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The messy landscape of digital scholarship requires resilience


THIS edited collection meets the aim of appealing to an audience including students and those working in digi- tal scholarship. Digital scholarship is defi ned as the transformation of content and services for research and teaching made possible by digital technology. In places it feels like the digital is emphasised too much – I agree with an argument in one of the initial chapters that as such technologies are perva- sive now, ‘digital’ should be dropped, and just refer to ‘scholarship.’ The book highlights a lack of literature in the fi eld, and instead paints a picture of the landscape, with a good range of references to both professional and academic literature. The practical case studies are probably of most relevance to the intended audience, for consideration and application in their own settings.


Topics covered by the book include exploration of digital tools in collaborative space and transferable skills being employed in non-library settings. Given the current economic climate, food for thought is given by an excellent case study on the application of lean principles and processes to maximise value as the customer sees it. In an age where you can start using a digital tool because it is the latest trend, readers are


December-January 2017/18


Useful advice for those new to the role of subject liaison librarian


Mackenzie, A. & Martin, L. (eds). Developing Digital Scholarship: emerging practices in academic librar- ies. London: Facet Publishing, 2016. 184 pp. ISBN: 978 1 7833 0110 2. £49.95, £39.95 to CILIP members.


reminded that to focus on a tool rather than the needs of your client group is a missed opportunity.


The book highlights that we need to accept the digital landscape might feel or appear messier than that experienced by previous gen- erations. We are encouraged to recognise there is not only one way to face challenges presented by digital resources or services, and that frees up the reader to consider their own potential response. A resounding message which certainly refl ects life on the ground is that we need to be digitally resilient, with a willingness to go beyond our comfort zone.


Suzie Kitchin University of Sunderland


ARGUING that university departments and librar- ies that understand each other’s information needs will work better together to support collection management and information services for their students, this slim volume from the American Library Association fi lls an unmet need in library and information publishing. Krista Schmidt and Tim Carstens have presented a thorough and readable analysis of the role of sub- ject liaisons, those librarians who are responsible inquiry/ research, library instruction and collection development within the academic setting. The authors are particularly interested in meeting the needs of newly-qualifi ed or hired librarians, providing them with a sound, basic understanding of the technical end of library service: budgetary consideration; acquisition; receiving; cataloguing; col- lection development; and, ultimately, weeding. Schmidt and Carstens recognise that their frame- work can only be a general discussion of the interactions between the subject librarian and the technical librarian roles, making no promises to answer every question about the workings of your library. Instead, the authors have created a thorough introduc- tion to communicating with your subject department and the library, providing compre- hensive lists of questions that


Schmidt, K. & Carstens T. The Subject Liaison’s Survival Guide to Technical Services. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2017. 95 pp. ISBN: 978 0 8389 1502 8. $40.


librarians new to this role can use to begin the conversations needed to build suitable collec- tions relative to the research needs of both students and staff .


This title is highly recom- mended for staff new to a subject specialist role who may not have had direct, hands-on experience in processing library materials into a collection. From the fi rst steps of planning and budgeting to the fi nal step of putting the new acquisition on the shelf or VLE for use, The Subject Liaison’s Survival Guide to Technical Services off ers advice and insight into succeeding in communicating with both your subject faculty and the library technical ser- vice departments.


Colleen Fitzgerald CILIP East of England


INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 41


Book Reviews pp41-43.indd 3


07/12/2017 14:43


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