After the Book

Libraries and librarians have been defined by the book throughout modern history. What happens when society increasingly lets print go in favour of storing, retrieving and manipulating electronic information? What happens after the book? After the Book explores how the academic library of the 21st Century is first and foremost a provider of electronic information services. Contemporary users expect today’s library to provide information as quickly and efficiently as other online information resources. The book argues that librarians need to change what they know, how they work, and how they are perceived in order to succeed according to the terms of this new paradigm. This title is structured into eight chapters. An introduction defines the challenge of electronic resources and makes the case for finding solutions, and following chapters cover diversions and half measures and the problem for libraries in the 21st century. Later chapters discuss solving problems through professional identity and preparation, before final chapters cover reorganizing libraries to serve users, adapting to scarcity, and the ‘digital divide’.

"Stachokas states upfront that his treatise 'is not intended to answer all possible questions about how to make a successful transition to a more purely electronic library ...but it should inspire critical thought and discussion about how to get started'...And on these terms, After the Book is wildly successful."—Library Resources & Technical Services

"What sets this title apart for me is how convenient the format is to pick up and put down...a great one to carry with you and take time digesting."—Australian Library Journal