The role of libraries in the digital age is one of the most widely discussed topics among scholars and practitioners in the information field. As higher education moves toward an increasingly online format and the open web continues to grow in its offerings, the necessity of college and university libraries is repeatedly called into question. Stielow, who currently serves as the Head of Classroom/ Research Information Services at the American Public University System, explores the web’s impact on academic libraries from a historical and philosophical perspective. This book is not intended as an instructional manual for distance education librarians, and Steilow leaves his readers with more questions than answers. He points to various technological and social revolutions, including the invention of the mass press and the rise of nationalism, as evidence that the library has weathered disruptions in the past and has evolved to survive. But he also acknowledges that the web presents the most significant obstacle to date for libraries’ reinvention and survival.

The book is divided into two parts, the first of which outlines both the history of libraries and the history of the web and discusses how web technology has, and will continue to shape the role of academic libraries. The second offers a vision of how libraries can adapt to meet the demands of students and scholars as web technology makes information more readily accessible. Steilow does not make light of the fact that academic libraries must adapt if they are to remain viable in the future; he argues that as institutions of higher education move toward a business model, libraries face obsolescecet unless they become more cost-effective by meeting user needs online. Although this book focuses primarily on the role of libraries in online education, it touches on topics that will be of interest to most scholars and professionals across LIS, including the open access movement and information literacy in the digital age. Stielow’s work is a timely and excellent addition to libraries supporting graduate programs in library and information studies.