BOOK REVIEWS
Distance Learning: Information
Access and Services for Virtual
Users. Edited by Hemalata Iyer.
New York, NY: Haworth Press,
2002. 151 p. $39.95. ISBN 0-7890-
2053X. Copublished simultaneous-
ly as The Reference Librarian,
2002 no. 77.a
The availability of distance-educa-
tion programs and course offerings
have increased significantly in re-
cent years, and librarians are facing
the challenges of providing resourc-
es and services to the growing num-
bers of students and instructors in-
volved in these programs. This
book is a slim collection of nine ar-
ticles related to selected aspects of
service to distant learners. The edi-
tor, Hemalata Iyer, is an associate
professor at the School of Informa-
tion Science and Policy, University
at Albany, State University of New
York (SUNY). Seven of the contrib-
utors are either librarians or doctor-
al students at SUNY institutions,
while the other two are librarians at
other colleges in New York.
The opening article is not direct-
ly concerned with library support
of distance learners, but discusses
the benefits and challenges of asyn-
chronous learning networks, partic-
ularly the ways classes conducted
in this environment can be de-
signed to foster collaborative learn-
ing and a feeling of class commu-
nity and culture. While this is one
of the better-written and developed
articles in the collection, it is likely
to be of only marginal interest to
the audience of librarians.
The next three articles concern
access to information resources. An
article about information retrieval
on the Internet reviews research
studies comparing the performance
of various search engines and dis-
cusses criteria for evaluating the
quality of the information re-
trieved. These topics are relevant to
Internet research by all students,
not just distance-education stu-
dents, and should be familiar
ground for most librarians. Internet
search engines are also discussed
briefly in an article that provides an
overview of virtual reference ser-
vices. Unfortunately, the cursory
J Med Libr Assoc 92(1) January 2004
nature of this overview contributes
so little to this collection that it may
as well have been omitted. In con-
trast, the article reviewing the role
of consortia in supporting and fa-
cilitating access to information re-
sources is almost overwhelming in
the breadth of information provid-
ed. The author stresses the impact
that new possibilities for resource
sharing and cooperative services
can have on distance learners. Two
topics related to information access
not substantially discussed in any
of these articles are electronic re-
serve materials and systems for
providing delivery of print materi-
als directly to the distance student.
The editor states that the remain-
ing articles are studies of distance-
learning programs. One of these
examines the interactions among
participants in a distance-learning
environment that contribute to
building a sense of community.
This concept was briefly discussed
in the opening article, and that
brief discussion was sufficient. To
this reviewer, the article seems out
of place in this collection and
should not have been included.
The remaining articles are con-
cerned with providing instruction-
al services to distant learners. One
article discusses the importance of
incorporating an instructional com-
ponent into a library’s Web pages
and recommends that one librarian
be specifically designated as the
distance librarian rather than sim-
ply add this task to the responsi-
bilities of reference services. Anoth-
er article covers design strategies,
copyright issues, site maintenance
functions, and usability assess-
ments related to the development
of Web-based instructional tools.
The Texas Information Literacy Tu-
torial (TILT) is described as an out-
standing example of an online tu-
torial. The highlight of these arti-
cles is a detailed description of the
design process, implementation,
and continuing administrative
challenges of an award-winning
online information literacy course,
LIB111, developed by librarians at
Ulster County Community College
in New York and now available to
all SUNY campuses.
The only article in the collection
that is concerned with providing li-
brary services to support health
sciences distance-education stu-
dents discusses and compares the
results of a citation analysis of the
bibliographies of research papers
prepared by on- and off-campus
nursing students in an effort to as-
sess service outcomes. This study
was interesting but is presented in
a needlessly long-winded discus-
sion.
Although several of the articles
in this collection would be useful
to librarians involved in planning
or providing access to informa-
tion resources or services in sup-
port of distance-education stu-
dents, several others are of limit-
ed interest or tedious to read. Pur-
chase of this book is not
recommended. Information on
this topic can be obtained from
other readily available sources.
