Every profession needs an introductory text to its core body of knowledge. This brand new, definitive text from renowned authors Gobinda Chowdhury, Paul F. Burton, David McMenemy and Alan Poulter provides an introduction to librarianship for students and new entrants to the profession. This handbook is the first to give a complete overview of all aspects of professional librarianship in the 21st century, and to offer an up-to-date, authoritative analysis of modern libraries and librarianship. The key areas covered are: libraries and information services: evolution or revolution; information resources and services; information organization and access; library and information users and society; library technologies; library and information management; and, LIS education and training. Each chapter in this user-friendly text features clear learning aims and objectives and a list of revision questions to test and consolidate knowledge and understanding. Mapping onto course content for library and information studies internationally, this handbook is a single source of introductory explanations of library and information concepts for the student. It is also the quintessential primer for new professionals.

Professor Gobinda Chowdhury BSc Hons, MSc, PhD, FCLIP is Professor in Information Science at iSchool@northumbria, and Head of the Department of Mathematics and Information Sciences at Northumbria University. Before joining Northumbria University he was a Professor and Director of the Centre for Information and Knowledge Management at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. For over 25 years he has worked as an academic and researcher in information science in different parts of the world including Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. For the past few years he has been actively involved in the iSchools activities. Professor Chowdhury has written or edited 15 books and over 150 research papers.

PART 1: LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION SERVICES: EVOLUTION OR REVOLUTION? 1. The history of libraries 2. Types of library service and library 3. Library design 4. The future of libraries PART 2: LIBRARY AND INFORMATION RESOURCES AND SERVICES 5. Content, Storage and Delivery 6. Library services 7. Collection management and collection development 8. Preservation and digitization PART 3: INFORMATION ORGANIZATION AND ACCESS 9. Classification 10. Cataloguing, bibliographic formats and metadata 11. Subject indexing and vocabulary control 12. Information retrieval PART 4: LIBRARY AND INFORMATION USERS AND SOCIETY 13. The library as a social institution 14. Services to library users 15. Government legislation and policies PART 5: LIBRARY TECHNOLOGIES 16. Fundamentals of computing and the information age 17. Information technology standards: databases, markup and internet 18. Library management systems 19. Digital libraries PART 6: MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING IN LIBRARIES 20. The importance of management in librarianship 21. Core management skills 22. Misssions, planning, projects and partnerships 23. Marketing and libraries PART 7: EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN LIBRARIANSHIP 24. Education in librarianship 25. Research in librarianship 26. Epilogue 27. Glossary 28. Resource list.