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E-books are on the minds of publishers, authors, and readers these days. And they should be on the minds of librarians as well. As with any new format for materials, there are challenges and issues that libraries face in adding e-books to their collections. Some libraries are already invested in the process, licensing e-book collections from vendors and even circulating preloaded e-book readers to users. Other institutions are waiting to see how the market shakes out and whether a platform neutral e-book format will make it possible for libraries to support any e-book user, regardless of whether they use a Kindle, a Nook, an iPad, a Sony Reader, or one of the other myriad readers out there. Beyond the collection and technological issues, e-book readers also offer readers’ advisors some new challenges in working with users. Any time a new format is introduced in libraries, we need to look at how that format affects the reader’s approach to the material. In the following piece, Katie Dunneback gives an overview of e-books and readers’ advisory that is a useful opening of the discussion of how we incorporate e-books into our practice as readers advisors. Dunneback is Consultant with East Central Library Services in Bettendorf, Iowa, where she is one of the lead providers of readers’ advisory continuing education. She has presented programs on e-books and RA/library issues for Library Journal’s E-book Summit, “eBooks: Libraries at the Tipping Point”; the 2011 Iowa Small Library Online Conference; and the 2011 Tools of Change Conference. Dunneback is coauthor of the Everything Romance chapter in Integrated Advisory Service: Breaking Through the Book Boundary to Better Serve Library Users. She is a member of the Iowa Center for the Book Advisory Board and was a member of the inaugural The Reading List Council in 2007.—Editor

From the first e-text keyed in to a computer file using plain vanilla ASCII by Michael Hart at the University of Illinois in 1971 (it was the Declaration of Independence ), the usage and development of e-books have grown by leaps and bounds.¹ As the speed of progress with regard to e-book technology is also ever increasing, this article will focus on an overview of considerations for technology, collection development and circulation issues, and providing advisory services for e-books in libraries. E-books have been freed from the Pandora’s box in the library world. We cannot stuff them back in and must figure out how to deal with the issues surrounding them.

Technical Issues

The first point of business to understand is that e-books do not enjoy the same sort of protections under copyright law as physical books do. The First Sale Doctrine is the exception to copyright law that allows for the transfer and disposal of a lawfully acquired and tangible copy of a work.² This is the section of copyright law that allows for libraries to operate in a lawful manner. In Complete Copyright, Carrie Russell notes that with the passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, one of the unresolved issues was the “creation of a ‘digital first sale doctrine.’” Digital copies appear to still be subject to the First Sale Doctrine as long as they are tied to a tangible medium such as a CD or DVD.³

With intangible digital copies, you have lost the right to dispose of it as you wish (other than outright deleting it) and are in effect licensing access to a file. To control the access according to the license, publishers assign what is known as digital rights management (DRM) to files. DMCA essentially bars libraries from purchasing electronic copies of books themselves, setting up a file server, and distributing the files to their patrons as they see fit without the content creator’s explicit consent on each transaction. It could be done if your library wanted to set itself up as a direct distributor of a publisher’s titles rather than going through a vendor, but as you are still only licensing access, a library would have to invest significant money and manpower in developing a robust system that would appease content providers who insist on the presence of DRM. In this time of decreasing budgets and increased demand of library services, each institution must determine where they will get the most bang for their buck. Currently, I am unaware of any library dealing directly with publishers as direct distributor.

If you do decide to go with a commercial distributor or invest in the development of a distribution system of your own, file formats should be your number one consideration. Project Gutenberg continues to code their books as plain vanilla ASCII as “99% of the hardware and software a person is likely to run into can read and search these files.”⁴ In September 2007, the EPUB format was adopted by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) as the standard format for digital publications.⁵ Publishers and distributors use many other formats, some of which are proprietary in nature. Many publishers, as already mentioned, also use DRM to restrict unauthorized access to the files. DRM code exists separately from file format code, but they are sometimes used in conjunction with each other to control access to e-book files, such as with Amazon’s Kindle files. In order to access a file that has been encoded with DRM, users need to have access to the key to unlock it. As most publishers license Adobe’s DRM code, this means users will need to have an Adobe account tied to the device they are using to access the file. Anonymous authorization is available, but the file cannot then be transferred to another device. The same is true for Amazon’s proprietary DRM. It is possible for multiple copies of an e-book to have the same filetype (.epub) but different DRM schemes, thereby forcing a user to need access to multiple programs to unlock each copy of the file.⁶ If an EPUB format book is encoded with DRM, it is no longer considered the open version of the format.

And with that, we come to one of the cruxes of the discussion: e-book readers. You need to factor it into your readers’ advisory interview. If your library offers an e-book service, can the reader the patron will be using access those books? Almost any computerized device these days has the capability of being an e-book reader if it has the right software installed. Computers can be e-book readers and probably are the most versatile devices when it comes to file formats. The drawback is most people don’t want to do their leisure reading on a computer, especially if they spend most of their day working at a computer. E-ink technology devices like the Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, and Barnes and Noble Nook, to name the three most popular as of this writing, provide the most book-like reading experience. However, the Amazon Kindle proprietary DRM code is not currently compatible with the systems of e-book providers for libraries. An additional concern about the e-ink technology available in the United States is that it currently only reproduces images and text in black and white. Illustrated content, like graphic novels, is less successful on e-ink readers. This is where LCD based systems like the iPad, iPod Touch, and nookColor excel. In November 2010, the New York Times reported on the announcement of color e-ink technology by a Chinese company, Hanvon.⁷ I would safely speculate on the arrival of color e-ink technology in the North American market in the next two years, which will broaden the appeal of e-ink e-book readers. As it is in 2010, we have seen the price threshold of $100 for a dedicated e-book reader broken—by $1, but broken nonetheless—with the Aluratek Libre. As the price barrier lowers, libraries will likely see an increasing number of e-book adopters. These will include tech-savvy younger users as well as those older users with sight issues who may appreciate the ability to resize text.

Collection Development and Circulation

Collection development of any sort is dependent upon awareness. If we are to develop effective and useful collections for our patrons, we must be aware what titles are out there. There are a number of ways to accomplish this in the e-book world. Many traditionally published popular titles are also being released as e-books these days, but it is important to be aware of any that may have a delayed digital release. Library Journal’s Barbara Hoffert has begun to include e-book ISBN’s in her Prepub Alerts.⁸ The USA Today best-seller list includes notations for e-books for those titles where the e-book format was the most-purchased format.⁹ On November 10, 2010, the New York Times announced it will be compiling a best-seller list for e-books.¹⁰ Obviously, e-books have become entrenched in the public consciousness. What about the books which may not make the best-seller lists? The “midlist” authors? For books where a print edition exists, we can turn to standard review outlets such as Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. But what about those which do not have a print edition? Library Journal is exploring the possibilities of expanding their reviews to include digital-first or digital-only titles.¹¹ Outside of the traditional broad coverage review outlets, librarians should also pay attention to genre-specific outlets like RT Book Reviews which include reviews of digital-first and digital-only titles. For previews of books, librarians are one of the target audiences for the NetGalley service where publishers make digital advance reader copies available for review. Book bloggers are another rising outlet for publisher publicity efforts, and these readers tend to read broadly in terms of both content as well as format.

In personal conversations with Library Journal’s Heather McCormack, we have discussed the issue of titles in digital format that are not available for library distribution. This is a significant concern. A number of rising star authors currently have some titles only available in a digital format and are not necessarily available for distribution to libraries. Examples of this are specialty and independent presses whose business model is that of digital-first/-only (DF/DO) publishing. This is a point where libraries need to become involved in conversations with publishers to work out mutually beneficial solutions. A number of DF/DO publishers are making their books available to libraries through third-party vendors. As the economy and the publishing market change, I believe we will be seeing more and more DF/DO publishers crop up and established publishers move to a DF/DO business model either fully themselves or by spinning off new divisions and imprints. One example of this is Carina Press, a division of Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd. Launched in June 2010, Carina Press has made a splash in the romance genre with authors already popular in the e-book market as well as authors with print publishing histories. They have recently begun republishing Jennifer Greene’s early titles, so if you are looking for replacement copies, you are going to have to go digital. A more prominent example of an author going digital is Stephen King with his short story, “UR,” currently only available through Amazon. With the proselytizing of the advantages of digital self-publishing by author J. A. Konrath, as well as similar ventures by popular marketing entrepreneur and public speaker Seth Godin, we may be seeing more and more popular authors bypassing traditional publishing ventures for some, if not all, of their future work.

Circulation of popular titles is always an issue. E-books are generally treated the same as physical copies of books when it comes to circulation. If the library owns one “copy” of the digital format, it can only be lent out to one person at a time under the model currently employed by most distributors. This is the scheme that DRM facilitates. There are multiple lending schemes libraries have employed to facilitate access to digital format titles. One of the more popular schemes is to engage a vendor like NetLibrary or Overdrive to provide content while the patrons provide the devices on which to read the content. Some libraries have chosen to provide devices onto which they load the titles. For libraries employing this scheme and using devices that can access a store, patron-driven acquisition is sometimes also deployed. Putting the power of acquisition in the hands of patrons can be at once empowering and also in need of careful management. There are a couple of drawbacks to the scheme of providing the devices themselves. The first is that the license for the operating software may prohibit usage by libraries. This is a concern to discuss with your institution’s legal counsel when considering this option. The other is how many devices the library will own in proportion to the number of titles. If all of the devices are out, that can make the entire digital collection unavailable to the remainder of your patrons even if the titles are not in use by the person currently in possession of the device. The benefit to the library lending out e-book readers is for the section of their population who do not have Internet access or a personal computer at home, let alone an e-book reader. Ultimately, there is no one perfect solution to this dilemma.

Advisory Services

Books are the brand of libraries. All formats of books. All. Formats. With the need of an intermediary technology on which to read the story, e-books present a fascinating area of advisory for librarians. We need to be able to be advisors of technology in addition to content. As we have seen with audiobooks, the format you use to access the story expands the appeal factors of the content. Library patrons come to us for help in figuring out the best possible reading experience. With audiobooks, as long as the patron had a device that played the physical format, it didn’t matter what the device was because the device itself contributed minimally to the reading experience. With e-book readers, this is not the case.

