Book Reviews

Managing the Economics of Owning, Leasing and Contracting Out Information Services. Anne Woodsworth and James F. Williams, II. Hampshire, England and Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.; 1993: xv, 204 pp. Price: $49.95. (ISBN l-85742- 018-7.)

This highly important text seeks to “provide a framework for decision-makers to view and review information services within their organizations.” The idea for the book grew from discussions at UCLA’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science in the Senior Fellows Program, Summer 1985.

Addressing corporate management, the authors investigate the means and ends for “outsourcing ” information services, describe costs and various charging strategies for internal information services, and define a full cost-recovery model that can be applied to in-house services and used to negotiate with ex- ternal information brokers. The chapters devoted to exploring and explaining in depth the alternatives to in-house information services should be particularly illuminating to the organizational decisionmaker, for whom the information service function may have long been mythologized. The authors describe and define the culture clash that can result when the services of traditionally trained information professionals, during any period of corporate belt-tightening, come under the scrutiny of corporate financial officers.

The text is peppered throughout with contributions from noted information professionals, most of whom support the authors’ major constructs. However, a few of the invited commentators quarrel and chip away at some of the text’s premises. This coun- terpoint serves up a refreshingly open, though cordial, challenge to the authors. Certainly, diverse perspectives are represented in this dialogue, contributing to the tension in the work that the authors believe will arise inevitably from “differing value systems and be- liefs [that] are deeply rooted.” Clearly, the authors expect to raise eyebrows: “. . . we anticipate that portions of this book may engen- der strong reaction and counterarguments from those who disagree with the models we have proposed.” Alas, the quoted commentary seems not always immediately relevant to the exposition of the book’s thesis. However, this reviewer applauds the particu- larly substantive and challenging corroborating commentary by Richard Rowe (President and CEO of Faxon), William Y. Arms (Vice President for Academic Services at Carnegie Mellon Univer- sity), and Lois Warren (founder of two information brokerages).

What is the relative utility of the cost-recovery models and information access strategies furthered in the book? For corporate officers, this book offers tremendous insight. The authors describe an ever-widening chasm resulting from an inevitable “clash of val- ues” between information center personnel and their institution’s financial and information officers. According to the authors, the primary tenets held by information professionals that often lead to conflict with their parent institution include:

l goodness will sell itself l information should be free l all information is equally important l there are no limits to growth

0 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The culture in which information professionals are steeped may lead to conflicts with organizational performance and financial objectives, because: (1) “managerial accounting and bottom line decisions have been alien, if not antithetical, to those who manage information services”; (2) librarians typically neither select nor evaluate the information they provide in great volume on demand; (3) a librarian’s primary mode of service is to provide citations, or, pointers to potentially useful information, rather than answers; and (4) information professionals measure their success by the size and growth rate of the collection that they can amass.

This text may not achieve credibility with its intended audi- ence. If one accepts the authors’ audience to be upper management of corporate America, their choosing almost exclusively academic models to explain and support their position is likely to lead to annoyance and mistrust among the readership. The authors demonstrate and objectively convey a significant understanding of market forces that shape the information function within the organization. Defining emerging models for information services in fiscally constrained academic and public library settings might occasionally engage the reader; however, these models are more foreign than familiar, and are potentially off-putting to the cor- porate players.

This book is very difficult to navigate for the targeted reader, a busy executive, because it lacks the typical presentation signposts that would enable it to be consumed easily in short, disjunct bursts of attention. For example: (1) there are no running heads to restate the current chapter title (and remind you where you are); (2) subheads are used infrequently to proclaim the content of upcoming paragraphs; (3) the eye is dulled by lack of white space on the printed page, due, again, to the lack of subheads, and the lack of extra leading between paragraphs. Perhaps the authors had little or no input into the physical and typographical presentation of their material; such would reflect poorly on the presentation values of the editor and publisher, but perhaps also on the authors’ choice of publishing venues.

Thus, while it is likely that this book will provide a useful “jolt” within the information services profession, it would be disappointing if this challenging book were to fall short of making its mark on upper management. While the intraprofessional impact is important, the opportunity for two capable authors in the information science field to “connect” with the upper management establishment happens rarely. This reviewer, for one, hopes the book succeeds.

Ellen Sleeter IEEE 34.5 East 47th Street New York, NY 10017-2394

Planning Second Generation Automated Library Systems. Edwin M. Cortez and Tom Smorch. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press; 1993: 233 pp. Price: $47.95. (ISBN O-313-28361-3.)

The authors state in the preface to this book that it is “. . . designed for library systems analysts, library automation ad-

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ministrators, information managers, consultants, and advanced students specializing in library automation.” Also in the preface, the authors conclude that “. . [the book’s] most important and longer-lasting contribution is in identifying what are the generic components of second generation automated library systems, how to evaluate them, and how to effectively manage their implementation . . .,” and “. . . readers _. . will be exposed to the latest and most comprehensive treatment of library automation and human intervention. Not only will readers expand their technical knowledge, but they will also develop sensitivity to opportunities that new technologies provide in reshaping bibliographic and information services for library users at all levels, now and in the future.”

The reader will be rewarded with little of this, upon completing this book, which is mostly a rephrasing and paraphrasing of what others have already said, with more authority and in far greater depth, in other treatments of the subject.

Chapter 1 starts off well, with a brief history of the market- place, but then followed with an underdeveloped discussion of migration to second-generation systems and why this migration might be necessary. A fuller explanation of the rationale leading to migration could have provided a better foundation for the remain- der of the book. Chapter 2 is a scant, and therefore unsatisfactory, discussion of managing the migration enterprise, paraphrased from previously published sources, but without great depth or clarity. For example, a discussion of break-even analysis (p. 17) under “budgeting” is simplistic, with no explanation as to how this basic business tool can be used to prepare a migration project budget (actually, this should have been under “rationale” rather than “budgeting”). The illustration supplied (p. 18) showing on a X/Y axis graph the number of character keystrokes per 1000 against the cost for word processing per $1000, sheds little light on the subject.

Chapter 3 on the procurement process and the RFP has a good discussion on the vendor perspective of that much-maligned doc- ument, and a few other nuggets can be mined from an otherwise meager coverage of an important part of the system migration process. The authors review hardware platforms and the software environment in chapter 4, and do a credible job up to a point, although a detailed discussion of the features and capabilities of a DBMS, as well as an expository on programming languages in general, seem unnecessary and condescending. The reader might well wish the authors had spent more time explaining which of these languages would be best for second-generation systems, how to plan the maximization of their unique potentialities, and how to compare their relative usefulness when choosing a second-generation system. Chapter 5, on special automation needs, while lacking focus when discussing some of the topics covered, provides the reader with an ideal of some newer features that libraries are seeking in second-generation systems. Too bad so much time is spent on describing OCR scanning of catalog cards (pp. 74-76)-a loser if there ever was one-rather than talking about the more exciting image scanning of documents, photographs, rare materials, and other nontraditional materials and integrating the resulting records into the milieu of other information already provided to information seekers, that many innovative libraries are contemplating and planning. In chapter 6, data migration, potentially one of the most important and worri- some aspects of system migration, is described well, but skimpily (9 pages). Half the book could have been spent on planning this phase of a migration project.

Why the discussion of evaluation of proposals and contract negotiations (chapter 7) is separated by three chapters from the discussion of the RFP itself (chapter 3) is unknown. But again a critical stage of the migration process is given short shrift. In chapter 8, a lot of one-line rules of thumb are provided on man- aging the installation of a system and site preparation, but a clear picture of the necessary activities does not emerge. Chapter 9, on evaluation and testing, excerpts some standard testing methods

from RFPs and contracts, without explanation of the pros and cons of using them and the pitfalls (and there are many) that the planner will encounter. Networking and connectivity issues (chapter lo), another extremely critical aspect of system migration (or installing a system for the first time in the 1990s for that matter) is poorly covered. Several of the niggardly eight pages of this chapter are devoted to a rationale for changing from voice grade to digital links, and a one-and-a-half-page discourse on the Internet wastes words relating its history and the contributions (laudable but irrelevant here) of Dr. Robert Kahn to its development, rather than to discussing how or why the Internet should be incorporated into planning a second-generation system, or what the implications are if this is not done. The final chapter, chapter 11, dealing with implementing change, is one of the best. It provides adequate coverage of the topic, with good examples and a good sense of the strategies for managing change in the migration process.

The information in some of the appendices is longer than that in the chapters themselves, and therefore probably more useful. The draft interlocal cooperation agreement (Appendix A), even though the reasons for its inclusion are unclear, could be useful when planning cooperative automation projects. The automation project rationale document (Appendix B) and the sample RF1 (Appendix G) could also be a help in planning a migration project, but the differences between the RFP, which is described in detail in the text, and the RFI, which is illustrated in the appendix, will be confusing to the reader. Some, like the sample communications diary instrument (Appendix E), do not seem to enhance the text very well at all.

This is not a significant new contribution to the literature of library automation; it will not advance the reader much in understanding either the rapid evolutionary changes taking place in automated library systems, the complex system migration process, or the planning needed to move to a second-generation automated library system. The authors come across as dilet- tantes in the field, with little in-depth understanding of planning or implementing a system migration process in the 1990s or, apparently, of the need to base that system planning on an updated vision of libraries in the 1990s. Planning is needed that will enable libraries to take their places as vital nodes in rapidly emerging global information networks, and the urgency to rethink and retool their organizational structures and systems to match is barely touched upon in this book that purports to address planning. In not strongly postulating a totally new envi- ronment for planning second-generation automated systems, the authors’ planning approach is very traditional and, subsequently, out of touch with how libraries should handle their migration projects today.

