Book Review: The Library and Information Professional's Guide to the Internet

Second Edition

Tseng, Gwyneth, Poulter, Alan and Hiom, Debra.
The Library and Information Professional's Guide to the Internet.
Library Association Publishing, 1997.
ISBN 1-85604-221-9
Price: 16.95 pounds

Review by John Kirriemuir

When this book appeared in my in-tray, my first reaction, after looking at the previous edition less than a year ago, was "so soon?". However, examination of the contents of the book showed that a substantial amount of material had been either updated or newly added.

The book is split into four sections:

1. Networking Fundamentals - this explains the terminology behind, and development of, such resources as JANET and the Internet
2. What is available on the Internet - this contains information on contacting people via email and other network-based services, and various types of information resources, such as FTP, OPACs and the Web
3. Using and creating resources - this consists of tips on using each type of resource, such as email, the Web and so forth
4. An Internet resource guide - now, I usually groan when I see a large print index of resources, but this one was a pleasant exception. The resources are organised as to their reference in the previous three sections of the book. Each entry is presented in a pre-explained template style; in addition, the selection of which entries were included (and which were left out) seems to have been well-thought of i.e. every resource could be deemed to be quite or very relevant to the target audience of this book The information was clearly and carefully laid out across all sections; despite being what might be termed an "easy" or "gentle" read, I was surprised, and perhaps a little alarmed, at how much new information I soaked up in an hour.

   The level of prior Internet use assumed by the authors when constructing this update was either very low, or non at all. Having said that, this is a publication I would recommend not just to novice users of the Web, but also to more seasoned information professionals and librarians. I would particularly recommend this book for students beginning a librarianship course in a University, as the book would plug many of the gaps in knowledge that less rigorous Internet courses/modules for librarians would create.

   

   

   Material on this page is copyright Ariadne/original authors. This page last updated on 11-Jul-1997