Reader’s Roundup: Monographic Musings & Reference Reviews Column Editor: Corey Seeman (Director, Kresge Library Services, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan) <cseeman@umich.edu> Twitter @cseeman Column Editor’s Note: I remember the first time I did a Sudoku puzzle. I was at a Cub Scouts event with my young son and one of the other parents gave me a puzzle to try out. It probably was an easy puzzle — as I remember doing it quickly. It wasn’t too long before I picked up a Sudoku puzzle book and the rest is history. For the last 16 years (or so) I started the practice of working on a puzzle or two every night. In our world of great uncertainty, I find a tremendous joy in doing these puzzles. One of the fun elements for me is that there is a definitive answer to each one. And that is one of the reasons why I rarely go to bed without completing a puzzle. Every day, librarians work through a variety of problems. Some of our problems have definitive answers, but far more do not. As we consider library services, collections and personnel, we realize that almost few problems have an answer key. This is definitely the case with our collections. Librarians strive to match resources for our collections with the users that we serve. The challenge here is striving to know about what our community needs and finding the right match in the marketplace.
David, Miriam E. & Marilyn J. Amey (Eds.). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Higher Education. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing, 2020. 9781529714395, Online encyclopedia. $756.00 Reviewed by Jennifer Matthews (Collection Strategy Librarian, Rowan University) <matthewsj@rowan.edu> Higher education is a wide-ranging topic that covers many areas and interests from the subjects taught to the fees charged to take those same courses. It ranges from the students that attend the institutions to the individuals that teach the classes, how the institutions are governed and whether or not tenure should still be considered and granted. Then, of course, there is the myriad of aspects related to the business side of the higher education institution that permeate the lives of those connected to the institution in some way. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Higher Education is a reference resource that touches on all of these aspects and more with over 600 signed entries and contributors from across the globe.
That is where our judgement comes in, especially in regards to collections. Librarian reviews are so critical and This online encyclopedia, which is useful in getting a practitioner’s view also available in print, was compiled to of how these resources may be used at address the “current state and practices our own libraries. And that is the joy of higher education around the world.” in editing the Reader’s Roundup. We The editors, Miriam E. David and can help share thoughts on a number Marilyn J. Amey, along with their of new books covering librarianship team of associate editors and advisory as well as those used in our reference board, have created an encyclopedia collections. We have a nice collection that looks to address issues in higher of titles in this column covering education such as academic capitalism, Cosmo the cat is not very good at Sudoku information literacy, deficit thinking the marketization of the institution, puzzles — Picture from January 19, 2020 — in academic libraries, online learning sustainable development goals, rising Seemingly a million years ago. and digital resources. In addition student fees, performance indicators, reference books on higher education and Frederick Douglass. open access, research output criteria, and many other topics pertinent to the higher education scholar and institution. Special thanks to Ellie Dworak (Boise State University), Jessica Hagman (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), The encyclopedia itself is divided into twelve sections that Julie Huskey (Tennessee State University) and Jennifer Matthews encompass the Reader’s Guide. These sections incorporate the (Rowan University) for the reviews that appear in this issue. We organizing principles of the editing team and include topics such have a much bigger column setup for the next issue with more as the analysis of higher education, curriculum, governance, works on librarianship and reference. and leadership. Additionally, the editorial board compiled an appendix that contains key international organizations If you would like to be a reviewer for Against the Grain, please and associations of research, personnel, or professionals from write me at <cseeman@umich.edu>. If you are a publisher and across the globe for those that live, work, and research in higher have a book you would like to see reviewed in a future column, education. please also write me directly. You can also find out more about the Reader’s Roundup here — https://sites.google.com/view/ The typical entry for the encyclopedia, in this case modeled squirrelman/atg-readers-roundup. by the entry “Participatory Leadership,” contains the articles written by authors Delores E. McNair and Jacalyn M. Griffen with Happy reading and be nutty! — Corey a hyperlink back to the A to Z listing of topics. It also provides a
Against the Grain / April 2022
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