This paper discusses the specialized instructional needs of creative practitioner communities and consequent tensions students of applied fields face related to their place in the academy. By drawing on the literature of workplace information behavior and exploring the multiple communities of practice that creative practitioners navigate, we suggest information literacy approaches that acknowledge and accommodate their unique needs. If librarians acknowledge an
inherent multidisciplinarity, wide ranging use of sources, tacit knowledge, and
information use in specialized creation spaces, they can teach information literacy skills that are transferable and meet workplace affordances and needs. This
leads to information literacy instruction that resonates with students in these fields and positions them to better succeed in their chosen fields