For instance, the MLA position
statement Essential Library Sup-
port for Distance Education pro-
vides an overview of important is-
sues, resource links, and recom-
mendations [1]. Searches of data-
bases such as MEDLINE, the
Cumulative Index to Nursing and
Allied Health Literature (CIN-
AHL), or ERIC easily identify nu-
merous journal articles. In addi-
tion, at least two excellent Web-
sites provide extensive and well-
organized lists of resources:
Library Services for Distance
Learning: The Fourth Bibliogra-
phy [2] compiled by Alexander L.
Slade and Library Support for
Distance Learning [3] by Bernie
Sloan and Sharon Stoerger.
Mary C. Lynch
libmcl@emory.edu
Health Sciences Center Library
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia
References
1. MEDICAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. Es-
sential library support for distance
education. [Web document]. Chicago,
IL: The Association, 2002. [cited 15
Aug 2003]. ,http://www.mlanet.org/
government/positions/disteducp2.html..
2. SLADE AL. Library services for dis-
tance learning: the fourth bibliography.
105
Book reviews
[Web document]. Council of Prairie and
Pacific University Libraries, Victoria,
BC, Canada, 2002. [rev 15 Sep 2003; cit-
ed 17 Sep 2003]. ,http://uviclib.uvic
.ca/dls/bibliography4.html..
3. SLOAN B, STOERGER S. Library sup-
port for distance learning. [Web docu-
ment]. Graduate School of Library and
Information Science, University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign, Nov 2002. [rev 26
Aug 2003; cited 17 Sep 2003]. ,http://
w w w. l i s . u i uc . e d u / % 7 E b - s l o a n /
libdist.htm..
International Encyclopedia of In-
formation and Library Science.
Edited by John Feather and Paul
Sturges. 2nd ed. London, U.K.:
Routledge (Taylor & Francis
Group), 2003. 688 p. $195.00. ISBN
0-415-25901-0.a
The second edition of the Interna-
tional Encyclopedia of Information and
Library Science (IEILS) by Feather
and Sturges has been substantially
revised and updated to include
rapid changes in technology since
the first edition was published in
1997. However, the two editions
follow the same basic format. The
main body of the work is an alpha-
betical arrangement of subjects or
terms found in the fields of infor-
mation and library science. The en-
tries vary in length from brief def-
initions of a few sentences to long,
signed articles that are followed by
numerous references and recom-
mendations for further reading.
Liberal use is made of cross-ref-
erences, which appear in capital
letters in the text, as well as ‘‘see
also’’ references. To illustrate the
manner in which the various en-
tries are linked, a short paragraph
about ‘‘SPAM’’ defines the term
and gives its probable origin. In the
text, there is a cross-reference to
‘‘BANDWIDTH.’’ The entry for
bandwidth has a cross-reference to
‘‘BROADBAND,’’ which in turn has
a cross-reference to ‘‘INTERNET.’’
This entry is longer and gives ref-
erences, a suggestion for further
reading, and several ‘‘see also’’ ref-
erences.
In the preface, the editors explain
their viewpoint on the disciplines
of library science and the larger
106
field of information science. They
state that in planning the IEILS as
well as the revisions for the second
edition, ‘‘We have taken informa-
tion itself as the basic unit of cur-
rency in which we are trading’’ (p.
xvii), with libraries and librarian-
ship being only one part of the in-
formation world. The emphasis is
on information science rather than
librarianship. The theory of infor-
mation and the ways it is collected,
stored, processed, and retrieved
form the basis of the publication.
This theory along with the ways
that information is communicated
to those who seek it provide the
foundation of the encyclopedia.
Twelve major entries or articles (ex-
panded from nine in the first edi-
tion) reflect what the editors con-
sider to be the most significant top-
ics for this work. The entries in-
clude communication, economics of
information, informatics, informa-
tion management, information pol-
icy, information professions, infor-
mation society, information systems,
information theory, knowledge in-
dustries, knowledge management,
and organization of knowledge.
