Information Services Today: An Introduction

by Sandra Krebs Hirsh (Editor)

This essential overview of what it means to be a library and information professional today provides a broad overview of the transformation of libraries as information organizations, why these organizations are more important today than ever before, the technological influence on how we provide information resources and services in today’s digital and global environment, and the various career opportunities available for information professionals.

The book begins with a historical overview of libraries and their transformation as information and technology hubs within their communities. It also covers the various specializations within the field emphasizing the exciting yet complex roles and opportunities for information professionals. With that foundation in place, it presents how libraries serve different kinds of communities, highlighting the unique needs of users across all ages and how libraries fulfill those needs through a variety of services, and addresses key issues facing information organizations as they meet user needs in the Digital Age. The book then concludes with career management strategies to guide library and information science professionals in building not only vibrant careers but vibrant information organizations for the future as well.

Genres: Nonfiction, Textbooks, School, Grad School, Read For School, Reference, Library Science

514 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2015

Reviews

[Librarian Jessie (BibliophileRoses) · Rating 3 out of 5]

My emotions lie with everyone else who reviewed this book. Assigned by a professor notably assigning outdated works, this textbook fell short in a lot of ways. Using convoluted words to just make already easily comprehendible topics just headache inducing. While I did manage to chew my way through this entire thing, it was not with much joy. I did give this three stars because it taught me new thought process and ways of addressing the library. But in the end, I'm not sure how useful it'll be to me as an Academic Librarian.

[nitya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly I read 4-5 chapters of the book *facepalm* That said, it's a decent introduction to the library and information science field and covers many important issues, some of which I didn't consider before.

(And note to a certain author: Millennials use the internet too, we grew up on it ffs)

[Brianna Sowinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Broad in scope and written in such a general bland way, which lead to little useful information. I want a book where librarians and information professionals argue passionately about user experience, copyright, even marketing. I want a debate not this tedious juvenile book with discussion text boxes

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for class. Found most of it to be stuff I already knew. If you have no prior knowledge of the field, then it is a good book of articles on different topics in the field.

[library fairy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for school and I believe it is my right as a library science student to count it toward my goodreads challenge

[Annalise Kraines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, library school. I love you and your enormous textbooks.

[Angela Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives great insight and knowledge into what it means to be a librarian. It is a required textbook for some MLIS programs.

[Hubes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, I bought the incorrect edition of this book for my class and, yes, I read the whole thing to mentally justify buying 2 of these dang things.

It's fine; it's just a textbook.

[Rhiannon]

unfortunately I lost too much of my summer to this textbook for it to not count toward my goal :)

[Courtney]

I read so many chapters of this for school so I’m adding it to the list

No idea how to rate this so I’m not going to

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough introduction to information services.

[Chanda Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were relevant and informational sections of this book, especially for the sake of MLIS education. However, I think the execution, conciseness, and practicality of the book could have been better. I feel like if an MLIS text is going to be mandatory, it should be more enlightening, timeless, and even inspiring. This lacked a spark that some of the texts for my other classes had, but it was useful for essays and discussion post content.

[Tori]

Biggest qualm: on page 284 there's a figure that's supposed to show the four quadrants of a matrix of choices, which is explained on the previous page somewhat-confusingly....AND THE X-AXIS IS LABELLED INCORRECTLY. I flipped that page back and forth several times just to make sure I wasn't missing some weird nuance where the x-axis was representing "Open, Unrestricted Information Flows" ON BOTH ENDS. Gah. Fix Figure 29.1 in the next edition, Sandra Hirsh.

No other major typos, but the writing could be a little convoluted, and the attempts to break up walls of text with textboxes sometimes backfired because it derailed me from reading. I'd look at the nearest text box assuming it was relevant to what I was reading at the time, only to discover that the box was just an extracted quote from the paragraph I was already reading. Or I'd skip the box thinking it was just another extracted quote, and then look back at it when I reached the next page and discover it was actually an outline of what I was about to read, or a discussion question with no good answers (which was realistic I guess, but left me pondering hypothetical situations instead of continuing with reading about the topic at hand), or a check-out-this-cool-site type thing that I'm never going to check out because putting a hyperlink on a printed page is not conducive to having that hyperlink investigated.

I'm complaining kind of a lot, but there were at least seven spots that I found noteworthy enough to sticky-tab for later reference. And I kept myself engaged (enough) with the text by writing in it (which is not something I usually do to books I read for pleasure, but was helpful in this case). It's a decent introduction to key themes in librarianship/information services, and it's very up-to-date. I can definitely imagine referencing it again as I pursue my MLIS (or, if I give up on my MLIS, just referencing it again because information services are relevant to most things).

[heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful reference source with general survey of LIS concepts, but rather superficial with more complex issues distilled into short sections/chapters, which I get is the intent of a survey text. It has admittedly been helpful to my course work, especially when I have had to comprehend some ideas quickly. I'd just rather honestly read some of the original theory, case studies, etc in detail than feel like I've missed the nuances of the subject matter and only have a generalized understanding. (Even if most LIS articles/case studies aren't going to win a prize for engaging writing!)

[Lynsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't want to read this, but here we are. Most of the stuff in this book I already knew, but it was helpful reading about different laws and information policies. Like my other textbook this semester, it does its job, but I probably won't reach for it again unless I need to quote it for a paper or something.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as text books go, this one was not terrible.

[Juli Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm as finished with this sucker as I'll ever be, but I think I stopped doing the readings approximately six weeks ago

[Cathy Craig]

I can't tell you how many times I woke up drooling on this book. There's no way to make this stuff fun.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful book! Read from both 2nd and 3rd editions throughout MLIS program -- re-reading/ using for my e-Portfolio (Fall 2024)

[Tricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to agree with others, the content of this book is very bland and superficial. There was no effort to eliminate repetition or make useful connections among more than 30 very short chapters. It reads like an old-fashioned course pack. And as several other reviewers point out, apparently "library" is a dirty word. Great pains are taken within the text to avoid using it. Most MLIS want to work in libraries, and this book doesn't provide an adequate grounding in the profession. The cover makes it seem global and "cutting edge" almost to a ridiculous degree, but the truth is, it's very American, and for an American library student audience. Our grad assistant said the cover makes it look like one of those 1950s sci fi novel paperbacks and everyone laughed.

[Paige Dillard · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT book for those studying to become and Library and/or Information Professional. I've read both the 2nd edition and the 3rd edition and they both are valuable and each edition seems to get better with each publication in regards to updated information, policies, procedures, work ethics, and current expectations of library and information professionals.

[Readergeek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really glad I got to read this all before my class. It's densely packed with information, and while that's great to have, it's on the dryer side. Of course, it's meant as a textbook so it's not supposed to be happy fluff either.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine textbook. I just finished the last chapter this morning, but I see myself going back to certain sections as I continue my Master's degree program.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broad introduction. Well structured.

[Kyla Belvedere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well laid out textbook. Easy to read. Great sections and well edited.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I don't really expect textbooks to actually be as useful or engaging as is hoped, but this one actually surpassed my expectations.

[Jocasta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative. There were a few chapters that were a bit hard to get through but overall the book was informative and helpful.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time I have read the whole text book for a class.

[Beatrix · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a textbook for a class. Some information seem too repetitive throughout the book. A good introductory book with a lot of information.