reviews Book Reviews 285 For his last three chapters, Rota breaks with this approach and considers in turn several publication types that responded to public needs or even created them, namely, the famous Victorian “three­ decker” novels, the practice of serializing publication of individual works over time; the “yellow-back” and the advent of series publishing; and the rise of the cheap paperback, such as Penguin in En­ gland and Bantam and others in the United States. This is a veritable crash course in modern publishing history and sociology. Apart from the Text was the presentation volume for members of the Private Librar­ ies Association several years ago and clearly was written with the needs and historical sensitivities of the educated book collector in mind. Although no one will turn to it for a theory-conscious analysis of the codex book as a triumph of reading technology à la Walter Ong, much less as a characterization of the book as a semio­ logical, “grammatological” entirety à la Jacques Derrida, an extraordinary amount of traditional book learning (in both mean­ ings of this phrase) is contained in, and can be gleaned from, its pages. Granted, it is a conservative work—an anomaly, per­ haps, at the close of one millennium and the dawn of a new one—but Apart from the Text can certainly take a proud place next to other works on book history on library shelves, both private and academic.—Jef­ frey Garrett, Northwestern University. Stover, Mark. Leading the Wired Organiza­ tion: The Information Professional’s Guide to Managing Technological Change. New York: Neal-Shuman, 1999. 362p. $49.95, paper (ISBN: 1-55570-357-7). LC 99­ 28011. Those of you who may be wrestling with technology—how to manage and use it to improve whatever services you pro- vide—will find this volume by Mark Sto­ ver just what you are looking for. Leading the Wired Organization offers the informa­ tion professional of whatever stripe or variety—managers, professionals, para­ professionals, and executives—a first-rate guide on how “to thrive in the new era of information and computing.” Stover recently served as director of information technology at Phillips Gradu­ ate Institute in Encion, California. Cur­ rently, he works as the psychology and behavioral sciences librarian at San Diego State University. His varied experience and penchant for seeing technical ques­ tions and difficulties from a human angle give his book an especially thorough and even-handed feel. In ten chapters, Stover treats a host of predictable, but key, issues associated with technology and informa­ tion. Topics discussed include: commu­ nicating online (the advantages of e-mail and its pitfalls), doing business on the Internet (your library should not rule it out), planning the ideal Web site (the po­ litical problems that Web design can en­ tail on many campuses), using emerging technology effectively (why pushing the envelope can be risky), and managing computer resources in a wired organiza­ tion (the inherent difficulties in any com­ puter center and library relationship). Stover begins each chapter with narra­ tive: a descriptive account or case study of a particular situation. He describes, for example, the scenario of disgruntled li­ brary workers irritated at the pace of tech­ nology in their department or the frustra­ tion of information overload that a group of reference librarians may be experienc­ ing. Narratives are followed by analysis and advice and a section of comments pooled from a select group of profession­ als whom the author polled. These latter data, though some might argue too selec­ tive (there were only forty respondents in his survey), add an extra dimension to the author’s analysis. They give him, notwith­ standing their somewhat limited number, a convincing, field-tested, empirical basis for many of the book’s conclusions. In attempting to provide the informa­ tion professional with perspectives on the plethora of issues facing technology and library services, the author naturally cov­ ers a lot of territory—ground that at times can be controversial. For instance, Stover insists on calling library users “custom­ 286 College & Research Libraries ers,” has no qualms about libraries mar­ keting their services (within certain limi­ tations), and contends that libraries can embrace a kind of postmodernism while providing genuinely authoritative infor­ mation. The value of Stover’s book is not in the novelty of his analysis. He breaks little new ground; much of what he says has been said elsewhere, although not neces­ sarily as well or as succinctly. On the whole, Stover writes with genuine bal­ ance and even-handed candor. The real genius of the volume lies in the author’s capacity to engage technology and, in so doing, preserve what he would term the “humanistic” dimension; Stover would have us value our working relationships and improve our services. He offers great advice on how to work well with people and on how to anticipate and offset some of the tensions that inevitably accompany May 2000 new technologies. Although he does not speculate on the end of print or the de­ mise of traditional libraries, he is alto­ gether gung ho about efficiency and keen on improving electronic services. It is in these respects that Leading the Wired Organization makes such a great contribution to the field. In a single vol­ ume, the reader gains access to clear­ headed insight on how everyone in the wired organization can get down to the business of providing information and using technology to do it, while at the same time, gleaning some surprisingly sage advice on the human dimensions of the enterprise. Leading the Wired Organi­ zation is purely and simply a handbook. But it is a great handbook. It is a reasoned and careful guide to our present and im­ mediate electronic future. No wired pro­ fessional should go online without it.— Steve McKinzie, Dickinson College.