Briefly Noted

Critical Library Instruction: Theories & Methods. ed. Marita T. Accardi, Emily Drabinski, and Alana Kumbier. Duluth, MN: Library Juice Press, 2010. 341p. $35 (ISBN 978-1-936117-01-7)

The ACRL definitions and competencies for information literacy have become the gold standard for instruction programming and assessment, but they should not be embraced uncritically. The articles in this collection describe alternative teaching philosophies and practices, more student-centered and less amenable to quantitative measurement, whose purpose is to teach students to think more critically about information sources and the broader social and political environment in which they are produced and consumed. The articles are grouped under the headings Conceptual Toolkit, Classroom Toolkit, Teaching in Context, Unconventional Texts, and Institutional Power. Many of the authors are academic librarians who have thought long and hard about the practical challenges of overcoming the constraints of the 50-minute lecture. Their ideas are well worth reading. (JA)

The State Library and Archives of Texas: A History, 1835-1962. David B. Gracy II. Austin TX: University of Texas Press, 2010. 226p. $45 (ISBN 978-0-292-72201-9)

The State Library and Archives of Texas: A History, 1835-1962 is written by experienced archivist David B. Gracy II, who served as the Texas state archivist from 1977-1986 and is currently a professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas, Austin. His history begins at the time of the Texas Revolution, when a small collection of mostly law books were gathered for supporting legal and legislative business, and ends in 1962 with the merging of the Texas Library and historical commissions and the construction of the Texas State Library. Writing about state libraries is a challenge because their functions—often including library resources, archives/records management/state history, and statewide library coordination—and fortunes tend to shift over time due to the vagaries of politics, funding, and economies in transformation. Gracy explains in the preface that he offers a perspective of the Texas library agency as a whole, rather than focusing on specific library functions. He ably explores the contributions of the leading librarians, archivists, and library commission members whose persistence led to the establishment of the modern Texas State Library and Archives. (FR)

The Library: An Illustrated History. Stuart A. P. Murray. New York: Skyhorse Publishing; Chicago: ALA Editions, 2009. 310p. $35 (ISBN 978-1-60239-706-4)

For a general, rather than a scholarly audience, Stuart A. P. Murray's The Library: An Illustrated History is a breezy tour through library history, written by the author of dozens of works of history and fiction. The illustrations and commentary provide fuel for the imagination and stir interest in a noble history of people, their love of books and learning, and how books and libraries contributed to the rise of civilizations in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. Covering the cuneiform tablets at Ninevah, the wood blocks of Asian Buddhist collections, medieval and renaissance European libraries, as well as the twentieth century's public, academic, and national libraries, The Library: An Illustrated History can be read or browsed, but it is sure to help librarians and administrators appreciate the long and eventful history in which they play a part. (FR)

Boomers and Beyond: Reconsidering the Role of Libraries. ed. Pauline Rothstein and Diantha Dow Scholl. Chicago: American Library Association, 2010. 144p. $55 (ISBN 978-0-8389-1014-6)

People 65 and older currently make up 13 percent of the U.S. population; by the year 2050, that percentage will rise to over 20 percent. This book starts with the demographics and goes on to offer various perspectives on the future relationship between older people and libraries—chiefly public libraries, to be sure. But academic libraries might also consider envisioning new roles for this available pool of supporters, who might provide part-time or volunteer labor or assist with fund-raising and community outreach. The point is to become pro-active in turning this demographic shift, which is mostly viewed as a problem, into an asset. This book is only a start in that direction; and, unfortunately, my copy was so poorly produced that it fell apart...