January 2024 MBR The Library Science Shelf

The Library Science Shelf

Libraries Without Borders
Steven A. Knowlton, et al.
ALA Editions
www.alastore.ala.org
9780838936634, $69.99, PB, 216pp

https://www.alastore.ala.org/LHRTbook

Synopsis: What does it mean for a library to be without borders?

"Libraries Without Borders: New Directions in Library History" is remarkabl=
e collection of essays, drawn from the Library History Seminar sponsored by=
 the Library History Round Table (LHRT), explores the roles that libraries =
have played in the communities they serve, well beyond the stacks and circu=
lation desk.

The research contained in these pages shows how librarians and users can no=
t only reach beyond the border separating professionals from patrons, but a=
lso across institutional boundaries separating different specializations wi=
thin the profession, and outside traditional channels of knowledge acquisit=
ion and organization.

Delving into a variety of goals, approaches, and practices, all with the in=
tention of fostering community and providing information, this collection's=
 fascinating topics includes:

1. A critique of library history as it is currently conducted, pointing out=
 the borders of habit, familiarity, and bias that thwart diversity within l=
ibrary and information studies.

2. Stories of the community-based activism that has been key to battling th=
e "epistemicide" that can undermine collective understandings about the wor=
ld and the interests of African American library users.

3. Profiles of current Indigenous library practitioners who are both docume=
nting and creating library history.

4. A grassroots movement to create a comprehensive collection related to th=
e theology and practice of the Society of Mary at the time of great ecclesi=
astical and liturgical changes.

5. Histories of the innovations which led to the Association of Bookmobile =
and Outreach Services and the Instruction Section of ACRL.

6. Using the "due date" as a lens for understanding how patrons and the gen=
eral public feel about the role of libraries and their rules in the lives o=
f average Americans.

7. How the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act influenced the work of r=
esearch libraries that collected materials from the Communist Bloc.

8. A primer on conducting research in library history that will allow reade=
rs to explore how libraries in their own communities have affected the live=
s of their users.

Critique: Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by the team of Steven A. K=
nowlton, Ellen M. Possi, Jordan S. Sly, and Emily D. Spunagule, "Libraries =
Without Borders: New Directions in Library History" also features an inform=
ative Foreword by Renate L. Crancelle. Exceptionally informative and impres=
sively organized and presented, "Libraries Without Borders: New Directions =
in Library History" is an ideal for in-service Library Science workshops an=
d training seminars. Of particular relevance for supplemental General Libra=
ry Administration curriculum studies lists, Libraries Without Borders: New =
Directions in Library History" is unreservedly recommended for college and =
university library Informational/Library Science instructional reference co=
llections.

Editorial Note #1: Steven A. Knowlton is Librarian for History and African =
American Studies at Princeton University. His research has appeared in many=
 peer-reviewed journals, and he has served on editorial boards or as editor=
 for numerous scholarly publications including Libraries: Culture, History,=
 Society. He has won the Justin Winsor Library History Essay Award twice an=
d is the recipient of prizes from the West Tennessee Historical Society and=
 the North American Vexillological Association. His first edited book, Osca=
r Federhen's Thirteen Months in Dixie, or, the Adventures of a Federal Pris=
oner in Texas, appeared in 2022.

Editorial Note #2: Ellen M. Pozzi is an Associate Professor at William Pate=
rson University in New Jersey. Her research interests include library histo=
ry and diversity in children's and young adult literature. Her publications=
 include "Going to 'America': Italian Neighborhoods and the Newark Free Pub=
lic Library, 1900-1920" published in the edited book Libraries and the Read=
ing Public in Twentieth-Century America. She is an ALA Councilor and a past=
 chair of the Library History Round Table.

Editorial Note #3: Jordan S. Sly is the Head of the Humanities and Social S=
cience Librarians and the librarian for Anthropology, Philosophy, Religious=
 Studies, Digital Humanities, French, German, and Italian studies at the Un=
iversity of Maryland, College Park. He has published in the areas of librar=
y history, the extensions of critical theory in the practice of librariansh=
ip, digital humanities, and more.

