This book is a sound, concise (160 page), well‐written overview of the functions of serials management from the perspective of the UK Serials Group (UKSG) of librarians, publishers and subscription agents. The approach is “practical” but the authors “consider wide developments from a broad policy viewpoint” (p. ix). Naturally electronic journals are central to nearly every chapter. It is a good introductory text that sets out the central issues in a clear way. Many library students will turn to it for an overview of the topic, especially if they plan to work in academic libraries. All the chapters are well written in clear, unrhetorical language; the whole book is logically structured and soundly indexed. Every chapter has a rich set of further references (chiefly URLs).
The chapter authors are familiar names in the community. Jack Meadows opens the book with an explanation of the continuing need for scholarly journals. Sally Morris summarises the publishers’ role in the scholarly communication process, including an explanation of the “very peculiar” economics of the learned journal. Hazel Woodward and Mick Archer consider delivery options. Jill Taylor‐Roe looks at library budgeting of serials. Tony Kidd and Albert Prior explain journal acquisitions and touch on the role of subscription agents. Matthew Searle examines the processing of serials including OPAC displays. Liz Stevenson considers stock management, encompassing, among other topics, routing, storage, preservation and withdrawal. Roger Brown suggests ways to promote serials and study usage. Martin White wraps up the book with a well balanced overview of future prospects for different players, stressing the continuing need to “identify and exchange best practice”.
In summary, the book sets out the world as seen by the UKSG, which is also to acknowledge some limitations (as well as the source of its strengths). These limits can be summarised under three headings. First, it is a UK view on what, for the publishers certainly, is increasingly a global market. The reader does wonder how European or US good practice might differ from that described here. Second, it is largely an academic perspective. Of course, serials are so central to scholarly communication that this is reasonable enough. The editors turn to a commercial librarian for ideas on marketing journals. Third, it would not be too unfair to say that it is a rather library centric viewpoint. You could not say that the writers have ignored the author and reader; Jack Meadows summarises their fundamental needs on page two, and other authors such as Morris and Brown, make more than passing reference to user studies. However, a chapter devoted to reader and/or author behaviour would have been interesting.
Essentially, this is a sound guide to how serials are managed now in UK academic libraries, anticipating major changes in an open minded way. We could have been offered half a dozen wilder perspectives that would have dazzled us with might be’s or should be’s but this is a reliable guide to contemporary practice.
