The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (2015) is “organized into six frames, each consisting of a concept central to information literacy (threshold concepts), a set of knowledge practices (demonstrations of ways in which learners can increase their understanding of these information literacy concepts), and a set of dispositions (the affective, attitudinal, or valuing dimension of learning)” that together comprise “conceptual understandings that organize many other concepts and ideas about information, research, and scholarship into a coherent whole.”
How do the ACRL Frames translate into instruction? Download a copy of our curriculum to view our knowledge practices and dispositions!
ACRL Frames
Authority Is Constructed and Contextual
Information resources reflect their creators’ expertise, credibility, and the context in which the information is created. Resources are evaluated based on the information need and the context in which the information will be used. Authority is constructed: various communities create and recognize different types of authority when seeking or encountering information. It is also contextual: the information need of the individual or community may help to determine the form of authority required to fulfill that need.
Information Creation as a Process
Information is produced to convey a message and shared via selected delivery methods. Information formats can be dynamic and evolving, or static and complete. The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences. The information creation process refers to examining ways in which a piece of information came to be as well as the way the researcher/learner will be using the information.
Information Has Value
Information is situated within a larger knowledge system and is valuable in how learners negotiate and understand the world. Information possesses several dimensions of value including as a means of education, as a means to influence, and as a commodity. Legal and socioeconomic interests influence information production and dissemination.
Research as Inquiry
Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions resulting in answers that, in turn, develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any context.
Scholarship as Conversation
Communities of scholars, researchers, specialists or professionals engage in sustained discourse with new insights and discoveries occurring over time as a result of varied perspectives and interpretations.
Searching as Strategic Exploration
Searching for information is often a nonlinear and iterative process, requiring the use and evaluation of a range of information sources as well as the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops throughout the lifecycle of the project.
Association of College and Research Libraries. "Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education." American Library Association, revised September 2, 2026. https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework.