<b>John Buschman</b>. <i>Libraries, Classrooms, and the Interests of Democracy: Marking the Limits of Neoliberalism</i>. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2012. 239p. acid-free paper, $65 (ISBN 9780810885288). LC 2012-010128.
Author(s) -
Anders Selhorst
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
college and research libraries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.886
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 2150-6701
pISSN - 0010-0870
DOI - 10.5860/0740104
Subject(s) - democracy , neoliberalism (international relations) , political science , sociology , law , politics
artisan activities of cataloging, classifying, and creating authorized headings” in light of the need for experts who can effectively navigate the quickly changing information environment that interdisciplinary work generates and requires. Continuing the conversation of the role of technical services, Gretchen E. Reynolds, Cynthia Holt, and John C. Walsh (Chapter 5) report the findings of their survey of academic librarians’ perspectives on interdisciplinarity and the effects it has had on collection development, including a case study conducted at George Mason University Libraries. Dan Hazan (Chapter 6) takes a brief step back in time to examine the rise of area studies, a forerunner to interdisciplinary studies that shares many of its origins, challenges, and needs. In Chapter 7, Mark Dahl scans a number of digital collections, emphasizing the various technological, creative, and informational needs that digital scholarship requires, and highlights the potential role of the library in fulfilling these needs. Evelyn Ehrlich and Angela Carreño (Chapter 8) focus on the role of the subject librarian and outline what they see as two distinct phases of effects originating from the interdisciplinary turn in higher education. Notably, they conclude with an appendix of ideas for how subject librarians can leverage library services toward the ends of interdisciplinary work. In Chapter 9, Maralyn Jones succinctly defines her chapter as an answer to librarians asking themselves, “How should I teach interdisciplinary research to maximize critical thinking and information literacy?” Jones provides a list of resources, tools, and tips for librarians seeking to educate themselves in interdisciplinary methods. Finally, Johann van Reenan and Kevin J. Comerford (Chapter 10) conclude the main body of essays with a look at specific interdisciplinary centers, collaborative data initiatives, and centers of excellence and the role of the library in each. Craig Gibson brings all these chapters to a close by examining trends within the academy and outlining six possible characteristics of its future. As he and other authors in this volume have noted, the future of higher education and the effects that interdisciplinary work will bring about are far from certain, but the library can begin the work of laying the foundation for what will certainly be a change in the view of knowledge itself. As Gibson notes: “If the library can demonstrate that how it organizes itself and its services makes a difference in addressing [big challenges], it will become the essential partner that its strategic plan advocates.” Interdisciplinarity and Academic Libraries is a volume created for those librarians and library leaders who seek to strategically shift the role of the academic library and recenter it as the heart of the research institution.—John M. Jackson, University of Southern California.
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