Teleworking for Library and Information Professionals

Citation

Nurcombe, V.J. (2001), "Teleworking for Library and Information Professionals", Library Review, Vol. 50 No. 2, pp. 99-107. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.2001.50.2.99.6

All the titles in this series provide a clear, crisp introduction to the topic and guidelines on further reading, relevant organisations and, in this instance, Internet resources. Some LIS staff might consider teleworking, the working at a distance from one’s employer or client, usually using IT, to be difficult in the context of an information collection. However, as this useful text shows, there are many tasks ideally suited to teleworking – some of us have been doing it for years and many more are now able to by using remote information sources via the computer.

The initial background covers all types of teleworking before discussing benefits and drawbacks. Other chapters consider the environment, management of teleworking, information requirements and possibilities. Only one chapter considers LIS staff specifically and what can be done away from the office, or collection. Case studies in the field, however, show this more vividly using University of London staff and several freelance LIS consultants, as well as those involved in projects and publishing work, rather than collection‐based tasks. The whole is a very useful balanced guide – similar to many others available but with a LIS bias and some useful resources for assisting enquirers.