I have a number of books to hand which may be of interest to would-be
reviewers. I would welcome expressions of interest from members of this
list. The summary below gives the bare details. A longer description of
each book appears below my signature*.
If you are interested in reviewing one of these items for Ariadne,
< http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/ > , would you kindly contact me on
[log in to unmask]
giving your name and contact (inc. postal) details, your
area of work/interest and organisation/ position where relevant.
The anticipated submission date for reviews will be
23 October 2009.
Please contact me if you have any queries.
Summary of titles:
1]
M-libraries: libraries on the move to provide virtual access
Gill Needham and Mohamed Ally, editors
Facet Publishing; September 2008;
352pp; hardback;
978-1-85604-648-0;
£44.95
2]
Information Science in Transition
Alan Gilchrist, editor
Facet Publishing, April 2009; 400pp; paperback;
978-1-85604-693-0;
£49.95
3]
Delivering the Best Start: a guide to early years libraries
Carolynn Rankin and Avril Brock
Facet Publishing; November 2008;
208pp; paperback;
978-1-85604-610-7;
£39.95
4]
97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know
Collective Wisdom from the Experts
Edited by Richard Monson-Haefel
O’Reilly, February 2009
Pages: 220
ISBN 10: 0-596-52269-X | ISBN 13: 9780596522698
US$34.99
5]
Leading and Managing Archives and Records Programs: strategies for success
Bruce W Dearstyne, editor
Facet, June 2008;
368pp; paperback;
978-1-85604-654-1;
£44.95
6]
Standards and Their Stories:
How Quantifying, Classifying, and Formalizing Practices Shape Everyday Life
Martha Lampland (Editor); Susan Leigh Star (Editor)
Cornell University Press ; $65.00x cloth
2008, 264 pages, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4, 4 tables, 3 charts/graphs
ISBN: 978-0-8014-4717-4
7]
The Public Library
David McMenemy
Facet Publishing, December 2008;
240pp; hardback;
978-1-85604-616-9;
£39.95
8]
MY WORD!
Plagiarism and College Culture
Susan D. Blum
Cornell University Press, 2009,
240 pages, hardback
ISBN: 978-0-8014-4763-1
£49.95
9]
Planning and Implementing Electronic Records Management
A practical guide
Kelvin Smith
Price: £44.95
ISBN: 978-1-85604-615-2
Facet, October 2007;
232pp; hardback;
978-1-85604-615-2;
£44.95
Publishers' information for each of the above titles is available below
my signature*.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
--
Richard Waller
Editor Ariadne
UKOLN
The Library
University of Bath
Bath BA2 7AY
UK
tel +44 (0) 1225 383570
fax +44 (0) 1225 386838
email [log in to unmask]
web http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/
web http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/
*
Publishers' information:
1]
M-libraries: libraries on the move to provide virtual access
Gill Needham and Mohamed Ally, editors
Facet Publishing; September 2008;
352pp; hardback;
978-1-85604-648-0;
£44.95
Mobile phone ownership is considerably more ubiquitous than internet
access via personal computers. As technology moves on apace, more and
more people around the world are carrying, effectively, a tiny mobile
device in their pocket or handbag. At the same time, the environment in
which people find and use information is changing - we are busier, we
are constantly on the move and whether we are shopping, booking a
holiday or looking for train times we expect instant results. What does
all this mean for libraries?
The development of networked technologies opened up huge opportunities
for libraries that were able to make their catalogues and digital
collections accessible to their users regardless of distance. The
opportunity to deliver services and resources to users via their mobile
phones, PDAs and other handheld devices will be as significant a
challenge. Indeed, if libraries choose to ignore this challenge, they
are in danger of being left behind in an increasingly competitive world
of information provision and services.
