Information Services Today - 3rd Edition by Sandra Hirsh (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

This third edition of Information Services Today: An Introduction demonstrates the ever-changing landscape of information services today and the need to re-evaluate curriculum, competency training, professional development, and lifelong learning in order to stay abreast of current trends and issues, and more significantly, remain competent to address the changing user needs of information communities. Specifically, the Information Services Today: An Introduction:
provides a thorough introduction, history, and overall state of the field, explores different types of information communities, the varying information needs within those communities, and the role of equity of access, diversity, inclusion, and social justice in those communities, addresses why information organizations and information and technological literacy are more important today than ever before, discusses how technology has influenced the ways that information professionals provide information resources and services in today's digital environment, highlights current issues and trends and provides expert insight into emerging challenges, innovations, and opportunities for the future, and identifies career management strategies and leadership opportunities in the information professions.
The new edition features chapter updates to address changes in information services, introducing new/updated topics such as emergency/crisis management/community resilience, sustainability, data analysis and visualization, social justice, and equity of access, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Information Services Today: An Introduction begins with an overview of libraries and their transformation as information and technological hubs within their local and digital communities, as well as trends impacting the information field. Information Services Today: An Introduction covers the various specializations within the field - emphasizing the exciting yet complex roles and opportunities for information professionals in a variety of information environments. With that foundation in place, it presents the fundamentals of information services, delves into management skills needed by information professionals today, and explores emerging issues related to the rapid development of new technologies. Information Services Today: An Introduction addresses how libraries and information centers serve different kinds of communities, highlighting the unique needs of increasingly diverse users.

Information Services Today: An Introduction provokes discussion, critical thinking, and interaction to facilitate the learning process. The content and supplemental materials - discussion questions, rich sets of online accessible materials, multimedia webcast interviews featuring authors from this book discussing the trends and issues in their respective areas, and chapter presentation slides for use by instructors - give readers the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of and engagement with the topics.

Review Quotes

"Editor Hirsh has compiled an extensive set of essays on information services in the third edition of this textbook. The intended audience is library school students, although early career librarians may also benefit from discussions on professional skills and career planning. A thorough introduction to information services, topics, and careers. Well-suited for library school students and emerging library and information sciences professionals." --Library Journal

"Already a staple, this revised, forward-looking third edition solidifies the textbook's place in LIS programs with increased emphasis on issues of community, information policy, and social justice. A core text for emerging information professionals across settings and job functions." --Laura Saunders, Professor, Simmons University, School of Library and Information Science

"Information Services Today is a stunning achievement - and a challenge to as well as an
endorsement of the value of our profession." --Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association

"We have all heard the saying, "I didn't learn that in library school." I would voice this statement myself fairly often when I was a full-time, practicing librarian. However, once I became a library science professor, I was able to see the other side. Specifically, I was able to see how all-encompassing librarianship was; and with seeing this, I came to the realization that we as library science instructors do want to share more with our students. But in this field, there is just too much to teach, and there are not enough credit hours to teach it all. Teachers of "Foundations" courses, however, may have a useful tool in their desire to share as much "foundational" knowledge as they can with LIS students. That useful tool is the third edition of Information Services Today, edited by Sandra Hirsh. This 636-page work includes anything an instructor would reasonably want to cover in a "Foundations" course, and it does so with an appropriate amount of depth. Any LIS professor looking to overhaul their "Foundations" course and wishing to find a new textbook for their course should seriously consider Information Services Today. This book really does lay a foundation in LIS for any library school student." --Journal of Education for Library and Information Science Education

About the Author

Dr. Sandra Hirsh is the associate dean for academics for the College of Professional and Global Education at San Jose State University. As the associate dean, she engages in the strategic planning and implementation of programs and initiatives related to the mission and vision of the college and the university, and she collaborates with the chairs and directors of the departments and schools within CPGE to develop the strategic direction for continually achieving faculty success, student success, and academic and curricular excellence.
Dr. Hirsh holds both a bachelor's degree and Ph.D. from UCLA and a MLIS degree from the University of Michigan. For ten years, she served as professor and director in the SJSU School of Information (iSchool), which offers 100% online graduate programs with more than 2000 graduate students. Prior to joining SJSU, she worked in the Silicon Valley in R&D and consumer product development for more than a decade at major technology companies: Hewlett Packard Labs, Microsoft, and LinkedIn.
Throughout her career, Dr. Hirsh has focused on global initiatives and continuing professional development. She co-founded and co-chairs the global virtual Library 2.0 conference series. She has been a Salzburg Fellow and a visiting scholar at Rikkyo University in Japan. She served as the president of the Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) and is currently President of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE). She is also anactive scholar and researcher; her most recent publications are Information Services Today: An Introduction, 2nd edition (2018) and Blockchain, part of the ALA Future Series(2019).