Display options are the most easily understood component in determining appeal factors in regards to e-book readers. Readers utilizing e-ink technology can achieve an immersive experience similar to reading a print book. Keep in mind that the quality of the resolution will vary from brand to brand and model to model as new generations are released. Also you need to be aware of any additional technology layers, such as touch screens, added to the viewing panel. While the addition of a touch screen will degrade resolution, it will allow for the user to move pages by using their fingers as opposed to buttons, which may aid in the immersive experience. The size and weight of the device are also important. Some readers prefer hardbacks to paperbacks and vice versa. The various devices can be correlated to holding a book of either size. This brings up another factor, as some people want to feel like they are still holding a book: what accessories, namely covers, are available for the devices? Library patrons’ physical restrictions contribute to a satisfactory reading experience that can be helped or hindered by the reading devices available. Does the patron need to have access to very large type or text-to-speech capability? What if the patron has arthritis and can’t hold a heavy device for an extended period of time? This convergence of readers’ advisory and consumer information reference requires excellence in the skill set common to reference services and readers’ advisory services.

As the device used to access the digital format contributes appeal factors to the reading experience, so does the digital format alter some appeal factors considered inherent to the book reading experience. The impact of digitization of books and stories on appeal factors is most prominently felt with pacing. In her discussion of appeal factors at the “eBooks: Libraries at the Tipping Point” online conference, Neal Wyatt noted the lack of physical indication as to how much left you have of the book to read. Some e-book reading devices and software programs are able to compensate with indications of page numbers; however, this is not the same as the sensation of less than fifty pages in your right hand and you must absolutely finish the book tonight even if it’s 2:00 a.m. and you must be up at 5:00 a.m. for a critical-to-your-career meeting. The reader will need to rely entirely on narrative drive to feel the pace of the story. Pacing is also affected by how much text is visible on the screen, so the larger the text, the less there is to indicate how quickly the story is moving. As the layout of the page changes, this can also affect the tone of the story. When you see large blocks of texts on the page, this can indicate a description rich story, possibly intended to be a leisurely read, or an indulgence of rich details. Short paragraphs with lots of dialogue can mean snappy or quick-witted characters. If the visual cues are not there, will the reader tire of the story more quickly? Richly detailed books may also not be the best type of book to read on an e-book reader, especially if the reader is one who likes to do what I call the fan and scan to check for previously revealed information. It is not easy to jump between points in the book if you do not know exactly where you are going. Re-readers, particularly if they only read certain parts of the book, may find this lack of ability frustrating. There is something to be said for the spine breaks occurring where the good parts of the book are.

The readers’ advisory interview must and will evolve as e-books become more and more entrenched in library collections. Readers’ advisory trainers should begin including discussions of the technology in continuing education sessions even if their library does not currently offer e-books as part of the collection. Culturally, the traditional printed codex has become the invisible technology with regard to reading. As future generations grow up with technology on which to read e-books, and conversely as that technology “grows up,” we may find other devices that are able to occupy the same invisible space as the codex. We may even find the art of storytelling evolving to adapt to the advantages provided by digital technology, kindred the branching off of printed storytelling from oral storytelling. This emerging arena is where I think we will truly see the next phase of readers’ advisory services develop.

Conclusion

With the entry into digital collections, a library must consider many implications. In some ways, libraries have already dealt with issues of interlibrary loan functions with the advent of online journal collections. We must take this a step further when dealing with leisure reading collection. A great majority of library patrons have been conditioned to the availability of most any book they are in want of through resource sharing efforts. With the cost of setting up a digital collection as well as the cost of the materials themselves, small- and medium-sized libraries may find it more cost effective to create or join a larger consortium to provide a wide range of digital content.

At the conclusion of my portion of the panel discussion on e-books and readers’ advisory at the “eBooks: Libraries at the Tipping Point” online conference, I included a slide titled “Ponderings” with two questions: “How do we serve our patrons on the ‘wrong’ side of the digital divide if the midlist goes digital and copyright/DRM does not change?” and “What are the implications of recommending titles we cannot provide as an institution?” I believe we need to address these questions as a profession as we move further into the world of e-books. A concrete solution to them isn’t likely, but knowing where we stand will allow us to move forward in conversations with publishers and content providers, and we need to have those conversations. We should invite publishing professionals to the conversations we have in our spaces and take the time to participate in the conversations happening in their spaces.

The opportunity to have an impact on the future of publishing is in our hands, and we cannot let it slip through our fingers. We are experts in connecting readers to books. Those skills will carry us into the future no matter the format. Adaptation is the hallmark of successful evolution. It’s not always easy, but with adaptation, we will be opening ourselves and our patrons to an expanded world of leisure reading opportunities.

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The path to becoming an academic library dean is not prescriptive nor necessarily linear. Each ascends to that post in a unique way; all come from different backgrounds and experiences. For some, such a position is a goal from the start of their careers; they lay careful groundwork and make strategic choices to chart their course. In other cases, the decision to move into management evolves as the career unfolds, making it seem logical or even necessary to consider moving on to an administrative opportunity. For many, taking on a senior leadership role is more accidental or incidental—being in the right place at the right time; being recognized for past work and tapped from within; being asked to step in to fill a need in the organization. In the following article, Mark Stover shares an account of his particular progression, with observations recalled along the way. He cites the importance of recognizing opportunities, cultivating support, and having a good mentor. Like many, Stover came to senior management from the public services side of the house and includes an interesting comparison and contrast between being a reference librarian and a dean.—Editor

As a reference librarian for the first twenty years of my career, I never thought that I would become a library dean by 2011. My primary objective was to work directly with students, either one-to-one at the reference desk, one-to-one in research consultations, or one-to-many in library instruction. Information literacy for the students was my goal, and I did not (and perhaps could not) see myself as an administrator for a large university library. It seemed unrelated to and disconnected from the “real world “ of librarianship, which to me meant working in close proximity to students who needed my help and who gave me that wonderful sense of immediate gratification when they thanked me, sometimes profusely, for the assistance that I provided.

All of that started to change in early 2005 when I was approached by the associate dean of the library at San Diego State University to take over the reins of the reference division from the retiring head of reference. My first reaction was to turn down the offer. After all, I enjoyed what I was doing, had been promoted to the highest rank that library faculty could achieve at my university, and did not sense the “calling” of library leadership. Perhaps more importantly, I wasn’t sure I could do the job. My predecessor once told me that supervising fifteen or so unionized and tenured librarians would be akin to herding cats. In addition, there were some thorny personnel issues that had gone unresolved for years. On the other hand, who could blame those around me for thinking that I might be interested in management? I had worked as the library director of a very small academic institution for a few years and was none the worse for it. I had earned a doctorate in the 1990s, which does communicate to some people that a librarian might have aspirations beyond the reference desk. I had even published articles and given presentations on various facets of running a library, including a book entitled Leading the Wired Organization.

I relented and accepted the position of head of reference in 2005. The transition was an easy one to make, given that I had the support of my colleagues, encouragement from library administration, and a job description that, along with serving as head of reference, included much of my former work in reference, instruction, and collection development. Being head of reference, at least at my university, involved a fair amount of logistical juggling and running meetings but not much in the way of long-term strategic planning. I worked with campus human resources, the staff employees’ union, and other library managers to address the staff problems that existed. However, I found that there were few hard decisions to make, since most questions of substance could be answered through group consensus at reference meetings or through finessing the problem in smaller subcommittees. During this time I began to serve on the dean’s advisory council, along with other heads of departments in the library. I enjoyed my two year stint as head of reference, and I learned a great deal, but in the deep recesses of my mind I realized that I might be ready for more challenges in the near future.

Those challenges came in 2007 when the dean of the library asked me to become the Assistant University Librarian for Research Services, a new position that was a hodge-podge of responsibilities including government grants, special collections, collection development, and facilities. Along with these duties, the position required that I leave my faculty position and join the upper echelons of management. While I would have retreat rights to the librarian ranks, I would need to leave the collective bargaining comfort of the faculty union and serve at the pleasure of the university president. In other words, as many of my colleagues jokingly reminded me, I would be going over to the dark side.

While some of the same fears and insecurities about management still plagued me, I chose to accept the offer and move into the new AUL role. I was sorry to leave the collegiality of the library faculty but was excited about learning the mysteries of library administration. While some academic library administrators continue to work a few hours at the reference desk, I decided not to do so based on advice from several mentors. There are advantages and disadvantages to an administrator “working in the trenches,” but with a busy schedule and increased responsibilities, it seemed prudent to withdraw from my previous librarian duties. There was another reason, too. In my library there is a sharp distinction between faculty and administration. Part of this chasm stems from contractual issues, but much of it comes from a long tradition of mistrust and skepticism on both sides. Thus, while some librarians were disappointed that I chose not to work any hours on the reference desk, others were resentful when I would occasionally give my opinion on collection development decisions. Divisions like this are difficult to heal, but time and good faith efforts do tend to bring about incremental increases in trust among members of a divided community. While working at the reference desk as an administrator might have been one way to build this trust, I chose to find other ways to repair the breach.

After one year as an AUL, my dean unexpectedly left to take another position. As often happens in these situations, the associate dean was promoted to interim dean, and I was thrust into the job of interim associate dean, where I remained for over two years. Given that I had a positive working relationship with the new interim dean, and given that I was hoping for other challenges and responsibilities, I welcomed the new role. I continued to perform some of the same jobs I had in the AUL position, but I was also given a multitude of new responsibilities. These included many more direct and indirect reports, oversight of the library faculty tenure and promotion process, and even some fundraising assignments. When I was hired as an AUL, strategic planning was placed in my portfolio, and this mandate continued to be a priority.

One of the most challenging facets of my tenure as interim associate dean was managing change. As a reference librarian, and even as head of reference, I tended to view long-term change as something that evolved on its own and incrementally. Short-term change was something that librarians could more easily control, but long-term change was unpredictable. As a library administrator, I still think that there is no crystal ball and that speculative predictions of the future library will be inexact at best. However, I also came to believe that long range planning is vital to the library enterprise. Perhaps the most difficult part of the strategic planning process is convincing others that paradigmatic change for libraries in the twenty-first century is absolutely necessary, and that if we do not plan for it, it will happen anyway, and it will occur with more negative consequences than we might imagine. Persuasion is a slippery tool. If we try to win over others with overthe-top rhetoric and bombast, we run the risk of overstating our case. If we unilaterally dictate change (“my way or the highway”), we lose goodwill and trust from those who will need to implement the change, and we ultimately will fail in our attempts to effect successful transformation. If we try to persuade through sly remarks and coy conversations, we appear to be Machiavellian, and we again lose credibility. While I believe that subtlety has its place, the most powerful tool in my bag of persuasive tricks is sustained, straightforward conversations (preferably over coffee) with key stakeholders. These informal discussions will build bonds of trust that will later pay off when emotional issues arise over painful changes that ultimately must take place. This is not to say that there is no place for town hall meetings, teams, committees, or small groups, for these too are vital components of bringing about progress. However, I would posit that the cornerstone of persuading library staff of the necessity for transformative change is the one-on-one conversation in an informal setting.