This authoritative collection of contributions from experts in the
field, based on the First International M-Libraries Conference held in
2007, explores the technological and sociological context for
m-libraries, describes a range of global initiatives with lessons
learned, and discusses the potential for future development. Key areas
covered include:
libraries and net generation learners
use of mobile technology for off-campus learning
enhancing access to library resources through mobile communications
building an effective mobile-friendly digital library
designing and developing e-learning content for mobile platforms
architectures and metadata for m-learning and m-teaching
mobile use and e-learning in developing countries
from shelf to PDA: transforming mobile devices into LIS tools.
This timely book will be of considerable interest to the growing
international mobile learning community across all sectors, not least in
developing countries where internet access via computers is poor but
many people have mobile phones and other devices. It should be read not
only by information professionals but by mobile, software and library
systems suppliers, e-journal suppliers and aggregators, publishers,
international development agencies, and policy makers in education and
e-government.
Contributors
Dr Anne Adams, Dr Mohamed Ally, Geoff Butters, Lynne Callaghan, Yang
Cao, Ëngels Carles, Ana Castellano, Ruth Charlton, Billy Cheung, Robert
Davies, Susan Eales, Colin Elliott, Cain Evans, William Foster, Dr Ivan
Ganchev, Peter Godwin, Fernando Guerrero, Jom Hahn, Anne Hewling,
Maureen Hutchison, Dr Adesina Iluyemi, Dr Agnes Kukulska-Hulme, Susan J.
Lea, Joan K. Lippincott, Jane Lunsford, Margaret Markland, Dr Buhle
Mbambo-Thata, Rory McGreal, Damien Meere, Keren Mills, John Naughton,
Gill Needham, Dr M‡irt’n O'Droma, Dr M’che‡l î hAodha, Jo Parker,
Mariano Rico, Non Scantlebury, Steve Schafer, Dr Wathmanel Seneviratne,
Hassan Sheikh, Dr Stanimir Stojanov, Rhodri Thomas, Tony Tin, John M.
Traxler, Emma Whittlesea, Freda Wolfenden
2]
Information Science in Transition
Alan Gilchrist, editor
Facet Publishing, April 2009; 400pp; paperback;
978-1-85604-693-0;
£49.95
Are we at a turning point in digital information? The expansion of the
internet was unprecedented; search engines dealt with it in the only way
possible - scan as much as they could and throw it all into an inverted
index. But now search engines are beginning to experiment with deep web
searching and attention to taxonomies, and the Semantic Web is
demonstrating how much more can be done with a computer if you give it
knowledge. What does this mean for the skills and focus of the
information science (or sciences) community? Should information
designers and information managers work more closely to create computer
based information systems for more effective retrieval? Will information
science become part of computer science and does the rise of the term
informatics demonstrate the convergence of information science and
information technology - a convergence that must surely develop in the
years to come?
Issues and questions such as these are reflected in this monograph, a
collection of essays written by some of the most pre-eminent
contributors to the discipline. These peer reviewed perspectives capture
insights into advances in, and facets of, information science, a
profession in transition.
With an introduction from Jack Meadows the key papers are:
* Meeting the challenge, by Brian Vickery
* The developing foundations of information science, by David Bawden
* The last 50 years of knowledge organization, by Stella G Dextre
Clarke
* On the history of evaluation in IR, by Stephen Robertson
* The information user, by Tom Wilson
* The sociological turn in information science, by Blaise Cronin
* From chemical documentation to chemoinformatics, by Peter Willett
* Health informatics, by Peter A Bath
* Social informatics and sociotechnical research, by Elisabeth
Davenport
* The evolution of visual information retrieval, by Peter Enser
* Information policies, by Elizabeth Orna
* Disparity in professional qualifications and progress in
information handling, by Barry Mahon
* Electronic scholarly publishing and open access, by Charles Oppenheim
* Social software: fun and games, or business tools?, by Wendy A Warr
* Bibliometrics to webometrics, by Mike Thelwall.
This monograph previously appeared as a special issue of the Journal of
Information Science, published by Sage. Reproduced here as a monograph,
this important collection of perspectives on a skill in transition from
a prestigious line-up of authors will now be available to information
studies students worldwide and to all those working in the information
science field.
