reviews.indd


268 College & Research Libraries 

conceptual tool for analyzing phenomena, 
particularly those as emotionally charged 
as these; would that the author had made 
that step here. 

This is not entirely a theoretical ques-
tion, as a consideration of a diff erent set 
of cases could easily show, for liberal 
regimes have enthusiastically carried out 
genocide, ethnocide, and their own ver-
sions of libricide, but of course they have 
used different techniques, not considered 
in Professor Knuth’s account. Such a 
consideration would amply illustrate 
Mark Twain’s observation about the three 
inestimably precious virtues of American 
democracy: freedom of thought, freedom 
of speech, and the wisdom to exercise nei-
ther. Libricide is obviously an important 
phenomenon, which calls for an analysis 
acknowledging this reality.—Michael F. 
Winter, University of California, Davis. 

Musings, Meanderings, and Monsters, Too: 
Essays on Academic Librarianship. Ed. 
Martin H. Raish. Lanham, Md.: Scare-
crow Pr., 2003. 195p. alk. paper, $24.95 
(ISBN 0810847671). LC 2003-2085. 

This book is about change in academic 
librarianship. It is organized in nineteen 
chapters. Most of the chapters include 
a list of references or suggested further 
readings. Several of the authors’ names 
are not recognizable as frequent contribu-
tors to academic library literature. The 
new ideas and perspectives are refresh-
ing. Relevant quotations are used at the 
beginning of the chapters; the quotes 
used at the end of chapters are not always 
relevant to the respective chapter, but 
nonetheless they are enlightening. Those 
quoted range from Indiana Jones to Edna 
St. Vincent Millay.

 Various topics on change in academic 
librarianship/libraries are addressed in 
this easy-to-read volume. I, however, 
suggest that companion reading to this 
book include Paul Wasserman’s The 

May 2004 

New Librarianship: A Challenge for Change 
(New York, 1972) and Spencer Johnson’s 
Who Moved My Cheese? An A-mazing Way 
to Deal with Change in Your Work and in 
Your Life (New York, 1998). Wasserman’s 
landmark volume will set the theoreti-
cal and philosophical stage for change 
in librarianship. Notwithstanding the 
publication date of Wasserman’s work, it 
remains highly relevant to today’s chang-
ing landscape of librarianship. Johnson’s 
best-seller is a simple (but powerful) par-
able that reveals profound truths about 
change. Both these works complement 
Raish’s volume but, more important, they 
add a prerequisite understanding about 
the genesis and development of change 
and its aftereffects.

 Raish and the contributors to the book 
are to be commended for their inclusion 
of wit and a sense of humor. Without 
this slant, the reader could prematurely 
conclude that the seriousness about the 
“sky is falling on academic librarianship” 
is a bit too much. The book is loaded 
with negative twists. The use of the word 
monsters in the title and introduction 
could turn off some readers. The chapter 
titles “Slipping Sanctuaries” (chapter 2), 
“Reference Librarians As Wild Animals” 
(chapter 4), “Giving Away the Keys to 
the Kingdom” (chapter 14), and “Will 
Time Tame This Tyrant” (chapter 19) 
contain unfortunately negative connota-
tions. Chapter 6 (“Ketchup Has Always 
Been a Vegetable”) is an example of a 
nonspecific title. Some chapters (e.g., 
chapter 13, “From Custodian to Naviga-
tor: The Amazing Heroic Journey of the 
New Information Specialist”) are more 
straightforward. Regrettably, the book 
does not have an index; thus, the reader 
has to seek specific information by wad-
ing through the entire volume. 

When editor Raish contacted the 
potential contributors, he asked them to 
focus their respective essay on one generic 



topic: “the modern academic library.” 
Based on the generality of his request, it 
is surprising to see how litt le redundancy 
there is among the chapters. Chapters 
9, 10, and 11 provide critical thinking 
and conjecture on the current status and 
future prospects of information literacy. 
These three chapters reflect a comprehen-
sive grasp of this important topic. 

Change in academic librarianship con-
tinues to occur at an unprecedented rate 
and no slowdown is expected. The better 
we understand this phenomenon and its 
ramifications, the better library service 
we can provide students and faculty. To 
enhance our comprehension of change at 
various levels in the academic library, we 
must hear what is on the minds of both 
library administrators and practicing 
frontline librarians. This book does well in 
offering these precious insights.—Donald 
E. Riggs, Nova Southeastern University. 

Zorich, Diane M. A Survey of Digital 
Cultural Heritage Initiatives and Their 
Sustainability Concerns. Washington, 
D.C.: Council on Library and Informa-
tion Resources, 2003. 47p. $20 (ISBN 
1932326022). 

Nearly every practicing librarian and 
information professional benefi ts from 
digitized cultural resources. Academic 
librarians welcome the ease of access and 
depth of coverage provided by JSTOR and 
other databases. Another aspect of our 
professional lives, albeit an unsavory one, 
involves how libraries, museums, and 
archives remain stable and sustainable in 
the current climate of economic hardship. 
As Diane Zorich reports in this timely sur-
vey, fiscal woes also aff ect organizations 
and agencies that implement and main-
tain digital cultural heritage initiatives 
(DCHIs). Not only are DCHIs having a 
tough time weathering the current eco-
nomic climate, many are facing a potential 
crisis of economic sustainability. 

Book Reviews 269 

A Survey of Digital Cultural Heritage 
Initiatives and Their Sustainability Concerns 
is part of the Council on Library and 
Information Resources’ (CLIR) series of 
studies of cultural heritage initiatives 
and digitization projects. As a response 
to issues raised in Charles Henry and 
Stanley Katz’s working paper, “American 
Cultural Heritage Initiatives: A National 
Review,” CLIR commissioned experi-
enced museum consultant and digital 
cultural heritage expert Diane Zorich to 
lead this study. Surveys were conducted 
in the fall of 2002, and the final report was 
written in May 2003. 

 This study surveyed a representative 
sample of agencies, institutions, and 
groups associated with all aspects of 
DCHI, which Zorich broadly defi ned as 
organizations or programs that develop 
or implement digital products, or address 
pertinent DCHI-related issues such as 
standards, intellectual property, best 
practices, or policies. A total of thirty-
three organizations and five funding 
agencies were selected to present “a 
cross-section of the cultural community.” 
This group included libraries, museums, 
archives, performing arts organizations, 
scholarly associations, publishing groups, 
standards developers, and humanities 
centers. 

The bulk of this monograph is a 
review of the survey’s fi ndings. Within 
the DCHI sample were a variety of 
mission statements, products, services, 
organizational and governing structures, 
business models, and sources of financial 
support. The smaller section on funding 
agencies focused on why agencies fund 
DCHI organizations, how the economy 
has affected funding agencies, and how 
sustainability has been encouraged and 
evaluated. A final, brief section presents 
recommendations and a summary. 

 Not surprisingly, the poor state of the 
economy “was a near-universal lament