Handbook of Information Management, 8th ed.

Citation

Wijetunge, P. (2002), "Handbook of Information Management, 8th ed.", Online Information Review, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 57-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/oir.2002.26.1.57.1

Handbook of Information Management is the new title of the eighth edition of the significant text, Handbook of Special Librarianship and Information Work, published since 1955. According to the editor, “the title has been changed to reflect a broader spectrum of managed information services and structures than merely the management of a physical collection of material”. She further states that the notorious “L” word has been dropped from the title, with the intention of emphasising the diverse nature of information work, in all its myriad forms. The Handbook focuses explicitly on special information services, yet the content will be helpful for other types of libraries and information centres as well. Considerable attention is paid to the information services in an electronic environment throughout the work.

The volume consists of 26 papers by well‐published, reputable authors, as well as new entrants to the profession. It starts with an informative overview of the current status of digital library services, focusing mainly on the prevailing hybrid library model, by Elisabeth Eastwood and Sara Thompson. Guy St Clair analyses the special staffing needs of special libraries with a complementary discussion of knowledge management. Neil Munn also concentrates on knowledge management, with an emphasis on the management of knowledge in the corporate environment. Stella Dexter Clarke discusses organising access to information by subject, with highlights on classification, indexing, thesaurus and software tools. Jan Sykes presents an excellent discussion of information needs assessment, paying attention to the changing role of information professionals in the knowledge‐based economy and the contributions they can make to the business objectives of the organisation. The discussion of information audits by Steve Thornton reviews the elements of major existing audit methods and outlines some of the potential problems.

Sandra Parker and Marshall Crawford discuss performance management and metrics, especially in the virtual library. Julie McLeod and Catherine Hare provide an informative discussion of records management, with special emphases on key models and techniques for managing the appraisal of records and current research and trends. The list of sources provided at the end of this paper is useful for those who need further information. Declan Kelly, in his chapter on the enquiry services, discusses the core skills needed in enquiry work. The use of the Internet and its impact on special librarianship are discussed by Mary Ellen Bates. Susan Henczel illustrates selecting and acquiring information resources, especially in an electronic environment, in two separate papers. Ina Fourie reviews current awareness services in the electronic age very comprehensively.

Michael Maher, in his paper on financial planning, provides a basic introduction from a practical perspective to the task of financial planning within library and information services, while Barbara Allen discusses project management in detail in the context of library and information services. Fiona Bell describes marketing information services in detail, and she stresses the fact that the information profession needs to market its services in order to reposition these information services within the parent organisations. John Ross and Peter Evans provide a broad analysis of library management systems. Paul Blackmore discusses intranets, emphasising their significance to the development of corporate memory, while Mark Kerr offers an introduction to the planning of Web sites.

Paul Pedley deals with copyright, with good coverage of electronic media. On a similar theme, Amanda McKenzie discusses data protection, with special reference to the UK. Continuing the discussion of legal aspects of information provision, David Haynes and Fran Huckle review the main provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and its likely impact on the users of information, library and information staff, records managers and other relevant groups. Peter Groves discusses legal issues of the Internet, while Adrienne Muir deals with digital library research. The Handbook ends with a redefinition of “information user” as an “information player” by David Nicholas and Tom Dobrowolski.

The papers are well presented and contain up‐to‐date references, including a considerable number of URLs. The 23‐page index provides practical access points to the contents. However, it would have been better if the handbook had a hard cover to survive the frequent handling which it is sure to experience. Also, readers would have benefited from short abstracts for the articles. Nevertheless, as a whole this Handbook is a must not only for special libraries but also for other library or information professionals, particularly those interested in electronic information and information management.