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College and Research Libraries
January 2002, Vol. 63, No. 1

Book Review

Westbrook, Lynn. Identifying and Analyzing User Needs: A Complete Handbook and Ready-to-Use Assessment Workbook with Disk. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2001. 307p. $75, alk. paper (ISBN 1-55570-388-7). LC 00-045220.

Because of the continued growth and development of information technology, people who work in libraries are confronted, almost daily, with changing expectations concerning their roles. Accountability and assessment have become keywords for those trying to provide updated services to library patrons. At the same time, librarians and staff are expected to justify budget expenditures, set priorities for collection development and reference services, adapt to change, seize new opportunities for services as they arise, and position the library as a major competitor in the information business. According to Dr. Lynn Westbrook, faculty member of Texas Woman’s University’s School of Library and Information Studies, support for these decisions can be obtained by conducting a community information needs analysis (CINA).

Westbrook believes that CINA can be a key in gaining an understanding of the existing information needs of the population the library serves, whether it is a public, school, or academic library. She presents a step-by-step procedural tool for conducting such a study in any of these three settings, emphasizing the cyclical nature of identifying information needs, implementing the appropriate changes in services, and evaluating those changes. Westbrook clearly states the prerequisites for doing a CINA: staff support, necessary resources, ethical considerations, and the correct techniques and questions to include. Later chapters explain important points in designing various data-gathering instruments and assessing the in-house data already available through system reports. She takes great care to explain various sampling techniques and methods, to define types of statistical analysis, and to describe how to organize the data into meaningful patterns and codes.

The book’s value is enhanced by its many features. Most apparent are the suggested readings. Westbrook has not only compiled an extensive works cited list, but she also has categorized the readings at the end of every chapter, providing an annotated bibliography for each type of library. The appendices include examples of different library studies and the coded and charted statistical reports created by various OPACs. An ample glossary and index also are provided.

Academic librarians may find themselves wishing she had written an individual book addressing their specific needs instead of trying to speak generally to three very different types of libraries. One can appreciate the difficulties of writing a book that simultaneously appeals to such a diverse audience; a book that is quite different from her chapter “Qualitative Research” in Ronald R. Powell’s Basic Research Methods for Librarians (Ablex, 1997) and her other work, Interdisciplinary Information Seeking in Women’s Studies (McFarland, 1999). Westbrook frequently cites Powell in chapters six through eight of Identifying and Analyzing User Needs, and most academic librarians involved in formulating research strategies for assessment would want to read both together. Academic librarians also might wish for a greater focus on issues of student and faculty participation, especially on how to encourage their involvement in surveys, questionnaires, and use studies. Contrary to Westbrook’s statement that “often, however, subjects choose to participate because they enjoy talking about their experiences and needs with a knowledgeable, interested individual,” researchers in academic libraries have found it difficult to attract adequate numbers of participants. More attention to this problem and less to duplicating, stapling, and general layout instructions would have proved beneficial.

Accompanying the book is a three-and-a-half-inch computer disk containing a 151-page ready-to-use assessment workbook. The disk is not labeled regarding system or software requirements, but a statement in the preface of the handbook does state that the file is “readily opened with any major word processor on a PC or Mac platform.” The chapter headings of the workbook parallel those of the handbook, and the chapters are, in essence, a briefer version of those in the handbook but contain additional suggested readings. Westbrook explains in the preface that she designed the workbook for those who want to move right into conducting a CINA without lengthy preparation.

Even though word processors have sophisticated commands for locating words/phrases in a document, it is awkward to scroll through such a large file. Printing the document and storing it in a binder for reference, in conjunction with the computer file, might prove more useful. Likewise, it would have been helpful to include the figures in the handbook, even though they cannot be readily duplicated and used in the smaller format. This would permit readers a view of the forms and templates before searching through a large file. There also is confusion regarding Figure 1.1, “Cycle of Studies and Change”; both the handbook and the workbook have it listed as being on page nine of the workbook. The words, “Figure 1.1 Cycle of Studies and Change,” do appear on page nine, but there is no corresponding figure, template, or worksheet.

Despite these concerns, Identifying and Analyzing User Needs is a valuable resource for those confronted with revitalizing their library services in a rapidly changing information technology world. Following the suggestions offered in this book will provide meaning and direction to library studies and give librarians and administrators new ways to define their community’s particular information needs.—Janice M. Krueger, University of the Pacific.