394 College & Research Libraries July 2010

been a difficult text. While it is not a 
censorship book that will likely resonate 
with many librarians who are interested 
in modern-day book banning, it would 
certainly have a place in any college or 
university with a Latin American stud-
ies program.—Timothy Hensley, Virginia 
Holocaust Museum.

Robert E. Dugan, Peter Hernon, and 
Danuta A. Nitecki. Viewing Library 
Metrics from Different Perspectives: 
Inputs, Outputs, and Outcomes. Santa 
Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited, 
2009. 346p. acid-free paper, $45 (ISBN 
9781591586654). LC2009-016899.

For the uninitiated and/or innumerate, 
this daunting tome will appear, prima 
facie, to be alarmingly technical; and, 
since most librarians are not conversant 
with sophisticated statistical methodolo-
gies, the whole notion of library metrics 
might prove to be off-putting to the bulk 
of the targeted professional readership. 
Nevertheless, Viewing Library Metrics from 
Different Perspectives is well worth the ef-
fort to acclimate to a brave new library 
language. Thus the authors succeed in 
making a convincing case for the merit of 
metrics in the administration of libraries.

What are “metrics,” anyway? Ac-
cording to the authors, metrics are 
performance or outcome measures that 
institutions can use to “…improve their 
accountability efforts through a trans-
parent communication of stakeholder-
requested information in a multiplicity 
of formats and means” (8). They consist 
of numbers, “supported by graphs, 
charts, and explanatory language” (8). 
In other words, they are measurements 
that might serve to inform potential us-
ers, who can then make rational choices 
about investing money, time, and other 
resources in the institution. Significantly, 
metrics are designed to provide objective 
criteria whereby institutions may be held 
accountable for their performance. Such 
accountability is especially important 
within academic libraries and their larger 
institutions. 

Remarkably, this book succeeds in 
demonstrating its points, enumerating 
and analyzing relevant measures, along 
with providing cogent examples in the 
form of numerous tables. It consists of 
twelve well-researched chapters entitled 
“Introduction,” “Related Literature,” “As-
sessment and Evaluation,” “The Library 
Perspective,” “The Customer Perspec-
tive,” “The Institutional Perspective,” 
“The Stakeholder Perspective,” “Bench-
marking and Best Practices,” “Metrics for 
Marketing and Public Relations,” “Man-
agement Information Systems,” “Utiliz-
ing Metrics: Interpretation, Synthesis, and 
Presentation,” and “The Joy of Metrics.” 
Accordingly, in the introductory chapters 
the authors educate readers, so that the 
utility of metrics becomes apparent and 
some rudimentary metrical practices can 
be incorporated by readers in their own 
libraries. The bulk of the book posits 
various perspectives—namely, those of 
the library, the customer, the institution, 
and the stakeholder—and goes on to ex-
plore the ways in which these views and 
models shape perception of the institution 
at large. A metrics approach can enable 
library administrators to identify and 
examine the relative and relevant needs of 
interested parties and can therefore pro-
vide information that facilitates produc-
tive accountability. The book concludes 
by discussing the organizational success 
inherent in grounding of purpose, satis-
faction of improvement and knowledge of 
excellence, importance of sharing, reward 
of impact and challenges of engagement.

Ultimately, the authors maintain that 
the book examines metrics from differ-
ent perspectives. “Beginning with the 
reasons for bothering with metrics in the 
first place, through raising awareness of 
who cares, selecting which metrics matter, 
and framing how to communicate their 
applicability, the multitude of choices is 
what faces library and information man-
agers” (246). Fortunately, this book is here 
to help guide administrators in making 
these choices. And if the text alone doesn’t 
persuade, the accompanying appendices 



Book Reviews 395

and bibliography will succeed in doing 
so.—Lynne F. Maxwell, Villanova University 
School of Law. 

Forgotten Patriots: African American 
and American Indian Patriots in the 
Revolutionary War: A Guide to Ser-
vice, Sources and Studies. Ed. Eric G. 
Grundset. Washington, D.C.: National 
Society Daughters of the American 
Revolution, 2008. 872p. alk. paper, $35 
(ISBN 9781892237101). 

Forgotten Patriots: African American and 
American Indian Patriots in the Revolution-
ary War: A Guide to Service, Sources and 
Studies hopes to inspire in readers an 
interest in African American, American 
Indian, and mixed descent soldiers in 
the fight for independence, as well as 
the work of the National Society of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution 
(DAR). DAR booklets on the subject led 
to the first edition in 2001. Seven years 
later, this 872-page tome expands the list 
of soldiers and sailors five-fold to 6,600 
names. The book defines the perimeters 
of military service from the Battles of 
Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, 
to the final evacuation of the British from 
New York City on November 26, 1783. 
The Massachusetts, New York, New 
Jersey, and Delaware chapters include 
sections on notable minorities preceding 
the conflict during the Boston Massacre 
in 1770, the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and 
Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774.

Following an introduction that pro-
vides context and explains documen-

tation challenges, the book organizes 
its findings into chapters that include 
historical commentaries, maps, illustra-
tions, sources, patriot names, and bibliog-
raphies. Chapters focus on Maine, New 
Hampshire and Vermont, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, 
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, and Georgia. A chapter 
entitled “The Old Northwest” comprises 
Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio. Additional 
chapters cover miscellaneous naval and 
military records, foreign allies, and the 
West Indies.

Seven appendices include a map of 
the slave population based on the 1790 
census, Documenting the Color of Partici-
pants in the American Revolution, Names 
as Clues to Finding Forgotten Patriots, 
the Numbers of Minority Participants in 
the Revolution, a glossary, a master list of 
source abbreviations, and DAR contact 
information.

Copies of original documents from the 
National Archives and Records Adminis-
tration provide readers with examples of 
various types of papers useful in research 
endeavors. However, the grayscale repro-
ductions are hard to read due to their size, 
condition, and handwriting. While some 
documents include captions, transcrip-
tions would have also been helpful.

Forgotten Patriots notes that the list 
of patriot names may be open to inter-
pretation because racial terminology 
and meaning has changed over time. 
Description information is inconsistent, 
even within the same document, while 
some states like Maryland and Virginia 
did not record racial data. Other states, 
like New York, lost records of this period 
after natural disasters. Often the exami-
nation of private, local, state, and federal 
archives, as well as census records from 
1790 to 1830, helped identify race. Deci-
sions on minority ethnic background 
were based on a combination of name 
analysis, military occupation, and rank. 

Names of clear African or Native 
American derivation were often a clue to 

Index to advertisers
 

ACRL 2011 360
ACRL Publications 386
Annual Reviews 299
Brill 346-347
CHOICE 389
Counting Opinions cover 2, 295
ISTE cover 4
Joblist 301
Modern Language Assoc. cover 3, 

296, 374, 398