The book is very similar in design to a textbook; chapterscontain objectives, questions for discussion, and usefulresource lists. Case studies are presented to illustrate practicalapplications of ‘‘blended librarianship’’ and design thinking.For readers who wish to learn more about becoming a‘‘blended’’ librarian, Chapter 8 introduces the resources andnetworking opportunities available through the BlendedLibrarians Online Learning Community.

The final chapter, ‘‘Evolving through Design Thinking,’’ isalso the best, containing the most persuasive reasoning forapplying design thinking to academic librarianship. Bell andShank present seven strategies for designing a better libraryexperience, which should be mandatory reading for allacademic librarians. New technologies (e.g., wikis and blogs)and competitors (e.g., amazon.com and Google) are presentedas opportunities to reflect and grow as a profession. Despite atendency towards repetition of definitions and arguments, Belland Shank have done an excellent job introducing the conceptof design thinking and applying a seemingly corporate strategyto the library profession.—Justine Alsop-Cotton, SubjectLibrarian for English Literature, Communications, Popu-lar Culture, Film, and Dramatic Arts, James A. GibsonLibrary, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, CanadaL2S 3A1 bjalsop@brocku.caN.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. Clark, Taylor. ‘‘Starb*#!ked.’’ Psychology Today September/

October 2007, 99–102.

doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2007.11.014

A Practical Guide to Information Literacy Assessment forAcademic Librarians, by Carolyn J. Radcliff, et al. Westport,CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2007. 180p. $45.00. ISBN 1-5915-8340-3.

Anumber of recent articles in the library literature featureassessment of library instruction and information literacyprojects in academic libraries. Yet, a monograph dedicated totypes of assessment and how they could apply to informationliteracy previously did not exist. A Practical Guide attempts toeducate practitioners about the role of assessment in highereducation and academic libraries, introduce them to a variety oftools for assessment, and walk through data analysis andsharing results.

For librarians new to the field or those attempting to create aplan for individual or programmatic instruction, this work willbe extremely useful. Chapter 2, ‘‘A Brief Look at Assess-ment,’’ provides a synopsis of assessment in higher educationand academic libraries. It is a short read that will be most usefulto librarians new to assessment. There is often great resistanceamong teaching faculty to the culture of assessment and theauthors here are wise to guide readers to consult with their ownofficers for institutional assessment on campus.

Chapter 3, ‘‘How to Choose the Right Assessment Tool,’’sets up the bulk of the book. Each chapter after, Chapters 4through 12, are dedicated to specific assessment tools, such asinformal assessment techniques, surveys, knowledge tests, orportfolios. The editors supplied useful icons at the beginning ofeach of these following chapters that quickly inform the readerabout what they call the ‘‘seven key indicators: time, money,level, domain, access to participants, degree of faculty collab-

oration, and need for outside expertise’’ (19). For a littleclarification, ‘‘domain’’ refers to whether you will be inves-tigating student perceptions (affective), what they have learned(behavioral), or what they know (cognitive). The ‘‘level ofassessment’’ clarifies the setting – classroom, programmatic, orinstitutional – for the assessment. These seven icons are the keyto any successful attempt at assessment. At the outset ofdeveloping either individual or institutional assessment, librar-ians essentially need to understand what they are about toundertake.

Each of these nine chapters is surprisingly detailed for theoverall size of the book. The editors have included enoughinformation to help practitioners understand both the benefitsand drawbacks of using specific kinds of assessment. Forexample, when the reader examines the chapter dedicated tosurveys, they will learn the differences between cross-sectionaland longitudinal survey, as well as more defied types of thelatter. They will also read about different ways of deliveringsurveys to students through software options and examples ofsurvey questions. The chapter then guides the reader throughthe construction of survey questions and discusses sharingresults with participants. The end of each of these ‘‘tools ormethods’’ chapters ends nicely with a section that walksreaders back through those seven indicators to help themdecide if this method is right for them.

The final section, ‘‘What to Do with the Information,’’ takesthe reader through the important final step of using data andpublicizing information with the right parties. As with theprevious portions of the text, the two chapters in this section arethorough, yet not overwhelming. In conclusion, this text will bea welcome addition for librarians tasked with completingassessment of a program or even those who would like toundergo assessment for their own knowledge. While there are anumber of articles available dedicated to assessment ofinformation literacy and presentations to see, it seems, at everylibrary-related conference, this monograph puts an abundanceof useful information together in a single source.—Michelle S.Millet, Information Literacy Coordinator, Coates Library,Trinity University, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX78212-7200 bmichelle.millet@trinity.eduN.

doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2007.11.015

Using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for MetadataHarvesting, by Timothy W. Cole and Muriel Foulonneau.Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2007. 208p. $45.00. ISBN978-1-59158-280-9.

Anyone thinking of implementing the Open ArchivesInitiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) willfind Using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for MetadataHarvesting very useful and informative. It not only describesthe technical features of the protocol, but the issues surround-ing the implementation of an OAI-compliant repository too.

The intent of the book is to show how OAI-PMH works. Italso seeks to deepen the reader’s knowledge of how OAI-PMHcan ‘‘facilitate and enhance digital library interoperability.’’The intended audience is someone who is familiar with bothdescriptive cataloging and computing technology (withoutnecessarily an expert in both of them). This reflects the fact

80 The Journal of Academic Librarianship

that OAI-PMH sits at the intersection of metadata and tech-nology; both of them intrinsically have contradictory qualitiesthat can pose complexity. Technically, the protocol is simple,but the information shared on the protocol is heterogeneousand that complicates implementation of OAI-PMH.

