The Patron-Driven Library: A Practical Guide for Managing Collections and Services in the Digital Age

This book discusses a currently popular theme for librarians: adapting to the effects of technological change. Its particular emphasis and message is on shifting the focus from collections to user-oriented services. The author is also interested in identifying means for responding to the needs of a new generation of library clients who are often referred to as the Millennials, the Google generation, etc.

The book aims to provide practical guidance to librarians on how to deal with technological changes and deliver relevant services to users by adopting new tools and dealing with new practices and habits of the current generation. It consists of two parts. The first part “Libraries and library users changing with the times” is an overview of significant changes in the library environment. The second part “The rise of the librarian: service over collections” offers a discussion of particular solutions for delivering user services and managing library activities. A lot of different topics are discussed in the second part. Some of them deal with the adoption of particular tools (e.g. Chapter 4, Information literacy and social networks), others with new service delivery models (e.g. Chapter 5, Collaborative collections) or issues of library management (e.g. Chapter 7, Metrics for decisions).

The book lacks internal coherence and a clear focus on a particular audience. It is broadly offered to all librarians; however, topics and examples relevant to academic libraries often prevail. Probably, this is due to the background and experience of the author. There are no clues in the introduction why specific topics are chosen and how they are related to each other. Logically, the topics of the second part should emerge from the conclusions of the first part that introduces changes motivating librarians to act. However, the first part is very sketchy and short. Often it concentrates on US events and context but not on global trends. Some of the changes discussed are economic, and they are not the consequences of technological change. The first part refers to some issues that are further developed (e.g. generational shift) in the book, but it is still unclear why some topics are present while others are ignored in the second part. The second part is overwhelmed by different topics (it consists of ten chapters) which forces rather sketchy overviews and recommendations.

In general, the book presents an attempt to share the vast practical experience of the author. It may be used as a starting point for considering the issues of delivering new services relevant in the digital age as well as adopting new digital tools. The book may be used by library and information students and professionals to identify new terms and relevant topics for a more thorough study.