Net Effects: How Librarians Can Manage the Unintended Consequences of the Internet

Citation

Meaden, K. (2004), "Net Effects: How Librarians Can Manage the Unintended Consequences of the Internet", New Library World, Vol. 105 No. 3/4, pp. 160-160. https://doi.org/10.1108/03074800410526802

Is the Internet a help to librarians, or just a hindrance? On the plus side, it has enabled us to access a wealth of unique resources that would not be available to us by any other means. On the other hand, it has also caused us a number of headaches as our customers think they are experts at searching the Web, and the information they are finding is both uncontrollable and unmonitored. Confronting these issues, Marylaine Block has edited an excellent practical guide that explains how librarians can overcome the problems and adapt to the changing information environment.

The book covers a wide range of “side effects of the Web revolution” (as Block calls them) and provides sensible, down‐to‐earth advice on how best to tackle them. In relation to customer use of the Internet, these include increasing demand for electronic delivery of materials and information, the lack of a proper Internet archive which means that information can disappear forever without warning and how to help them find quality assured material. To redress the balance there are also chapters on those issues which affect information and library staff, such as the need for constant retraining to ensure that we can keep up to date with Internet developments, how to communicate with customers who may no longer visit the physical library, and how to facilitate equality of access to Web resources. Finally, there is a useful discussion that suggests ways in which we can future‐proof our services by attempting to predict the developments that may affect them.

Each chapter is an independent essay concentrating on a particular issue, which makes the text ideal for dipping into when you need an answer to a specific problem. Alternatively, it also makes interesting and dynamic reading if you decide to take a more systematic approach. In the introduction, Block states that all the essays were written by practising librarians, and were chosen because they were not academic, technical or full of jargon … and it shows. They are accessible, logical and above all, provide sensible solutions to the problems we are all facing.

Finally, it is worth noting that the essays included in the book consider a range of different customers – children, the community and students – and therefore there is something in the text for everyone, whether you are a school, public or academic librarian!