John Corbin School of Library and Information Sciences University of North Texas Denton, TX 76203

Online Information Retrieval: An Introductory Manual to Principles and Practice (4th edition). John Convey. London: Library Association Publishing (A Clive Bingley book), 1992. Exclusively distributed in the United States by UNIPUB, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD, 20705-4391. $80.00 plus postage.

Authors of textbooks about online searching face a dilemma. They may either choose to emphasize principles and issues of

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information retrieval with minimal instruction on how to search specific systems, or choose to emphasize how to search one or more systems. I tend to prefer the former approach, both because the specific system commands go out of date and because I may wish to teach systems other than those covered in a text. Materials explaining the “how tos” are best left to the online systems, most of which provide good training classes and documentation. DIALOG, for example, sells several tutorial manuals aimed at various audiences, an instructional workbook for library school students, videotapes, a variety of search aids, and comprehensive manuals, in addition to training classes.

The fourth edition of John Convey’s Online Information Re- trieval mixes the practical and principles approaches, but empha- sizes the practice. He devotes nearly two thirds of the book to a “practical introduction to seven online host systems” with just 107 pages (10 chapters) as a broader “introduction to online infor- mation retrieval.” The practical section is Part 2, the introduction is Part 1.

The goal of Part 2 is to illustrate with examples, but also to “form part of a guided training programme for searchers.” This is a British book, so the seven online systems are those most commonly used in the United Kingdom. Covered are: DIALOG Information Services, Inc.; European Space Agency Information Retrieval Service (ESA-IRS); British Library Automated Infor- mation Service (BLAISE-LINE); National Library of Medicine through BLAISE-LINK; ORBIT; PFDS Online (formerly Perga- mon Online); and Data-Star. Readers in other parts of the world use some of these same systems, of course. ESA-IRS and Data- Star are popular throughout Europe, while DIALOG and ORBIT are heavily used throughout the world.

In about 20 pages per system, students are led through three units that teach the basics of searching that system. Units are consistent for each system: Unit 1 is always logging on, choosing a file, entering search statements, displaying and logging off, Unit 2 is always displaying the index file, using controlled and natural language, specific field searching, proximity searching, truncation, and using codes; Unit 3 is always limiting, saving searches, multifile searching, sorting, and downloading.

There are also two appendices: a list of magazines and other sources for further information and a merged subject listing of all databases offered by the seven online systems. (The subject listing is 36 pages long.) The source list, which includes selected British and American publications, is not as up-to-date as it should be-for example, Online/CD-ROM Review is still listed by its former name Online Review, CD-ROM Professional by its former name Laserdisk Professional, and CD-ROM World is still listed as CD-ROM Librarian. (Admittedly these change more than they ought to.)

The ten chapters in Part 1 cover the history and development of online information retrieval, databases, the online industry, CD- ROM, hardware and software, general principles of searching, search strategy, costs, advantages and disadvantages, and the future.

Information has been brought up to date from earlier editions, with statistical information and citations through 1989-1990 for the most part. The statistical information about the online industry is probably the most valuable part of this book. Convey summarizes many of the important British and American sources that describe trends in the growth of the industry, usage, and other relevant topics. Several tables or graphs help illustrate the factual information.

Many of the chapters read as bibliographic essays, with brief descriptions of what others have said on a topic and numerous notes to the online literature. Sometimes the references only refer, however, rather than describe or explain, as the final sentence from chapter 7 (“The Search”) illustrates: “Tenopir gives some views on the subject of the online searcher.” What those views might be or how it fits into the book are not revealed.

The two chapters on searching are clear, with some figures to help clarify concepts such as controlled vocabulary and Boolean logic. More graphic material would help other chapters. There are few charts, no photos or line drawings, and many pages of unbroken text.

Least useful for readers outside the U.K. is the “Costs” chapter, which naturally provides all costs in pounds and even gives specific charges for things such as British Telecom phone lines and phone calls.

Other textbooks may be more satisfactory (and less costly) for North American readers. Stephen Harter’s Online Informa- tion Retrieval: Concepts, Principles and Techniques (Academic Press, 1986, new edition forthcoming) is the best example of the principles approach. A new text by Geraldene Walker and Joseph Janes (Libraries Unlimited, September 1993) promises to be a valuable addition to the combination approach. At $45 for hardback or $32.50 for paper, the Walker and Janes book will be more palatable to students.

