Ostman, Sarah and Saba, Stephanie. Book Club Reboot: 71 Creative Twists.

ALA Editions. 2019. c143p. illus. bibliog. appendix. Index. ISBN 978-0-8389-1856-2. $49.99.

Book clubs fail for a variety of reasons. Attendance oftentimes drops. Facilitators get burned out and bored. They may be too busy to do the necessary work required to prepare for traditional book club meetings. Meeting time(s) and/or location(s) may not be suitable for participants and/or the clubs may not be serving the needs of their communities. Whatever ails your book club, there are a variety of ways to revive it or “reboot” it with a “twist.” In this publication published in cooperation with the American Library Association’s Public Programs Office, the authors, Ostman (Communications Manager, Public Programs Office, American Library Association; MA, Journalism, Columbia College, Chicago, IL) and Saba (Community Program Supervisor, San Mateo County Libraries, CA; MLIS, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA), both of whom are well-qualified and knowledgeable about the subject, profile 71 successful book clubs across the United States. While most of the featured clubs are associated with public libraries, many are not. All are successful because they foster meaningful book discussions and offer some good old fashion diversions such as exercise, food, good company, and opportunities to create, share, and socialize. Successful, non-traditional book clubs may provide a change of scenery, partner with organizations outside the library, unite people with common interests, make it easy for members to participate, meet community needs, target specific audiences, get quirky, encourage activism, meet participants where they are, and more. Some notable book clubs showcased by the authors include a walk and talk book club, book clubs held on ferries, in restaurants, and in bars, a Brown Bag Lunch book club, book clubs for people with developmental disabilities, book clubs for professionals such as nurses and teachers, book clubs encouraging activism, and book clubs for high school and middle school students, teachers, and parents. Offering tips and advice, sidebars on related topics such as marketing book clubs to specific populations and ways to facilitate book discussions, as well as an appendix of useful resources, this publication is highly recommended for many types of libraries. Review copy. Availability: ALA Store, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com

Alessio, Amy J., LaMantia, Katie, and Vinci, Emily. A Year of Programs for Millennials and More.

American Library Association. June 2015. c216p. index. ISBN 978-0-8389-1332-1. $49.00.

In this thoughtfully- conceived publication, Alessio, LaMantia, and Vinci, all librarians at the Schaumburg Township District Library in Schaumburg, Illinois, offer a year’s worth of customized and focused library programming for “millennials” and individuals in their early 40s. Taking an age- expansive approach to people comprising the “millennial” generation—this group is typically comprised of men and women who were born in the 1980s, 1990s, and the early 2000s-- the authors briefly introduce these library patrons in terms of their age cohorts, lifestyles, interests, and the ways in which libraries better can serve their needs. In the twelve following chapters, one for each month of the year, they then present an average of four, start-to-finish, sometimes month- specific, library programs for millennials and others. Each program guide sets forth pertinent information pertaining to organizing, coordinating, and effecting the program, not limited to preparation time, length of the program, size and age range of the targeted audience, a shopping list, setup guidelines, “make it happen” tips, program variations, and promotional ideas. The authors include many programs that have proven to be very popular and fun such as old school gaming, Oscar night, March Madness, Realistic Summer Reading and Media Programs for Adults, Literary Speed Dating, Shark Week Celebration, and writing workshops. The 13th chapter describes ten, quarterly or monthly, library clubs with ideas for sessions, crossover programs, variations, and more. While unfortunately this handbook omits the very important budgetary costs for each program, overall it will serve as a useful, go-to, how- to guide for many public librarians, who may be responsible for adult library programming. Written by experienced public librarians, it is very highly recommended for many public and some academic library book collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, American Library Association, Barnes & Noble.com

Goldsmith, Francisca. Libraries and the Affordable Care Act: Helping the Community Understand Health-Care Options.