Editorial Note #4: Emily D. Spunaugle is Humanities and Rare Books Libraria=
n at Oakland University (Rochester, MI). She is published in library histor=
y and book history of the long eighteenth century and is co-director of the=
 Marguerite Hicks Project. She has served as chair of the Library History R=
ound Table of the American Library Association and as associate editor for =
SHARP News.

The Librarian's Guide to Bibliotherapy
Judit H. Ward, author
Nicholas A. Allred, author
ALA Editions
www.alastore.ala.org
9780838936627, $49.99, PB, 160pp

https://www.amazon.com/Librarians-Guide-Bibliotherapy-Judit-Ward/dp/0838936=
628

Synopsis: Bibliotherapy is a concept that can be best defined as the use of=
 guided reading for therapeutic ends. And though you, as a librarian, might=
 not be a licensed mental health professional, you can (and do, even withou=
t knowing it) support mental health and personal growth by connecting patro=
ns to books that heal.

Regardless of your previous experience or existing skills, "The Librarian's=
 Guide to Bibliotherapy" is an instructive guide that will empower you to m=
ake "shelf help" a part of your library's relationship with its community.

Drawing on Reading for Recovery (a Carnegie-Whitney grant-funded project), =
"The Librarian's Guide to Bibliotherapy" by co-authors Judith H. Ward and N=
icholas A. Allred begins with an overview of bibliotherapy, including its c=
oncepts and history, and sketches out how its various approaches can be ada=
pted for library settings

It then goes on to explore the potential of bibliotherapy as an add-on to e=
xisting skills, services, practices, and collections; demonstrate how bibli=
otherapy-inspired initiatives can address the needs of diverse communities =
(thus advancing libraries' commitment to EDISJ); offer techniques for selec=
ting reading material for your audience with bibliotherapy in mind; provide=
 a range of possible programs ranging from group discussions and public eve=
nts to book displays and reading lists, along with a step-by-step approach =
to planning and implementing them.

"The Librarian's Guide to Bibliotherapy" also shares outreach tips, tools, =
and branding ideas to make the most of your resources and effectively reach=
 your audience; demonstrates how to use assessment tools to test and tweak =
your program at every stage to achieve the results you want; and inspires y=
ou to take your offerings into new directions, such as creative writing and=
 visual art programs, that fit your library and community.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Librari=
an's Guide to Bibliotherapy provides a complete and comprehensive course of=
 instruction and is an ideal and unreservedly recommended textbook for in-s=
ervice training programs and supplemental Library Science curriculum studie=
s lists. Every personal, professional, community/academic library, library =
system, college or university Library Science collection should include a c=
opy "The Librarian's Guide to Bibliotherapy".

Editorial Note #1: Judit H. Ward is a Science Librarian at Rutgers, The Sta=
te University of New Jersey. In addition to providing reference, teaching l=
ibrary research, and hosting outreach programs, she promotes reading for me=
ntal health and wellness. In her previous position as the Director of Infor=
mation Services at the Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies she developed "Rea=
ding for Recovery," a bibliotherapy-inspired tool for people grappling with=
 addiction as the recipient of an ALA Carnegie-Whitney Award in 2014. She h=
as presented her research and practice related to guided reading from the l=
ibrarian's perspective both nationally and internationally. She is the auth=
or or co-author of over 150 articles and seven books, including two bibliot=
herapy readers in her native Hungarian. She received her MLIS from Rutgers,=
 after earning a PhD in Linguistics and an MA in English and Hungarian Lite=
rature and Linguistics from the University of Debrecen, Hungary.

Editorial Note #2: Nicholas A. Allred is Visiting Assistant Professor of En=
glish at Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT. He holds an M.St. in Englis=
h from Oxford University and a PhD in Literatures in English from Rutgers, =
The State University of New Jersey. His scholarly writing has appeared in t=
he Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Eighteenth-Century Fiction, and=
 the edited collection Scholarly Milton. While at Rutgers, he collaborated =
extensively with the Center of Alcohol Studies and Rutgers University Libra=
ries on bibliotherapy-inspired projects and initiatives, including "Reading=
 for Recovery" - - a guided reading tool for people with addictions develop=
ed with funding from the ALA Carnegie-Whitney Award. He is currently at wor=
k on his first academic monograph, on connections between the prehistory of=
 addiction and conceptions of fictional character in eighteenth-century Bri=
tish culture.

