Book Reviewsedited by Christy Zlatos

Starting and Operating Live Virtual ReferenceServices: A How-To-Do-It Manual for LibrariansBy Marc Meola and Sam Stormont

Reviewed by Lorena O’English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Reading the Map of Knowledge: The Art of Being aLibrarianBy Peter M. Briscoe

Reviewed by Amanda Cain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Midlife Career Decisions of Librarians (special issue)Edited by Daniel F. Phelan and Richard M. Malinski

Reviewed by Christy Zlatos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Marketing Concepts for Libraries and InformationServices, 2nd editionBy Eileen Elliott de Sa’ez

Reviewed by Steve McKinzie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Libraries, Museums, and Archives, Legal Issues andEthical Challenges in the New Information EraEdited by Tomas A. Lipinski

Reviewed by Peggy Hoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Libraries Designed for Users: A 21st Century GuideBy Nolan Lushington

Reviewed by John C. Stachacz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Diffuse Libraries: Emergent Roles for the ResearchLibrary in the Digital AgeBy Wendy Pradt Lougee

Reviewed by Edward Gaynor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Vandals in the Stacks: A Response to NicholsonBaker’s Assault on LibrariesBy Richard J. Cox

Reviewed by Steve McKinzie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Starting and Operating Live Virtual Reference Services:A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians, by Marc Meolaand Sam Stormont. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers,2002. 167p. $59.95. ISBN 1-55570-444-1.

It is a sign of the times, perhaps, that the authors of Start-ing and Operating Live Virtual Reference Services: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians must spend a number of

pages defining what it is, precisely, that live virtual refer-ence is. The reference environment has become increasinglypopulated with alternative modes, from e-mail reference to“Aska” services to non-library providers such as Ask Jeevesand Google Answers. For an increasing number of libraries,however, virtual reference provided in real-time over theWeb is more than the Next Big Thing; it is seen as a vitallyimportant way to connect with users where those users are:in cyberspace.

For those libraries that have not yet made the plunge intowhat the authors call live virtual reference services but areplanning to, this recent addition to Neal-Schuman’s How-To-Do-It series is a handbook that should be eagerly read anddigested. For those libraries that have already started a vir-tual reference project, Marc Meola and Sam Stormont’swork provides a handy checklist to review to make surenothing was forgotten.

The volume is organized into three parts. The chapters inUnderstanding the Essentials of Live Virtual Reference de-fine live virtual reference and compare it to other forms ofreference, list reasons to provide virtual reference services aswell as a comparable list of obstacles to overcome, and sug-gest five models of providing live virtual reference that pro-vide a framework for the entire work: the basic model, thehome-grown model, the advanced model, the collaborativemodel, and the (problematic) corporate call center model.Preparing for Live Virtual Reference includes chapters onplanning, gathering information on digital reference services,and the essential issues of staffing models and software se-lection. The final section, Implementing and IncorporatingLive Virtual Reference, includes chapters on training, mar-keting, and evaluation. Each chapter concludes with a bibli-ography, and the book includes a glossary and a serviceableindex.

The book is written in an easy style, with touches of hu-mor and many nuggets of hard-won wisdom. The authors’experiences in setting up one of the first live virtual refer-ence services (at Temple University in 1998) inform thework with pragmatic examples and issues. Examples are pro-vided using both academic and public libraries, and thehandy checklists and other useful information provided isnot limited to any particular type of library. The book suf-fers a little from a not surprising factor that the authors ac-knowledge: the reality that services and software are con-stantly changing.

As live virtual reference increasingly moves to the main-stream of library services, more and more is being writtenabout it, including other volumes in the How-To-Do-It se-ries. Another work that complements this book’s processapproach is Nancy Kalikow Maxwell’s report, “Establishingand Maintaining Live Online Reference Service” (LibraryTechnology Reports, July/August 2002). The straightforwardand inclusive checklist approach of Starting and OperatingLive Virtual Reference Services: A How-To-Do-It Manualfor Librarians makes it invaluable, however, for any librarythat is currently planning for a live virtual reference serviceor evaluating an existing one.—Lorena O’English, InterimHead, Library Instruction, Holland Library, WashingtonState University, Pullman, WA 99164-5610V<oenglish@wsunix.wsu.edu>.

The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 29, Number 1, page 53–57 January 2003 53