Mapping critical information literacy research: A scoping review

The study maps how critical information literacy has evolved within library and information science through a scoping review and bibliometric analysis of 92 Scopus-indexed English-language library and information science journal articles and reviews published from 2001 to 2025. Guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews, it identifies key authors, publication trends, and conceptual clusters shaping the field. Results show a domain rooted in critical pedagogy and reflective practice but geographically concentrated in the United States and other Western or Anglophone contexts. Keyword network analysis reveals five main themes: critical literacy and open knowledge, professional identity, pedagogy and ethics, instructional design, and institutional contexts. Recent work expands toward diversity, disinformation, and equity-related concerns, reflecting a shift from classroom-focused pedagogy toward broader institutional and systemic critique. The study contributes a data-driven view of how critical information literacy scholarship has developed within indexed library and information science journal literature. The findings inform library and information science educators, researchers, and practitioners seeking to integrate critical pedagogical perspectives into information literacy practice.