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Current theory in Library and Information Science (special issue)
Current Theory in Library and Information Science (special issue), edited by William E. McGrath. Library Trends, vol. 50, no. 3 (Winter 2002): 309 –574. Early in his introduction, the issue editor states “To this author, theory is an explanation for a quantifiable phenomenon” (p. 310). The reviewer immediately senses that there may be some limitations on the contents of the issue, and indeed this is the case. What we have here, despite some small bows in the direction of other than quantitative theory, is basically a review of a very narrow section of theory within the broad field of L&IS. The papers largely deal with quantitative issues, and largely within what this reviewer thinks of as bibliometric questions. I’m open to debate or correction on the use of the word bibliometric, because that is really not my part of the L&IS spectrum. Whatever term we employ, however, the scope of this Library Trends issue is exceedingly narrow and does not begin to cover current theoretical discussions within the field. Even within the limits imposed by this quantitative myopia, there is research and theory that could have been discussed. There is a rich and at least partially quantitative literature dealing with organizational effectiveness. Within that sphere, there are relevant theories and research from within L&IS on both public and academic libraries. Nowhere are these trends explored in this issue of Library Trends. What is really lacking, however, is any acknowledgment of the rich vein of social theory that can and is being applied with L&IS in studying the library as a social phenomenon. Any discussion of the social aspects of libraries can include theoretical material derived from people like Pierre Bordieu, Michel Foucault, Antonio Gramsci, any number of sociologists, the Annales school of historians, and a huge list of social philosophers and thinkers. The names Bordieu, Foucault, and Gramsci are noticeably absent from the references in any of the articles in this issue. For just an inkling of the size of the potential literature involved inspect the references of John Budd’s Knowledge and Knowing in Library and Information Science: a Philosophical Framework (Scarecrow, 2001) or the papers from Library Research Seminar II in an upcoming Library Quarterly for starters. This is not to say that the material in this issue of Library Trends is not useful. There is useful material, but within a very narrow framework that comes no where near the full breadth of current theory in library and information science.—Charles A. Seavey, Associate Professor, Distance Learning Coordinator, School of Information Science & Learning Technologies, 303 Townsend Hall, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211 . Diversity Now: People, Collections, and Services in Academic Libraries, edited by Teresa Y. Neely and KuangHwei (Janet) Lee-Smeltzer. New York: Hawthorn Press, 2002. 308p. $69.95. ISBN 0-7890-1696-6. $39.95. ISBN 0-7890-1697-4. LC 2002017175. Diversity awareness and initiatives are critical in academic libraries as we continue to better represent and serve our communities. As the title suggests, this book attempts to look at the issues surrounding diversity in various ways that
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The Journal of Academic Librarianship
relate to academic libraries. It is a collection of papers presented at the Big 12 Plus Libraries Consortium on April 3 and 4, 2000 and has also been published simultaneously in the Journal of Library Administration, Vol. 33, Nos. 1/2 and 3/4. There is a need for a book that shows the areas where diversity initiatives are needed, but in trying to be so inclusive, this book lacks cohesion. Neely and Lee-Smeltzer selected 16 papers from the conference and organized them into four sections. The first section, “People: Recruitment and Retention,” contains one paper on serving the needs of diverse student bodies through working with other campus agencies that work directly with students of color, such as summer research programs. Three other papers focus on the retention of faculty and librarians of color. One last paper suggests actions that libraries can take to organize benefits for domestic partners. These papers touch on important topics and give working solutions. In “People: Institutional and Organizational Culture,” three of the four papers try to determine the best ways to create a diverse work environment while maintaining a comfortable environment for all. These ways include showing results from a job satisfaction survey, giving solutions to recurring problems in a multicultural environment, and creating an assessment instrument for diversity initiatives in a library. The other paper examines the affect of gender roles in library administration. “Collections and Access” focuses on the topic of historically Black college and university’s (HBCU) libraries. One paper takes an historical perspective on the significance of the collections of African American materials found in these libraries and the determination and philanthropy that made them possible, and the other looks at the current state of HBCU libraries and give suggestions on ways to improve them. This was an insightful section that touches on issues often not discussed and gives plausible recommendations to improve these libraries and their relationship with other institutions. “Instruction and Library Education” is a section of various topics. Two papers look at how library schools can teach students about diversity issues through open communication in the classroom and service-learning experiences. These papers offer good suggestions to faculty and library school administration. Another paper explains a librarian’s experience with teaching an Ethnic Studies class, while another describes a multicultural storytelling project put on by a library to help teachers in training and to connect with the local community. The last paper shows the reader how a group of students with a distinct culture (aboriginal students in Canada) fulfills their academic needs and how the library could better serve them. This collection has many excellent papers that give the reader historical information, theoretical ideas, and practical experiences, but there is nothing keeping the book together as a whole. It may have been beneficial if the editors had a chapter at the end, tying everything together and explaining the importance of these papers and this conference to librarianship. Library educators, librarians, and administrators could all find something to improve the diversity in their own environments in this book, but a book that focuses more on just one of these areas would be more practical and beneficial. I would suggest the purchase of this book for a library school or an academic library looking to get an over-
122
The Journal of Academic Librarianship
relate to academic libraries. It is a collection of papers presented at the Big 12 Plus Libraries Consortium on April 3 and 4, 2000 and has also been published simultaneously in the Journal of Library Administration, Vol. 33, Nos. 1/2 and 3/4. There is a need for a book that shows the areas where diversity initiatives are needed, but in trying to be so inclusive, this book lacks cohesion. Neely and Lee-Smeltzer selected 16 papers from the conference and organized them into four sections. The first section, “People: Recruitment and Retention,” contains one paper on serving the needs of diverse student bodies through working with other campus agencies that work directly with students of color, such as summer research programs. Three other papers focus on the retention of faculty and librarians of color. One last paper suggests actions that libraries can take to organize benefits for domestic partners. These papers touch on important topics and give working solutions. In “People: Institutional and Organizational Culture,” three of the four papers try to determine the best ways to create a diverse work environment while maintaining a comfortable environment for all. These ways include showing results from a job satisfaction survey, giving solutions to recurring problems in a multicultural environment, and creating an assessment instrument for diversity initiatives in a library. The other paper examines the affect of gender roles in library administration. “Collections and Access” focuses on the topic of historically Black college and university’s (HBCU) libraries. One paper takes an historical perspective on the significance of the collections of African American materials found in these libraries and the determination and philanthropy that made them possible, and the other looks at the current state of HBCU libraries and give suggestions on ways to improve them. This was an insightful section that touches on issues often not discussed and gives plausible recommendations to improve these libraries and their relationship with other institutions. “Instruction and Library Education” is a section of various topics. Two papers look at how library schools can teach students about diversity issues through open communication in the classroom and service-learning experiences. These papers offer good suggestions to faculty and library school administration. Another paper explains a librarian’s experience with teaching an Ethnic Studies class, while another describes a multicultural storytelling project put on by a library to help teachers in training and to connect with the local community. The last paper shows the reader how a group of students with a distinct culture (aboriginal students in Canada) fulfills their academic needs and how the library could better serve them. This collection has many excellent papers that give the reader historical information, theoretical ideas, and practical experiences, but there is nothing keeping the book together as a whole. It may have been beneficial if the editors had a chapter at the end, tying everything together and explaining the importance of these papers and this conference to librarianship. Library educators, librarians, and administrators could all find something to improve the diversity in their own environments in this book, but a book that focuses more on just one of these areas would be more practical and beneficial. I would suggest the purchase of this book for a library school or an academic library looking to get an over-