This substantial volume is the standard textbook for courses on technical services in library and information science (LIS) programs, and with good reason. It succeeds in doing what the opening sentence asserts an introductory textbook should do: balance high-level overviews of acquisitions and cataloging—two disparate areas of endeavor, each of which is vast and complex in its own right—with judiciously chosen details that are sufficient to elucidate the subject, but not so abundant as to completely overwhelm the inexperienced student. The authors take the time to lay out the historical background of topics such as types of catalogs and classification systems while pointing toward future developments in other areas, notably electronic resources and digital libraries. These efforts succeed in situating the work of today's technical services departments in an appropriately broad context. The focus throughout is on academic and public libraries, with some mention of school and special libraries, and the Canadian perspective first introduced in the previous edition continues in this one. The authors have added four new chapters and significantly reorganized most of the others in this eighth edition, grouping them into three sections: “General Background,” “Acquisitions and Serials,” and “Cataloging and Processing.”

The topics in “General Background” apply equally across all technical services functions. The opening chapter describes the nature of technical services work, the various ways in which such departments may be organized and the desired knowledge goals for technical services librarians. The latter discussion draws on ALA's Core Competencies of Librarianship, and it relates four of the eight areas of competencies therein identified—information resources, organization of recorded knowledge and information, technological knowledge, and administration/management—to the book's twenty-one remaining chapters.¹ Chapters 2 and 3 devote space to time and meeting management, staff motivation, team building, and staffing issues, including hiring, training, and evaluation. The final chapter in this section, “Technical Services Issues,” draws together several diverse concerns related to contemporary technical services work: technology, outsourcing, cooperative activities, assessment and accountability, and physical spaces, this last topic making its debut in this edition and offering detailed guidance in planning for new and renovated spaces.

Chapter 5, “Acquisitions—Overview,” opens part 2 by laying out the relationship and coordination between collection development and acquisitions functions. It gives comprehensive coverage of acquisitions methods used in all types and sizes of libraries, the pros and cons of gifts and exchanges, including advice about appraisals and IRS requirements, and the steps to follow when receiving physical materials. Chapter 6, “Distributors and Vendors,” lays out the distribution system for materials. A significant portion of the chapter is devoted to helping librarians understand the motives, constraints, and responsibilities of suppliers, and it stresses what the library's responsibilities are toward their vendor partners. Chapter 7, “Print and Digital Books,” contains a readable and informative essay on the publishing industry, including sections on e-readers, e-books, and other electronic resources presented from the acquisitions perspective. Though brief, chapter 8, “E-Resource Issues,” touches on the differences between print and electronic resources when building a collection, including ownership, licensing, pricing, access, and assessment. A valuable passage addresses factors involved in successful group decision-making, whether within a single library or between partners in a consortium. The suggested readings section is one of the best of the entire work. Chapter 9, “Serials—Print and Electronic,” presents a discussion of the traditional categories of print serials, followed by sections that compare print and e-serials from the perspectives of cost, acquisition, processing, access, preservation, and usage. Notably absent from the otherwise strong treatment of the topic is any mention of A–Z list providers or, in the section on preservation, Portico and Controlled LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Staff Safe). Students not taking a dedicated course on government information will appreciate the thorough historical and contemporary coverage chapter 10 offers on the topic. Chapter 11, “Media,” tackles the acquisition and preservation of all common nonbook formats. The emphasis is mainly on public libraries, but chapter 10 also covers the educational use of videos in academic institutions. The authors deal briefly with copyright but assert that a fuller treatment is outside the purview of their work. Suggestions for further reading in this area would be a useful addition. The final and longest chapter of part 2 is on fiscal management. It may well be the most intimidating one, too, with its discussion of balance sheets, accounts and ledgers, journals, audits, encumbering, and so on. Serious students who have no background in bookkeeping or accounting will struggle to assimilate the material in this chapter. Nevertheless, the treatment is thorough and comprehensive, and will serve the student well as a resource when he or she begins working in an acquisitions department.

The third part of the book covers cataloging and processing in such a clear way that a beginning cataloger or even noncataloger has an excellent chance of understanding the material. The text is mostly free of jargon and, when it is used, terms are defined. The authors do a commendable job of discussing cataloging in simple language and at the right level of detail. “Overview and Decisions” opens part 3 with a general discussion of library cataloging and a brief preview of the chapters to follow. Chapters 14–20 form the heart of this final segment, delving into bibliographic description, access points, subject analysis, Library of Congress and Sears subject headings, Dewey, Library of Congress, and National Library of Medicine classification systems, the MARC format and metadata, and copy cataloging. These chapters make unfamiliar material accessible. One instance of the authors’ ability to achieve this clarity appears in the chapter on description, in which they present a particularly lucid explanation of ISBD punctuation. If the student goes on to take a cataloging course, this explanation could be a useful complement to the treatment of the topic in a cataloging textbook; specialized texts sometimes focus too closely on the details of a topic to be able to provide the broader view that is needed. These seven chapters, without exception, are extremely effective in this regard. Chapter 21, “Processing Materials,” is a worthy addition to the 2011 publication, and chapter 22 concludes the book with solid guidance for managing people and change; developing, adopting, and revising policy and procedure manuals; and acquiring the traits and skills of a good leader.

Outstanding features of the textbook include well-selected suggested readings for each chapter, though brief annotations when a title alone does not reveal its relevance to the chapter's topic would be helpful additions to these sections. Frequent in-text references to discussions of related issues in other chapters act as useful road signs for the reader. The review questions encourage rumination and review, and the plentiful examples, figures, and tables reinforce and illustrate the pertinent points covered in the text. The three indexes (topical, personal and corporate names,and figures and examples) are mostly sound, but contain some errors (e.g., the entry for “preservation” refers to a brief treatment in part 3 but fails to lead the reader to a more substantive one in part 2, and the “see from” reference from “licenses” to “order processes—licenses” is blind). The most significant weakness of this edition is lack of good copy editing. While generally not affecting comprehension, numerous syntactical and punctuation mishaps, the occasional faulty citation, and two tables whose locations in the text are reversed give the impression that the editorial work was done in a rush.

LIS students who already have some experience working in libraries are positioned to gain the most from this book; those with no related work experience will, of course, rely on the instructor to amplify and clarify various points. It will be of use to paraprofessionals who want to deepen their knowledge of technical services functions, to librarians working in one area of technical services who want to expand their knowledge of a different technical services specialty, and to librarians working outside of technical services who want a better understanding of cataloging or acquisitions work. Likewise, new technical services librarians who were unable to assimilate all that the text had to offer when they were taking the course can now return to it to fill in gaps. Finally, technical services librarians who have not kept up with the library literature will find the suggested readings to be an efficient way to identify sources to consult. All these learners, at various stages of knowledge, will find Evans, Intner, and Weihs to be adept, trustworthy guides to the past, present, and probable future landscapes of technical services work.