For those involved in user education and instruction, this new resource is important with its focus on the specific instructional needs of several diverse groups of library users. Writing from the viewpoint of academic librarians, the editors have collected a group of authors whose writings help us understand the unique issues involved in library instruction for international and minority students, gay and lesbian students, first-generation and at-risk students, graduate and returning students, senior citizens, and distance-education learners. Academic health sciences librarians will find the majority of the chapters immediately relevant and extremely useful, and they will be surprised by the sharp insights gained from the remaining chapters.
Separate chapters discuss each of the groups of new library customers named in the book's subtitle: people for whom our traditional library services and new information technologies may present extraordinary learning challenges. Both theoretical and practical issues relating instruction to the needs of these learners are presented. For many health sciences librarians in hospitals and academic settings, the two chapters on international students will be immediately useful and relevant to daily encounters in the reference area as well as in formal classroom training sessions. They will also find many interesting insights and suggestions in other chapters, such as those on first-generation college students, reentry students, and distance learners.
As with any edited collection covering a wide range of topics, there will be certain chapters of more interest to some than to others, but the quality of the writing here is such that every chapter will offer the germ of an idea for the reader looking for ways to improve the instructional process. It is important to note that the presented information is primarily research based and cites recent studies from the professional literature. Some chapters have more theory than others, but all provide research-grounded reviews of the existing literature and make practical suggestions for applying the research to address the learning needs of the particular student population. The editors have maintained tight control over the overall content of the book, and the quality is surprisingly even. Each chapter has an extensive list of references. The topics are clustered together in five sections of the book, focusing on distinct user groups and diversity issues: international students, multicultural and gender issues, first generation and at-risk college students, reentry and graduate students, and distance learners. The editors provide an introductory chapter for the book as well as brief introductions to each section, tying the work together and providing an excellent grounding for the issues to be discussed. The detailed table of contents, an index, and the liberal use of subheadings within the text all provide access points to specific pieces of information.
The book pays a great deal of attention to the enormous technological changes that have occurred in our libraries, because for many of these “new” users library technology is so intimidating that it becomes the first obstacle to be addressed in the library classroom or at the information desk. Indeed, the technological changes of most potential value to these students may be the cause of their initial learning problems in the library. The authors stress the need for library instructors to address the students' individual learning needs in order to overcome such problems, and they provide practical suggestions to meet the needs of these particular student groups.
The editors state they have targeted the book toward an audience of academic and public library instructors, as well as library science students. While none of the authors writes from a health sciences library setting, every chapter has something to offer the academic health sciences librarian. This is because the focus here is not on subject matter instruction but on the recognition of the unique learning needs of a variety of new library users. The lessons presented here are applicable for any subject field. While the research basis of the work is one of its strong points, most of the references are limited to reporting research in general academic library settings.
Teaching the New Library to Today's Users is strongly recommended for readers in all public service areas where there is daily interaction with library users from diverse groups. It would also be an excellent training resource for new staff unaccustomed to multicultural environments or needing more familiarity with diversity awareness issues.