Setting up a library or information service from scratch can seem to be a daunting task – there is so much to consider and so many things that need to be done in order to ensure your service fulfills the needs of your patrons as well as the organisation's management. The service also needs to be maintained and constantly reviewed to make sure that it is running smoothly. So how do you go about organising all of this?
“Setting up a library and information service from scratch” provides basic guidelines on the process of organising a library or information service; from approaching the management of the organization, school or government with a proposal for the new service, through to putting the actual service together and finally, maintaining its quality of service. Each chapter focuses on a different area, beginning with an explanation of why an information service is needed (emphasising that not everything is free and on the internet). The second chapter focuses on creating a proposal to gain management's support in order to set up the service. Once management's support has been gained, the construction and setting up of the information service needs to take place – this chapter includes important considerations such as design, location, lighting, access etc. Staffing needs are explored next including the finance considerations behind different staffing structures,
Information networks and support networks between your own service and other information services in the area have been explained in the fifth chapter. Information services that may need to be provided by the library and how they will be provided are the focus of the sixth chapter. The last three chapters expand on areas that need to be considered after the initial set up of the library, including further suggestions to gain extra finances for your service, methods of promoting your service to potential patrons and setting up programs for ongoing staff training.
The guidelines suggested are logical in their structure and they provide a good reference for checking that nothing essential has been missed. Each chapter is filled with useful tips to assist with the smooth setting up of a new service, and diagrams of different spreadsheets have also been included to better illustrate the point that is being made. A fair portion of the book has been used to provide different samples of documents a budding information oganisation may need including a copyright declaration form, press release and a library brochure.
Although the book focuses mainly on English organisations that require an information service, the authors constantly suggest approaches international readers could use, especially in regards to legal considerations and networking situations. The book is fairly simple and straight forward and should be used as a starting point; helpfully, the authors have also provided a list of further reading focusing on the different chapters, so their readers can find more in depth information about the specific area they need to set up. Not only can the book be used as a reference tool for a librarian who is beginning to set up an information service but it is also useful for those who are already working in an established service which needs to be constantly reviewed and improved.
