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Title:
Building an Electronic Resource Collection: A Practical Guide
Review:
Building an Electronic Resource Collection is a daunting task, but
with its comprehensive coverage and systematic approach, the second
edition of this book makes it a whole lot easier!
The book is split into five chapters covering: preliminary uses; the
electronic resources landscape; e-books and e-journals; accessing and
acquiring electronic resources, and delivering them. The experience
and knowledge of the authors is evident throughout. While they cover
the basics of the area coherently, in a way understandable to a
student or new professional, they never shy away from discussing
pertinent issues. They discuss openurl resolvers and linkage services,
metadata for electronic resources and managing licenses, as well as
important technical concepts such as interoperability and Z39.450,
x.509 certificates, digital signatures and VPNs (Virtual Private
Networks).
Unfortunately, because of the fast-moving nature of this area, the
book, while current at the time of writing, is already slightly dated:
Athens Devolved Authentication and
Shibboleth aren't explored and
there is little mention of ePrints services or learning object
repositories. To compensate, the authors do cite up-to-date websites
within their text, and have an extensive bibliography. Their breadth
of coverage also means that there is something new for even the most
experienced of professionals: whether it be VLE plug-ins, examples of
electronic resource collection development policies or the impact of
open access.
Each chapter is subdivided into clear sections, and all begin with an
introduction and end with a summary. Particularly nice features are
the examples which are non-intrusive but instructional and help make
abstract concepts a reality: in the electronic resource landscape
chapter, for example, there is a discussion centred around the
importance of data and content versus interface and functionality, and
the case study highlights the fact that BIOSIS data is available from
six different suppliers. The same chapter discusses connection files
for Endnote and the place of bibliographic management software in the
electronic resources landscape. In addition, there are a number of
useful checklists, such as the 'electronic collection development by
numbers' (p142+) and the 'electronic resource evaluation checklist'
(p88+) which really are excellent practical guides.
Written for both students and more experienced collection developers
and librarians, this book cleverly combines basic coverage while also
tackling more complex issues. As 'a practical guide' it really does
deliver and will be of great help in the day-to-day work of all those
involved in this area. Moreover, through its stimulating prose, and
use of case studies and examples, the authors will undoubtedly
engender enthusiasm and further innovation for the future.
Free Pint Reviewer:
Ann-Marie Ashby is Academic Support Team Manager (Business, Law and
Social Sciences) for Information Services at the University of
Birmingham. She has worked in academic libraries for eight years, and
is currently Membership Secretary for the British Business School
Librarians' Group http://www.bbslg.org<> and a committee member for
the JIBS User Group http://www.jibs.ac.uk/. When not at work she is
a keen chess-player, representing Bristol in the Four Nations Chess
League http://www.4ncl.co.uk. Ann-Marie also likes bridge, reading,
films and is a keen Coventry City Football Club fan.
.
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