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How to become a tactical library interventionist
THE defi nition of tactical urbanism is any local, hands-on, immediate action de- signed to improve a city or neighbourhood and the premise of this book is that librarians who want to change their libraries face many of the same challenges confronted by people who want to change their cities.
Case studies featuring urban situations describe the problem and solution, and how the nature of the intervention and tactical approach used can be applied to libraries. These are examples of people being active, adopting a tactical mind-set that can be transferred to diff erent projects, and using their frustrations to generate rewarding passions. Each case study has a follow-up interview with those responsible for the initiative.
There are also case studies from libraries that look at the situation, problem and resolution with the condi- tions and causes of the issues that needed to be resolved. They range from public to school libraries and cover a variety of projects from introducing a “Deweyless” classifi cation system to increase loans through to raising funds for advocacy initiatives.
Although mainly featuring US-based projects, there are
46 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
Munro, K. Tactical Urbanism For Librarians: quick, low-cost ways to make big changes. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2017. 176 pp. ISBN: 978 0 8389 1558 5. $57.
some European ones including the Tower Hamlets Idea Stores. The fi nal chapter is a useful guide with 12 steps on how to become a tactical library interventionist .
Barbara Band School Library Consultant
Refl ecting on your library’s fi t within the institutional focus
A SOMETIMES conten- tious issue, measuring or proving impact as a way of measuring or proving value is something much discussed within LIS liter- ature. This book, compiled by Megan Oakleaf and heavily citing her own work, is a re-print of the previously self-published companion workbook to her 2010 Value of Aca- demic Libraries report, and should be used in conjunction with that piece of work.
The book’s focus is on impact as “the diff erence academic libraries and librarians make in the lives of their stakeholders”. Concentrating for the main on how libraries fi t in within their institutional focus as a way of measuring the impact on the organisations and thus showing their value presum- ably to senior management teams of these organisations, the activities raise some hard questions about what we do, why we do it, and how that fi ts in with the needs and goals of our employers.
This book is practical. It lays out exactly how each of the 52 activities should be engaged with, and links them together appropriately. Although the layout is a little intense, once you get the hang of how the book works (the “T3 process” being the one I had to wrap my head around the most – standing for Think, Talk and Target), this could be a useful tool for refl ection and staff development activities within
Oakleaf, M. Academic Library Value: the impact starter kit. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2018. 232 pp. ISBN: 978 0 8389 1592 9. $62.
the workplace. Some activities are purposefully designed to be run in groups, though I could imagine that some of these exercises would make people feel uncomfortable as they really ask you to question your own role.
This book would be incredibly useful to anyone going through Chartership or Certifi cation, as it has you refl ecting on your library within your institu- tional environment, which is a vital part of this process and one that some people (myself included!) struggle with.
Jess Haigh University of Huddersfi eld
April-May 2019
Book Reviews
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25/04/2019 16:10
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