Book Reviews 997 infinite possibilities, and lone ranger. Chapter 4 then summarizes and illustrates how scenario planning can be used both internally and externally to assist an organization to develop various strategies identified as threats, opportunities, uncertainties, and new directions. Part II then supplements the theory and practice of scenario planning with actual case studies and examples by various library leaders and directors. As someone who has extensive experience engaging librarians and library staff in strategic planning at three different institutions of various sizes and missions, I have always found scenario planning a very challenging exercise. The library profession has difficulty spending time with scenario planning: it seems beyond the scope of the current environment, where time constraints and people resources are already maxed out and at a premium and where developing multiple future strategies and approaches seems pointless when current budgets and resources don’t reflect cur- rent mandated initiatives. I have found that strategic planning, if done properly and in a culture where upper university administration does it iteratively and where it can be incorporated into the library organization without significant intrusion on the daily workflow and operations, can be an effective strategy. But for those library leaders and managers who wish to “shake things up,” so to speak, with something new in regard to visioning and futures thinking, and they have a library culture that is willing to take the time to do so, scenario planning, if done correctly, can certainly add a new perspective and thought process into the mix of organizational directions and discussions, and this book is an excellent roadmap for doing so. —Bradford Lee Eden, Valparaiso University Joseph R. Matthews. Library Assessment in Higher Education. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited, 2014. 226p. Paper, $55.00 (ISBN 13: 978-1-61069-817-7). Joseph Matthews, a library consultant, an extensively published author, and past in- structor at the San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science, has returned to write a second edition of his book Library Assessment in Higher Education. The first edition came out in 2007 and was significantly shorter at 146 pages. Since the first edition, several key and directly related reports have been released that make revisiting the new edition important. There was Megan Oakleaf’s Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report (2010) and ACRL’s Standards for Academic Libraries in Higher Education (2011). As one would expect, both of these items are referenced in the new edition. Additionally, there have been several recent library assessment conferences that Matthews points out as providing important input and relevant conversations toward the new edition. There are many books that deal with assessment in higher education. And, like Matthews’ book, only select ones target specific areas for more in-depth and appli- cable analysis. Throughout the book, broader institutionwide issues are addressed in different chapters, each of which is followed by a more library-specific chapter that links aspects of library assessment to the institution-level issues. It should be noted here that the book is less about methodology and more about a broad discussion of the application of assessment infused with numerous library research studies and identification of best practices. The first chapter is a broad commentary on library assessment activities and cul- ture. Matthews also lays out the structure of the book. This short chapter is followed by another short chapter that explores both institution- and library-level mission statements. Mission statements represent what is important; thus, assessment should reflect the success in achieving these goals. The growing importance of outcomes is also examined. Both of these chapters foreshadow how Matthews will approach the remaining chapters. doi:10.5860/crl.76.7.997 998 College & Research Libraries November 2015 Chapters 3 and 4 examine the topic of the student learning outcomes. First, the au- thor presents several student learning outcomes models. More attention is given to the input-environment-output model with an emphasis on the overall collegiate learning experience. This is the first point where Matthews begins to apply assessment to the higher education environment. Chapter 4 goes into even greater depth with respect to student outcomes, starting with listing the abilities that several institutions have indicated they want students to master. Student outcomes are more than just about learning; they are also about retention, achievement, and experiences. Why these are important outcomes and how they are tied to the goals of the institutions are covered in-depth and supported with some particularly interesting research studies. If readers only look at one chapter in the book, chapter 5 is the one to read. It is here that Matthews takes a good look at how the library can contribute to student outcomes. Retention, learning, achievement, and experiences are again examined, this time through the library lens. Here is where the reader will find research studies that act almost like case studies, that explain how different libraries, and consortia, have gone about gathering data to discover the extent to which their libraries have contributed to these key student outcomes. It is the longest chapter, has the most references, and is the most detailed about many library facets: this might explain why chapter 5 stands out. The next two chapters focus on teaching effectiveness. Chapter 6 looks at teach- ing effectiveness and success at the institution level, and chapter 7 looks at how the library impacts teaching effectiveness. Surprisingly, chapter 7 is relatively short. One might expect there to be more content in the chapter, especially after how robust chapter 5 was. Chapter 8 focuses on the assessment of institutional research and pays particular attention to scholarly output and its impact on the ranking of one institution in com- parison to another. Chapter 9 looks at how libraries assess their impact on institution research. This is a better chapter as it talks about how infrastructure and collections provided by the library results in a positive return on investment. Chapter 10 acts as a catch-all that describes other ways in which the library impacts an institution, including university reputation, student enrollment, and library space. The author rounds out the book with two final chapters that deal with planning for assessment, which includes information on developing an assessment plan and implementing assessment. The outcomes logic model is presented as a means of implementing assessment. The reader will find the book full of charts, diagrams, and lists. At times the graphic elements are a couple of pages beyond when they are mentioned, although this does not detract from the value of these resources. They are well presented and people will find them very useful. Additionally, the author references numerous works, and each chapter has its own bibliography. It is a bit surprising how many older articles were referenced. At the end of the book is an appendix that is a series of outcomes questions for librarians involved in assessment. A few typographical and formatting errors will be found in the text. Those who have read the first edition will find that this edition mimics the first quite a bit, particularly in its organization. Although there is expansion on the topics, several more chapters, and current content is included, a reader who has the first may be aware enough of assessment that this book may feel somewhat redundant. Those who have not seen the first edition, are new to academic library assessment work, or are interested in the topic will find this book to be an excellent resource. The broad perspective format of the book provides a good way to see many of the issues associ- ated with assessment. It is recommended for academic libraries.—Mark E. Shelton, Harvard University