This was simultaneously published in New York by Neal-Schuman (ISBN: 978-1-55570-749-1). In the current world economic climate and the launch of services such as Apple's iCloud, many library staff and users may be encouraged to use more computing services that are not installed and run locally. A whole range of options relating to the provision of systems “out-there” on the internet are now beginning to mature sufficiently for libraries to consider them seriously for their own use. This introductory guide for librarians, published as number 16 in the Library Information Technology Association's series, shows that such technologies no longer represent “blue sky” thinking, as librarians start to describe their various approaches as cloud computing.
Acknowledging the complexity of the topic and lack of common understanding of the term “cloud computing”, the editors provide an introduction before a range of individual authors cover general concerns, technologies and case studies. The intention is for the book to be easily accessible and not overly technical. The benefits of cloud computing are described in general management terms at the outset, with consideration of topics widely believed to be hindering adoption. These include security, privacy and data ownership. This text is somewhat US focussed from a UK perspective, lacking in UK examples, but the points made are universally valid.
Five chapters by different authors cover a variety of perspectives on what cloud computing is, how it is currently used and how it will develop, concluding with a section on its use for library and information science education. Each author takes a slightly different approach, but the chapter structures are similar, with short, clearly titled sections that make them easy to dip into using the supplied index. They could also be adapted to deliver bullet point briefings for colleagues or students. There are also references in part one.
Definitions of cloud computing are discussed, presenting NIST characteristics as on-demand access, broad network access, metered service, elasticity and resource pooling. Service models such as Software as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service are also a relevant feature of cloud computing, although authors point out that they also feature in other approaches. These terms are discussed and defined, but there are sometimes random references to them in the later case studies and discussion in part two of technologies such as discovery services, Koha, OCL Web Services, Amazon We Services, cloud storage solutions and SharePoint intranets. It is apparent that the authors of the later chapters had perhaps not read the introductory chapters when preparing them: this may disappoint readers who then lack discussion of how the service models and in particular the NIST cloud computing characteristics relate to the technologies and case studies. If such omissions raise questions for thought and discussion, however, it may be no bad thing pedagogically.
The part three case studies reflect where most leading libraries are, or aspire to be soon. There is a bias towards academic libraries in the more complex cloud-based solutions, such as the use of Windows Home Server and Amazon S3 to back up high-resolution digital objects to the cloud or the use of Google Calendar in one academic library and the use of Google Forms in another. Public libraries share many of the same challenges, but are not well represented here: there is no discussion, for example, of the integration of e-book delivery services such as OverDrive's global digital distribution or personalised data streaming. Public libraries stand arguably to benefit most from cloud computing, after all, since they are a non-institutionally defined user group. One has the feeling, as always, that the case studies will rapidly date, whilst the more general points made in the introductory chapters will remain valid, if less accessible to most staff.
Reading this book as a whole is slightly unsatisfying, as it appears to be back to front. A lot of architectural modelling and policy information is presented before an understanding of what the authors mean by cloud computing is clearly established by the detailed case studies and technology descriptions. It is understandable that the editors wanted to provide a context and introduction to clarify the topic, but the second to sixth chapters on defining three service models and four deployment models, pros and cons, applications in libraries and even the vendor and LIS education perspectives would have been better deployed after the case studies, then the technology. It would then become crystal clear that readers can build on their existing knowledge of information management and computer services to consider either gradual or transformational change in their libraries, but that there are many challenges needing to be addressed. Certainly readers could go back to the earlier chapters after the later case studies, but the reviewer suspects some will be discouraged from reading the whole book because of the scope and terminology of the early discussions. That would be a pity, as this book provides a so far rare and very good basic introduction for practitioners and students alike. If libraries are not to disappear completely in the cloud, their staff need to start thinking about it now.