Everyday Evidence-Based Practice in Academic Libraries
Claire Walker Wiley, et al.
ACRL Books Association of College & Research Libraries
c/o American Library Association
https://www.ala.org
9780838939857, $84.00, PB, 376pp

https://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Evidence-Based-Practice-Academic-Libraries/=
dp/0838939856

Synopsis: Evidence-based practice (EBP) in academic librarianship is embedd=
ed in the way librarians are trained to approach their work. An EBP project=
 might be a yearlong study with many types of evidence collected or a simpl=
e assessment that helps to make a small adjustment to a given work. Large o=
r small, EBP is a way of operating day-to-day.

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by the team of Claire Walker Wiley, =
Amanda B. Click, and Meggan Houlihan, "Everyday Evidence-Based Practice in =
Academic Libraries: Case Studies and Reflections" collects excellent, thoro=
ugh examples of EBP across functional areas of academic libraries and inclu=
des many evidence types in a variety of contexts.

"Everyday Evidence-Based Practice in Academic Libraries" is comprised of fi=
ve sections that explore the themes of: Understanding Users; Leadership and=
 Management; Instruction and Outreach; Collections. Open Initiatives.

"Everyday Evidence-Based Practice in Academic Libraries" is a compendium of=
 informative studies on how to understand the experiences and needs of dive=
rse student populations; interviewing faculty to build scholarly partnershi=
ps; evidence-based strategic planning; incorporating intersectionality in i=
nformation literacy instruction; conducting a diversity audit; and assessin=
g open educational resources initiatives. The conclusion calls for libraria=
n reflection to be incorporated into evidence-based decision-making, as ref=
lection is key to understanding the ways that a librarian chooses to embody=
 librarianship.

"Everyday Evidence-Based Practice in Academic Libraries" offers high-qualit=
y evidence from a variety of perspectives and inspires a commitment to evid=
ence-based practice in your day-to-day work and library culture.

Critique: Comprehensive, exceptional, and ideal for use as a curriculum tex=
tbook for in-service training workshops and supplemental Library Science cu=
rriculums, "Everyday Evidence-Based Practice in Academic Libraries: Case St=
udies and Reflections" is especially and unreservedly recommended for perso=
nal, professional, and college/university Library Science collections.

Editorial Note #1: Claire Walker Wiley is a research and instruction librar=
ian at Belmont University. In this position, she serves as the liaison to t=
he Colleges of Business and Entertainment and Music Business. Her research =
interests include information literacy, business information literacy, the =
use of evidence synthesis methods in LIS, and librarians as academic adviso=
rs. Claire has a BA in English and French from Harding University, an MLIS =
from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and an MSM from Austin=
 Peay State University.

Editorial Note #2: Amanda B. Click is the head of research and instruction =
at the Nimitz Library at the U.S. Naval Academy. Previously, she was the bu=
siness librarian at American University in Washington, DC. She earned a PhD=
 in information science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil=
l, where she studied the cultural adaptation of international students to h=
igher education in the United States. Prior to entering the doctoral progra=
m, Amanda was the coordinator of instruction at the American University in =
Cairo. Amanda also holds an MLIS from the University of North Carolina at G=
reensboro and a BS in science, technology, and culture from the Georgia Ins=
titute of Technology. Her research interests include the globalization of h=
igher education, academic integrity, information literacy, and scholarly co=
mmunications. S

Editorial Note #3: Meggan Houlihan is the director of the Open Society Univ=
ersity Network (OSUN) library resources program, where she provides creativ=
e leadership for instruction, outreach, and collections efforts for the org=
anization. She directs the OSUN open educational resource program where she=
 works to promote diversity, representation, and open pedagogy. Prior to he=
r role at OSUN, Meggan served in leadership roles at Colorado State Univers=
ity, New York University Abu Dhabi, and the American University in Cairo. H=
er research interests include information literacy, international students,=
 and the use of evidence synthesis methods in LIS. Meggan has a BA in histo=
ry from Eastern Illinois University, a MA in modern history from the Univer=
sity of Reading (UK), and an MLS from Indian University.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promo=
ting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no fund=
s from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these=
 reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, inte=
rnet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested indivi=
duals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "Califo=
rnia Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwat=
ch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available=
 for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview=
 (dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal=
muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish=
er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review