December Reviews (2008)

Battles, Matthew. Library: An Unquiet History. New York: W. W. Norton, 2003. 256 pages. $14.95 [ISBN 978-0393325645]

Library: an unquiet history by Matthew Battles was an interesting book which helped me gain a better understanding of the physical aspects of librarianship. Battles starts out his book by talking about the library at Alexandria and also the lesser known libraries in the Roman baths and the public libraries of China. These libraries aren’t the ones that are taught about the most so it was interesting to learn that almost all of the public baths in Rome had a library that could be read. Battles also says “what I’m looking for are points of transformation, those moments where readers, authors, and librarians question the meaning of the library itself” (21). This is another theme in his book. He doesn’t just talk about how libraries evolved throughout the growing societies but how they actually transformed history and in some ways, made those in places of authority seem less authoritative.

Talking about the library of Alexandria, Battles states “the chief role of an ancient library was the provision of exemplars from which readers would transcribe copies for their own use; naturally, only the major works were copied in any great quantity” (31). So instead of allowing patrons to check out books at leisure, most of the patrons came in to copy down books like the Bible for their own use. It was more of a place to come to and use the books to create their own personal library. This is interesting because in present times, these books would be considered copyrighted material and no one would be allowed to hand write their own Bible.

A lot of the content that Battles has in his book talks about the disasters that befell libraries in the past. Spanish priests would burn records of the Mayans and the Aztecs and the Hapsburgs destroyed a lot of Arabic texts after they got a hold of Tunis. Even the ancient Vatican library used to burn books that were directly in opposition of the church. So no one would have the chance to set eyes on these books, let alone read or copy them for personal use. By contrast, Battles states later that “today, [the Vatican library] is one of the most delightful scholarly libraries in the world” (81). It’s interesting as I learn about censorship in today’s public libraries being against the “ALA’s code of ethics” when harsh censorship was practiced widely and openly during the beginnings of libraries.

I think that Battles does a great job at illustrating the importance that libraries have contributed to societies across time. I did think that his writing style left something to be desired. At times, he seemed to get caught up in the most flowery language that he could use to describe something. Battles used a lot of heavy imagery that made it more interesting to read sometimes but I felt that he could have said things in a simpler fashion. I couldn’t find too much information on Battles himself to really discuss the kind of authority he has on this subject. A Google search provided me with a couple of articles that described him as a bibliophile and he has apparently written an article for American Scholar from 2004.

I compared the content of Battles’ book to Libraries in the Ancient World by Lionel Casson. Casson’s book was published in 2001, only two years before Battles published his book. As the title suggests Casson’s book deals exclusively with the ancient libraries. It stops at the middle Ages. From what I can tell, some of the content appears to be the same although Casson’s book goes more in depth and is not so focused on the destruction of books and libraries. This makes Battles’ book slightly more unique and I can say that both books would be interesting reads for Library Science students. I think that Battles’ book would be an excellent read for an introductory library class to teach. I would even recommend it to people who are interested in history, specifically the history of books and the growth of academia.

Lauren Reile, Graduate student
Wayne State University Library and Information Science Program

Bell, Steven J. and John D. Shank. Academic Librarianship by Design: A Blended Librarian's Guide to the Tools and Techniques. Chicago: American Library Association, 2006. 181 pages. $45.00 [ISBN 978-0838909393]

Steven Bell and John Shank, in their book Academic Librarianship by Design: A Blended Librarian’s Guide to the Tools and Techniques , begin with a well-defined purpose: “we believe that librarians can add to their existing skills a new skill set drawn from instructional design in order to develop a blend of traditional librarianship, information technology, and these new design possibilities” The book is dedicated explaining what this purpose statement means, why it is important, and how it could change academic librarianship now.

The goal of the book is to explain what a “blended librarian” is. Blended librarianship has two core values: to integrate librarianship with the teaching and learning process at the university by using the tools of design thinking; and to create “learning communities” among faculty and staff. The book follows a readable and continuous progression: firstly, they explain the connection between blended librarianship and design thinking; secondly, they show examples of blended librarianship and design thinking; and lastly, they answer the question: what can I do now as an academic librarian?

Blended librarianship? What are they talking about, really? Blended librarianship amounts to this: traditional librarian skills + technology skills + instructional design skills. The last is original, and what instructional design really amounts to is using technology for student learning by design thinking. Historically, Bell supplied the idea of blended librarianship in a 2003 article, but Shank supplied the model for what a blended librarian would look like. The academic librarian, according to Bell and Shank, needs to acquire the skills of two professional positions: the information technologist and the instructional designer.
One of the enjoyable merits of the book is the writing. The style is refreshingly clear and easy to read. Unlike other books on library science, they define the concepts that they are using. For example, the reader does not have to wonder what the term ‘instructional design’ means; they define it on page two as “the systematic creation of an educational experience that will help students achieve a specified set of learning outcomes.” And they elaborate, with examples.

However, because blended librarianship is a relatively new concept, it is somewhat vague. The reader sometimes finds themselves lost in a sea of new technical words—blended librarian, information technologist, educational designer, design thinking—and has to rethink what they actually mean. The authors are aware of this, and realize that their idea is still evolving and being crystallized; indeed, the idea itself is a product of design thinking, which is ever-improving from a basic prototype to a crystallized idea. Therefore, the book gives the reader

a mosaic of what blended librarian ship is, how it got there, and where it might end up.
What Bell and Shank are doing is no joke. I think they are really up to something significant to the future of the profession. Librarians take them and their ideas seriously. The results of their labor are compelling. In 2004 they created an online community for blended librarians, called the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community. Two years later it had over 2,000 members.