In late 2010, I became interim dean, and my purview of responsibilities changed yet again. Thankfully I had been mentored well by the two previous deans, so the inscrutable nature of library administration was less mystifying than it might otherwise have been. A bigger office, a larger salary, and the power to make independent decisions—were these amenities worth the stress that came with the new position? Each new dean or director must answer that question for himself or herself, but for me, especially since my own journey has been so steep and fast, the jury is still out. Still, I can say that my passion for leadership has only grown during my path from reference librarian to library dean. It certainly helped to have supportive co-laborers, not only in my own institution but also in my modest network of professional colleagues cobbled together over the years. It also eased my transition to have recent experiences on the front lines of reference work. There is nothing better for an administrator than to remember how it feels to be in the sensible shoes of a reference librarian. On the other hand, there is nothing worse than having a manager who lacks empathy due to his or her distance from or lack of experience with day-to-day library work.

I’ll end this column by sketching out some comparisons and contrasts between my work as a reference librarian and my work as a dean. In terms of similarities, both the librarian and the dean need people skills, even though the reasons these skills are vital vary greatly from one position to the other. Both the reference librarian and the library dean must deal well with change, the librarian from a tactical, day-today vantage point and the dean from a strategic, long-range perspective. Both the librarian and the dean must know how to communicate well. Navigating the reference interview, which is good communication at its essence is a critical skill whether at the reference desk, online during the reference chat, or in the librarian’s office during a research consultation.

The refined communication skills of a reference librarian have served me well as an administrator, whether I was clarifying the expectations of the provost, cultivating a donor, or sharing my strategic vision with library staff.

But there are differences as well between a reference librarian and a library director. Some are obvious, like fund-raising, public relations, and interactions with campus executives. The typical reference librarian generally doesn’t have to work with donors or the university president, especially on a large campus. Some differences, however, are more subtle. For example, most front line librarians rarely think about the strategic aspects of long-range planning, and, if I may generalize from my own experience, they often have little respect for such processes. As a young reference librarian, and even later as a more experienced head of reference, I was concerned about the tactical, day-to-day work of the reference desk, learning new database interfaces and keeping abreast of the latest reference sources so that I could better serve students. I didn’t have time to worry about what the library might look like in ten years, much less plan for different scenarios. I was too busy keeping my head above water. As a library administrator, my role has been reversed. Strategic planning is a crucial part of my job, and much as I might wish otherwise, I must delegate tactical implementation to others.

In the final analysis, the work of a reference librarian prepared me well for library management. Some requirements for administrators demand on-the-job training and cannot be acquired at the reference desk. On the other hand, multiple competencies, including clear communication and interpersonal skills, are all transferable from one domain to the other. If my case is any indication, reference librarians who seek to become library leaders will encounter some challenges but will also find many opportunities for advancement.

Correspondence concerning this column should be addressed to Marianne Ryan, Associate University Librarian for Public Services, Northwestern University Library, 1970 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208; e-mail: marianneryan@northwestern.edu.

Mark Stover is Interim Dean, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University. On July 1, 2011 he will become Dean of the Library at California State University, Northridge.

In addition to this collection of outstanding peer-reviewed feature articles, this volume featured the familiar columns that are beloved by many RUSQ readers. I am fortunate to work with this team of creative column editors: M. Kathleen Kern (“The Accidental Technologist”), Neal Wyatt (“The Alert Collector”), Lisa O’Connor (“Information Literacy and Instruction”), Marianne Ryan (“Management”), and Barry Trott (“Readers’ Advisory”). Barry Trott did double duty this year as he served as RUSA President, contributing the occasional presidential column as well as serving as an ex officio member of the editorial advisory board.

Tammy J. Eschedor Voelker and Karen Antell continued their excellent work as section editors of “Sources.” Many individuals have reviewed reference books and professional materials this past year. The result is a body of substantive, comparative, and analytical reviews that help readers make wise collection decisions during this period of tight budgets.

While I would like to thank all of the book reviewers for their important work, I would like to recognize a special group of reviewers. Tammy Voelker, editor of the reference books section of “Sources,” has informed me that the following reviewers have reached the milestone of contributing ten reviews of reference books since volume 40: Suzanne Larsen, Evan M. Davis, and Bernadette A. Lear. Karen Antell, editor of the professional materials section, has asked me to acknowledge these distinguished reviewers of professional materials: Jenny Foster Stenis, Larry Cooperman, Sarah Hart, Katy Herrick, Lisa Powell Williams, Melanie Wachsmann, Margie Ruppel, Rachel Vacek, and Mike Matthews.

While this volume marks an important anniversary, it also marks an important change. Volume 50 will be the last issue to be published in traditional print format. Beginning with Volume 51, Number 1 (Fall 2011), the journal will only be published in a digital format. I served as the chair of a task-force that spent more than a year exploring the migration of RUSQ from a print to a professionally designed electronic version. The other members of the taskforce were Judith M. Arnold, Gwen Arthur, Bobray Bordelon, and Neal Wyatt. After carefully examining many factors (cost implications, possible impact on advertising, access, archival issues, potential impact on the journal’s scholarly reputation, and membership satisfaction), the taskforce recommended that the print version of RUSQ be abandoned and that we move to an all-electronic version. This recommendation was accepted by the RUSA Board at the 2011 ALA Midwinter Meeting.

The taskforce believes that the time is right to make this change. RUSQ has an established reputation and we are confident that the move to a digital format won’t impact the journal’s reputation. Prospective authors are more concerned with whether or not a journal is peer reviewed. Contributors and readers will understand that cost issues are moving us forward. Additionally, readers are accustomed to the online environment since many journals have made this transition.

One major advantage of a digital version will be lower production costs. While we will still have production costs and start-up costs, we will not have paper, printing, and mailing costs. The savings will be substantial; these three items alone account for approximately 46 percent of the journal’s annual budget (based on the FY 2011 journal budget). Additionally, ALA Production Services projected that paper and postage costs will increase 2 to 3 percent this year. Another advantage is that the production schedule will be slightly shortened. It currently takes three to four weeks to get an issue into the hands of subscribers after I have reviewed final proofs.

From a logistical perspective, the taskforce recommended that we move to the digital version with volume 51 as this is the final volume that I will be responsible for editing. RUSQ editors may serve no longer that six consecutive years and another editor will be responsible for volume 52 on. There is a steep learning curve when assuming the editorship. It would be unreasonable to burden a new editor with oversight of a major change. This gives us one year to work out any problems before a new editor comes on board.

We will retain the services of ALA Production Services for copy editing, proofreading, and composition. ALA Production Services does an excellent job, and the taskforce firmly believes that money should be spent on the production quality of the journal rather than printing and mailing costs. MetaPress will be used as the platform for the journal. MetaPress, owned by Ebsco, has a strong track record and is used by other professional associations, including the prestigious Academy of Management, to host journal content. Additionally, ALA has experience with MetaPress. The first digital issue and all new issues going forward will be available in both HTML and PDF formats. Archival content (from 2006 forward) will be available in PDF format only. The taskforce has recommended a one year embargo since the journal is one of the benefits of RUSA membership. The RUSQ Online Companion will be eliminated with Volume 51. This was originally developed as a stop gap measure until a full electronic version was in place. This will result in some savings as the RUSA office has been responsible for loading content. Another advantage is that the digital version (unlike the current RUSQ Online Companion) will include the book reviews contained in each issue. One of the most exciting developments is that JSTOR will be used for permanent archiving. JSTOR is stable and many libraries are members. JSTOR is currently implementing a number of changes that will provide the capability to archive e-journals only.

From the reader’s perspective, the digital version of RUSQ will probably not look much different than the print version. Although I confess that I will probably feel some nostalgia about the paper version (it is very satisfying to open up the latest issue in the mail), I know that there will be no loss of quality with the digital version. Rest assured that you will find the same high quality feature articles, cutting edge columns, and thoughtful reviews. You will no longer need to reserve stacks space for future issues of the journal. Farewell stacks … hello digital!

Correspondence for Reference & User Services Quarterly should be addressed to Editor Diane Zabel, Schreyer Business Library, The Pennsylvania State University, 309 Paterno Library, University Park, PA 16802; e-mail: dxz2@psu.edu.

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At the 2011 Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association, the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Board voted unanimously to approve the move of the division’s professional journal, Reference & User Services Quarterly (RUSQ), to a solely online publication beginning in fall 2011. This vote was taken after a recommendation for the move was made by a taskforce assigned to examine the issue. In the editor’s column of this issue, Diane Zabel explains the specifics of the move and how the process will work for RUSA members.

I would like to talk briefly here about how this move fits into the broader picture for RUSA as we head into the second decade of the twenty-first century. One of the concerns of any professional organization is maintaining the fiscal health of the organization. The move from print to online is a major step in this direction for RUSA. The savings that we realize from the move will allow RUSA to balance our budget without spending our endowment funds. As we begin a new round of strategic planning in 2011–12, these additional funds will allow RUSA more flexibility in pursuing member-driven initiatives.

RUSA has a well-deserved reputation for leading the profession in the areas of reference and readers’ advisory work and collection development. Our members are able to take advantage of a wide range of opportunities as part of their membership in RUSA. The networking, professional development, leadership training, book and media awards, committee service, and much more enhances both the library profession and the professional lives of RUSA members. These opportunities add value to RUSA membership. While RUSA continues to value the opportunities to meet face to face, it is also clear that we need to extend our member opportunities beyond Midwinter and Annual meetings. Offering professional development opportunities, online classes, and webinars has been an important piece of this expansion of RUSA’s mission. RUSQ has been our flagship publication for a half century. Over that time, the journal’s blend of theory and practice has been a model for the profession and a valued tool for librarians. The move to an all online publication will allow RUSA to sustain that model in the coming years as well as to expand the role of RUSQ in the future.

I would like to thank editor Diane Zabel and the members of the RUSQ taskforce that produced the recommendations for this change. This move sets RUSQ and RUSA on the path to a successful future.

Barry Trott, 2010–11 President of the Reference and User Services Association, is Adult Services Director, Williamsburg Regional Library, 7770 Croaker Rd., Williamsburg, VA 23188; e-mail: btrott@wrl.org.

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Many librarians have been asked to take on additional responsibilities during these tight economic times. In this column, Maureen Perry writes about what she learned from her year as a hybrid librarian, splitting her time between reference and special collections. She found this assignment enjoyable, and her essay reminds us of the value of job exchanges and other job enrichment opportunities.—Editor

Many reference librarians find themselves taking on duties outside of their respective skill sets. What follows is the story of my academic year in special collections. I hope that the insights I have gained there will inspire others to make the most of the learning opportunities that these assignments can present. Though the term archive has a specific meaning, I shall use the terms archive/archival and special collections interchangeably for the sake of brevity.

An Unexpected Opportunity

The University of Southern Maine’s (USM) Lewiston-Auburn College houses an extensive collection of items related to local and regional Franco-American life.¹ When it lost a coordinator, I was asked to help maintain the Franco-American Collection (FAC) until a new coordinator could be hired. Though not an archivist by training, I do serve on the collection’s board of directors and as liaison to the college’s arts and humanities division, which includes French North American studies. The college’s dean saw the collection’s potential as a community resource.

I spent the 2009–10 academic year in two worlds: special collections and regular reference. Although I had no formalized training in the area, I was able to put together my own training plan. From the head of special collections at our Portland campus I learned about the appropriate forms; other local special collections librarians showed me some preservation basics.² The curator of the college’s Atrium Art Gallery helped me design and mount window displays.³

Special Collections Reference

The most rewarding part of the experience was working with the patrons. Though I still worked with patrons daily in my regular post, I found that reference work in the FAC differed from my regular work in two major ways, which only served to help further develop my reference skills.

Firstly, archival reference questions can be time intensive.⁴ As O’Donnell points out, seemingly basic factual questions can often involve deep contextual research. This concept can apply to regular reference questions but applies especially well to archival questions.⁵ As a Franco-American and a Lewiston native, I often found myself drawing upon my background, as well as turning to local experts (including my own mother), in helping patrons with their research.

One patron was researching local parochial schools, and since my mother had attended parochial school and later served as business manager for one of the parishes, I drew upon that expertise.⁶ Now in my regular reference consultations I more frequently mention the value of using subject experts as information sources.

Secondly, special collections differ from regular collections in their arrangement of materials. Generally the materials in a special collection are not shelved according to a call number order.⁷ The FAC’s items are arranged first by geographic region (with a particular emphasis on Lewiston) and then by general subject. Biographical materials have their own section and are filed alphabetically by biographee. A finding aid describes what is located where. While this point may seem obvious, the quality of the finding aid did impact the reference service I was able to provide, especially since patrons often came to see particular items.

Back in my regular role I now have more appreciation for good cataloging and description. When I send notifications about new books in my liaison areas, I pay closer attention in case I catch a discrepancy in the catalog record. I recommend items to my patrons, and our catalogers enable us to find these items. When I create subject guides, I am now more mindful of what wording would best help my patrons find what they need.

I have gained a special appreciation for the role of outreach. The better you know your collection, the better you can promote it. Promoting the collection attracts donors— whose gifts impact the collection’s inventory. Likewise, knowing my regular collection helps me better evaluate potential donations, weeds, and purchases. In addition, I can recommend FAC items when they fit a general reference question.

Cross-Training Truths

My cross-training experiences reflect corresponding truths of cross-training in general. Cross-training is an investment in time, and DeZelar-Tiedman mentions the learning curve involved in most cross-training.⁸ My learning curve involved the aforementioned preservation basics, archival record-keeping, etc. as well as making time for the in-depth contextual research my reference questions entailed.

Cross-training is also a study in interrelationships. It allows the trainee to better understand the interdependence of different library functions.⁹ This idea reflects my experience in special collections, from finding items to using them to promoting them.

Tips for Reference Librarians

Cross-training scenarios can differ considerably. Here are some tips that can apply to most scenarios:

Ask for Help

A cross-training experience can be a learning experience, but you can—and should—ask for help when needed. As I mentioned above, I had a great deal of help in areas where I had less experience or talent.

Spot the Connections

Since cross-training highlights the interrelatedness of library functions, make use of the concrete opportunities these connections present. For example, I was helping a patron with a question on Franco-American cooking. I found a cookbook that later filled a gap in a window display I was designing. These serendipitous moments do take place: don’t dismiss the ways in which one duty can inform another.

Seek Learning Moments

I realize that many cross-training assignments are not as pleasant as mine has been. Even I sometimes felt torn between the two worlds. However, most job experiences can be learning experiences. Keep your eyes and ears open for insights that you can bring back to your regular duties. Doing so may help you make the best of your situation.

Document, Document, Document

From the beginning of my assignment I kept a log of my release time activities. This made my supervisor and the dean aware of the many things that needed doing. It also helped during my performance evaluation. Even now it helps me inform the new coordinator of priorities I have identified. For most people, good documentation can help with performance appraisals and with finding the learning opportunities as mentioned above.

The documentation can take forms other than text. For example, I have maintained the link to an online mini-exhibit I created.¹⁰ This link can serve as a record of my learning and as an outreach tool.

What Happens Next

The College has hired a new coordinator for the FAC. I still serve on the FAC’s board of directors. Now the opinions I offer at board meetings are better informed by experience. By incorporating its primary sources into my instruction, I can still promote the FAC. Now I am working on ways to include FAC holdings in courses outside of French North American studies.

My supervisor followed Margaret Myers’s definition of staffing: “all methods of matching skills available with the tasks to be performed.”¹¹ I had the good fortune of still working within my comfort zone (the reference duties) and within an interest area (Franco-American studies). All the same, the assignment filled a temporary need for the college and made me a better reference librarian as well.

Many institutions face lean staffing situations in these tough budgetary times. If sharing my story can help others in their added duties, then my experience has been doubly worthwhile.¹²

Correspondence concerning this column should be addressed to Diane Zabel, Schreyer Business Library, The Pennsylvania State University, 309 Paterno Library, University Park, PA 16802; e-mail: dxz2@psu.edu.

Maureen Perry is Reference and Instructional Services Librarian, University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn College, Lewiston, Maine.

References and Notes

1. Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine, University of Southern Maine’s Franco-American Collection/Collection Franco-Américaine (accessed Oct. 15, 2010).
2. I thank Susie Bock, Head of Special Collections, University of Southern Maine Libraries. I also thank the staff of the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, Bates College (Lewiston, Maine).
3. Additionally I thank Robyn Holman, Curator of the Atrium Art Gallery, USM Lewiston-Auburn College.
4. Frances O’Donnell, “Reference Service in an Academic Archives,” Journal of Academic Librarianship 26, no. 2 (2000): 113.
5. Ibid.
6. Very special thanks go to my mother, Pauline Perry, for her constant support.
7. Elizabeth Yakel, “Information Literacy for Primary Sources: Creating a New Paradigm for Archival Researcher Education,” OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives 20, no. 2 (2004): 61–62.
8. Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, “A Perfect Fit: Tailoring Library Positions to Match Individual Skills,” Journal of Library Administration 29, no. 2 (1999): 34.
9. Marilyn Myers, “Blurring the Lines: Mingling Technical and Public Services Responsibilities: Report of the ALCTS Role of the Professional in Academic Technical Services Discussion Group Meeting. American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, Washington, D.C., February 1997,” Technical Services Quarterly 15, no. 4 (1998): 69.
10. Maureen Perry, Festival History in Flyers (accessed Oct. 15, 2010).
11. Margaret Myers, “Staffing Patterns,” in Personnel Administration in Libraries, eds. Sheila Creth and Fredick Duda (New York: Neal-Schuman, 1989), 40–63.
12. I thank Barb Mann, Assistant Director and Public Services/Instruction/Information Literacy Librarian at the University of Maryland University College, for her editorial assistance.

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Much has been written recently about the “library as place.” This essay approaches the question of library space philosophically, arguing that developing commercial attitudes toward space leads us away from more productive ways of conceiving libraries. A concept called Third Space is introduced, and its relevance to libraries and librarianship is explored. Third Space is defined and applied to various library concepts, especially information literacy. The article contends that thinking about Third Space can help libraries and librarians develop ways of working with increasingly diverse populations in increasingly dynamic contexts.

“Question: What is the first thing that you think of when you think of a library?

Answer: a place of mild climate where I can find adventures”¹

As Charles Osburn notes, “there has been a decided surge of interest in our professional literature about ‘the library as place.’”² This interest reflects various trends and emphases in libraries, especially the transformative social and technological changes that have demanded increasingly innovative thinking about what a library and a librarian should be. Collections, technology, and services can no longer be conceived in traditional twentieth-century terms. Libraries, with their historical ethos of free access for all, struggle to justify their existence in a world of 24/7 access increasingly evaluated by profit-based, commercial metrics. As we think about what library space and librarians should be and become, we need to think broadly and creatively about our options. We have barely begun to develop sophisticated frameworks for thinking about the future of the library as physical space. Libraries are complex institutions, and they need to respond to the demands of the present by adapting in a variety of ways. No doubt we need to justify our existence to our various funding agencies, which will involve economic arguments, but we also need to develop theories about library space that go beyond marketing services and managing buildings. We need to think about intentionally producing unique library spaces. I believe we must be conscious and ambitious about developing guiding theories and that a critical concept called Third Space can help us to do so.

The Conversation in Practice

When we talk about library space, we are usually talking about buildings.

Library buildings give form to the collections of libraries by providing appropriate space specifically designed to house and provide access to the holdings. They also provide other more “mythic” functions by intentionally symbolizing through architecture and design the values that libraries espouse. A number of converging forces have intensified recent questions of library space. Changing technologies have forced reconsideration of how buildings accommodate the new machines that provide service to modern libraries. Along with technical imperatives have come a series of human questions about the impact of new technologies on our ways of teaching, learning, and thinking. An entirely new vocabulary has emerged around learning spaces and how to conceptualize and create them. As Brown and Lippincott note, “New conceptions of the classroom are being driven by the emergence of new methods of teaching and learning, made possible by the rapid evolution and adoption of information technology.”³ We have come to think of learning as a constructive process, which has encouraged us to redesign schools and libraries to foster collaborative learning and active learning, and we are exploring digital environments as spaces we structure and design for learning, as well.⁴

Much of the energy behind these new conceptualizations has been fueled by fundamental questions of library legitimacy. The digital world is replacing libraries, this narrative argues. If we intend to remain relevant (or exist at all) we must adapt quickly to the technological challenges to library legitimacy. This adaptation demands that we compete with various entities that provide desired goods and services in our market. These entities include Google, which has claimed the information market, and also the bookstores and coffee shops that have capitalized on the market for comfortable physical space to interact with books. Space is therefore conceived as both physical and virtual, and libraries face competition in both realms. Consequently, during the past decade, much has been written about how libraries can respond to questions of space. Woven throughout the discussion we find a common anxiety about the changing nature of library space and what will happen as we continue to develop and deploy new technologies that displace or transform traditional libraries, demanding that we justify our stewardship and management of it.

