Teleworking for Library and Information Professionals.

Teleworking for Library and Information Professionals. Blake, Monica Teleworking for library and informationprofessionals. Aslib Know-how guides. London: Aslib and InformationManagement International, 1999. 94p price not reported soft ISBN ISBNabbr.International Standard Book NumberISBNInternational Standard Book NumberISBNn abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m0851424163 (available from DA Information Services See Information Systems. ) IN PAST YEARS FEW LIBRARIANS WOULD HAVE DREAMED OF CONSIDERINGTELEWORKING as a work style. It was seen as impractical and isolated.The increased sophistication so��phis��ti��cate?v. so��phis��ti��cat��ed, so��phis��ti��cat��ing, so��phis��ti��catesv.tr.1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly.2. of technological infrastructure and theadvances in telecommunications have led to a review of this form of workparticipation. The increasing reliance on outsourcing of particularlibrary service elements has also created a stronger likelihood ofteleworking for many professionals. It is within this context that Blake's practical overview ofteleworking becomes a useful tool. The initial chapters provide atheoretical perspective on teleworking and its benefits and drawbacks.Blake then explores some of the critical issues relating to relating torelate prep → concernantrelating torelate prep → bez��glich +gen, mit Bezug auf +accmanaging theworking relationship with absentee workers. Using bullet points shesummarises a range of authors who have provided some practical anduseful guidelines on teleworking. The work also explores the technicalsetup required and the types of tasks which might be fulfilled. Finally,she provides several case studies of library teleworkers, who exploretheir roles and the value of teleworking. These case studies relate totechnical staff as well as information consultants. Overall this is a very readable and practical tool, despite itsBritish context. Blake's style is very eclectic, relying on theideas of others and grouping these under bullet points. This can be alimiting factor at times, with the work suffering from a summary formatrather than a discursive style. Overall, however, it functionseffectively as a well-researched and practical insight into a world ofwork which many information workers may come to know very thoroughly. Shelda Debowski, Murdoch University