Emerging Communities: Integrating Networked Information into Library Services by Ann P.BishopReview by: Marianne AfifiThe Library Quarterly, Vol. 65, No. 4 (Oct., 1995), pp. 445-446Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4309072 .

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REVIEWS 445

Emerging Communities: Integrating Networked Information into Library Services. Ed- ited by ANN P. BISHOP. Papers Presented at the 1993 Clinic on Library Applica- tions of Data Processing, April 4-6, 1993. Urbana-Champaign: University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 1994. Pp. 304. $30.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-87845-094-7.

This collection of papers presented at the 1993 Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing at the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science is a comprehensive effort aimed at presenting the then- current state of networking as it relates to libraries and the community at large. The twenty-six articles (one of which is not included in this volume) are a mix of transcribed presentations and research papers dealing with the issues of how best to manage networked information as it is rapidly proceeding to permeate our professional lives. The articles can be loosely grouped under the following topics: community networks and free-nets, online catalogs and the Internet, networking in K-12 education, networked information in special settings, infor- mation policy and networks, networking in academic libraries, and the influence of networked information on the library profession.

The first group addresses community and free-net systems, beginning with a call by Tom Grundner, the keynote speaker, to establish what he terms a "Corporation for Public Cybercasting" whose goal would be to facilitate net- worked information access for all. Considering the changes that have since oc- curred in the political climate, however, his vision may remain unrealized. The articles in this section show that there is a clear and quickly increasing demand for comprehensive networked information resources, not only in academe, but in every sector of the community.

In the second group of articles, the issues of networking relating to library catalogs are outlined and discussed. It is clear from these contributions that we still have much to learn when it comes to online catalogs and Internet resources. The one that stands out in this group is Clifford Lynch's article about the role of libraries in the future of networked information. He believes that libraries will face stiff competition from a variety of quarters in their role as providers of access to what he terms the "content of networked information" within a rapidly changing legal framework. The article by Pamela Sandlian about "The Kids' Catalog Project" points out that many assumptions made by librarians and interface designers about system users are not valid and that we need to refocus our attention on the users' needs in an effort to design better online catalogs. Her description of this project leads into the third group of articles consisting of research on using networked information in the K-12 educational setting. What is described here makes me hope that K- 12 educators will increasingly get involved in being advocates for the use of networked information in schools.

Following this group are two articles that describe how networked information is handled in very different settings, special libraries and museums (a presenta- tion about corporate libraries was not included in the book). These are the kinds of settings where it has taken much longer for networked information to take hold than in academic libraries. Furthermore, when networked informa- tion was used in these settings, users did not seem to be aware of its full potential.

The book continues with a series of articles dealing with issues of a more philosophical nature, including how we, as a profession, can and should help shape public policy that would lead to a national or even global information infrastructure that fits our needs. Several specific initiatives in government infor-

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446 THE LIBRARY QUARTERLY

mation and their unstable nature, due to changes in government policy, are described by James P. Love.

The next group of articles features academic libraries. In his article, Ron- ald L. Larsen suggests that, if academic libraries are to survive, traditional library goals should be augmented with new ones that include the development of networks. The remaining articles in the group describe specific applications of networking to selected settings in academic institutions.

Finally, the last three contributions address the role of librarians in the world of networked information. Significant changes in our environment have re- quired a reexamination of how we, as a profession, must change to meet emerg- ing challenges successfully. A visionary solution to our many shortcomings in this new era is suggested by Bruce R. Schatz who defines the need for a revision of how we perform our jobs as "electronic librarians" and how we should be trained to be able to meet the oncoming challenges in the networked informa- tion environment.

Now, more than two years after the clinic took place, major technological and political changes have occurred, and the volume and technology of networked information have changed accordingly. A collection of essays about this topic necessarily becomes a historical snapshot of the state of networked information. This is not to say that many of the principles, ideas, and solutions advocated in this volume are not useful as a learning experience and as guides for profes- sionals at the early stages of involvement with networked information. However, some of the issues discussed in this collection have become less problematic because of the continuing explosion of networked information resources and information technology and the changes that have since occurred in information policy. For example, the World Wide Web (WWW) is only mentioned in passing here, but today we realize that the WWW may well become a vehicle for some of the solutions suggested by the participants. It is noteworthy that in the intro- duction it is mentioned that the conference papers were available on Gopher and via FTP, although we are not told which ones were included there. Perhaps, in the future, electronic publishing of the collected contributions of the clinic may prove to be a more timely solution than print publishing.

I recommend this book, despite its delayed publication, as a compendium of lessons learned and lessons to be learned as networked information becomes an integral and necessary part of the library world.

Marianne Afifi, Center for Scholarly Technology, University Libra?y, University of Southern California

Ex Libris et Manuscriptis: Quellen, Editionen, Untersuchungen zur osterreichischen und ungarischen Geistesgeschichte. By ISTVAN NtMETH and ANDRAS VIZKELETY. Buda- pest: Akademiai Kiado, 1994. Pp. 277. $42.00 (paper). ISBN 963-05-6680-X.

A few pairs of countries have cultivated close cultural and scholarly links, but few have maintained, by accident or design, as many historical, political, socio- economic, ethnic, artistic, literary, musical, and bibliographical ties as have Aus- tria and Hungary. Especially in the capitals, but also in some of the small towns, one can see evidence of the proximity of the neighboring countries in the names of people, streets, and foods. It should be expected then that there be consider- able proof of such a long-standing relationship in the archives of the respective

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