In response to our challenges, we are regularly told that we need to run libraries more like businesses.⁵ ALA Editions’ advertisement for Hernon and Altman’s Assessing Service Quality reflects the concerns outlined above:

Because of technology, the old measures of service quality no longer apply. If libraries are to succeed, they must see themselves in competition with other institutions and sources of information—especially the Web—and make customers feel welcome and valued. [The authors] integrate the use of technology into the customer experience. They offer solid, practical ideas for developing a customer service plan that meets the library’s customer-focused mission, vision, and goals, challenging librarians to think about customer service in new ways.⁶

Another author makes the point that “The Internet, coffee shops, restaurants and even homes are all invading the territory once exclusive to libraries. Bookstores are consciously attempting to recreate the library atmosphere, encouraging customers to linger. … As a result, patrons are abandoning libraries for more favorable environments. Library users are choosing plush recliners and the aroma of coffee over the squeaking of wooden tables and buzzing of fluorescent lights.”⁷ We should note the level of threat implied in these comments. Librarians are “challenged” to think about customer service. Other competitors are “invading” library territory. They are “consciously” imitating libraries. Patrons are “abandoning” us. Anyone following the library literature recognizes such anxious claims, which have been with us for at least the past decade.

In responding to these threats, The Denver Public Library decided to become a “destination library.” To do so, they decided to implement “best ideas and practices in consumer merchandising and marketing and apply these to the library space.” Behaving more like a business meant that “new multiple copies of best sellers and media would be available quickly, displayed more like the local bookstore. Comfortable seating would be available, perhaps with a cafe nearby. The goal would be a popular customer-driven collection in an appealing space that would encourage visits.”⁸ Journals and conferences are infused with this perspective as we focus on marketing services with campaigns like @yourlibrary. Again, this idea of treating libraries like businesses is not new. The managerial segment of the profession has been borrowing techniques from business management for years. However, the idea that we need to market library space as a product that will attract library users seems new. In pointing to this phenomenon, my goal is not to raise the question of whether libraries should behave like businesses. Rather, I want to suggest that when we do, we create a specific kind of space. When we aim to compete with businesses, we infuse the building with advertising and the upbeat signage that “customers” know and recognize. In effect, rather than manage employees or collections or the physical plant, we are managing ambience, trying to create a place that feels familiar and good to the consumers of library services.

A large part of this effort goes into the aesthetics of library space. Demas and Sherer note that “after a generation of intense focus on building the virtual library, librarians have reawakened to the place-making role of the library building.” These authors advocate what they call “esprit de space.” They suggest that libraries should pursue “the timeless design goal of creating transcendent and transportive spaces: transcendent, in the sense of buildings that delimit physicality through imaginative understanding and application of virtues; and transportive, in design that uplifts the patron and enhances the unique experience of sensing past, present, and future simultaneously. It is this transcendent/transportive co-existence, with particular reference to its local, place-specific manifestations that distinguish a library with … esprit de place, or spirit of place.”⁹ Again, it is worth noting that libraries have long been concerned with the aesthetics of their buildings. Library Journal devotes one issue annually to photographs of the most innovative and beautiful new library buildings. Various consultants provide guidance in how to work with architects to develop buildings that both function well and also provide beauty and form that embody library values. Once again, though, we see the emerging emphasis on the feeling of library space and the importance of managing that space to attract and hold library users.

Younger users cause special anxiety, apparently, as a good deal of thinking goes into imagining aesthetically pleasing spaces for them. Kuzyk suggests that libraries need to “put the WOW back in children’s rooms.”¹⁰ Farrelly suggests that we need to compete with the bookstores for the loyalty of teens, noting that “libraries need to be more appealing to teens than Borders, Starbucks, and Barnes and Noble to attract young adults. We also need to do them one better.”¹¹ Gallo suggests that her experience working in a bookstore has provided her with strategies for using displays to attract teens. She suggests that we identify display areas creatively and use color to attract attention.¹² Bolan has been a prolific adviser to libraries about designing teen space. She asks us to consider what would happen “if teens suddenly found the library warm and inviting?”¹³ She has abundant advice about how to make the library an attractive destination for teens. She suggests seeking input through a teen advisory board, noting that “it’s crucial to make room for youngsters’ ideas in everything from creating an advisory board to planning a design team.”¹⁴ She suggests “finding that ambiguous teen style.”¹⁵ Ultimately, Bolan declares, “we’re in the midst of a teen revolution design-wise, that is.”¹⁶ Indeed, as libraries continue to market their services to young people, we see intense focus on the issues played out more generally in the library literature competition with bookstores and coffeehouses, design with the aesthetics of the customer in mind, and the general need to hold on to the library users of the future. The stakes are high.

Toward Critical Conceptions of Space

Two recent publications have approached space philosophically, and they have established a foundation for looking at libraries in the context of critical theories of space. Both these works aim explicitly at providing an alternative to the “library as business” way of looking at space. Interestingly, both these works depend on importing the interdisciplinary research on place studies into librarianship. Place studies can be understood as an effort to bring multiple critical perspectives to bear on the problem of how we use and define the spaces we share and manage. These studies are animated by awareness that when we create and occupy space, we define and develop that space (consciously or unconsciously) to embody cultural codes. Indeed, these studies share a fundamental assumption that place must be understood as the interaction between humans and natural forms. Culture creates space, and once we realize that fact, we can become more conscious and more intentional about what we create.

In “Regaining Place,” Charles B. Osburn argues persuasively that “place is worthy of the most serious consideration, especially at a time when so many fundamental options present themselves for the future of the library.”¹⁷ Osburn goes on to argue that space is “endowed with powerful properties … only by the beholder whose awareness of the experience generates it.”¹⁸ Ultimately the images people have in their minds about space “can have much or little to do with reality, for they are partial and may be either exaggerated or understated.”¹⁹ Osburn provides a useful perspective in that he acknowledges the subjective nature of experiencing space, which moves us past thinking that space is a stable commodity and that we can control how people experience it. Following Osburn’s logic, whatever we do with library space, people who enter libraries will experience that space in their own ways, perhaps as we intend, and perhaps not.

A more critical and more guided discussion of space occurs in the book Library as Place: History, Community, and Culture, edited by Buschman and Leckie. In their introductory essay, the editors summarize a range of theories that provide ways of thinking about space. This survey provides a valuable, concise introduction to the current state of space theories and libraries. Ultimately after presenting a range of critical perspectives, the authors suggest that Jürgen Habermas’s idea of the public sphere should form the central theoretical perspective for how libraries can define themselves and the space they construct. “It is Habermas,” they argue, “who allows us to make normative and democratic claims about libraries as places.”²⁰ This argument aligns with Osburn’s claim that places are social, cultural, and personal constructs that we hold in our minds. In brief, Habermas argues that the rise of the middle class from the eighteenth through the nineteenth centuries involved the development of public spaces where citizens discussed and debated the issues of the day. These debates followed rules of reason and persuasion (in the best Enlightenment tradition), so the most rational argument would prevail. This public sphere formed a critical function providing checks and balances on the powers of government, and it constituted a crucial element of early democracy and a way for the middle class to establish its influence and to define and express its public will.

In summarizing Habermas, Buschman and Leckie acknowledge “crucial problems” with the bourgeois public sphere. They note that in Habermas’s analysis, “the public sphere arose among a highly educated, cohesive class.”²¹ In his analysis of Habermas’s theories of the public sphere, Douglas Kellner succinctly summarizes the most problematic critique of Habermas. He contends that “while [Habermas’s] concept of the public sphere and democracy assume a liberal and populist celebration of diversity, tolerance, debate, and consensus, in actuality, the bourgeois public sphere was dominated by white, property-owning males.”²² Any consensus achieved in such a forum only legitimately reflects the opinions and interests of this narrow class. Summarizing Habermas, Buschman and Leckie suggest that the public sphere began to lose its sway when “democracy became a mass affair during the nineteenth century.”²³ With this change, politics became less reasoned, and competing interests became more effective at undermining the seriousness of conversation in the public sphere. Ultimately, despite its limitations, the authors note that “what we today understand of libraries as public space with democratic undertones is deeply embedded in the historical processes Habermas identifies.”²⁴ Our challenge today, it seems, lies in finding a new way to constitute a truly inclusive public sphere, one broadened beyond the homogeneity of the property-owning bourgeois class.

Habermas traces the decline of the public sphere to increasingly sophisticated capitalist practices that transformed critical citizens into uncritical consumers. These new capitalist practices emerged in the nineteenth century, and as a result, commercial space began to replace the intellectual space of the public sphere. Capitalism has grown increasingly more effective at defining space during the twentieth century. David Harvey argues convincingly that a new, faster form of capitalism began to emerge in 1971. Since then, this new and increasingly sophisticated capitalism has more powerfully defined cultural space. The new capitalism (sometimes called hyper-capitalism, fast-capitalism, or simply late capitalism) compresses space and place by developing increasingly sophisticated ways to collapse time and space to increase the rate of profit. This observation accounts for the fact that toward the end of the twentieth century, we began to experience “an intense phase of time-space compression.” Harvey asserts that “accelerating turnover time in production entails parallel accelerations in exchange and consumption.”²⁵ In other words, the faster we produce, the faster we need to consume to keep inventory from backing up. Profits depend on increasing speed.

