Technology Made Simple … is one of those publications that makes book reviewing a joy; there are so many positive things that Kimberley Bolan and Robert Cullin can be congratulated on – with no criticism I can add.
In a clear, to‐the‐point manner, those in charge of small and medium libraries and their “often self‐taught” staff and technical team are guided through the planning and implementation of technology in libraries. In the preface it is described as “a technology manual for the non‐ or semi‐technical worker” (p. vii). The complex issues of IT use and implementation is simplified, without forgetting the uniqueness of every library with the authors intending “to show readers that technology is an essential tool that will better define the importance of the public library within communities” and “to make technology less overwhelming and confusing, so that it can become a topic librarians are energized by” (p. viii). They succeeded extremely well in their vision.
In ten chapters (with very brief titles) Bolan and Cullin capture the essence of IT use and implementation: why use IT, how to assess IT, knowing and understanding IT, planning for the use of IT, preparing and selecting staff for IT changes, financial aspects of IT, implementation of IT, teaching IT, regulating IT and evaluating IT. A further wealth of information is offered in the five appendices covering a wide variety of worksheets (e.g. hardware inventory, software inventory, staff assessment, technology planning, sample request for quotation and license tracking), a wide variety of WWW resources to support each chapter, a list of resource libraries, a selection of job descriptions and publication samples for IT improvements/facilities in the library. The book concludes with a solid index.
Technology Made Simple … is highly recommended to anybody (library managers, library staff and IT coordinators) facing the challenges of implementing and improving the use of IT and libraries and information services. Although larger libraries often have access to specialised IT teams (e.g. for the academic institution or larger organisation), they will also be able to benefit from the book. At $40 it would make an excellent and highly appreciated gift to a good friend or colleague who finds himself/herself in any of these positions. Teaching departments in Library and Information Science would also do well to ensure that their undergraduate students take note of Technology Made Simple … .
