The One-Shot Library Instruction Survival Guide, 2nd ed. By Heidi Buchanan and Beth A. McDonough. Chicago: ALA, 2017. 168 p. Paper $50 (ISBN: 978-0-8389-1486-1).

Many instruction librarians face the challenge of teaching information literacy skills successfully and engagingly during one-shot library instruction sessions. In their new edition of The One-Shot Library Instruction Survival Guide, Heidi Buchanan and Beth A. McDonough offer guidance on incorporating ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (adopted in 2016) into one-shot library instruction sessions.

When ACRL released the Framework, many professionals debated how the six frames would work with one-shot instruction sessions. Buchanan and McDonough argue that the Framework’s focus on big ideas and flexibility will help librarians plan successful one-shot sessions. They encourage librarians to incorporate activities that require students to investigate and think critically about information. The book covers practical ideas on using the six frames, inspired solutions for difficult assignments, vignettes from actual librarians in the field, assessment techniques, and suggestions for how to make information literacy relevant to students.

If you are an instruction librarian looking for a book with ready-made lesson plans or templates, then this book is not for you. As the authors note, “There are no cookie-cutter solutions. You will want to adapt the recommendations in this book to your real life and choose the strategies that work best for your own teaching” (6). The One-Shot Library Instruction Survival Guide will inspire instruction librarians to move beyond traditional bibliographic instruction, such as “click here, go there” demonstrations of library resources, to more engaging information literacy instruction sessions.—Magen Bednar, Undergraduate Services Librarian, Bizzell Memorial Library, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma