A useful collection of short, but to the point, papers that will be helpful to anyone considering the setting up of a community information network. All but one paper is based on UK experience and the editor has carefully chosen models of different types of networks: a city model, a European city model, a geographic model, a locality model, a subject model, a specific group model and an association model. There is a good listing of further sources of information. Good reading for librarians - decision-makers and lay people who can be advocates for the library service.

It has gone into a second edition and is only �7.95. This must be the textbook-to-buy for anyone taking S/NVQs. (For anyone not familiar with them, they are national UK qualifications which are employment based and having rigorous standards in their presentation and assessment). It provides very practical guidance in a clearly written volume - and it also has a useful glossary and index. Could be used as a reference tool for other countries considering work-based programmes for para-professional staff.

Although this is written for the US market, librarians in other parts of the world should read it. It is described as a "hands-on guide" and lives up to the description, offering guidance on how to solve problems through effective communication, preventative measures and "the enforcement of patron behavior policies". It also places an emphasis on library management supporting staff, and the identification of security risks. Sample policy statements are provided. Gives advice on anger, taming the Internet, dealing with the homeless and the mentally ill, talkative people, and those who leave their children behind... amongst others. Recognise some of the problems?

Whilst written for the US market, this volume should be high on the list for UK librarians and educators to read - and take action. The Library Association has held briefings on the implications of race relations legislation, and "librarians of colour" in the UK are raising their voices. The UK, and I suspect other countries, can learn much from the excellent training programmes and policies developed in the US. The volume is described as being "a practical guide to finding, nurturing and retaining a diversified workforce for libraries that reflect and attract the communities they deserve". Guidance is provided on marketing strategies, practical methods for mentoring minorities and guidelines on the role of library schools in minority recruitment. It must be read by all chief librarians and senior managers, heads of ILS schools and HRM staff responsible for staffing in libraries.

Whilst the price may seem high for a paperback and it is written for a US audience, this slim volume will provide a more than adequate briefing for those who need to understand licensing agreements. The authors have produced a number of texts that set down legal frameworks so that those of us who do not have a legal background can understand them. Licensing is becoming part of the responsibility of librarians and other information professionals, and educators. This takes the reader through the process in a clearly written way.

Paperback it may be, but this is a substantial volume containing the proceedings of the "2nd International Conference on Research in Information Needs, Seeking and Use in Different Contexts", held at Sheffield in 1998. Forty papers were presented by authors from a range of countries. The volume is divided into: keynote papers, theoretical perspectives, the health services context, everyday life, the work environment, organisation of information in context, and an information systems perspective. It will be a basic tool for researchers in the field in information behaviour, but really deserves to be read by those involved in planning and developing services. There is a paper in the volume for librarians and information professionals in any type of service. As a profession we are alleged not to keep up to date with research in our field, except perhaps for IT developments, so get hold of this volume and brush up on the human aspects of service.

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