The Music Companion to the Framework for Information Literacy: Background, Process, and a New Guiding Document

With its focus on process, habits, practices, and dispositions, the Association of College and Research Libraries' Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education presented an exciting challenge and opportunity to understand and teach information literacy in a way that reflects our increasingly complex information landscape. In response, the Instruction Subcommittee of the Music Library Association formed the Framework Working Group with an initial goal of expanding the Framework concepts to include composition and performance. Following a survey to gauge music librarians' understanding and use of the new document, the group decided to create the Music Companion to the Framework for Information Literacy that would work in tandem with the Framework. The new Music Companion explains the six existing threshold concepts of the Framework using music-specific language to fully encompass the possibilities of what constitutes information literacy in music and related disciplines. In addition to music-focused knowledge practices and dispositions, it also includes sample learning outcomes that offer ways to connect with what librarians might currently offer, as well as inspiration for new ways of thinking about instruction. This article provides an overview of the professional discourse and activities following the adoption of the 2016 ACRL Framework, culminating in the Music Library Association's October 2023 approval of the Music Companion to the Framework for Information Literacy, which is included in full.