Getting Started: : An Information Professional’s Guide to the Internet

Citation

Muirhead, G. (1998), "Getting Started: : An Information Professional’s Guide to the Internet", Library Review, Vol. 47 No. 1, pp. 48-49. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.1998.47.1.48.6

In recent years there has been a spate of books about the Internet written for library and information workers, so it seems reasonable to begin by asking if we really need another one. The authors of this book describe it as “a basic introductory text, a sort of introduction to the introductions”. In fact it is much more than this. It is first of all a beginner’s guide to connecting up to the Internet. It painlessly explains the key concepts, describes in non‐technical language what is required to get onto the Internet, and provides practical, easy‐to‐follow instructions for moving around the Web, sending e‐mail messages, and setting up a homepage using HTML.

Second, this book provides an introduction to some of the most important professional issues involved in getting started on the Internet: what projects are currently underway or being proposed in the UK and why these initiatives are important; government support for library‐based Internet access in other countries (and lack of it in the UK); the problem of resourcing an Internet service and a number of alternative financial models which some library authorities have used to get started.

The third and last chapter of the book turns to the current lack of direction, if not outright crisis, in British public libraries, and suggests ways in which Internet services and applications could enable public libraries to play a valuable role in the future. This section of the book also examines some of the management and staffing issues involved in setting up and running an Internet service.

This book is accessible, well written, concise enough to digest in an hour or so, and will have a particular appeal for those working in the public library sector. It is clearly set out and makes good use of illustrations and varied typefaces to differentiate text, instructions and characters to be input at the keyboard. It is highly practical and intentionally very basic, but it also introduces management issues and encourages critical thinking at a strategic level. Do we really need another book about the Internet? The answer is surely yes.