3]
Delivering the Best Start: a guide to early years libraries
Carolynn Rankin and Avril Brock
Facet Publishing; November 2008;
208pp; paperback;
978-1-85604-610-7;
£39.95
Delivering the Best Start: a guide to early years libraries
Carolynn Rankin and Avril Brock
Facet Publishing; November 2008; 208pp; paperback; 978-1-85604-610-7; £39.95
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is now statutory in the UK for
children from birth to five years, and other countries are experiencing
similar developments; early years librarians, teachers, nursery nurses,
playgroup leaders and childminders all require knowledge of how to
promote and encourage communication, language and literary skills.
Parental reading with young children is clearly vitally important, and
libraries are uniquely placed to support the development of literacy
skills in pre-school children.
This book provides an understanding of how children develop such skills
through enjoyable and meaningful learning experiences, and is a
pioneering practical guide for library and information professionals
involved in planning and delivering services in early years libraries.
Drawing on the authors’ underpinning contemporary research and examples
from current best practice, it will equip practitioners with a broad
range of knowledge and ideas. Key areas covered include:
* take them to the library: the role of the early years professional
* people and partnerships: working across interdisciplinary
boundaries, and how to involve parents and carers
* buildings, design and space: the children’s libraries of the future
* resources for early years libraries: books, toys and other delights
* reaching your audience: the librarian’s role
* planning and organizing: projects and reading sessions.
User-friendly and accessible, each chapter is clearly structured and
sets outs the key issues for practitioners, scenarios offering insights
into these, and practical ideas and resources for service provision. The
book also includes case studies of successful pre-school library
initiatives in a variety of global settings, useful information about
relevant organizations, and links to helpful websites.
This valuable text is essential reading for all library and information
professionals working with young children – whether those with
responsibility for the strategic planning of services, or those involved
in delivering them at community level. Essential for students of library
and information studies or childhood studies, and practitioners
undertaking NVQ qualifications, it also provides a sound background in
early years literacy and provision for a range of local authority
practitioners, such as nursery teachers and Children’s Centre managers.
4]
97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know
Collective Wisdom from the Experts
Edited by Richard Monson-Haefel
February 2009
Pages: 220
ISBN 10: 0-596-52269-X | ISBN 13: 9780596522698
US$34.99
In this truly unique technical book, today's leading software architects
present valuable principles on key development issues that go way beyond
technology. More than four dozen architects -- including Neal Ford,
Michael Nygard, and Bill de hOra -- offer advice for communicating with
stakeholders, eliminating complexity, empowering developers, and many
more practical lessons they've learned from years of experience. Among
the 97 principles in this book, you'll find useful advice such as:
* Don't Put Your Resume Ahead of the Requirements (Nitin Borwankar)
* Chances Are, Your Biggest Problem Isn't Technical (Mark Ramm)
* Communication Is King; Clarity and Leadership, Its Humble
Servants (Mark Richards)
* Simplicity Before Generality, Use Before Reuse (Kevlin Henney)
* For the End User, the Interface Is the System (Vinayak Hegde)
* It's Never Too Early to Think About Performance (Rebecca Parsons)
To be successful as a software architect, you need to master both
business and technology. This book tells you what top software
architects think is important and how they approach a project. If you
want to enhance your career, 97 Things Every Software Architect Should
Know is essential reading.
5]
Leading and Managing Archives and Records Programs: strategies for success
Bruce W Dearstyne, editor
June 2008; 368pp; paperback; 978-1-85604-654-1; £44.95
One of the profession’s most influential thinkers has gathered thirteen
prominent leaders from the USA and UK with proven track records in
archives and records management to contribute to this important book.
Each of them reveals the secrets of their success and outlines what it
takes to build and manage a dynamic, high-achieving archives and records
program.
