Information Services Today: An Introduction, Second Edition
Edited by Sandra Hirsh
ISBN: 978-1-5381-0299-2 (hardback);
978-1-5381-0300-5 (paperback); 978-1-5381-0301-2 (ebook)
Published: 2018
Pages: 608
Price: $145.00 (hardback); $65.00 (paperback); $61.50 (ebook)
Available from: Rowman & Littlefield, 4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706;
rowman.com/isbn/9781538103005/information-services-today-an-introduction-second-edition
What are the most important issues in library and information science today? How are new technologies influencing service to our users? Why are information and digital literacy such crucial skills? What does being an information professional mean?
The second edition of Information Services Today: An Introduction seeks to spark deep and meaningful consideration of these questions through a series of discussions of current and future library and information sciences work. This well-organized, thoughtful, substantial book updates the 2015 edition by addressing changes in information services, including change management, design thinking, and data management and analysis. The new edition is comprised of nearly 40 well-written and timely essays covering important and immediate topics, including equity of access, user experience, strategic planning, information ethics, and leadership skills.
Editor Hirsh, professor and director of the School of Information at San José State University, has recruited contributing authors with wide-ranging credentials, including LIS educators, library directors, consultants, and other information professionals. Each of them brings a unique and valuable perspective to their subject areas.
Information services as a whole is a broad and potentially overwhelming field of study, but this book logically organizes the material into six thematic sections. The first section, Information Landscapes: Cultural and Technological Influences, sets the stage by presenting a historical background of information organizations, the importance of the professionals who work in these organizations, information needs of various communities, and the issues surrounding diversity, equity of access, and social justice in communities. Other sections are Information Professions: Physical and Virtual Environments; Information Services: Engaging, Creating, and Collaborating via Technology; Managing Information Organizations: Management Skills for the Information Professional; Information Issues: Influences and Consequences; and Information Horizons: Strategies for Building a Dynamic Career as an Information Professional.
Each chapter is well-organized and easy to navigate and includes tables, figures, quotes, and “textboxes” that highlight examples, trends, scenarios, and lists of key points. Discussion questions are frequently interspersed within the text, prompting the reader to pause and reflect. Other useful features include a glossary, a list of abbreviations, and an extensive bibliography.
Information Services Today’s stated target audience is made up of LIS students, current information professionals, non-LIS professionals with an interest in information organizations, and LIS instructors. It is much more than “just” a library science textbook, as even readers experienced with the subject matter will find new perspectives and fresh ideas. As Hirsh states in the preface, “To remain effective and competent in today’s information environment, information professionals must not only understand the nature of information today but must also remain cognizant the information, and the ways users access, use, and even create information, will dynamically change in the future.” This book serves as a reminder to working librarians and information professionals of the wide scope and continuing importance of their field.
For a brief preview of the topics covered in the book, see the online supplementary material, keyed to specific chapters (rowman.com/page/hirshsupplement). The material includes numerous online resources and recommended readings covering a wide variety of topics, including diversity, makerspaces, sample annual reports, assessment, and career management. For further insights from many of the authors, there is a series of 10 webinars accompanying the book (amazon.sjsu.edu/hirsh/index.html).