Historically, space has presented a primary obstacle to this acceleration. Railroads, the telegraph, highways, steam shipping, the Suez Canal, the telephone, and ultimately the Internet, all these technologies have been deployed and perfected to “shrink” space to more rapidly move goods to market to drive commerce.²⁶ Ultimately, Harvey argues, capitalists learned to think of space as broken into distribution nodes connected by communication systems. The resulting fragmentation achieved “the annihilation of space through time.”²⁷ By finding ways to shrink space to speed up commerce, we have arrived at a point where space and time are transformed. Modern communications technologies now allow us to do almost anything almost instantly from almost anywhere. This annihilation and fragmentation of space has had profound consequences for culture. In capitalist culture, we now create disposable spaces and places that can be rapidly “turned over” for profit. Property can be bought, sold, and converted to new uses once it has been fragmented. Place can be played against place for profit.

Harvey argues that what we understand as postmodernism—the fragmentation of place and acceleration of time—results from these advanced capitalist practices. Harvey notes that one strategy for resisting postmodernism has been to “relaunch the Enlightenment project of universal human emancipation in a global space bound together through mechanisms of communication and social intervention.”²⁸ In this response, the autonomous human exercises rationality and free will and can marshal these resources to resist the effects of postmodernism. Habermas’s identification and promotion of a reconstituted public sphere in “global space” represents one such effort to “re-launch the Enlightenment project.” This solution, however, misses the source of the problem of postmodernism. Postmodernism is not a theoretical invention of the academy to be resisted intellectually. The condition of postmodernism results from the very real transformations in culture wrought by increasingly sophisticated capitalism. The Enlightenment project of human emancipation has been increasingly ineffective as a means to resist the capitalist restructuring of culture (hence the transformation of the public sphere chronicled by Habermas). While we might see ourselves as autonomous and rational, the culture we live in undermines our autonomy and subverts our rationality. This new postmodern context must be understood as the defining reality of our age, and within this reality, we must work to define our spaces.

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The Reading List annually recognizes the best books in eight genres: adrenaline (which includes suspense, thriller, and adventure), fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction, and women’s fiction. This year’s list includes novels that will please die-hard fans as well as introduce new readers to the pleasure of genre fiction. The winning titles were selected by the Reading List Council.

Adrenaline

Olen Steinhauer. The Nearest Exit. Minotaur, 2010. $25.99 (ISBN 978-031-262287-9).

Burned-out spy Milo Weaver confronts layers of deceit as his career collides with his desire to reclaim his family and his humanity. The labyrinthine intrigues enhance a building atmosphere of paranoia in this dark and emotionally-charged classic espionage thriller.

Readers may also enjoy Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, John Le Carre’s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, and Alan Furst’s Night Soldiers.

Fantasy

Guy Gavriel Kay. Under Heaven. ROC, 2010. $26.95 (ISBN 978-0451463302).

Haunted by the ghosts of fallen warriors, Shen Tai is forced into the political machinations of the Emperor’s court when he receives a rare and valuable gift. Lyrical language and complex characterization draw readers into this elaborately unfolding epic set in a fantasy world that richly reimages eighth century Tang Dynasty China.

Readers may also enjoy Jo Graham’s Black Ships, Conn Iggulden’s Genghis: Birth of an Empire, and Vonda N. McIntyre’s The Moon and the Sun.

Historical Fiction

Julie Orringer. The Invisible Bridge. Knopf, 2010. $26.95 (ISBN 978-1-4000-4116-9).

In this sweeping yet intimate portrait of a Hungarian Jewish family in Europe, two lovers become enmeshed in the turmoil of the Holocaust. With gorgeous prose and an exquisite evocation of Paris and Budapest, Orringer writes movingly of their strength and the bittersweet power of hope and love.

Readers may also enjoy Louis De Bernieres’s Corelli’s Mandolin, Janice Y. K. Lee’s The Piano Teacher, and Mary Doria Russell’s A Thread of Grace.

Horror

Stephen M. Irwin. The Dead Path. Doubleday, 2010. $25.95 (ISBN 978-0-385-53343-0).

Guilt ridden Nicholas Close retreats to his family home in Australia after the tragic death of his wife, only to encounter an ancient malevolence lurking in the nearby woods. Childhood nightmares and fairytale motifs combine in this emotionally powerful tale of implacable evil. Arachnophobes beware!

Readers may also enjoy Stephen King’s It, Raymond Feist’s Faerie Tale: A Novel of Terror and Fantasy, and Brian Keene’s Dark Hollow.

Mystery

Louise Penny. Bury Your Dead. Minotaur, 2010. $24.99 (ISBN 978-0-312-37704-5).

Troubled by past mistakes, Chief Inspector Gamache, in his sixth outing, retreats to snowy and insular Quebec City, where he becomes embroiled in intertwining investigations of both old and new. Penny expertly delivers a layered story that is haunting, moody, and exquisitely drawn.

Readers may also enjoy Charles Todd’s A Test of Wills, Erin Hart’s Haunted Ground, and Julia Spencer-Fleming’s In the Bleak Midwinter.

Romance

Mary Balogh. A Matter of Class. Vanguard Press, 2009. $15.95 (ISBN 978-1-59315-554-4).

A lady is ruined. A merchant’s son is trapped. Class differences loom large in this charming and playful take on the arranged marriage. Balogh’s regency gem, where nothing is quite as it seems, is filled with affection and wit.

Readers may also enjoy Georgette Heyer’s Faro’s Daughter, Rose Lerner’s In for a Penny, and Julia Quinn’s The Viscount Who Loved Me.

Science Fiction

Ian McDonald. The Dervish House. Pyr, 2010. $26 (ISBN 9781616142049).

A terrorist bomb sets off a chain of events that, over the next five days, entangles the lives of six characters. McDonald brilliantly imagines a world in which the ultramodern exists side-by-side with the ancient, and he blends science and mysticism to embody the contradiction that is Istanbul in 2027.

Readers may also enjoy William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition, George Alec Effinger’s When Gravity Fails, and Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl.

Women’s Fiction

Jo Ann Mapson. Solomon’s Oak. Bloomsbury, 2010. $25 (ISBN 978-1-60819-330-1).

Recently widowed Glory Solomon collects stray animals and damaged souls. Facing bankruptcy, she creates a new life catering themed weddings. This deeply felt yet unsentimental novel explores grief, healing, and second chances.

Readers may also enjoy Juliette Fay’s Shelter Me, Marsha Moyer’s The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch, and Katrina Kittle’s The Blessings of the Animals.

Reading List Council 2010–11 members: Jacqueline Sasaki, Ann Arbor District Library, chair; Alicia Ahlvers, Kansas City Public Library; Jennifer Baker, Seattle Public Library; Cheryl Bryan, Massachusetts Library System, Waltham; Craig Clark, formerly with Cuyahoga County Public Library; Kathleen Collins, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle; Megan McArdle, Berkeley Public Library; Joyce Saricks, Downers Grove, Illinois; Sharron Smith, Kitchener Public Library, vice-chair; Kimberly Wells, Denton Public Library; Neal Wyatt, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond; and Alan Ziebarth, Chicago, Illinois.

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The Outstanding Reference Source list of titles identifies the most important reference publications for small- and medium-sized public and academic libraries published in a given year. The publication of this list began in 1958 and now also includes outstanding electronic resources. The titles were selected by the RUSA CODES Reference Sources Committee.

The Selections for Year 2011

The Oxford Companion to the Book. Ed. Michael F. Suarez, S.J. and H.R. Woudhuysen. 2 vols. Oxford, 2010. $325 (ISBN 978-0-19-860653-6).

Encyclopedia of Identity. Ed. Ronald L. Jackson II. 2 vols. Sage, 2010. $350 (ISBN 978-1-4129-5153-1).

Encyclopedia of Geography. Ed. Barney Warf. 6 vols. Sage, 2010. $895 (ISBN 978-1-4129-5697-0).

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Ed. Michael Gagarin. 7 vols. Oxford, 2010. $995 (ISBN 978-0-19517072-6).

The Encyclopedia of Religion in America. Ed. Charles H. Lippy and Peter W. Williams. 4 vols. CQ Press, 2010. $600 (ISBN 978-0-87289-580-5).

Off Broadway Musicals, 1910 –2007: Casts, Credits, Songs, Critical Reception and Performance Data of More Than 1,800 Shows.

Ed. Dan Dietz. 1 vol. McFarland, 2010. $295 (ISBN 978-07864-3399-5).

Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion. Ed. Joanne B. Eicher. 10 vols. Oxford, 2010. $1,995 (ISBN 978-0-19-537733-0).

Berg Fashion Library. Oxford, 2010.

Chronology of the Evolution-Creationism Controversy. Ed. Randy Moore et al. 1 vol. Greenwood, 2009. $85 (ISBN 978-031336-287-3).

The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace. Ed. Nigel Young. 4 vols. Oxford, 2010. $495 (ISBN 978-0-19-533468-5).

21st Century Economics A Reference Handbook. Ed. Rhona C. Free. 2 vols. Sage, 2010. $325 (ISBN 978-1-4129-6142-4).

Encyclopedia of Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. Ed. John M. Levine and Michael A. Hogg. 2 vols. Sage, 2010. $375. (ISBN 978-1-4129-4208-9).

Encyclopedia of Political Theory. Ed. Mark Bevir. 3 vols. Sage, 2010. $425 (ISBN 978-1-4129-5865-3).

RUSA CODES Reference Sources Committee 2010–11 members: Deborah Katz, Washington University Libraries, chair; Elinor Appel, North Seattle Community College; Anne-Marie Davis, University of Washington; Cynthia Dudenhöffer, Smiley Memorial Library, Fayette, Missouri; Chaunacey Dunklee, Fullerton Public Library, California; Curtis Ferree, Fairfield University; Patricia L. Gregory, Pius XII Memorial Library, St. Louis University; Danise G. Hoover, Hunter College Library; Stephen Marvin, West Chester University of Pennsylvania; Claire Murata, Shoreline Community College, Washington; and Patrick J. Wall, University City Public Library, Missouri.

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Since 1944, the Notable Books Council has annually selected a list of twenty-five very good, very readable, and at times very important fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books for the adult reader. Books may be selected because they possess exceptional literary merit, expand the horizons of human knowledge, make a specialized body of knowledge accessible to the nonspecialist, have the potential to contribute significantly to the solution of a contemporary problem, or present a unique concept.

Fiction

Rick Bass. Nashville Chrome. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $24 (ISBN 978-0-547-31726-7).
This lovely account of pop trio The Browns reels you in as though the concept of rags to riches were brand new.

Emma Donoghue. Room: A Novel. Little, Brown. $24.99 (ISBN 978-0-316-09833-5).
Five-year-old Jack vividly narrates the story of his life confined in a room with his mother in this unsettling exploration of resilience and hope.