Representing government, commercial, and non-profit organizations, they
include the former Archivist of the Smithsonian Institution, the
Archivist of the Coca-Cola Company, and the Head of the Cataloguing and
Accessioning Unit of The National Archives, UK. In candid, fascinating
accounts of their leadership style and its impact in shaping and
directing a program, they cover the following key areas:
* challenges and opportunities in leading archives and records
management
* records management standards: what they are and why they’re important
* leading a successful records management program
* competing for relevance: archives in a multi-program organization
* the archivist and the corporation
* managing change: a continuing issue
* preserving born-digital records from central government departments
* building a university archive
* the state archives: education and politics in New York.
Read this book to see expert management strategies at work and to
understand the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of excellent programs. You will come away
with better solutions for management, including: devising effective
mission policies and statements; gauging and responding to the market
for services; dealing with institutional change; overcoming budgeting
and human resources challenges, and much more.
Giving the lie to the adage that ‘leaders are born, not made’, this
collection offers practical wisdom and useful advice that will help you
take your leadership skills to the next level.
6]
Standards and Their Stories:
How Quantifying, Classifying, and Formalizing Practices Shape Everyday Life
Martha Lampland (Editor); Susan Leigh Star (Editor)
Cornell University Press ; $65.00x cloth
2008, 264 pages, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4, 4 tables, 3 charts/graphs
ISBN: 978-0-8014-4717-4
Standardization is one of the defining aspects of modern life, its
presence so pervasive that it is usually taken for granted. However
cumbersome, onerous, or simply puzzling certain standards may be, their
fundamental purpose in streamlining procedures, regulating behaviors,
and predicting results is rarely questioned. Indeed, the invisibility of
infrastructure and the imperative of standardizing processes signify
their absolute necessity. Increasingly, however, social scientists are
beginning to examine the origins and effects of the standards that
underpin the technology and practices of everyday life.
Standards and Their Stories explores how we interact with the network of
standards that shape our lives in ways both obvious and invisible. The
main chapters analyze standardization in biomedical research, government
bureaucracies, the insurance industry, labor markets, and computer
technology, providing detailed accounts of the invention of “standard
humans” for medical testing and life insurance actuarial tables, the
imposition of chronological age as a biographical determinant, the
accepted means of determining labor productivity, the creation of
international standards for the preservation and access of metadata, and
the global consequences of “ASCII imperialism” and the use of English as
the lingua franca of the Internet.
Accompanying these in-depth critiques are a series of examples that
depict an almost infinite variety of standards, from the controversies
surrounding the European Union's supposed regulation of banana curvature
to the minimum health requirements for immigrants at Ellis Island,
conflicting (and ever-increasing) food portion sizes, and the impact of
standardized punishment metrics like “Three Strikes” laws. The volume
begins with a pioneering essay from Susan Leigh Star and Martha Lampland
on the nature of standards in everyday life that brings together strands
from the several fields represented in the book. In an appendix, the
editors provide a guide for teaching courses in this emerging
interdisciplinary field, which they term “infrastructure studies,”
making Standards and Their Stories ideal for scholars, students, and
those curious about why coffins are becoming wider, for instance, or why
the Financial Accounting Standards Board refused to classify September
11 as an “extraordinary” event.
Contributors
Geoffrey Bowker, Santa Clara University
Elizabeth Cullen Dunn, University of Colorado at Boulder
Steven Epstein, University of California, San Diego
Martha Lampland, University of California, San Diego.
Martin Lengwiler, University of Zurich
Florence Millerand, University of Quebec at Montreal
Jacob Palme, Stockholm University
Daniel Pargman, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden
Susan Leigh Star, Santa Clara University
Judith Treas, University of California, Irvine
7]
The Public Library
David McMenemy
Facet Publishing
December 2008; 240pp; hardback; 978-1-85604-616-9; £39.95
Public libraries have changed beyond anyone’s predictions in the past
ten years and are at a vital stage in their historical development. This
timely book is the first standalone text to examine the role and
services of the UK public library in the 21st century context.