The book also comes at a very important time in the library profession. Put frankly, Bell and Shank think that academic librarianship is being attacked. It is being challenged by the enormous rapidity of information and technology, and the challenge to make them available, simple, and situational for the patrons. They believe that academic librarianship is being marginalized, that this trend will continue (discussed in more detail in their work titled “Blended Librarians Manifesto”), and that blended librarianship is what can reverse this trend. They have a good argument: they lay down seven things that have lead to the marginalization of the academic librarian, and then lay down six core principles of blended librarianship that could reverse these trends.

What Bell and Shank have here is not merely a few tips that librarians could listen to, but a genuine transformation of what it means to be an academic librarian. Hence the book, the website, and the workshops. They are trying to create a new revolution in the profession to tackle the problems of the future.

Having said all this, however, there are some redundancy and unessential things to be found in the book. There are several things that Bell and Shank say about “blended librarianship” that are clearly about librarianship already. In other words, they are saying nothing new. For example, they stress that blended librarians are interested in leadership, are change agents, and collaborate with colleagues. Clearly these blanket statements apply equally to all librarians.

Bell and Shank have a good idea where their book fits within the literature and academic librarianship. They refer the reader elsewhere for an introductory book on academic librarianship, and admit that their scope is very limited to the concept of design thinking and how it could help the profession.

I highly recommend this book as a resource for all library science programs, but especially for courses that deal with academic librarianship. This book will provide students not only with the new perspective that Bell and Shank provide, but also will act as a good example of original scholarship. Secondly, due to its’ originality and contribution to the literature, I think most academic libraries should consider purchasing this book for inclusion into the collection if their budget can accompany it.

Matt Smith, Graduate student
Wayne State University Library and Information Science Program

Doucett, Elisabeth. Creating Your Library Brand: communicating your relevance and value to your patrons. Chicago: American Library Association, 2008. 160 pages. $45.00. [ISBN 978-08389-0962-1]

In the digital age, libraries need to market themselves in order to stay at the forefront of the patron mind. The concept of branding, or the creation of an image that directs those who view it to associate the image to the library, its purpose and direction, is an important aspect of marketing that should not be overlooked in today’s fast pace environment. Determining a brand is the first step in the marketing process and is entirely separate from a library’s mission statement. Its goal is to support that mission statement and effectively help patrons’ associate the marketing of this image to the library and its services.

The purpose of the book Creating Your Library Brand is to assist libraries with identifying and associating a brand to their library that increases the public’s awareness of their library and its significance to patrons. The objective of this book is to help libraries walk through the creative process, isolate what components make it a success, and then effectively capture that into a brand. A brand is that image or logo with a tag or statement that is associated with that logo that will be highly visible to the public.

Chapters 1 and 2 define marketing and branding. This leads to the discussion of the why branding is important in the changing culture of libraries and how they market themselves to the public. Chapter 3 discusses the participation factor. It lays out suggestions for who should be involved in the branding process and how the teamwork can determine a brand image. Chapter 4 describes a brand auditing process. This process sets a foundation for creating a brand by compiling research and gathering opinions from various perspectives.

Chapters 6 and 7 walk the reader through the progression of the creation of a brand. Exercises provided assist in the brand development by helping book users create a brand story, items such as the tag, as well as describe visual components and the role they play in the brand development. Chapter 8 is important in that it describes the standards and roles a brand plays in a marketing plan. Chapter 9 gives information about potential outside creative sources and tips for working with designers to create the brand image the library has conceptualized. Chapters 10 through13 take the reader through the maturity process of evaluating, maintaining, and working with brands in Library 2.0 settings such as blogs. One of these chapters contains valuable information on potential problems and shortcomings brands might have that will lessen their impact on the desired audience. A glossary, appendixes with case studies and descriptive words that lay the foundation for determining a brand tagline, as well as an index and exercises inset at the end of every chapter that emphasis the chapter topic are an valuable asset to the book.

Comparatively, there are not many books on the subject that deal directly with branding, and not many that are current that describe in detail the branding approach, especially within a library setting. In Marketing/planning library and information services the approach of the book is more on developing a marketing plan and public relations in general (Weingand, 1999). Walters (2004) outlines in her book Library marketing that works marketing strategies, but has little information on branding, instead focusing on developing marketing plans, a good approach for libraries that have some of the basics in place already.
This book takes a clear and straightforward approach to the subject. It is succinct but well planned out, leaving the reader with a definite knowledge of the subject without being overwhelmed. The subject matter is tailored to a specific element – a brand, not to marketing as a whole. The author, E. Doucette, is a qualified candidate to assist libraries sifting through this process. Now a degreed librarian at Lucius Beebe Memorial Library in Wakefield, Massachusetts, she has previously utilized and successfully applied these principles during her tenure in marketing and consulting for major companies such as Kraft foods and Dunkin’ Donuts. With a MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management as well as an MLIS, Doucette is knowledgeable the topics presented within the book.

The content is current and relative to the importance of marketing in libraries today. One excellent aspect of the book is that the chapters can be utilized separately or collectively. For example, libraries with a brand already might find the chapters on maintaining a brand and long-term goals an asset in refining a brand’s image. For libraries looking to establish a brand image as a focal point of a marketing plan, this book would be an excellent purchase. Its intended audience is libraries who are looking to institute a brand for their library, or retain that image and polish it so it reaches its maximum audience for the full potential. This book would make a good collection addition and add value to individuals developing a library marketing strategy.

Tracy Carlton, Graduate student
Wayne State University Library and Information Science Program