These entries vary from three to fif-
teen pages and have extensive lists
of references and suggestions for
further reading. These twelve arti-
cles are the theoretical framework
that link all the other entries. Many
other articles written by specialists
on specific topics as well as numer-
ous cross-references and ‘‘see also’’
references support the twelve in-
depth articles. These articles pro-
vide a general introduction or over-
view for those unfamiliar with the
topic.
The index provides access to
terms that might not have a sepa-
rate entry. An example is the Na-
tional Library of Medicine, which
does not have its own entry but is
mentioned by name only (four
words) in the description of the Li-
brary of Congress. This rather sur-
prises a reader in the United States
until one recalls the British orien-
tation of both the editors and the
publisher.
At the beginning of the book is a
list of abbreviations and acronyms
used throughout the book. Illustra-
tions include figures and tables.
Many of the entries carried over
from the previous edition have
been augmented or updated by the
editors, who have also made exten-
sive revisions of some entries. En-
tries include brief biographical in-
formation about important people
in the fields of librarianship and in-
formation science such as Tim Ber-
ners-Lee, Melvin Dewey, and Eu-
gene Garfield. Both the old and the
new are included. Entries such as
the history of Islamic libraries are
included with references and sug-
gested further reading, as well as
entries on informatics, electronic
journals, and virtual libraries. More
coverage is given to archives and
museums in this edition, and geo-
graphic coverage is expanded with
information on archives, libraries,
and the state of information tech-
nology in different parts of the
world, including developing coun-
tries.
Two hundred ten international
contributors from the fields of in-
formation and library science are
listed as collaborators for the Inter-
national Encyclopedia of Information
and Library Science, and about 150 of
these specialists contribute nearly
600 entries. Slightly more than half
the contributors are from the Unit-
ed Kingdom, several are from var-
ious European countries, and there
is scattered representation from
other places such as Africa, Austra-
lia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New
Zealand, and the United States.
This work will be very helpful
for students of library and infor-
mation studies and is recommend-
ed for large public libraries and ac-
ademic libraries.
Helen J. Seaton
helen.seaton@asu.edu
Noble Science Library
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona
HAYES, ROBERT M. Models for Li-
brary Management, Decision-
Making, and Planning. San Diego,
CA: Academic Press, 2001. (Library
and Information Science Series.)
J Med Libr Assoc 92(1) January 2004

278 p. and CD-ROM. $99.95 ISBN
0-12-334151-5.a
Models for Library Management, De-
cision-Making, and Planning is au-
thored by Robert Hayes, professor
emeritus and dean (1974–89),
Graduate School of Library and In-
formation Science, University of
California, Los Angeles. The pur-
pose of the book is to provide li-
brary managers with quantitative,
qualitative, and descriptive models
for effective planning and decision
making. The emphasis, however, is
largely on quantitative models that
consist of mathematical equations
that measure the workloads that
drive library operations. Hayes in-
corporates most of these quantita-
tive models into his Library Plan-
ning Model (LPM), an Excel
spreadsheet on CD-ROM that ac-
companies the book.
Hayes sets the tone for the book
with an introductory chapter that
discusses the nature of scientific
management, operations research,
and systems analysis and the ap-
plication of game theory to decision
making. The next chapter lays the
groundwork for how scientific
management may be applicable in
library decision-making contexts.
Hayes focuses on tactical opera-
tions such as assessing ‘‘what-if’’
situations, setting fee structures,
making outsourcing decisions, as-
signing staff, and managing collec-
tion growth as well as strategic
planning for institutional and na-
tional information policy effects.
