Civic Space/Cyberspace [Review]

  	
  	
  	
  


	Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship  	Summer 1999  


	DOI:10.5062/F4H41PFM


    

Book Reviews
    Civic Space/Cyberspace: The American Public Library in the   Information Age
      Daryl C. Youngman
  Chair of Science Libraries
  Kansas State University
dyou@ksu.edu    

Civic Space/Cyberspace: The American Public Library in the Information   Age. Redmond Kathleen Molz and Phyllis Dain. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press,   1999. 259p. $30.00 (ISBN 0-262-13346-6).  
    The title accurately describes the focus of this book and, in fact, it will be of  greatest value to those interested in public libraries. So why would science and  technology librarians, particularly those in academic libraries, benefit from  reading this book? The title indicates the reason. Cyberspace is never truly  private space, and many science and technology libraries exist as part of  communities, both physical and virtual, where patrons (in both types of libraries)  access both public library and academic library resources. Increasingly, science  and technology libraries are developing digital library resources, based upon local  strengths and resources, that often are not subject to the same licensing and  access restrictions as conventional information products. Despite having a  specialized clientele, sci/tech librarians should maintain a sensitivity that  makes information resources available to a much wider audience.     Molz is a Professor of Public Affairs at the School of International and Public  Affairs, Columbia University, and Dain is Professor Emerita of Library Science at  Columbia. This combination of expertise seems to have been effective in the  preparation of this book, as the authors present the topic in a context that sheds  new and beneficial light on issues that are already familiar to many librarians. 

    In their preface, authors Dain and Molz chronicle two journeys: one actually to   visit several public libraries across the country, and the other into "cyberspace  and the ever-evolving dimensions of the information age." The research deriving  from these journeys is presented in a well-documented, scholarly fashion. The pace  slows at times but the book, in general, is both informative and enjoyable to   read. 

    The book begins with an extensive history of public library development from the  nineteenth century to its multi-faceted role in modern life. Throughout, this  history is told in the context of the public library's function as a part of the  community. It was refreshing to be reminded of Vannevar Bush's 1945 coining of the  word "memex" to denote a "scholar's workstation that would store books, records,  and other forms of communication and that would be so mechanized that retrieval of  these data could be done with exceeding speed and flexibility." Science and  technology librarians will find this section quite helpful in understanding the  role of any library in the community of cyberspace. 

    The chapter on governance and funding of public libraries would likely be of value  to public librarians, but it is of limited interest to sci/tech librarians.   Another section discussing the increasing federal role in the development of  libraries lays the groundwork for further development of the concept of libraries  and community . 

    The final two chapters pull together the foregoing discussions of history, policy,  and social development. Dain and Molz present a detailed history of the early  developments, both social and technological, which led to the Internet. This  history is thoroughly researched and presented in such an excellent fashion that  this chapter could stand on its own as a history of the overwhelming developments  in library technology that have taken place in recent years. 

    In the final chapter the authors vividly describe the library of today and its  virtual community in the digital age. They examine issues of changing patron  demographics, implications of increasing remote-access use of libraries and new  roles for librarians in this technological future. The focus on community that has  been maintained throughout the book continues in this section. While these  scenarios are presented from the perspective of public libraries, most science and  technology librarians will see implications that strongly parallel their own  experiences. 

    Changes in technology have combined with changes in patron use patterns to a degree  that science and technology librarians have reason to be concerned about their role  as part of a virtual, if not physical, community. For librarians seeking to  understand this role, this book is a good starting point. 

      

  

  
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