ALA Editions. 2015. c112p. ISBN 978-08389-1288-1. $24.00. E-book B00ORWJ076 (Kindle)

Since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in the United States, many public libraries have attempted to provide access to information about the law while educating communities about it. In this guide, the first of its kind written for library staff, Goldsmith (Consultant and Instructor at Infopeople; author of Graphic Novels Now and Crash Course in Weeding) provides best practices, advice, examples of libraries’ responses to the implementation of the new law, and more. Seeking to help libraries define the expectations and limitations for support roles as the new law is implemented, she offers an overview and context for the Affordable Care Act, basic information about health insurance and the health insurance exchanges, ways to know and assess community needs, functional library strategies and tools for building health awareness, discussions pertaining to ethical and legal matters, as well as considerations relating to health- and healthcare- related reference interviewing, programming, ongoing training, and advocacy. Including appendices of resources as well as end-of-chapter “to do lists,” this ambitious, short, general but not comprehensive, informative guide, while not a detailed how-to-manual setting forth how to implement health insurance, healthcare, and health awareness support programs and services in libraries, nevertheless may be of considerable interest to librarians and other staff members. As a basic, first “go-to,” reference resource, it is highly recommended for many public and other library book collections. Availability: Amazon.com, American Library Association, Barnes & Noble.com

American Library Association. ALA Guide to Medical & Health Sciences Reference.

American Library Association. 2011. c758p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8389-1023-8. $75.00.

Even though this book was published several years ago and many of its entries may be in need of updating because they reference resources that are out-of-print and/or superseded by later editions, this publication still may be of some value to librarians and/or researchers, who are attempting to build nearly comprehensive medical and health science reference collections and/or who are doing in-depth research. Covering clinical and consumer health information in thirteen chapters that are organized by type of publication (ex. bibliography, biography, classification, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, guides, handbooks, histories, indexes; abstract journals, databases, internet resources, quotations, statistics, treatises, etc.), it provides a critically- selected, annotated list of print and electronic, biomedical- and health- related reference resources, including Internet websites and digital image collections. Emphasizing U.S. publications but including materials published in other countries, it covers all types of resources in the fields of bioethics, consumer health, dentistry, health care, international and global health, medical jurisprudence, medicine, nursing, nutrition, pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, psychiatry, public health, and toxicology. Each entry includes a bibliographic citation, the Dewey and Library of Congress classification numbers, and a detailed annotation. Unfortunately, entries lack list prices or pricing information, which is useful to librarians who need to compare and purchase these publications. Also many entries are cross-posted word-for-word in different sections and/or chapters, which makes reading this book from cover-to-cover an exercise in diligence since this book’s contents may be repetitive. Of interest to students, educators, practicing librarians, and others, this annotated, classified bibliography-- while in need of updating in the not-so-distant future, if it is to remain useful and pertinent-- may be recommended for public, academic, and special library book collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com

Lajos, Thomas Z.. Fallen to Tyranny: from Mauthausen to Gulag.

AuthorHouse. 2012. c115p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-47721-269-1. $23.99. ISBN 978-1-4772-1270-7. $14.95. ebook (Amazon Kindle). B009JCP7Z8. $3.99.

In this publication, Thomas Z. Lajos recounts the tragic and never-before-told personal story of his uncle, Dr. Ivan Lajos (1906-1949), whom he knew while growing up in war-ravaged and Soviet-controlled Hungary. Born in the historic city of Pécs, Dr. Ivan Lajos attended the University of Pécs Law School, from which he graduated with distinction. In 1939, he wrote and published in multiple languages a political tract known as The Grey Book, which became internationally renowned for suggesting that Germany would lose World War II and Hungary should remain neutral. In March 1944, with other prominent Hungarian political figures, Dr. Ivan Lajos was taken by the Germans to the German concentration camp Mauthausen in Austria. Following Germany’s defeat by the Allies, he returned to Hungary, where he remained active politically. As the Iron Curtain descended upon Eastern Europe and Hungary increasingly became controlled by the Soviets, Dr. Ivan Lajos disappeared. Unbeknownst to his family members, Dr. Ivan Lajos was taken, imprisoned, arrested, interrogated, and wrongfully convicted of various crimes by the Soviets. The Soviets deported him to the remote Karlag section of the Gulag in Kazakhstan, where he began to serve a fifteen-year, hard labor sentence but died two years later. In this well-written and professionally-presented book, including photographs, appendices, timelines, bibliographies, and an index, the author personally tells the heartbreaking, gripping, and compelling saga of Dr. Ivan Lajos, one of Hungary’s unknown heroes, who while attempting to free his country from its oppressors, fell victim to two systems of tyranny. Raising many unanswered questions, it will be of significant interest to students, historians, and others. This publication is very highly recommended for many readers and libraries. Review copy. Availability: Amazon, AuthorHouse, Barnes & Noble.com

Koepsell, David. Innovation and Nanotechnology: Converging Technologies and the End of Intellectual Property.