The book discusses the nature and functions of the modern public library
service, from its beginnings as the street-corner university, through
its delivery of state-of-the-art services and beyond. At the heart of
the book is a passionate argument for the professional and public
significance of the public library service.
8]
MY WORD!
Plagiarism and College Culture
Susan D. Blum
US$24.95t cloth
2009, 240 pages, 6 x 9, 1 table
ISBN: 978-0-8014-4763-1
“Classroom Cheats Turn to Computers.” “Student Essays on Internet Offer
Challenge to Teachers.” “Faking the Grade.” Headlines such as these have
been blaring the alarming news of an epidemic of plagiarism and cheating
in American colleges: more than 75 percent of students admit to having
cheated; 68 percent admit to cutting and pasting material from the
Internet without citation.
Professors are reminded almost daily that many of today's college
students operate under an entirely new set of assumptions about
originality and ethics. Practices that even a decade ago would have been
regarded almost universally as academically dishonest are now
commonplace. Is this development an indication of dramatic shifts in
education and the larger culture? In a book that dismisses hand-wringing
in favor of a rich account of how students actually think and act, Susan
D. Blum discovers two cultures that exist, often uneasily, side by side
in the classroom.
Relying extensively on interviews conducted by students with students,
My Word! presents the voices of today's young adults as they muse about
their daily activities, their challenges, and the meanings of their
college lives. Outcomes-based secondary education, the steeply rising
cost of college tuition, and an economic climate in which higher
education is valued for its effect on future earnings above all else:
These factors each have a role to play in explaining why students might
pursue good grades by any means necessary. These incentives have arisen
in the same era as easily accessible ways to cheat electronically and
with almost intolerable pressures that result in many students being
diagnosed as clinically depressed during their transition from childhood
to adulthood.
However, Blum suggests, the real problem of academic dishonesty arises
primarily from a lack of communication between two distinct cultures
within the university setting. On one hand, professors and
administrators regard plagiarism as a serious academic crime, an ethical
transgression, even a sin against an ethos of individualism and
originality. Students, on the other hand, revel in sharing, in
multiplicity, in accomplishment at any cost. Although this book is
unlikely to reassure readers who hope that increasing rates of
plagiarism can be reversed with strongly worded warnings on the first
day of class, My Word! opens a dialogue between professors and their
students that may lead to true mutual comprehension and serve as the
basis for an alignment between student practices and their professors'
expectations.
About the Author
Susan D. Blum is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre
Dame. She is the author, most recently, of Lies That Bind: Chinese
Truth, Other Truths and editor of Making Sense of Language: Readings in
Culture and Communication.
9]
Planning and Implementing Electronic Records Management
A practical guide
Kelvin Smith
Price: £44.95
ISBN: 978-1-85604-615-2
Facet, October 2007;
232pp; hardback;
978-1-85604-615-2;
£44.95
'For any organization intending to carry out an electronic records
management implementation, or even simply just thinking about it, this
book is invaluable…Highly recommended - Read this book and you may be
able to save yourself a consultant's fee!'
HEA-ICS
Many organizations are moving away from managing records and information
in paper form to setting up electronic records management (ERM) systems.
There is a range of reasons for this: economic considerations may be the
driver for change, or government policy initiatives may be coming into play.
Whatever the situation in your organization, this book provides
straightforward, practical guidance on how to prepare for and enable
ERM. It sets out and explains the issues organizations need to consider
in selecting a system, and the procedures required for effective
implementation.
Help is also given with the complexities of managing hybrid records
during an interim period between paper and electronic record management.
The book is divided into three main parts covering the preparation for
ERM, and its design and implementation. The key areas covered are:
* the underlying principles
* the context
* making a business case for ERM
* the main issues for design
* the information survey
* the file plan
* appraisal methodology
* preservation
* access
* the main issues for implementation
* project management
* procurement
* change management
* training
* the future of information management.
This essential guide should be on the desk of any library and
information professional, records manager, archivist or knowledge
manager involved in planning and introducing an ERM system, whether in a
public or private sector organization.
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