Previous research has demonstrated that professional narratives reference discourses that shape the practice of information literacy within higher education. This article uses discourse analysis method to identify how information literacy discourses construct and position teaching librarians within higher education. Texts analysed include four recent English-language models of information literacy and 16 textbooks. Analysis suggests the existence of two distinct narratives related to the role, expertise and professional practice of teaching librarians. In the outward-facing narrative librarian work is typically absent from guidelines for practice. In contrast, book introductions, which constitute the inward-facing narrative, centre professional librarians yet simultaneously position them as incompetent, or as lacking the skills and understandings that they need to be effective in this setting. These narratives constitute a form of othering that threatens professional practice at a time when the professionalisation of librarianship is being drawn into question. This article represents the second in a research programme that interrogates the epistemological premises and discourses of information literacy within higher education.

先前的研究表明，专业叙事参考了塑造高等教育中信息素养实践的话语。本文使用话语分析方法来确定信息素养话语如何在高等教育中构建和定位教学图书馆员。分析的文本包括四种最新的英语信息素养模型和 16 种教科书。分析表明，存在两种与图书馆员教学的作用、专业知识和专业实践相关的截然不同的叙述。在面向外的叙事图书馆员的工作中，通常缺乏实践指南。相比之下，书籍介绍构成了面向内的叙述，将专业图书馆员置于中心位置，但同时将他们定位为无能，或缺乏在这种情况下有效所需的技能和理解。在图书馆职业化受到质疑的时候，这些叙述构成了一种威胁专业实践的他者形式。本文代表了一项研究计划中的第二篇，该研究计划询问高等教育中信息素养的认识论前提和话语。