This new book from ALA editions addresses the pri-mary concerns of librarians seeking to connect theirtraditional values of service to patronswith the contem-porary needs of library “customers” (the newer busi-ness terminology is intentionally selected) — withinthe traditional academic library building. For Wood-ward, the author, academic libraries must reinventthemselves as physical places as a means of survival.The author has engaged in extensive consulting work inboth academic and public libraries (and has a careerspanning both types of organizations), and writes withauthority on many of the familiar challenges facingacademic libraries as they seek to add value to research,teaching, and service at their institutions. One of theauthor's most salient observations concerns the humandimension of librarianship (or the disappearance of it, inmany cases): she has noticed the disappearance of pro-fessional librarians or others with appropriate skills andtraining in public spaces in academic and researchlibraries, a trend that suggests for her awithdrawal fromprofessional interaction, and the construction of largebook-filled warehouse-type libraries with no servicepoints. For her, this absence of human contact meansthat “knowing the customer” is not possible, at leastwithin the physical confines of the library. Of course,academic libraries have been consolidating servicepoints for many years both as cost savings and as recog-nition of the networked environment's impact. As acounter-measure, the author recommends small, per-haps mobile, reference outposts throughout large aca-demic library buildings as onemeans of serving studentsand others better, rather than creating a “desertedlibrary” by default through lack of staff presence. Whilethe merits of this recommendation may be debatable,there is little doubt that academic libraries and academiclibrarians and staff are currently struggling with visi-bility, branding, and recognition as never before.

This book makes important recommendations aboutcustomer service and library visibility based upon theauthor's administrative and consulting experience —that academic libraries might learn something frompublic libraries in focusing on users and the user expe-rience; in creating inviting, highly differentiated userstudy spaces in library buildings; in forging partner-ships (and sharing library space) with potentialcollaborators around campus; in addressing the needsof the growing population of nontraditional students(and even retirees returning for enrichment or con-tinuing education programs); and in providing servicesthat relentlessly focus on the needs of differing userpopulations. The author presents hypothetical userswith names that are “personas” for different types ofstudents and discusses in considerable detail the oftenidiosyncratic preferences of each category of student forresearch information, physical environment in libraries,and specific services. These “personas” are quite con-vincing and convey the author's sense of urgency aboutserving all users (including those currently not servedwell at all) in order to create a highly relevant academiclibrary.

This book's chapters move from issues of leadershipand public services staffing to renovating libraries for

customer-centered spaces to new services, marketing,and assessment. The entire gamut of issues bearing oncustomer service is therefore addressed cogently, and inan interlocking way rather than as distinct challenges.While the chapters and sections on new services,Information Commons, renovating spaces, and market-ing do not offer especially new information, or summa-rize all of the best practices, the author's pragmaticand constant focus on the various user groups served bythe libraries — and in co-creating a new type ofcustomer-focused academic library with them — isentirely persuasive. This book is also very well written.Its greatest strength is its practicality, tested by theauthor's experience and observations, and the author'saffirmation of academic libraries as human institutions.

This book is recommended for library science col-lections, for courses on academic libraries in libraryschool curricula, and for library administrators inacademic libraries. It contains a topical index.—CraigGibson, Associate University Librarian for Research,Instructional, and Outreach Services, GeorgeMason University Libraries, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA<jgibson1@gmu.edu>.

doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2009.01.014

The Elements of Library Research: What EveryStudent Needs to Know, by Mary W. George. Prince-ton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008. 201p. 4.95.ISBN 978-0-691-13857-2.

Mary W. George has written a helpful book for begin-ning college students about the library research process.The Elements of Library Research addresses many topicsincluding the physical and virtual layout of academiclibraries; the research process; varieties, purposes, anddistribution of research; search strategies; determiningrelevancy; and avoiding plagiarism. Ms. George iscurrently a Senior Reference Librarian and the ActingHead of the General and Humanities Reference Divisionat Princeton University Library, and is a coauthor of thebook Learning the Library: Concepts and Methods forEffective Bibliographic Instruction (Bowker, 1982).

The library research process is defined as “an inves-tigation involving accepted facts, unknowns, specula-tion, logical procedures rigorously applied, verification,evaluation, repetition, and, ultimately, an interpreta-tion of findings that extends understanding,” and isimportant to learn because “it is fundamental to everyother way people seek knowledge” (p.23). Researchguidelines are provided, but readers are instructed toremember that the universal aim of research is two-fold: (1) to discover something that intrigues them; and(2) to create new insight. Friendly bits of advice appearthroughout the book, such as Mary's Maxim #13: Don'tsettle for what's handy.

