements are essential when educators and students engage with social media. They suggest that even minimal interaction can be an act of ethical creation if approached with awareness. The book emphasizes that addressing the civic implications of information literacy requires moving beyond simple checklists and engaging students in the very social media spaces they frequent, as this is where they most often seek information.

Information Literacy and Social Media: Empowered Student Engagement with the ACRL Framework is a timely and practical resource for librarians and non-librarian educators alike who are grappling with how to teach information literacy in a constantly evolving digital landscape. By providing a theoretical foundation (e.g., metaliteracy, ACRL Framework) alongside concrete, adaptable lesson plans, the authors offer a valuable roadmap for engaging students as active, critical, and ethical information creators within the environments they inhabit daily. The book’s emphasis on self-reflection and collaboration further strengthens its utility for busy practitioners. This volume may be particularly useful for those seeking to update their information literacy pedagogy to address the challenges of misinformation and algorithmic influence by meeting students where they are. Its insights into student dispositions and the practical applications of the Framework make it an insightful addition to the literature on information literacy instruction. — Judy K. Davis, University of Southern California