Table of contents: issue41

Book Review: Libraries Without Walls 5

editor — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 23:00:00 +0000

David Parkes reviews the fifth compilation of the biennial Library Without Walls Conference. He finds how far we have come and how far we have to go in delivering services to distributed learners.

This is the 5th collection of papers from the biennial Libraries Without Walls Conference (LWW5). Reference to the preceding 4 volumes published in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 respectively is rewarding to see how discourse and practice has developed.

Book Review: Knowledge Management Lessons Learned

editor — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 23:00:00 +0000

Martin White praises the work of the editors on the 32 essays covering how KM initiatives can deliver tangible outcomes and takes a practical and balanced view of their overall value.

The problems of being an editor of a multi-author book probably do not escalate as the square of the number of contributors, but nevertheless it must be quite a significant function. You have the problems of selecting the authors in the first place, replacing those that drop out, coping with the 80% of contributors that miss the original deadline and then carrying out remedial work on authors that have failed to abide by the scope notes. On that basis alone, the co-editors deserve considerable credit that the book exists at all.

Book Review: Information Representation and Retrieval in the Digital Age

editor — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 23:00:00 +0000

Chris Awre finds a useful if limited introduction for those coming new to the field of information representation and retrieval, but is unconvinced by its overall coverage and depth.

There are two distinct aspects covered by this book: information representation and information retrieval. It is refreshing to see a book seek to address these together, as it is important to recognise how interlinked they are. As the author herself indicates in the preface, ' - two chapters of this book are devoted exclusively to information representation, a step that must be taken before information becomes retrievable'.

Book Review: The Web Library

editor — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 23:00:00 +0000

Lina Coelho looks at a book she feels is destined to repay its purchase price even if you never manage to read it all.

One question this book doesn't answer is how many hours the author spent researching it. From the point of view of the reader I can assure you that you can get lost in its richness and spend weeks investigating the sites and resources listed in it. Many people are sceptical about Web directories because they go out of date so readily but this issue has been addressed by the author as well through the companion Web site.

Book Review: The Information Society - A Study of Continuity and Change

editor — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 23:00:00 +0000

Lise Foster finds this a useful scene setter for the novice and valuable reminder for the professional of the challenges facing today's librarian.

In 2000, John Feather concluded the 3rd edition certain that libraries would endure as concrete entities due to the investment of time and money they represent and as bookstores. In this latest edition he is no longer sure, describing the library as no longer a location, but a concept and asking such tough questions as what place do librarians occupy in the context of these new developments and what challenges to our fundamental attitudes and skills must we overcome as we adapt to changing times.