Reviews.indd courses offered, the profile of faculty hired, and the ways in which academic institutions are structured. And how has the curriculum changed during the past 100 years? The details of their argument cannot be eff ectively summarized in a review of this length, but there are some very basic conclusions at which the authors arrive that may, in themselves, serve to attract the reader. As most anecdotal evidence would sug- gest, the “relative emphasis allott ed to teaching and research in the humanities sharply declined during [the twentieth century].” The beneficiary of this change in focus, however, was not the natural sciences, but the social sciences, whose growth during the period in question is described as “spectacular.” As significant as the decline of the humanities was the decline in emphasis on “basic” disciplin- ary fields such as philosophy, chemistry, and economics, in favor of “applied” fields, including law, civil engineering, and management. The rise of the social sciences and the rise of applied academic disciplines—these are the preeminent sto- ries of the changing academic landscape in the twentieth century. The authors dedicate one chapter each to changes over time in the broadly de- fined fields of the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. They also dedicate a chapter to the study of the discipline of history, which, they argue, is the one most likely to be continually shaped (and reshaped) by changing per- ceptions of what is “reality.” The result is a complex work that will be of interest to scholars in many fields, as well as to any critics of higher education who wish to embrace a more thoughtful view of the reasons behind curriculum change than some we have seen in the past.—Scott Walter, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. 1. Elizabeth Redden, “Divisive Semester at Florida” Inside Higher Ed (Dec. 4, 2006). Available online from http://insidehighered. com/news/2006/12/04/uf. Book Reviews 281 Groen, Frances K. Access to Medical Knowledge: Libraries, Digitization, and the Public Good. Lanham, Md.: Scare- crow, 2007. 281p. alk. paper, $55 (ISBN 0810852721). LC 2006-20465. Since the beginning of the twentieth cen- tury, the field of medical librarianship has evolved dramatically, gaining momentum in the midst of political and social influ- ences throughout the world. In this book, Groen successfully presents the history and development of medical librarianship in genuinely interesting and informative detail, spanning from the early 1900s to the present day. In addition, she depicts the struggles and challenges that medical librarians have had to face and how cur- rent values in the profession have been shaped through overcoming adversity. Although not every important event in such a large time frame could be included, this book does discuss the major events that most influenced the development of medical librarianship. As an expert in the field of medical librarianship, Groen has been immersed in research on libraries for several decades. Her main purpose in writing this book, as stated in the first sentence of the preface, is “to understand why librarians … make the choices and develop the services that they do.” Her purpose is clearly achieved, as powerful influences from wars, politics, and society have contributed greatly to the choices and services offered by medical libraries. The result is that medical librarianship has become a stronger profession and, due to improvements in technology, will continue to grow and develop. The book is well organized, and the order of the chapters flows nicely. In the preface, the author explains why medical librarianship is important to her, both personally and professionally. The brief introduction delightfully describes the author’s personal experiences with using libraries and how her interest in research- ing them developed. The main portion of the book is divided into four parts, most of which consist of several chapters. Part I provides a general background on 282 College & Research Libraries librarians and their values in relation to society. Part II delves into the history of medical librarianship, starting with pre- 1900 events and moving from the early 1900s through the late 1900s. This section is very detailed and covers much mate- rial, from the beginnings of the Medical Libraries Association to the development of medical libraries across Europe. Part III explains current issues in the profession such as the digitization of materials, use of the Internet, as well as new ways of accessing medical information. Perhaps the most interesting section is Part IV, where the author discusses future implications for medical librarianship, including issues of economic and biblio- graphic control, open access, and control of copyright. Although these universal concerns are sensitive, they are addressed in such an informative manner that read- ers are rightly reminded of the signifi- cance of these issues and why librarians should take a stand on them. The conclusion introduces several problems that medical librarians will have to face in the future; most important of these: being able to provide access to medical information as well as being able to preserve it. Accordingly, the author also offers several solutions to these problems, such as actively negotiating with pub- lishers with regard to copyright issues, establishing institutional repositories, and promoting health by providing accurate medical information to the public. The bibliography and index are both useful resources. The bibliography only contains monographic information, while a short notes section at the end of each chapter contains citations for the journal articles the author consulted. This book would be of interest to academics, librar- ians, historians, college students, as well as anybody from the general public who is interested in learning more about the history and development of medical librarianship. Even so, the language and writing style are seemingly more geared toward readers who are familiar with library-related terms and phrases (e.g., May 2007 PubMed and NLM). Obviously the most fitting audience for this book would be medical librarians. Groen’s book provides a compre- hensive look at the history of medical librarianship. Today, access to medical information is becoming more and more important, and it is crucial for librarians to learn from history so that a positive vision can be developed for the future of medical libraries. This book is a valuable resource, and researchers and librarians in the academic world can learn much from it.—Judy P. Bolstad, University of California, Berkeley. Human Computer Interaction Research in Web Design and Evaluation. Eds. Panayiotis Zaphiris and Sri Kurni- anan. Hershey, Pa.: Idea Group, 2007. 319p. $79.95 (paper); $94.95 (cloth) (ISBN 1599042479; 1599042460). LC 2006-19158. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is an emerging field of study that seeks to combine the methods and insights of psy- chology, sociology, computer science, and informatics to improve our understand- ing of how humans use computers. This book is a collection of fourteen essays, by HCI theoreticians and practitioners from around the globe, that focus on bringing the concepts, models, theories, and find- ings of the discipline to the study of Web design and evaluation. The chapters are arranged into four sections. Section I provides an introduc- tion and theoretical foundation that elabo- rates a framework of HCI concepts and models and how they can be employed in the study of Web design and in the evaluation of Web sites. A common theme here is that User-Centered Design (UCD) and Usability Engineering (UE) should be an integral part of the soft ware design life-cycle rather than an aft erthought or ad hoc feature. Section II is concerned with the role of analysis in Web design, and the single essay in this section looks closely at the role of task analysis in the Web de- sign process. The design of Web sites is a