In order to reduce the effects of research and libraryanxiety, Ms. George offers her outline of the best searchstrategy for college students. In addition to the often-

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recommended strategies of using subject headings andstarting with specialized reference books, she stressesthe importance of compiling on-going lists of relevantterms/phrases, synonyms, subject headings, call num-bers, titles, dates, and names of experts and organiza-tions. During this discussion, both modern (e.g., PDA)and traditional methods (e.g., note cards) of trackingthe search process are listed. The guideline she gives fordistinguishing between primary and secondary sourcesis very effective: “… substitute the phrase first-handevidence for primary source and the word interpretationfor secondary source” (p.56). The author also covers thebasics of using Boolean search commands, truncation,database/catalog limiters, results sorting, and thesauri.

The Elements of Library Research has many value-added features: callouts, research timelines, checklists,glossary, bibliography of selected sources, and index.Callouts are small boxes throughout the book thatexplain important concepts such as classificationsystems, truncation, peer review, and the differencebetween citations, references, records, and abstracts.Research timelines are suggested for six-week, four-week, and two-week projects. The bibliography lists afew books about library research, plagiarism, collegewriting, and documentation.

Mary W. George has succeeded at describing theelements of library research in this monograph. Sheavoids overwhelming the reader with a list of specifictitles to consult in each area of research, and insteadencourages beginning researchers to dive into theprocess, take good notes, and produce a well-researched project. Overall, this book is a well-writtenand well-organized guide for how to turn curiosity intoresearch and learning. It is recommended for academiclibraries that serve primarily undergraduate students.—Margie Ruppel, Reference and ILL Librarian, RiceLibrary, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN47712, USA <mdruppel@usi.edu>.

doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2009.01.015

Practical Pedagogy for Library Instructors: 17 Inno-vative Strategies to Improve Student Learning, editedby Douglas Cook and Ryan L. Sittler. Chicago: Associa-tion of College and Research Libraries, 2008. 192p.$40.00. ISBN 978-0-8389-8458-1.

There are few topics within the field of informationliteracy as important as the perceived lack of pedago-gical training in library school graduate programs.Aimed at this deficiency, many recent monographs arededicated to teaching librarians about teaching. In thisvein, Practical Pedagogy hopes to provide an informa-tion-packed book of examples, peppered with a littletheory, for both new and experienced teaching librar-ians. The first chapter, an important introduction topedagogical theory, outlines the two prominent the-ories tied to each chapter and scenario. The editors use“direction instruction strategies” and “student-centered

learning” as a way to present each subsequent chapterwithin the text. The editors are promoting the idea thatteaching librarians should devise their instructionsessions with either of these theories in mind.

Each chapter is tied to and supports either the direc-tion instruction strategies theory or the student-centeredlearning theory. The format then followed for theindividual case studies by all contributors, works quitewell. Each case study includes an abstract, the editors'note, an introduction, instructional goals, instructionalstrategy, the match of goals and strategy, the descriptionof the instruction session: what actually happened?, thereflection on the instruction session: lessons learned, andapplication to other instructional settings.

It should be noted that the tone of the text is oftenhumorous and laid-back. At first, it was hard for thereviewer to decide if this was a detractor to the text, asthe content is rather meaty and does deserve seriousconsideration. But, the commentary included in eachchapter and the tone really relaxes the content andpedagogical theory. The case studies included in PracticalPedagogy will benefit a wide-ranging audience, and thistext will be helpful to both experienced and newteaching librarians. The topics seem very current withchapters dedicated to gaming and clickers in prominentpositions. Most useful are the honest reflections manyauthors include about seeing a real need to change theirlesson plans or their teaching and adjusting theirteaching to include either the direct instruction orstudent-centered learning strategies. The main point isthat often our goal, and the goal of the editors andauthors, is to keep students interested and engaged. Thistext is another that should help us achieve that goal.—Michelle S. Millet, Information Literacy Coordinator,Coates Library, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX78212-7200, USA <michelle.millet@trinity.edu>.

doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2009.01.016

Cataloger, Editor, and Scholar: Essays in Honor ofRuth C. Carter, edited by Robert P. Holley. Binghamton,NY: Haworth Press, 2007. 417p. $75.00. ISBN 0-7890-36222-3.

In soliciting submissions for Cataloger, Editor, andScholar: Essays in Honor of Ruth C. Carter, editor Robert P.Holley asked authors to write articles “that would makeRuth proud.” Holley has assembled the results into awide-ranging mix of papers that relate to Dr. Carter'swork and career, and that are relevant to cataloging andtechnical services in their current states.

The present volume is divided into four parts. Part I:In Honor of Dr. Ruth Carter features works on Dr.Carter's career, among them a biographical sketch, aninterview, and a poem. Also included is an examinationof contributors, article types, and topics published inCataloging and Classification Quarterly during Dr. Car-ter's tenure as editor of that journal. The articles inPart II: Historical Studies include studies of annotation

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