Home > Bookshelf > Searching

Title:

Net Effects: How librarians can manage the unintended consequences of the Internet

Review:

This is a useful book, full of diverse ideas, fresh thinking and solutions to stimulate the mind.

Marylaine Block describes herself as a writer, Internet trainer and 'librarian without walls'. This book, a collection of essays compiled by the author, was written as a follow-up to her essay, 'Planning for side effects: The case for semi-Luddite management'. Block believes that information professionals feel they are losing control of their library services, because of complications experienced due to the uptake of the Internet.

The Internet, she suggests, has to a certain extent made our lives 'easier', but it has brought with it many technological side-effects. For example, it has changed the way people search and use information, users' expectations relating to the speed of information received has increased, and information professionals can feel pushed into diverting funding away from purchasing hard copy resources to purchasing electronic resources and their technical support.

Block acknowledges that these could potentially be big problems but she suggests that they are 'opportunities in disguise' for service development and that her book, an 'anthology' of solutions, can help to iron out the problems.

There are 10 chapters:

1. Regaining the Right to Select; 2. Rescuing the Book; 3. Training Our Users; 4. Adapting To Our Users' Changing Expectations; 5. Access Issues; 6. The Techno-Economic Imperative; 7. Continuous Retraining; 8. Up to our Ears in Lawyers; 9. Disappearing Data; 10. How To Not Be Blind-sided Again

Each chapter first discusses the problem, and a number of solutions in forms of essays are provided. Throughout each chapter are interspersed comments from Block, which are handy as they give bite-size overviews of the chapters' contents, highlighting points of interest.

One chapter I found to be particularly interesting was 'The Techno-Economic Imperative'. It addresses problems such as how we as information professionals are becoming more systems-savvy, how we deal with vendors, choose new software, deal with online subscriptions, and how we work with our IT departments.

This book will appeal particularly to those information professionals who have users in attendance, e.g. public or academic libraries. It is an American publication, but don't be put off by the American bias; solutions can be tailored to your situation and to any type of library!

As an added bonus, Block has created a website 'tie-in' http://marylaine.com/book/index.html. New articles and online resources relating to the problems covered by this book can be found there. Also the book contains a listing of all the URLs and the works cited.

I don't know if I've ever considered myself to be a Luddite, but I think the semi-Luddite attitude this book suggests is not such a bad thing. For example, being prepared; being professionally aware; and IT-literate, so that you do not miss advancements or advantageous situations and can help you keep your cool. Such an attitude will help prevent you from being overwhelmed by the Internet and its consequences.

FreePint Reviewer:

Alison Salmon has been an information professional for approximately 14 years. She is currently the Information Manager for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT Ltd). Much of her work involves searching for and disseminating automotive and transport information to the Technical Department in which she is based, and to the SMMT as a whole. Alison is a solo information professional, and a committee member of ICLG (Industrial and Commercial Libraries Group), a CILIP group. This group supports and promotes the professional interests of library and information workers in a wide range of commercial and industrial workplaces, and those acting as independent consultants.

Related Free Pint Links:

• Related Internet searching book reviews on the Free Pint Bookshelf