The book is divided into three sections: the first sectionintroduces the protocol, the second section discusses imple-mentation issues, and the third section explores the ways inwhich shareable metadata can be created for successful OAI-PMH implementation. In the first section, the history and intentbehind the creation of OAI-PMH are clearly described andexplained. It also defines its scope and to indicate what OAI-PMH is and is not. Both the technological and scholarly com-munication contexts within which the protocol was developedare also explored. In the second section, the authors describethe technical details of OAI-PMH and how it can be imple-mented. Implementation problems largely related to metadatalike XML valid metadata and accurate, normalized date valuesare highlighted and discussed. In the third section, theimportance of creating shareable metadata is discussed alongwith descriptions of various common metadata formats likeDublin Core, METS, VRA, and EAD. The authors also dealtwith the controversial topic of making unqualified Dublin Corea mandatory format.

This book covers a lot of ground and does it admirably. Itreads very well and the technical aspects of the book are nottoo difficult that someone who is not a technology professionalwould be able to read it with understanding. Furthermore, eachchapter has a question and discussion section, as well as anexercise section to help the reader concretize what has beenread. But, it has to be said, that while the authors tried to keepthings jargon free and to explain specialized concepts as muchas possible, the reader with only minimal familiarity withdigital libraries and its technologies and the related metadataformats may find it difficult to follow the argument. The issueof interoperability is complex because of the intersection oftechnology and metadata. Anyone not having been exposedsufficiently to the issues of developing digital libraries mayfind themselves lost in the thickening discussion. That said, foranyone intending to implement OAI-PMH, there is no betterbook to read than this even for the seasoned digital librarydeveloper if not simply for the copious bibliography behindevery chapter.—Matthew Tan, Digital Services Librarian,Lauinger Library, Georgetown University, Washington,DC 20057 bcmt64@georgetown.eduN.

doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2007.11.016

Theorizing Digital Cultural Heritage: A Critical Discourse,by Fiona Cameron and Sarah Kenderdine. Cambridge, MA:The MIT Press, 2007. 465p. $40.00. ISBN-13 978-0-262-03353-4.

‘‘Though its physical construction is years away, theNational Museum of African American History and Culturetoday is inaugurating an online spot where visitors can helpshape its content.’’ As explained in the article from the Wash-ington Post (9/26/07), the museum is using social networkingtechnology to elicit and review recollections and stories,contributed by visitors to the site, that will constitute an exhibit

online and at the museum when it opens on the SmithsonianMall in 2015. An online museum that predates its brick-and-mortar counterpart, a technology that gathers submissions andreviews them for offensive text, exhibits that consist ofcontributions by patrons—such technological and social trendshave transformed the museum world and are the focus ofTheorizing Digital Cultural Heritage: A Critical Discourse,edited by Fiona Cameron and Sarah Kenderdine. The collectionof twenty-two articles, written by theorists and practitioners invarious disciplines, captures the interplay and reciprocalinfluence of emerging digital technologies and the ‘‘intellectualcapital’’ of museums’ holdings. Early in the work, Ms.Cameron characterizes the ‘‘heritage complex’’—‘‘an institu-tionalized culture of practices and ideas that is inherentlypolitical, socially and culturally circumscribed.’’ In general, thearticles challenge the traditions of museology with respect to themeaning of such key terms as ‘‘artifact,’’ ‘‘space,’’ ‘‘original,’’and ‘‘heritage.’’

The work is divided into three sections. The first considersthe digital object as art and its relationship to physical objectsin the collection (along with the special challenges posed byindigenous art). The second section explores the implicationsof technology and technical standards for the documentation ofcollections and for the ways that patrons learn. And the thirdsection examines ‘‘virtual cultural heritage,’’ characterized asthe intersection of cultural heritage research, documentation,and interpretation as mediated by virtual reality. This sectiondistinguishes between ‘‘place’’ and ‘‘placeness’’ in 3D and 4Dgraphic constructs that simultaneously (and not alwaysharmoniously) promote learning and engender wonder.

In positing a need for a ‘‘sustained interchange betweendigital cultural theory and heritage practices,’’ the essays adopta rich array of historical, philosophical, and sociologicalapproaches to digital cultural heritage. For example, in SectionI, Peter Walsh finds parallels between the emergence of photo-graphy in the 19th Century and the emergence of informationtechnology in the late 20th Century with respect to challengingthe established order. Walsh argues that the basis of ‘‘aura,’’ thesupposed superiority of the physical object when compared tothe photograph, was in fact attributable to the widespreaddissemination of photographs of famous works. In Section II,Cameron and Robinson look beyond the museum to the largerworld in maintaining that traditional descriptive categories nolonger satisfy user needs or accommodate wider social issues;instead, they see the promise of more inclusive documentationin the discursive, relational modes of the Internet. And inSection III, Bernadette Flynn proposes that developers of 3Dmodels for museums take note of video games’ extension ofvirtual reality through their ‘‘strategies of immersion,’’ the waypurposeful action by an avatar makes the virtual space morefully realized.

Theorizing Digital Cultural Heritage is the fifth volume inthe Media in Transition series from MIT Press, and in studyingthe interweaving of technology and museum practices, the workfollows in the tradition Katherine Jones-Garmil, The WiredMuseum (1997). The editors characterize their audience asconsisting of ‘‘professionals, academics, and students workingin all fields of cultural heritage . . . as well as education andinformation technology,’’ but some members of this broadaudience will find the writing at times specialized andchallenging. Adding to the academic and cultural value of theanthology is the fact that many of the authors draw heavily upon

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