The No-Nonsense Guide to Born-Digital Content. By Heather Ryan and Walker Sampson. London, UK: Facet Publishing, 2018. 240 p. Paper $75.99 (ISBN 978-1-78330-195-9).

Libraries and archives contain increasing amounts of born-digital content in many forms. The No-Nonsense Guide to Born-Digital Content is a comprehensive guide to help manage this content, written by Heather Ryan, director of Special Collections, Archives, and Preservation and assistant professor at University of Colorado Boulder Libraries, and Walker Sampson, digital archivist at University of Colorado Boulder Libraries. The authors have produced a detailed guide that offers an introduction to various forms of digital content and a wide range of related topics. For example, this work covers such varied subjects as digital information basics, acquisitions, digital preservation, and workflows.

Helpful information for readers includes a list of abbreviations and a glossary of relevant terms in appendix A. Appendix B offers UNIX command line prompts. Further readings, listed at the end of each chapter, provide the reader with the opportunity to explore more details about the information covered.

The chapters follow a logical order to help librarians and archivists learn types of content, as well as to help in preparing and presenting digital information for their users. Examples include case studies from different types of libraries. Chapter 7 wraps the preceding content into explanations of workflows. Chapter 8, the last chapter, discusses new and emerging technologies and types of born-digital content, including data found in the cloud and on smartphones. The guide also discusses ways for library practitioners to continue to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to work with existing and future forms of born-digital content.

The No-Nonsense Guide to Born-Digital Content is full of practical advice for varied audiences including new librarians, archivists, library school students, and educators. The book presents complex information in a clear manner aimed to ease its readers into the world of managing digital content.—Paula Barnett-Ellis, Health and Sciences Librarian, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama