This is a lovely small book of very broad appeal. It acknowledges that information professionals work across many disciplines and in many roles, from government to NGOs … and everything in between. The one thing they all have in common is the need to ‘ensure their users find the relevant, useful and authoritative information’ required for their employment roles.
Of interest to all special librarians and to many librarians in other settings, this collection of 10 papers or chapters will suit those of us who may be more experienced and newer professionals. Described as a ‘cutting edge overview’ of key issues of concern, this is an extremely timely and relevant title, given that we attempt to thrive in a world where ‘information services need to demonstrate their value to survive’.
Bringing together a range of international information professionals from a variety of sectors, the key topics facing the corporate information professional today are explored from their varied experiences and utilise their broad expertise. Four pages provide a paragraph introducing the contributors of each of the 10 chapters. Contributors include library analysts, programmers, digital technologists, customer relations specialists, knowledge management professionals and a variety of senior librarians and library managers from different special libraries. The breadth and experiential diversity of contributors adds to the book’s broad appeal.
Sequentially, this book walks the reader gently through the modern world of the information specialist, beginning with a beautifully paced background chapter on the history and profile of corporate information services and progressing through chapters that include managing the corporate intranet, marketing (both internal and external), hybrid librarian-IT expert, corporate taxonomy, practical knowledge management, teams and change/transition, global issues, e-issues and training end users in a corporate environment. Perhaps not every chapter will be suitable for every reader, but I found that even chapters not specifically related to my current employment role that added to my overall knowledge were not a chore to read. These chapters did not require me to have an overly solid foundation in the topic for me to learn and develop an interest by reading and they did not prove a chore to get through, as they were well written and in a format that utilised subheadings and clear, consistent chapter structures.
Although not included in the contents page, each chapter is conveniently divided into sections with clear subheadings, allowing the book to be consumed in smaller segments. The chapters all have a well-constructed abstract/introduction in bold, subheadings in bold and conclusion followed by references and further reading along with a separate list of notes (consisting of web addresses) in some chapters. The consistent format is enhanced by the appropriate use of lists in point form to highlight issues and the presence of very clear and well-chosen tables (although these are not separately indexed).
The only small problem I found was that, although the Index was generous in size and well constructed, its very small font size made it a little difficult to read.
QML Pathology
© 2015, Deborah A. Cronau
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2015.1100258