theory and practice almost seamlessly and has an uncanny ability to synthesize a broad range of issues in a most illuminating fashion. Her discussion of collection assessment and collection evaluation, for example, paints the distinction between the two with a few deft strokes (p. 269). Johnson's figures, too, are masterful summaries of often complex processes and they speak volumes on their own. Again using collection analysis as an example, one could create an entire lecture around Figure 9-1 Collection Analysis Methods, which in a simple matrix incorporates all of the principal issues involved in this important aspect of collection management-qualitative, quantitative, collection and use centered.
Chapter 9 bCollection AnalysisQ is, for this reviewer, a highlight of the volume for its clarity and succinctness. Equally impressive is Chapter 3 bPolicy, Planning and Budgets,Q which covers these three aspects in just enough details. Indeed, some other works devote much space to the budget, but at the end of the day the few pages in this volume are more than adequate. Finally, Chapter 7 bElectronic Resources,Q despite reservations about having a separate chapter on this topic, deserves mention for its extremely comprehensive coverage. Why read an entire volume on the topic when Peggy Johnson offers all you really need to know here, in a single chapter?
Most chapters contain case studies (eight in all, and usefully indexed) that assist in understanding the main ideas of the chapters-a most useful learning aid; there are also references and suggested readings at the end of each chapter, and Ms. Johnson is one of very few American authors to look beyond her own shores to include relevant international literature. The work ends with an appendix of selection aids, a glossary, and a very thorough index. Overall, this is a highly commended work, which this reviewer will be assigning as required reading for the foreseeable future.