The next chapter presents an
overview of Hayes’s LPM and its
conceptual and operational struc-
ture as the tool for bringing togeth-
er several of the scientific manage-
ment models to use on the decision
problems presented in the previous
chapter. LPM is an Excel spread-
sheet that provides a means for es-
timating staff, materials, facilities,
and associated costs needed to han-
dle workloads for typical services
and internal operations in an aca-
demic library. The purpose of LPM
is to provide a means for assessing
alternatives and ‘‘what-if’’ situa-
tions represented by changes in
some elements of data while keep-
J Med Libr Assoc 92(1) January 2004
ing others unchanged. It is a menu-
driven tool that allows library man-
agers to enter data about their user
population, holdings, acquisitions
and cataloging activity, and use of
library services. The model also al-
lows for the input of data associat-
ed with publishing, an increasing
activity among academic libraries.
Results are then presented that
may be used to generate estimates
of staff and associated costs, deter-
mine distributions of staff among
various operations and services,
and determine needs for facilities
to serve users, store materials, and
accommodate staff. It is possible to
modify any of the factors by which
LPM determines staff, facilities, or
costs. The program also offers the
ability to load data from the Asso-
ciation of Research Libraries (ARL)
or Association of Academic Health
Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) annual
statistics as a means for calibrating
the values used in LPM or as the
basis for comparing one’s library
with similar values.
The next three chapters deal with
operational and tactical issues in li-
brary internal management includ-
ing a framework for estimating
staff, materials, facilities, and asso-
ciated costs needed to handle
workloads for typical services and
internal operations in a library. At-
tention is given to models for rep-
resenting data about users and
their uses of libraries in a form that
permits generation of estimates of
workloads on user services and the
impact on facilities. Similarly,
Hayes presents models for repre-
senting the acquisition of materials
and the related technical process-
ing, for estimating the associated
staffing, and for determining stor-
age requirements.
The final section of the book fo-
cuses on strategic issues that are
external to the library. Hayes pre-
sents models of institutional re-
quirements as determined by the
institution’s own objectives and dis-
cusses models for representing the
past, present, and future status of
means for information production
and distribution. He touches on the
role of libraries as publishers and
the impact of information econom-
Book reviews
ics on libraries. The book includes
a thorough index and detailed bib-
liographies with each chapter.
Formally trained as a mathema-
tician, Hayes brings considerable
expertise in systems analysis to his
examination of library manage-
ment. He presents a thorough in-
troduction to the potential of op-
erations research and quantitative
management techniques in library
decision making and a well-docu-
mented explanation of the rationale
behind his LPM. Readers must,
however, digest a dense concentra-
tion of scientific management the-
ory and statistical analysis to ben-
efit fully from this book. Library
managers with minimal knowl-
edge of statistics may find it a chal-
lenge to grasp some of the material.
The LPM could clearly be helpful
in assessing some ‘‘what-if’’ situa-
tions in academic libraries and ap-
plying standard library workload
factors to estimating staffing re-
quirements. It is unclear, however,
whether the model and spread-
sheet will be helpful in grappling
with the increasingly complex de-
cisions driven by digital collections
and electronic publishing. The
book is recommended for library
managers in academic libraries
who have an interest in strength-
ening their knowledge of library
management models and those
who want to apply quantitative de-
cision-making techniques to their
library operations.
Ruth Riley
ruth@med.sc.edu
University of South Carolina School
of Medicine Library
Columbia, South Carolina
HODGES, T. MARK. The Southern
Chapter of the Medical Library
Association: A Fifty Year History
1951–2001. Nashville, TN: Southern
Chapter of the Medical Library As-
sociation, 2001. 79 p. (Text available
at http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/
biolib/scmla/hist.htm)
This volume was in response to
the Medical Library Association’s
(MLA’s) request for each MLA
107
Book reviews
chapter to compile an individual
history. MLA was about to mark its
100th anniversary, and the South-
ern Chapter was about to celebrate
its fiftieth.
At first glance, the volume ap-
pears to be merely a chronology of
the chapter. On closer perusal,
however, it stands out as a testi-
monial to the life and times of the
profession. Unlike some works re-
viewed in this column, this book
does not instruct the reader in a
particular aspect of librarianship,
nor does it showcase a new tech-
nology or define a trend. What the
reader will glean from its pages is
a quiet pride in the profession, a
knowledgebase of its history, and a
glimpse into the creation and life of
a library organization juxtaposed
against the times in which it was
formed, has lived, and is develop-
ing.
