BOOK REVIEWS
Vicki Toy-Smith, Column Editor
Library Information Systems:
From Library Automation to Distributed Information Access Solutions
Thomas R. Kochtanek and Joseph R. Matthews
If all library administrators had mentors like the authors of this graduate textbook, they would be well
equipped to find " ... computing solutions aimed at bringing the user and content together, which
is the essence of service within libraries of all types and sizes." The
authors use the term
"Library Information System (LIS)" to encompass both mature and new developments, including
Integrated Library Systems (ILS), online databases, Web-based resources, digital library collections,
and electronic books and journals.
The book contains fourteen chapters organized into four main parts: "The Broader Context",
"The Technologies", "Management Issues", and "Future Considerations". Each
chapter is liberally documented with notes and suggested Web resources or readings. A well-constructed
glossary explains concepts and acronyms, and the index makes it easy to locate specific content.
Part I begins with a condensed history of the evolution of library computing into today's complex
Library
Information Systems. In the last twenty years, legacy character-based Library Systems have acquired Web
interfaces. Bibliographic databases that once required professional searchers as intermediaries are now
end-user products, with search results often linked to full-text. The new market of e-books on demand is
developing, with digital library content not far behind.
Part II comprises four chapters that provide a compact but detailed overview of integrated library
systems design, open systems, telecommunications and networks, and standards. The discussion of how
Library Information Systems are designed covers the essentials of database structure, fields and
indexes, and how different types of records are linked. A useful comparison of the advantages and
disadvantages of commercial and open source systems, as well as hidden costs, is particularly
informative. The authors are right on target in recognizing the importance of XML as the future of
Web-based access to library records, the "...glue that binds two or more systems together".
Two interesting segments in Part II touch on the diversity of resources and approaches to searching. The
universe of information continues to expand exponentially, but human beings tend to expend the least
effort possible in finding it. Searchers are neither persistent nor consistent. The quoted statement of
Calvin Mooer, known as "Mooer’s Law", should be framed and mounted on all our office walls:
"An information retrieval system will tend not to be used whenever it is more painful and
troublesome for a customer to have information than for him to not have it".
A frank
discussion of the uses and hazards of committing to commercial or open-source software will be
particularly useful to young managers as they are approached by evangelists in either camp. Experienced
librarians who are often bombarded by the pronouncements of zealots will find the objectivity
refreshing.
The arcana of technical telecommunications and networking are clearly presented in a palatable manner.
This is necessary background for every future library administrator. Chapter 6 is a standout, a
comprehensible overview of standards that leaves the reader with an appreciation of their extreme
importance. It is gratifying to see a good overview of standards coupled with the advice that librarians
need to take an active role in developing them.
Section III is the book’s core, with six
chapters on strategic planning, system selection, impacts on staffing and services, implementation, and
usability. The chapters build upon one another, and are delineated with enough detail to stand on their
own as a manual for practicing librarians who are charged with shepherding such a process.
Part IV rounds out the book with a chapter on technology trends, and the unexpected bonus of a chapter
devoted to the history and future role of emerging digital libraries.
Overall, the authors sometimes paint a very detailed picture and at other times use a broad brush, but
their chosen treatments reflect long familiarity with the subject and good judgment. The end result is a
textbook that is, surprisingly, a good read, a valuable "refresher course" and vocabulary
builder for practicing librarians as well as a survey course for graduate students. Librarians who find
themselves with the task of planning and implementing a technology project can find what they need here
to get up to speed.
There is a sense of excitement in being on the cusp of change that
enlivens a textbook that must, of course, synthesize established developments:
"The current marketplace struggles to extend the physical library into the global,
digital environment where information takes on new forms and delivery possibilities… The major challenge
is to provide integrated access to collections, both paper and electronic, and to effectively link to
electronic or paper copies. All of this, coupled with the transition to a Web-based library system,
means that the library community is confronting another period of serious change."
Both authors speak from authority and experience and have numerous books and articles to their credit.
Thomas R. Kochtanek has written extensively about information retrieval and library systems. He is an
Associate Professor at the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies, University of
Missouri-Columbia. Joseph R. Matthews brings a business perspective to the book, as well as technical
expertise on library automation and information systems. He is president of his own consulting
company.
