{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.022835394862036156, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0028544243577545195, 'mean_word_length': 5.240356083086054, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
A Review of “Participatory IT Design: Designing for Business and Workplace Realities”

All of this leads to a new list of proposed “Internet-enabled” social roles and responses, selected from the Pew Internet and American Life Project report (Estabrooke, Witt, and Rainie 2007). The roles the authors selected from this list are broader than those provided by the Public Library Association and provide examples of the variety of services that public libraries provide. It is worth noting that these roles are descriptive of what public libraries are already doing. From here, McClure and Jaeger set out three main points that inform the rest of the book: public libraries should not let technology solely define their social roles, being so Internet focused could cause the federal government to rely too heavily on public libraries without providing more support, and “loosening the focus on the established social roles related to the marketplace of ideas risks the loss of the soul of librarianship . . .” (55). This concern counterbalances their fears about libraries losing their way by becoming too technologically focused. Effectively interspersed throughout the book are a number of wellwritten chapters covering a variety of statistical summaries and how-to methods, including compilations of the services that public libraries provide, Internet-related training for the public and staff, and an assessment of government policies and their effects. The how-to methods include selecting Internet-enabled roles, planning advice, and an examination of arguments from inside and outside of the profession against using Internet-enabled roles. Ultimately, McClure and Jaeger succeed in their stated goals: framing the discussion by examining the public library’s role in the Internet age and carefully noting the issues. However, their bias for conserving the current shape of public libraries could chafe more technologically forward-looking librarians. This book should be of great interest to library policy-setters and scholars and is also a worthwhile read for frontline librarians and staff.