Bloomsbury Academic. 2011. c256p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-84966-343-4. $75.00. Kindle Edition. B00567BC1I $64.99.

In this book, which the author describes as comprising an “informal IP trilogy” (p. 198), Koepsell (J. D. & Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo; Assistant Professor, Philosophy, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands; Senior Research Fellow, 3TU Centre for Ethics and Technology), an attorney, philosopher, educator, and the author of several books, including Who Owns You and The Ontology of Cyberspace, argues that nanowares (i.e. the ideas and products arising from nanotechnology) demand new approaches to scientific discovery, innovation, and intellectual property (IP). Focusing upon the nexus of science, technology, ethics, and public policy, the author applies ideas of social philosophy to the nanoparticle world. In the first four of nine chapters, Koepsell examines how the academic, government, legal, scientific, and technological communities deal with the development of converging technologies in nanowares. In response to his observations that many of the current models, including intellectual property laws, are becoming or have become obsolete, in the remaining five chapters, he then suggests alternative paradigms. Koepsell posits that current intellectual property laws are artificial, flawed, harmful, illogical, inadequate, inefficient, unethical, and unnecessary. To spark innovation and further develop nanotechnology and nanowares, the author makes the case for rejecting current intellectual property laws in favor of new, more open schemes that consider the unique natures of nanotechnology and nanowares as well as maximize innovation, promote efficiencies, and protect innovators. He proposes a new theory of artifacts, based upon the notion of a “commons by necessity,” that protects man-made expressions without depending upon artificial, illogical, and unjust distinctions. Koepsell further advocates contractual models and those arising from free markets. Well-written, reasonably effectively-presented, given the complexity of its subject matters, and expertly-argued by a scholar, who focuses on interdisciplinary ethical, legal, philosophical, and technological issues, this book may presume that readers possess some foundational knowledge of ethics, intellectual property laws, philosophy, and/or new technologies, as well as of the author’s previous writings. It is highly recommended for upper level university students, researchers, scholars, scientists, and some professionals. This ambitious, original, and provocative, interdisciplinary publication, presenting a controversial approach to the current status quo in the nanoparticle world, belongs in research-oriented library collections found mostly in academic and special libraries. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com

American Library Association. ALA Guide to Economics & Business Reference.

ALA Guide to Reference series. American Library Association. 2011. c528p. index. ISBN 9780838910245. $65.00.

Focusing on print and electronic information resources that are fundamental to library services in economics and business, the content of this classified annotated bibliography is drawn from the American Library Association’s online Guide to Reference. Eight topical chapters showcase all types of economics and business information resources, covering Basic Industry Information, Company Information, Economic Conditions and World Trade, Functional Areas of Business, General Works, Occupations and Careers, Regional Economic Sources, and Specialized Industry Information. Each chapter is subdivided into multiple, alphabetically-arranged subcategories under which more than 690 print and electronic information resources alphabetically are presented. Entries feature abstracting services, atlases, bibliographies, databases, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, guides, handbooks, journals, indexes, internet websites, periodicals, and other types of library reference materials. Each entry describes the resource’s contents as well as sets forth its pertinent bibliographic information, such as its author(s), title, publisher, date of publication, Library of Congress and/or Dewey Decimal Classification number(s), International Standard Book or Serial Number, and Internet website. Unfortunately, the resources’ prices or costs are not noted. Compiled in North America, for use primarily in North American libraries, this reference guide will be of considerable interest to librarians, independent researchers, publishers, book dealers, business organizations, and other entities, searching for information on accounting, advertising, banking, business law, companies, economic conditions, electronic commerce, corporate officials, entrepreneurship, finance, investments, management, management information systems, marketing, occupations, specific industries, statistics, taxation, world trade, and other topics. Useful and valuable to readers, who may read it from cover-to-cover and/or peruse it by chapter, subcategory, and/or title, this publication could be improved if its topical classification scheme were modified and/or condensed to eliminate duplicate entries. With over 690 information resources featured in 1380 entries, resource entries are duplicated on average at least twice with the median being seven times. In addition to providing a title index, this guide should include a subject index and appendices of vendors and publishers with their ordering addresses. Part of the ALA Guide to Reference series, this “usably comprehensive” but “not exhaustive” (Preface, pp. xiii-xiv), authoritative repertory of mostly, recently-published, English-language, reference works is highly recommended for large public, academic, and special libraries in North America and elsewhere. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com