Fiona Russell

Library Conversations: Reclaiming Interpersonal Communication Theory for Understanding Professional Encounters

Libraries, leadership, and scholarly communication brings together 37 of his essays, divided into two sections: Libraries and their collections, now and in the future; and Scholarly communication and library-publisher relations. Although written from an academic library perspective, the selection covers issues that are relevant to public, school, state and national librarians and so this volume should not be considered as solely for academic librarians. Anderson has a knack for finding analogies that get to the heart of the matter. For instance, he describes donations and gifts as falling into one of two categories: free beer or free kittens. Free beer can be consumed immediately with little or no cost to the recipient. Free kittens on the other hand require a commitment and effort that may be beyond the scope of the recipient to manage. As Anderson explains, a cash donation is free beer, but volunteers are free kittens. I found myself in agreement with much of what Anderson has to say, particularly in relation to competing priorities and limited resources. I especially enjoyed reading the essays on librarian-publisher relations. His essay ‘Six mistakes your sales reps are making – and six that librarians are making’ should be considered mandatory reading for any librarian dealing with publishers. I also appreciated the essays on some of the pitfalls of open access; they were a salutary reminder that there are still issues to resolve before we achieve the open access utopia. I felt Anderson’s characterisation of opposition amongst more traditionalist librarians was dated. As a relatively new librarian, I have not really encountered librarians clinging to old ways. Rather, my experience has been that librarians are very keen to ensure that they do remain current and relevant. There is a great deal of practical advice in this collection of essays that will help librarians do that, as well as more general musings on the professions and its institutions, including the broader institutions we serve. The essay ‘Can’t buy us love ...’ is one such, noting the tension inherent in building special collections that will support the survival of research libraries generally, whilst still working to support the university’s mission. These two aims are not necessarily compatible in an age of limited resources.

Getting started with cloud computing

Review(s) of: Getting started with cloud computing, by Edward M. Corrado and Heather Lea Moulaison (eds), London F acet 2011 214p, ISBN 9781856048071, 49.95 pounds.

Using Web 2.0 for health information

Review(s) of: Using Web 2.0 for health information, by Paula Younger and Peter Morgan (eds), London Facet 2011, 164pp, ISBN 9781856047319, 54.95 pounds.

University libraries and digital learning environments

Review(s) of: University Libraries and Digital Learning Environments, by Penny Dale, Jill Beard and Matt Holland (eds), Farnham Ashgate 2011, 278pp, ISBN 9780754679578, 60.00.