The author organizes the chro-
nology of the chapter into six stag-
es: formation, expansion, contrac-
tion, reconstruction, maturation,
and triumph. The appendixes are
all data: a record of annual meeting
dates and locations, officers, and
notables from the region. These ap-
pendixes alone serve as an invalu-
able reference when conducting
chapter business and answering
retrospective questions. The foot-
notes, of course, are impeccable.
In his preface, the author affirms
the value of chapters and regional
meetings as opportunities for pro-
fessionals who might not be able to
attend national meetings because of
distance or expense. He reasserts
this several times elsewhere in the
text.
The introduction includes the
meetings of regional groups that
were held during World War II. It
is interesting that the nature of li-
brarians does not seem to have
changed. The needs assessment,
roll taking, and other aspects of
108
forming a group would have been
little different fifty years later. It is
also comforting to note that several
points of formation were conten-
tious. We tend to forget that the for-
mation of what we see today as a
smoothly operating organization
may have been forged through con-
troversy.
The section on formation uses a
thread that continues throughout
the work and is done in a world
setting. It features the founders of
MLA and accurately points out that
the profession owes much to them.
Another pearl that drops from
these pages is the fact that the for-
mation of the Southern Chapter
predated the renaming of the
Armed Forces Medical Library as
the National Library of Medicine.
As has been the experience of
many groups, the Southern Region-
al Group, later known as the South-
ern Chapter, sputtered through
several fits and starts at its begin-
ning. Appropriately enough, this is
documented in the section on ex-
pansion. The careers of the origi-
nators, name changes, and shifting
of geographical boundaries are
documented. The author has obvi-
ously done his homework. He de-
scribes the appearance of printed
programs that were used at the
meetings but also pulls out inter-
esting tidbits. He observes, for ex-
ample, the last year that an invo-
cation was given and traces the
practice of elegance at the ban-
quets. He includes historical de-
tails, such as the noting of one li-
brarian’s forty-four-year service to
the profession. He reminds us that
one meeting transpired in Florida
during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
He points out that it was a sign of
the times that a faction in the 1960s
opposed having bylaws because of
their ‘‘tyranny!’’
It is interesting to note that the
imposition of dues marked the
group’s crystallization as a distinct
organization rather than simply a
group that met from time to time.
The author’s dry wit brings the
content to life. His nostalgic look at
room prices and membership dues
in the early days made this reader
feel as if she were sitting in the attic
going through an old trunk. Re-
grettably, no photographs are in-
cluded. Acquiring photographs
would have been a large task in-
deed, and the budget for the pro-
ject may not have been designed
with them in mind.
The section on contraction doc-
uments the impact of the Medical
Library Assistance Act. The author
describes how the act affected the
region and the national library
scene. He does a good job of weav-
ing individual library careers in
and out of the leadership of the
group and even refers the reader to
the obituaries of notable librarians.
The life of the group after the
Southern and South Central Chap-
ters formed is described in the sec-
tion on reconstruction. The author
takes artistic license when he de-
scribes a program as ‘‘not up to the
standard’’ and again when he pro-
nounces a Cockney accent used in
a skit as sounding ‘‘quite authen-
tic,’’ but, being British-born, he can
lay claim to that license.
The maturation and triumph sec-
tions fall into more predictable pat-
terns as reflects the maturation and
triumph of the chapter. The author
is unabashedly anglophilic about
his affiliation with the Southern
Chapter, having served it and the
Medical Library Association admi-
rably and with distinction. This
volume is a testimony to that ser-
vice.
Jane Bridges, M.L.
BridgJa1@memorialheatlh.com
Health Sciences Library
Memorial Health University Medical
Center
Savannah, Georgia
J Med Libr Assoc 92(1) January 2004