Jennifer Egan. A Visit from the Goon Squad. Knopf. $25.95 (ISBN 978-0-307-59283-5).
A 70s punk band becomes the touchstone for a motley crew who spin their interconnected stories over time and distance.

Tom Franklin. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. William Morrow. $24.99 (ISBN 978-0-06-059466-4).
Two men—one black, one white—must confront the secrets surrounding their childhood friendship following the disappearance of two girls in rural Mississippi.

Jonathan Franzen. Freedom. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. $28 (ISBN 978-0-374-15846-0).
This incisive portrait of the fractured Berglund brood captures the zeitgeist of contemporary America.

James Hynes. Next. Reagan Arthur. $23.99 (ISBN 978-0316-05192-7).
Welcome to the worst day of Kevin Quinn’s life as he battles the anxieties of the modern world in steamy Austin, Texas.

Chang-Rae Lee. The Surrendered. Riverhead. $26.95 (ISBN 978-1-59448-976-1).
The complex entangled lives of three people forever scarred by the Korean War are sympathetically portrayed in gorgeous prose.

Karl Marlantes. Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War. Atlantic Monthly Press. $24.95 (ISBN 978-0-8021-1928-5).
An ambitious and idealistic American marine faces the horror, heroism, futility, and pragmatism of war in this visceral portrayal of life in country.

David Mitchell. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet: A Novel. Random House. $26 (ISBN 978-1-4000-6545-5).
A young clerk attempts to establish himself in the artificial and intense world of Dejima, the Dutch trading colony in 1800s Japan.

Paul Murray. Skippy Dies. Faber and Faber. $28 (ISBN 9780-86547-943-2).
Filled with warmth and humor, this coming-of-age novel set in a Dublin boys schools is a sprawling homage to adolescence, string theory, donuts, and unrequited love.

Tatjana Soli. The Lotus Eaters. St. Martin’s. $24.99 (ISBN 9780-312-61157-6).
The adrenaline high that danger offers infects photojournalist Helen Adams as she documents the war in Vietnam.

Brady Udall. The Lonely Polygamist: A Novel. Norton. $26.95 (ISBN 978-0-393-06262-5).
In this big-hearted novel, Golden Richards and his clan navigate their chaotic lives as each clamors to be noticed.

Nonfiction

Ron Chernow. Washington: A Life. Penguin. $40 (ISBN 9781594202667).
A landmark biography provides insights into the complexities of this founding father’s character, and brings him fully to life within the context of his times.

Edmund de Waal. The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family’s Century of Art and Loss. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. $26 (ISBN 978-0374105976).
Blending history, biography, and art, this personal account elegantly traces the fate of a European Jewish family and their collection of 246 netsuke.

Barbara Demick. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. Spiegel & Grau. $26 (ISBN 978-0-385-52390-5).
Chronicling the experiences of six people, this powerful account draws back the curtain on the brutality of life under a totalitarian regime.

Notable Books

Ian Frazier. Travels in Siberia. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. $30 (ISBN 978-0374278724).
Stricken by Russia love, a writer sets out to experience all things Siberian and takes us along for the rollicking journey.

Oren Harman. The Price of Altruism: George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness. Norton. $27.95 (ISBN 9780-393-06778-1).
This moving work provides insight into the mind of a tormented genius attempting to understand an elusive aspect of human nature.

Daniel Okrent. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. Scribner. $30 (ISBN 978-0-7432-7702-0).
This intoxicating history of the Eighteenth Amendment reveals the surprising relationship between Prohibition and other social movements and explores its lasting impact on American life.

Lynne Olson. Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour. Random House. $28 (ISBN 978-1-4000-6758-9).
In this compelling portrait three influential individuals persuade a reluctant president to come to the aid of a beleaguered nation in the early days of World War II.

Nathaniel Philbrick. The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Viking. $30 (ISBN 9780670021727).
An epic encounter between two iconic individuals is vividly portrayed in fluid, evocative, and decidedly objective prose.

Rebecca Skloot. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Crown. $26 (ISBN 978-1-4000-5217-2).
A science writer uncovers the fascinating story of an African-American woman’s cancer cells harvested for medical research, thereby raising important questions of bioethics.

Patti Smith. Just Kids. Ecco. $27 (ISBN 978-0-06-621131-2).
The poet and musician’s endearing memoir about her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe captures life and art in New York City during the 1960s and ‘70s.

John Vaillant. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. Knopf. $26.95 (ISBN 978-0-307-26893-8).
Russia’s ecological and cultural history serves as the backdrop for this riveting adventure tale of man versus beast.

Isabel Wilkerson. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration. Random House. $30 (ISBN 9780-679-44432-9).
The twentieth century exodus of over 6 million black Americans from the South is sensitively retold through the lives of three who left.

Poetry

C.K. Williams. Wait: Poems. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. $25 (ISBN 978-0374285913).
A lifetime of experience is distilled into a slim but significant volume of verse by this Pulitzer and National Book Award winning poet.

Tony Hoagland. Unincorporated Persons in the Late Honda Dynasty: Poems. Graywolf Press. $15 (ISBN 978-1-155597-549-4).
These poems capture the absurdities and loneliness of American life using matter of fact language and humor.

Notable Books, 2011, committee members: A. Issac Pulver, Saratoga Springs Public Library, chair; Terry Beck, Sno-Isle Libraries; Susie Brown, Shaker Heights Public Library; Julie Elliott, Indiana University—South Bend; Bill Kelly, Cuyahoga County Public Library; Elizabeth Olesh, Nassau Library System; Jessica Pigza, New York Public Library; Nancy Pearl; Heather Robideaux, Fayetteville Public Library; Nonny Schlotzhauer, The Pennsylvania State University; Andrea Slonosky; and Valerie Morgan Taylor, Great Falls Library.

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Philosophy can be considered one of the “key” subjects, unlocking as is does much of the theoretical conversations that take place in other fields. It can also be a daunting proposition for librarians trying to develop a collection that is broad enough to capture the subject, yet deep enough to take users beyond a rudimentary level. Wayne Bivens-Tatum, the philosophy and religion librarian at Princeton University, offers a guided tour through the possibilities and must-have’s of a basic collection with advice for public librarians and advanced graduate subject specialists. With an expert voice and comforting reassurance, Bivens-Tatum examines the resources and explains not just what to collect but what makes each title useful. Readers who enjoy his clear insight can read more of his ruminations on libraries, reference, and the humanities on his Academic Librarian blog available at academiclibrarian.net. He can be reached at rbivens@princeton.edu.—Editor

Philosophy as an area of study is both circumscribed and limitless. As studied in American colleges and universities, philosophy is a very focused field. However, every subject has a philosophical aspect, and some use the term philosophy to mean an entire worldview. In this review, I am limiting myself to philosophy as it isstudied in the majority of philosophy departments at Anglo-American universities, that is, the Western philosophical tradition beginning with the ancient Greeks and developing as a more or less coherent body of thought revolving around a family of common questions.

Philosophers, like most scholars in the humanities, rarely seek research help from librarians. There are several reasons for this. First, rather than gather immense amounts of data or read large numbers of books and articles for their research, philosophers tend to analyze a few sources and arguments in great depth. Except for historians of philosophy, philosophers rarely need to do exhaustive searches for information or esoteric archival work because most of what they study is contained in a few books and journals with which they are already familiar. Students of philosophy are usually trained in philosophical analysis and are guided by their professors to both methods and sources of analysis.

Another possible reason that philosophers and philosophy students need less research help is because, for a relatively compact discipline, philosophy has a remarkably robust bibliographic and reference apparatus, and sources are easy to >find. The major index to the field is quite good and has competition. There are three major encyclopedias vying for attention, as well as a host of excellent reference tools developed by Oxford, Cambridge, and Blackwell presses among others.

In this column, I will address some major tools in philosophy reference, focusing on English-language resources. A librarian with access to all these resources should be able to address almost any research need in philosophy, as well as be able to identify philosophy titles necessary for purchase to build a comprehensive collection. I am including all the sources I consider necessary for a basic, solid philosophy reference collection, but I will note throughout what are essential for different levels of philosophy support.

Philosophy Literature

Philosopher’s Index

The Philosopher’s Index bills itself as the “world’s most current and comprehensive bibliography of scholarly research in philosophy,” and that is undoubtedly true. It has been the standard index for philosophy literature for decades. It indexes over 680 journals and claims to have over 450,000 records. Though it began in 1970, retrospective indexing goes back to 1940. It is published by the Philosophy Information Center and is available by subscription online through Ebsco, OCLC, Ovid, and ProQuest. If your library supports a philosophy department, this is a necessary index.

Philosophy Research Index

This index is brand new and is designed to compete with the Philosopher’s Index. At the moment, it indexes 360 journals in multiple languages, but its ultimate goal is to provide extensive bibliographic coverage of philosophy comparable to or exceeding the Philosopher’s Index and at a much better price. (The Philosopher’s Index was originally published by the Philosophy Documentation Center (PDC). However, the copyright was owned by Richard Lineback, and when he left the PDC in 1995 he took the Philosopher’s Index with him.) The PDC publishes numerous journals and tools, and with Intelex publishes POIESIS: Philosophy Online Serials, which provides searchable digitized content for journals otherwise available only in print. The Philosophy Research Index could eventually become the major index for philosophy. It currently claims to have 650,000 citations, which is more than the Philosopher’s Index, but in several subject searches I tried, the Philosopher’s Index came up with more and better results. For the time being, the Philosopher’s Index is still the top index.

PhilPapers

PhilPapers is a directory of online philosophy articles and books. Philosophers can submit entries, but it also automatically crawls 309 online journals, as well as articles posted to the websites of about 1,900 philosophers. Your library must have a subscription to access many of the journals, but it also links to open-access journals, online archives, and papers on philosophers’ personal websites. Thus, it will not only have citations included in the Philosopher’s Index and the Philosophy Research Index but preprints and other typically unindexed material. It currently claims to have 305,000 entries.

Intelex Past Masters

Past Masters from Intelex can provide online full-text access to critical editions of the works of many major figures in the history of philosophy from Plato to Pierce, sometimes both in their original language and in English translation. Each title is a standalone purchase based on FTE, with a low yearly access fee and discounts after a certain amount has been spent. Larger libraries may want to purchase the complete works of Descartes, Hegel, Kant, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein in their original languages. But even smaller libraries could benefit from smaller anthology collections such as The Continental Rationalists and British Philosophy 1600–1900.

