A Guide for Management

Porter, Cathy A. Special Libraries: A Guide for Management, Fourth edition, Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association, 1997, 152 p. ISBN: 0-87111-466-6

What does a special librarian do? What skills does a special librarian have? How does a special library add value to a business environment? These are he questions answered by Special Libraries: A Guide for Management.

The Guide is an excellent resource for any business administrator who, with little or no previous knowledge of librarianship or information services deliver, is tasked with establishing, staffing, or overseeing a corporate library or information center. There are, for example, practical tips for recruiting and hiring a librarian. The book also provides excellent benchmark information for evaluating information services already in operation.

I enjoyed reading this book as a reminder of the many core principles and skills I long ago learned and put to use early in my career. Special Libraries: A Guide for Management should, in my view, be required reading for aspiring special librarians in all graduate library and information science programs.

The book is refreshingly free of jargon. It concisely and effectively presents key issues in a way that will enable upper management to understand and communicate with an information professional. Of particular value, from the library's perspective, is the book's emphasis on appropriate funding and staffing. A librarian who is having trouble convincing management to approve budget or staffing proposals might be able to adopt the cogent, reasonable, language from this book as ammunition.

There are handy checklists of library services--basic, intermediate, and "maximum" service levels for acquiring, organizing, and disseminating information. The numerous significant roles today's information professional plays, including that of trainer, content expert, and resource manage, are also outlined. Subject-specific bibliographies for further reading are incorporated throughout the book.

Most importantly, Special Libraries: A Guide for Management convincingly describes the paramount importance of cooperation between the librarian and upper management as essential to achieving the organization's goals.

by Lucy Lettis. Lettis is director of business information services, at Arthur Anderson LLP in New York. She may be reached via e-mail at: lucy.lettis@arthuranderson.com.

The Reference Realist

Gebhard, Patricia. The Reference Realist in Library Academia. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1997. 192 p. ISBN: 0-7864-0237-7.

Patricia Gebhard's The Reference Realist in Library Academia is an excellent, clear, and easy-to-read book about what it means to be a reference librarian in an academic library. An experienced reference librarian herself, Gebhard intends her book for the library school student, the neophyte librarian, and "someone contemplating becoming a librarian."

Part I is about what reference librarians do and how they help their users obtain the information they need. Gebhard covers the various stages of the reference transaction: the interview; designing the search strategy, and identifying relevant sources. Instruction either at the desk or by a "roving librarian" is an integral part of the reference transaction. Ultimately, the goal is to empower users to become more self-sufficient.

The second part covers alternative ways to provide service such as info desks and "simulated reference encounters" on computers. Included as well is a useful discussion of standards for public service.

Gebhard tackles orientation, publication, (reference) collection, instruction, and some off-the-desk activities in Part III. She concentrates on how to teach students to find information effectively in a group setting rather than individually. In either case, I find it remarkable how focused and receptive students are when faced with an assignment requiring them to use the library. The book covers the new "level" of bibliographic instruction and information literacy in the technological environment--students (and librarians) need to know about CD-ROMs, online catalogues, and databases. Gebhard suggests an instruction plan that could provide in-class presentations, informal tours and workshops, and publications, as well as effective coordination with faculty in the form of establishing credit courses or individual classes.

Part IV presents an overview of the professional responsibilities of the reference librarian and focuses on the librarian's qualifications, education, orientation, and training. Gebhard underlines the need for ongoing professional development, keeping up-to-date with change (improvements, innovation) by reading, in-house training, and attending conferences and workshops. And on that note, the book ends--there is no conclusion--perhaps because reference librarians must continue to keep up with a rapidly-changing technological environment.

Too bad that most of the examples in the book are from the social sciences with few coming from science and technology. As well, the World Wide Web (a democratizing tool) and its relevance as an information source in the academic library is not touched upon.

The Reference Realist is a well-researched book with extensive endnotes and an index, and it is imbued by the work experience of the author. Highly recommended for all reference librarians and library administrators. $

by Marika Asimakopulos. Asimakopulos is reference librarian at the Science and Engineering Library at McGill University, Montreal. QB, Canada.