Of course, any book on library systems and technology is focusing on a moving target and will inevitably
become dated. In this case, the well-wrought synthesis of history and trends will prolong the book’s
value as a reference work. The thoughtful reader will be rewarded by insight into how libraries got
where they are today, and where they are going in the near future. It will occupy a place in my personal
reference collection for a long time to come.
Published in 2002 by: Libraries Unlimited, Westport, Connecticut. (287 p.) ISBN: 1-56308-966-1 ($60.00);
1-59158-018-8 (pbk.-$47.50) A volume in the publisher’s Information Science Text Series.
Reviewed by:
Araby Y. Greene
Web Development Librarian
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, Nevada
Cataloging Sheet Maps: The Basics
By Paige G. Andrew
Paige Andrew is a nationally well-known and published faculty map cataloger currently at Pennsylvania
State University Libraries at University Park. He is noted for commonsense cataloging, a keen
understanding of rules and resources, and his expertise in map cataloging training. Andrew’s first solo
book-publishing effort, Cataloging Sheet Maps: The Basics, was eagerly awaited in the map
cataloging world, and it lives up to the high expectations.
The primary goal of the book as stated in the preface is "…to provide the reader with step-by-step
guidelines in applying cataloging rules and rule interpretations, while creating full-level and accurate
bibliographic descriptions for sheet maps." Andrew states clearly what the book is and is not
intended to cover. For instance, serially issued maps, atlases, globes, and digital cartographic
materials are not covered. In the "Background" section, Andrew describes the intended
audience as catalogers with little or no experience in creating bibliographic records for sheet maps as
well as map librarians who only occasionally catalog.
Cataloging Sheet Maps: The
Basics has a high-level of organization making it a good ready-reference source. Chapters are
arranged logically in five sections: Section 1, "In the Beginning", Section 2, "Coded
Fields", Section3, "Description of the Map", Section 4, "Other Access Points"
and Section 5, "Historical Sheet Maps and Special Cases". Chapters are compartmentalized into
topics such as "Necessary Tools of the Trade", "Main Entry and Statement of
Responsibility", "Mathematical Data Area", "Classification Using the LC
G-Schedule", etc. The index is very thorough in cataloging terminology, less so, though adequate,
in map terminology. While a few words such as "relief" failed to make it in the index, the
content and layout is superb compared to similar cataloging manuals.
The content of the book includes pertinent illustrations and many cataloging examples. Concepts such as
"emanating from" and how to create a title from scattered title elements are explained in
full. There are many useful bonuses not readily found in other map cataloging manuals, such as a good
explanation of the insets versus ancillaries, the difference between small and large scale, and
descriptions of common practices in the map cataloging community not defined in the rules (e.g. when to
include a "title from" note). Areas particularly challenging to catalogers, such as the scale
and coordinates, include many illustrations. Andrew’s explanations are easily understandable to the
casual map user.
There are a few typographical errors, but nothing that cannot be verified
elsewhere. Andrew does not describe the general material designation (GMD), causing confusion because
some of the catalog record examples include a GMD in the 245 field while others do not. Again, the
cataloger can refer to the rules and rule interpretations to make his/her own decision. Since
cartographic resources are a graphical format, it would have been helpful to have more illustrations of
actual sheet maps, however, space limitations prevented inclusion of extra content.
Andrew pays homage heavily to the out-of-print Cartographic Materials: A Manual of Interpretation
for AACR2 (Prepared by the Anglo-American Cataloguing Committee for Cartographic Materials.
Chicago: American Libraries Association, 1982). Many of his illustrations and descriptive cataloging
examples are derived from this book. The second edition was released a few months ago. Since
cataloging manuals are quickly out-of-date, it is hoped Andrew plans to release a second edition of
Cataloging Sheet Maps: The Basics within a few years. Perhaps a future edition will include an
accompanying CD-ROM or there will be a Website with additional illustrations. Meanwhile, the current
edition serves as a very good ready reference and training book for the novice and occasional map
cataloger.
Published in 2003 by: Haworth Information Press, Binghamton, New York. (xv, 240 p.)
ISBN 0-7890-1482-3 ($39.95); ISBN: 0-7890-1483-1 (pbk-$24.95).
Reviewed by:
Kay G. Johnson
Serials Coordinator and Geology Librarian
University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville
Return to Table of
Contents | Previous
Section | Next Section
Last updated: November 24, 2003
http://www.olacinc.org/newsletters/dec03/reviews.html
neumeist@buffalo.edu