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 am trying to think of something to write about libraries that does not continually reflect the weird world that we live in. Maybe I should stop digging and just go with the flow and enjoy the weird. In many ways, our world is moving forward and we are continuing to do the work that is needed in our communities and universities. We are buying books, we are showing people how to use databases and we are helping researchers find data. To that end, we are also looking for jobs, learning new technology and trying to help students figure out the dynamics of the economy. What a coincidence that those are the exact subjects of the three works we feature in this column. Special thanks to Julie Huskey (Tennessee State University) and Michelle Polchow (University of California, Davis) for the reviews appear in this issue. We have a much bigger column setup for the next issue with more works on librarianship and reference. If you would like to be a reviewer for Against the Grain, please write me at <cseeman@umich.edu>. If you are a publisher and have a book you would like to see reviewed in a future column, please also write me directly. You can also find out more about the Reader’s Roundup here — https://sites.google.com/view/ squirrelman/atg-readers-roundup. Happy reading and be nutty! — Corey
Burke, John J. Neal-Schuman Library Technology Companion: A Basic Guide for Library Staff, Sixth Edition. Chicago: ALA Neal Schuman, 2020. 978083891866-1, 192 pages. $64.99. Reviewed by Michelle Polchow (Electronic Resources Librarian, University of California, Davis) <mpolchow@ucdavis.edu> For nearly 20 years, this enduring guide has delivered a timely and comprehensive overview of evolving technologies used in libraries. Given the relentless pace of change in the world of information technology, this convenient format readily supports library managers, new librarians, support staff members and library students with a guide to stay informed and remain current. Author John Burke worked in the library ranks gaining extensive experience with technology and is now a library director at Miami (Ohio) University’s Middletown campus. His writing style delivers a succinctly written resource, avoids technical jargon, is accessible and applicable for a wide audience. As a basic reference, the short seventeen chapters incorporate historical context, general topic overviews, as well as a glossary of useful terms. Each of these chapters serves (in the author’s words) to “…make library staff members more comfortable when speaking with colleagues or interacting with patrons” involving a diverse array of technologies that impact library work. The book
22 Against the Grain / February 2022
covers a wide spectrum of technological applications and uses, implementation issues and troubleshooting. New to the Sixth edition are case studies involving interviews with twelve librarians and library staff who share their relevant experiences about specific technologies used in their institutions. Burke also includes results from his fourth survey of technology skills and tasks among library staff members. Each chapter closes with review questions and resources for further information. Building and maintaining the library technology environment receives the most attention, including the growth in inclusion of free information resources, issues of copyright and licensing as they pertain to use of digital material, and new opportunities to support users’ ease of access and discovery. As to newer technologies, the reference resource includes guidelines for libraries using social media for marketing. Other trending topics in the library services domain include patron privacy, online learning, technology lending, makerspaces, virtual and augmented reality technologies, computing safety and security and the evolution of retiring technologies. The guide keeps professionals up to date by covering the latest library technologies, including trends and the author’s future predictions. Although technology books like this might yield a short shelf life over the long run, as a series, readers truly benefit from these new editions. Library science graduate students may find this too general for their studies, but it is a recommended guide for new librarians as well as those going through career transitions. As professionals constantly anticipate the future, the collection of editions (taken as a whole) reflects both current and former achievements supporting strategic planning and policy considerations. The series adds another significant contribution by preserving these historical trends and important initiatives in information technology services. ATG Reviewer Rating: I need this in my library. (I want to be able to get up from my desk and grab this book off the shelf, if it’s not checked out.)
Foxworth, Deloris Jackson. Landing A Library Job. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. 9781538116999, 195 pages. $37.00. Reviewed by Michelle Polchow (Electronic Resources Librarian, University of California, Davis) <mpolchow@ucdavis.edu> As COVID-19 disrupted employment opportunities in all fields, library and information sciences jobs were no exception. With very low hiring during the beginning of the pandemic in higher education, new graduates with library degrees were not seeing the types of opportunities that were available to those graduating just the year before. During the last year, that tight job market has gotten better, enabling recent grads and others
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