Switching systems provides an excellentopportunity to address this question. Dick R. Miller. Lane Medical Library. Stanford University MedicalCenter. Stanford ...
Book reviews
in translating or mapping both static and dynamic data from a familiar system to one that is significantly different and must be digested at breakneck speed. Once the decision to change to a new system is made, administrators expect immediate results. Library staff know their data better than anyone else, and vendors are an excellent source of information concerning the new target system. However, there is no substitute for experimenting with local data using a copy of the new software in a test environment. The transitional process is an excellent time to massage dirty data and to take advantage of that rare opportunity when the database or parts thereof are briefly not "live." Even librarians relying on contractors must learn enough about a new system to negotiate specifications for conversion. A substantial checklist of specific pitfalls and possibilities would have been helpful in jogging jaded memories and minimizing the inevitable surprises that arise during this crucial process. Conference proceedings typically fail to address such issues in sufficient depth, concreteness, and brevity. Ward Shaw (CARL Systems) concludes the book with the fundamental question: "What do you want to become with respect to your users?" Switching systems provides an excellent opportunity to address this question.
Dick R. Miller Lane Medical Library Stanford University Medical Center Stanford, California
References 1. SAUNDERS LM, KWON ML. Changing systems: managing the transition. Comput Libr 1991 May;11(5):8-13. 2. EPsTEN SB. Second-time library system buyers: differing realities, differing expectations. Libr J 1990 Dec; 1 15(21):100-1.
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3. EPsTEN SB. Implementing a second system: some new concerns. Libr J 1991 Jan;1 16(1):76-7. 4. CURZON SC. Managing change: a how-to-do-it manual for planning, implementing and evaluating change in libraries. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1989. (How-to-do-it manual for libraries series, no. 2).
CD-ROM Local Area Networks: A User's Guide. Edited by Norman Desmarais. Westport, CT: Meckler, 1991. (Supplements to Computers in Libraries, no. 24.) 131 p. $39.50. ISBN 0-88736-700-3G. Many libraries today face demands for public access to CD-ROM databases that exceed the capacity of a stand-alone workstation environment, and others find large numbers of stand-alone workstations unmanageable. In response to these pressures, organizations are considering and implementing local area networks (LANs) that incorporate CD-ROMs. CD-ROM Local Area Networks: A User's Guide provides an introduction to the issues involved in providing access to CD-ROM products through LANs. This book is organized into seven author-contributed chapters. All the authors have direct experience implementing and managing CDROM networks, but the chapters are issue oriented rather than case oriented. The contributed author approach results in some redundancy between chapters, but in this book the redundancy helps the reader by providing a multidimensional overview of complex topics. The first three chapters provide a technical background to LANs and CD-ROMs. The authors discuss and define LAN components and architecture, LAN software components and their function, and CD-ROM hardware options in a LAN. Getting a CD-ROM application to function in a network can
be a complicated task. LAN implementers will be forewarned of the challenges they will encounter, such as the large memory requirements of many CD-ROM applications, which can compete with the memory requirements of networking software. Other factors that affect network performance include how CD-ROM applications adhere to current publication standards (ISO 9660) and how the applications use Microsoft Extensions [1]. Incompatibility between different CD-ROM products can also affect the LAN. The features and capabilities of existing CD-ROM networking products are reviewed in chapters two and three. The authors assume that there will be rapid improvements in technology and discuss technical solutions that allow for expansion. The role and responsibilities of the system manager are explained in chapter four. The LAN manager role requires a set of skills that may not be held by anyone in an institution. This chapter is important reading for anyone seeking to fill this role. Chapter five is primarily concerned with technical and management issues associated with a stand-alone workstation. There is a discussion about the future of computer networks in chapter six. The two most important issues are emerging standards for high-speed data transfer and inter-network communication. Licensing, copyright, and pricing issues are the subject of the final chapter. The book concludes with a bibliography of recent literature and an index. Implementing and operating a CD-ROM LAN is expensive, complicated, and time-consuming. Technical obstacles such as the design and format of some CD-ROM applications can make network operation difficult. Publishers are still grappling with the legal and economic issues that accompany multiuser access to their products. Despite all the difficulties, libraries are Bull Med Libr Assoc 80(1) January 1992
Book reviews
still finding it advantageous and rewarding to provide LAN access to CD-ROM databases. This book is a unique, relevant, and timely publication, which will provide a foundation to support decision making and further research. People who choose to implement a homegrown LAN over a turnkey system will need additional literature that focuses on the specific issues involved in operating a LAN. The bibliography at the end of the book will give them a good start in that direction. This book is recommended for the LAN manager-to-be and for anyone whose responsibilities are affected by the implementation of a CD-ROM LAN. Howard Silver Hahnemann University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Reference 1. KOVAMCK AG. High Sierra vs. ISO 9660: a summary. Laserdisk Prof 1989 Nov;2(5):20-2.
AMERIcAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, SUBCOMMITTEE ON BUDGET ALLOCATION. Guide to Budget Allocation for Information Resources. Edited by Edward Shreeves. Chicago: The Association, 1991. (Collection management and development guides, no. 4.) 23 p. $7.00. ISBN 0-8389-3397-1i. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, SUBCOMMITTEE ON REVIEW OF COLLECTIONS. Guide to Review of Library Collections: Preservation, Storage, and Withdrawal. Edited by Lenore Clark. Chicago: The Association, 1991. (Collection management and development guides, no. 5.) 41 p. $7.00. ISBN 0-83893396-30. These two slim volumes continue Bull Med Libr Assoc 80(1) January 1992
the American Library Association's revision of its 1979 Guidelines for Collection Development [1-2] reworked to reflect the environment of the 1990s. The concept of library materials has been expanded to information resources, preservation issues are featured prominently, and political implications are mentioned in both guides. Guide to Budget Allocation for Information Resources reviews the development of the information resources budget, the principles and process of allocation, and tools available for use in the budgeting process. Information resources are defined as "sources of inforriation in all media" (p. 17). This definition eliminates the distinction between traditional purchasing for ownership of information (books, serials) and today's allocation of funds for access to information (electronic formats). The section on the budget itself includes purposes, audiences, characteristics, and preparation of an effective budget document. After a brief overview of allocation principles comes the lengthiest and most interesting section: the allocation process. Considered here are the budget structure (for example, by format, library unit, or subject) and allocation criteria, such as collection development policy, cost, and format. A welcome addition to this edition is a section that provides examples of allocation criteria by library type: academic, public, special, and school. Several allocation methods are described, including historical (how it was done last year), zero based (starting from scratch), and formulas (ranking, percentages, and other models). The importance of reviewing and evaluating the budget process is stressed. The section on tools for budgeting lists a number of helpful programmatic and cost information sources, supplemented by an appendix on sources of price information about library materials.
A short bibliography completes the book. Guide to Review of Library Collections: Preservation, Storage, and Withdrawal deals with the physical management of collections and visibly reflects the increased importance this function now holds in the practice of collection management (the guidelines having doubled in length from the 1979 edition). This 1991 version more clearly and logically covers planning for and elements of the collection review, a process that identifies materials for preservation, storage, or deselection. (Manuscripts, rare books, and special collections are not addressed.) Staff from access, collection development and management, or preservation services may be involved in collection review, reflecting the diverse nature of the process. The elements of a preservation review include identifying and ranking materials needing preservation. Options include preservation of the original format, replacement, no treatment (planned deterioration), or withdrawal. Moving portions of a collection to a storage area provides growth space for newer or more heavily used material. Included is a detailed description of criteria for identifying and selecting materials to be housed in such an area. Protective storage for materials prone to mutilation, damage, or theft is also covered. Many elements of a deselection program build on those of a storage program. Of special interest is the section on periodical and standing order deselection and on deselection of special formats (computer software and files, and multimedia). The book ends with a glossary and extensive bibliography on preservation, storage, and deselection. These books have benefited from thorough revision, expansion, and updating. Guide to Review of Library Collections is the more satisfying of 57
