McCook, thoroughly revised and updated every one of the book s chapters to provide both professionals and LIS students with the most current and comprehensive introduction to public librarianship. McCook covers every aspect of the public library, from its earliest history to its current incarnation in the 21st century information environment. Following three engaging chapters on the history of public libraries, her thorough Table of Contents includes:Statistics, standards, planning, evaluations and results; Organization, law, funding, politics, publicity; Administration and staffing; Structure and infrastructure. Web sites. Library 2.0: Adult services; Youth services; Associations, state library agencies, standards, rankings and quality of life; Global perspectives on public libraries (written by Barbara J. Ford, Director, Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and Mortenson Distinguished Professor); Human rights: A new paradigm for public library service. Readers will especially welcome the new coverage of Library 2.0 issues, as well as global perspectives on the public library, and insight into the relationship between public library services and human rights. Exhaustively researched and expansive in its coverage, Introduction to Public Librarianship, Second Edition continues to live up to the description that appeared in Public Libraries's (September/October 2007): a fact-filled compendium of valuable information, a handbook for the working librarian, educator, and researcher.