This study sought to understand challenges that teachers (N = 15) in poverty settings encountered during information literacy instruction (ILI) and inquiry-based learning. First order barriers focused on insufficient support for instruction (training to align ILI in poverty settings; integrate diverse information resources/technology tools), administrative support (differing administrative priorities toward ILI); and access to technology (lack of broadband internet; paywalled information/learning resources). Second-order barriers consisted of the following: teachers' pedagogical beliefs (empowering student IL through question-generation); teachers' beliefs about computers/technology (challenge of misinformation and knowledge gaps); and teachers' beliefs about students' roles (strategies for structuring and limiting resources; addressing affective deficits due to poverty through ILI). Lastly, third-order barriers explored teachers' design-thinking in ways that employed multiple visualizations. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.