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Community colleges offer a unique context in higher education and yet specific guidance on implementing the ACRL Framework in community colleges is lacking. Semi-structured interviews with 30 community college librarians who had instruction duties explored the state of the implementation of the Framework in community colleges and the effect of the recent pandemic on information literacy instruction (ILI). The Framework is most lauded for its effect on the design and delivery of instruction, but its components mainly underpin ILI rather than being explicitly taught. The pandemic limited one-shot information literacy instruction but opened up opportunities for embedding librarianship in online courses. The value of this study lies in the potential for identifying opportunities for improving ILI in community colleges, based on a better understanding of librarians' attitudes and experiences of their instructional roles. Community college librarians with responsibility for ILI can be more fully supported when their instructional challenges are better understood. • Information literacy instruction practices in community colleges are understudied. • The ACRL Framework is reported to be useful in the design and delivery of instruction. • A diverse population, time limits, and faculty attitudes complicate the adoption of the ACRL Framework. • The complete ACRL Framework is rarely used in instruction. • COVID-19 decreased one-shots but offered new opportunities for embedded information literacy instruction online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]