Distance librarians continually develop information literacy instruction in a variety of formats. Assessment, when it occurs, tends to be of the traditional multiple-choice variety and does not measure more complex skills. Authentic assessments offer the instruction librarian a way to re-think their instruction strategies and assessment of student learning. The characteristics of authentic assessments are presented along with the use of threshold concepts as a theoretical framework for making decisions about when to employ authentic assessments. In addition, a method will be presented for breaking down more abstract information literacy concepts in ways that yield measurable tasks for students to complete along with criteria for assessment.