Philosophy Reference

Dictionaries

Audi, Robert. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999 (ISBN: 978052-163136-5).

Honderich, Ted, ed. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. 2nd ed. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 (ISBN: 978-019-926479-7). (Also available in Oxford Reference Online.)

Every reference collection should have a dictionary of philosophy or two, and every librarian who collects for philosophy or works with students should have one handy. There are dozens of dictionaries of philosophy available, but I’ve listed the two best. My favorite is The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Like most other entries in this series, The Oxford Companion to Philosophy is an excellent single-volume reference work. It has short entries on most areas of philosophy, as well as biographies of many philosophers. Robert Audi’s Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy is similar, with some longer entries, and more coverage of non-Western thought. Libraries that can afford to should purchase both titles.

Encyclopedias

Borchert, Donald M., ed. Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd ed. Detroit, Mich.: Macmillan, 2006. (ISBN: 978-002-865780-6). (Also in Gale Virtual Reference Library.)

Craig, Edward, ed. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge, 2000. (ISBN: 978-041-507310-3). (http://www.rep.routledge.com)

Zalta, Edward N., ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford, Calif.: Metaphysics Research Lab, Center for the Study of
Language and Information, Stanford University, 1995. (http://plato.stanford.edu)

Philosophy is unusual in having three major, comprehensive encyclopedias competing to cover a relatively focused, though 2,500-year-old, field. All three are excellent in their way. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy is the 2nd edition of the 1967 Encyclopedia of Philosophy edited by Paul Edwards. The older edition was the standard for thirty years and is widely available in libraries. For some historical topics the older edition is still sometimes useful, but the 2nd edition is completely revised and current. It has longish articles with extensive bibliographies written by experts on every area of philosophy. It is also available online through the Gale Reference Library, but the print volumes are recommended if online is too expensive.

The same cannot be said of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The Routledge Encyclopedia is outstanding and comprehensive, but while it was first designed as a print encyclopedia, it lives more naturally online. The entries tend to be shorter than the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, with many cross-references. In print, this means you really need all ten volumes in front of you, whereas online those cross-references become hyperlinks, making the Routledge Encyclopedia very web-friendly. Online, the entries are updated quarterly. The articles are written by experts in the field and contain excellent bibliographies. Highly recommended.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is possibly the best open-access reference work. It started under NEH grants and is now partially funded by an endowment created through contributions by libraries and philosophy departments all over the world. Expert philosophers are commissioned to write the entries, which are very in-depth with extensive bibliographies. It is not as comprehensive as the other major encyclopedias, partly because it is still a work in progress (commissioned but unfinished entries are included but have no content). Nevertheless, the content there is excellent, and it is freely available.

I have emphasized the bibliographies of these encyclopedias because for collection development purposes they are invaluable, especially if your library has no philosophy approval plan. Though it is relatively inexpensive to provide decent coverage for philosophy as it is practiced in mainstream philosophy departments (possibly twenty publishers and a hundred or so journals publish most of the content that most philosophers write and read), not all libraries will want even this minimal coverage. Others will want to make sure that subcategories of philosophy are well covered at their libraries, and the major entries in these encyclopedias will provide good checklists for books to collect, whether critical editions of historical philosophers in the original languages and translation or key titles for newer topics that might be of interest. (For free examples of useful bibliographies for collection development, see the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entries on “Cosmopolitanism” or “The Moral Status of Animals.”)

Most college, university, and mid- to large-sized public libraries should probably have the Encyclopedia of Philosophy or the Routledge Encyclopedia in print at the very least and preferably have both print and online versions. If your library is supporting a philosophy department, having at least one of them online is very useful. For others, the Stanford Encyclopedia alone might suffice, and you cannot beat the price.

Guides, Summaries, and Bibliographies

Blackwell Philosophy Companions, Guides, and Anthologies Blackwell’s philosophy reference collection is outstanding.

The Compleat Philosophy Librarian

At the time of writing, there are a hundred or so Companions and Guides relevant to philosophy. Each entry in those two series is a solid, thorough introduction to, and overview of, the topic at hand. Though there are a handful of guides to major philosophers such as Kant or Nietzsche, the bulk of both series cover major philosophical fields (ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, etc.) as well as prominent sub-fields (such as bioethics or medical ethics). The separate articles within the Companions and Guides are lengthy with extensive bibliographies. I would consider the print volumes of most of the Blackwell titles essential for any library supporting even an undergraduate program in philosophy. Some are more basic than others, and for the most basic collection, the Companions to epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics, for example, would be more necessary than the Companions to early modern philosophy or Christian ethics, but I would recommend any that are relevant to your users. Most of the titles are available via subscription in the Blackwell Reference Online database, if that’s an affordable option. Blackwell Reference Online has one of the strongest humanities reference collections available. Though not reference titles as such, the corresponding Blackwell Anthologies make excellent complements to the Companions and Guides. A student interested in contemporary ethics, for example, and armed with the Blackwell Guide to Ethical Theory, the Companion to Ethics, and Ethical Theory: An Anthology, would be well prepared to begin serious study.

The Cambridge Companions to Philosophy

The Cambridge Companions to Philosophy, Religion, and Culture series (of which about seventy-five or so titles are relevant to philosophy) provide excellent introductions to most major philosophers and some philosophical movements. Each volume has a series of essays on important areas of the philosopher’s work as well as useful bibliographies. If a student was interested in an area of philosophy such as ethics or aesthetics, I would suggest the relevant Blackwell Companion or Guide, but if a student was interested in a particular philosopher, I would suggest the Cambridge Companions. The two series complement each other well. The Cambridge Companions are available online via subscription through the Cambridge Collections Online database. The print volumes are essential for any library supporting classes in philosophy, but the online volumes are very handy to have for larger libraries.

Roth, John K., Christina J. Moose, and Rowena Wildin. World Philosophers and Their Works. Pasadena, Calif: Salem Press, 2000 (ISBN: 978-089-356878-8).

World Philosophers and their Works is Masterplots for major philosophers. The five volumes in this set provide extensive summaries, bibliographic essays, and lists of further reading for more than two hundred major works of philosophy. If you want a good, clear introduction to the main ideas and major themes of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics or Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, this is a good place to go. I would recommend it from upper high school through undergraduate use or for general readers who want to explore some philosophical classics. There’s an out-of-print 1982 set with more or less the same content, World Philosophy: Essay-Reviews of 225 Major Works, also from Salem Press. Most libraries could get by with either edition, especially since more current bibliographies are usually available in the encyclopedias.

Oxford Bibliographies Online

Oxford Bibliographies Online is another new product and is Oxford University Press’s first publication created only for the Internet. There are several modules available. The philosophy module currently has fifty-nine entries, ranging from broad topics like “Epistemology” to narrower topics like “Rule-following” or “Semantic Externalism.” Each entry is a lengthy annotated bibliography covering the major books and articles in the area. The organization and annotations are very well done, and the individual citations link to link-resolvers and Worldcat.org, and users can export citations or save them if they create an OBO account. A bibliography on a relevant topic would give an advanced student a full representation of the most important works to read and a librarian a list of the most important works to buy. If your library supports a philosophy graduate program, this resource is almost essential.

Philosophy Book Reviews

Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews is a great source for reviews of philosophy books. Edited by a couple of philosophers at Notre Dame, NDPR has published a dozen or two book reviews every month since January 2002. The reviews are 1,500–2,000 words. NDPR could be valuable for philosophy students wanting to know more about a book before they read it, but for librarians its greatest use is probably for collection development. Because the reviews usually appear within six to twelve months of the book’s publication, they are timely, and the books they review should still be easily available. You can visit the site or sign up for an e-mail list.

Conclusion

If you want to be able to help users find literature on philosophical topics but have absolutely no money to spend, the two free resources on this list will go a long way. Between PhilPapers, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and possibly WorldCat.org, library users should be able to get a basic overview of many philosophical topics and a recommended list of reading, if not the sources themselves. As with most fields in the humanities, if you can identify a recent and relevant work or two from a solid journal or good scholarly press, then you should stop searching for a while and start chasing footnotes. PhilPapers and the Stanford Encyclopedia have thousands of current articles and recent bibliographies between them.

If you’re in a large public library with a philosophy reference collection, you can do a good job at general reference with relatively little cost. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is free online. This should be supplemented with either the Encyclopedia of Philosophy or the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (depending on the price). The Oxford Companion to Philosophy is useful and inexpensive as well.

For academic libraries, the recommendations depend on the scope of the philosophy department and the library budget. If it’s a small department with no graduate program, I would recommend the Philosopher’s Index, supplemented by the free PhilPapers. A healthy selection of Companions by Cambridge and Blackwell would also be good. Though philosophers get to most of their sources through other sources, occasionally they will need the standard index for their field. At least one of the major philosophical encyclopedias other than the Stanford Encyclopedia is a necessity, and both would be preferable.

For larger academic libraries and philosophy departments with graduate programs, the minimum desirable collection would include the Philosopher’s Index, all three of the major encyclopedias (though not necessarily all online), Oxford Bibliographies Online, the Cambridge Companions to philosophy, and the Blackwell philosophy Companions, Guides, and Anthologies.

I have deliberately focused on what I see as a core collection and have ignored a wide range of philosophy reference works, including works in languages other than English and works about non-Western philosophy. Most academic libraries should stock a range of more specialized works, such as Becker’s three-volume Encyclopedia of Ethics (2nd ed. Rout-ledge, 2001) or Post’s five-volume Encyclopedia of Bioethics (Macmillan, 2004), to name just a couple. For a comprehensive overview of philosophical reference works, see Hans Bynagle’s Philosophy: A Guide to the Reference Literature (3rd ed. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2006). Its 389 pages and 866 entries will take you more deeply into the philosophy reference literature than most libraries are ever likely to want or need to go.

Correspondence concerning this column should be addressed to Neal Wyatt, The Alert Collector, c/o RUSA, 50 E. Huron, Chicago, IL 60611; e-mail: alertcollector@comcast.net. Wyatt is a collection development and readers’ advisory librarian from Virginia. She wrote The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Nonfiction (ALA Editions, 2007), is the editor of Library Journal’s “Reader’s Shelf” column, author of Booksmack!’s “RA Crossroads” whole collection RA column, and compiles LJ’s weekly “Wyatt’s World Lists.”

Wayne Bivens-Tatum is the Philosophy and Religion Librarian at Princeton University.