Carol Tenopir School of Library and Information Studies University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI 96825

The Barefoot Expert: The Interface of Computerized Knowl- edge Systems and Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Doris M. Schoenhoff. (Contributions to the Study of Computer Science, no. 3.) Westport, CT: Greenwood Press; 1993: 184 pp. Price: $49.95. (ISBN O-313-28821-6.)

Dr. Schoenhoff is concerned about the introduction of expert system technology into Third World or developing countries. She fears that expert systems developed in wealthy countries would benefit only a few in the poor Third World countries. Even if expert systems are designed in Third World countries, there is no guarantee that they will reflect the knowledge, values, and aspi- rations of the local communities. If the masses of the poor are to benefit, she thinks, then systems must be developed that incorpo- rate indigenous knowledge and reasoning styles. This requires the involvement of local “barefoot experts”-for instance, farmers, or traditional healers-in the design of the computer systems; without their participation, there will be no lasting benefit, and no empowerment of the poor. The needs of the poor must set the primary agenda for development, which must be consistent with local cultural, social, and ethical aspirations, especially those of “marginalized” population groups. And this calls for an ethical, not simply an economic, approach to development.

In support of this position, the author provides an extensive background review of literature relating to Third World develop- ment, local knowledge, and problems of knowledge representation and inference in expert systems. There is little technical discussion of expert system design; it is simply taken for granted as a working technology whose limits need to be explored, especially in relation to cross-cultural transfer. She begins with a detour to review contemporary views of the nature and limits of science (a familiar crowd: Kuhn, Popper, Polanyi etc.). Then some background on the Third World, stressing extreme poverty: a sketchy picture that does not begin to reveal the enormous differences between places like Liberia and Singapore, both conventionally counted as “Third World.” Then a chapter on development theories, deciding that classical capitalist and socialist theories are of no help in dealing

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with the question of expert systems, and leaning toward a Green theory of development, stressing ethics over economics. There follows a diffuse chapter discussing technology and expertise. Then we come to what should be the central chapter, on “the challenge of promoting and validating indigenous knowledge for use in locally developed expert systems.” Then a review of problems involved in the formalization or explicit symbolic presentation of knowledge in the light of current views about the social embeddednes of knowledge, its large tacit and inexplicit component, and the serious problems of translation from one cultural context to another. Next a review of questions about cultural variations in patterns of reasoning and inference, and the big differences between oral and literate cultures. A short restatement of the thesis ends the book.

There is much of interest in these literature reviews, which are generally lucid and accurate if very highly selective. Those somewhat familiar with artificial intelligence but unfamiliar with the literature of cognitive science and philosophy would find this a user-friendly introduction to some important views and arguments. Her chapters on knowledge representation and inference support her contention that “computerized expert systems. . . can never be completely extricated from the language, culture, and context in which they are designed and implemented.” It is not so clear that they support her proposal for locally oriented expert systems. She gives no examples of the sorts of local systems she is calling for, and says little about the indigenous knowledge systems she had in mind. The Dogon people of Mali, she notes briefly, “invoke spirits and offer animal sacrifices,” and also have a “rich knowledge of their environment,” as indeed they must have to survive. The priests of Balinese water temples turned out to be experts in resource management, overseeing stable and efficient farming systems. Now it might be extremely difficult to formalize Dogon or Balinese local knowledges so as to incorporate them in expert systems: but who needs such systems? The Dogon and Balinese already have their knowledge; she does not suggest that

they need expert systems to exploit more fully what they already know. And she does not argue that local knowledge would be useful elsewhere, so that the poor in Nepal might usefully import Dogon or Balinese expert systems. She hardly could; if Western- made systems do not travel well, locally made systems are likely to travel even worse. The exportable knowledge is likely to be botanical knowledge, of great interest to Western drug companies; they are not the ones she is interested in helping. Her chapter on indigenous knowledge systems is disappointingly short and thin. In many Third World cultures, she says, there is greater emphasis on “wisdom” than on knowledge, wisdom often embodied in proverbial sayings. Proverbs can certainly be collected, but what is the point of even thinking of trying to embody proverbial wisdom in an expert system? Who would it be meant for? Who might need it? Who might benefit from it? Her own arguments show that embodiment in an expert system would not be a way to preserving proverbial wisdom that was in danger of being forgotten. These are some of the obvious questions to ask about her project; but she does not address them, and from what she says, it is hard to imagine what she thinks the answers would be.

Dr. Schoenhoff’s work seems to be dominated by a determi- nation to find some way in which the new technology with which she is involved may be used to help the very poorest people of the world. She is surely right that simply exporting products made in the USA is not likely to be of much direct use except to small minorities. But it is hard to see that what she is proposing could have the benefits she would like the technology to have.

Patrick Wilson School of Library

and Information Studies University of California Berkeley, CA 94720

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