Robert E. Dugan, Peter Hernon, and Danuta A. Nitecki. Viewing Library Metrics from Different Perspectives: Inputs, Outputs, and Outcomes. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited, 2009. 346p. acid-free paper, $45 (ISBN 9781591586654). LC2009-016899

been a difficult text. While it is not a censorship book that will likely resonate with many librarians who are interested in modern-day book banning, it would certainly have a place in any college or university with a Latin American studies program.—Timothy Hensley, Virginia Holocaust Museum. For the uninitiated and/or innumerate, this daunting tome will appear, prima facie, to be alarmingly technical; and, since most librarians are not conversant with sophisticated statistical methodolo-gies, the whole notion of library metrics might prove to be off-putting to the bulk of the targeted professional readership. Nevertheless, Viewing Library Metrics from Different Perspectives is well worth the effort to acclimate to a brave new library language. Thus the authors succeed in making a convincing case for the merit of metrics in the administration of libraries. What are " metrics, " anyway? According to the authors, metrics are performance or outcome measures that institutions can use to " …improve their accountability efforts through a transparent communication of stakeholder-requested information in a multiplicity of formats and means " (8). They consist of numbers, " supported by graphs, charts, and explanatory language " (8). In other words, they are measurements that might serve to inform potential users , who can then make rational choices about investing money, time, and other resources in the institution. Significantly, metrics are designed to provide objective criteria whereby institutions may be held accountable for their performance. Such accountability is especially important within academic libraries and their larger institutions. Remarkably, this book succeeds in demonstrating its points, enumerating and analyzing relevant measures, along with providing cogent examples in the form of numerous tables. It consists of twelve well-researched chapters entitled " Introduction, " " Related Literature, " " Assessment and Evaluation, " " The Library Perspective, " " The Customer Perspective , " " The Institutional Perspective, " " The Stakeholder Perspective, " " Bench-marking and Best Practices, " " Metrics for Marketing and Public Relations, " " Management Information Systems, " " Utilizing Metrics: Interpretation, Synthesis, and Presentation, " and " The Joy of Metrics. " Accordingly, in the introductory chapters the authors educate readers, so that the utility of metrics becomes apparent and some rudimentary metrical practices can be incorporated by readers in their own libraries. The bulk of the book posits various perspectives—namely, those of the library, the customer, the institution, and the stakeholder—and goes on to explore the ways …