The Library Liaison’s Guide to Collection Management. By Alison M. Armstrong and Lisa Dinkle. Chicago: ALA Editions in collaboration with ALCTS Publishing, 2020. 102 p. $49.99 softcover (ISBN: 978-0-8389-4802-6).

With The Library Liaison’s Training Guide to Collection Management, Armstrong and Dinkle have created a thorough and thoughtful guide for library liaisons. Since much of this kind of work is specific to local institutions—which the authors keep in mind throughout the book—creating such a guide is no small feat.

Developed from the authors’ own institutional liaison guide (Radford University), The Library Liaison’s Training Guide is divided into eleven chapters. Each chapter is structured with an introduction to the topic, followed by more in-depth information and case study examples, ending with a lesson overview and “Local Practice Questions,” which encourage the reader to ask about policies in their own library regarding these topics.

The book works best when defining the fundamentals of liaisonship, information that is particularly suited for individuals new to such responsibilities, as well as collection development librarians (CDLs) who may be required to train new liaisons or continuously adjust and review their institution’s policies. The third chapter, “Fund Management” (17) is a perfect example of The Library Liaison’s Training Guide’s strengths, with its valuable breakdowns of the types of orders (firm, standing, etc.), acquisition models, and budgeting suggestions that many libraries implement. The chapter that immediately follows on ordering is also a highlight, which manages to explore many nuances of the acquisition process while being broad enough to encompass different libraries’ ordering procedures. Helpful too is the advice on collection assessment and weeding, which balances the considerations for adding and removing titles from a collection with excellent case studies. Chapter 6, “Building Relationships” (41) provides outstanding advice for the various ways liaisons can reach out to faculty, with tips on email etiquette and in-person interactions.

Some other particularly insightful sections include the advice on book selection in the second chapter: “Be aware of bias in your selections . . . consider whose voices are not represented” (11). Similarly, in the same chapter, the section titled “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Collection” (12) provides a generous list of sources from which liaisons can build their collection. While the fifth chapter (“Collection Development Committee”) was written with collection development meetings in mind, many would benefit from the brilliant bullet points under the heading “Hallmarks of a Good Meeting” (37–38), which could be placed on the walls of every conference room in the country. The “Local Practice Questions” from each chapter are also compiled at the end of the book for easy reference.

However, some of The Library Liaison’s Training Guide assets can be viewed as its drawbacks. The lack of specificity might be frustrating for new library liaisons, especially if they are not provided with proper training at their institution. The book might best be suited for CDLs interested in updating or developing training procedures. There is also a section in the second chapter regarding libraries ordering textbooks, which feels to be more specific to the authors and their university than actual guidance on the matter. Still, in the same paragraph, the authors go on to advocate for open educational resources (OERs), an avenue for which more libraries and liaisons should be advocating.

The Library Liaison’s Training Guide to Collection Management is a great resource for any librarian interested in developing or improving their current collection development procedures, CDLs wanting guidance on training new librarians, and for novice library liaisons interested in mastering the complex and multifaceted components of their responsibilities.—Cory Aitchison (cory.aitchison@pepperdine.edu), Pepperdine University