Catherine A. Lemmer is library director of Lake Forest Library, Lake Forest, Illinois. Prior to this she was a law librarian and assistant director of information services at Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law and a research instructor in both the J.D. program and the LL.M. program in American law for foreign lawyers.Carla P. Wale is the head of public services and a research instructor in the J.D. program at Temple University Beasley’s School of Law Library. She previously held positions at the Georgetown University Law Center and Northern Illinois University’s College of Law.

Editors Lemmer (director, Lake Forest Lib., IL) and Wale (Temple Univ. Beasley Sch. of Law Lib.) offer a primer on digital rights management (DRM) that moves from the basics and technical aspects to legal scenarios and hands-on situations where DRM comes into play. The authors include an introduction to DRM and related technologies, going on to explain how libraries can use DRM to manage open-access materials (with a guide that details various open-access models), and how workflows and organizational structure can help manage the practicalities of DRM. The last chapter comes down firmly and emphatically against using DRM in academic libraries and offers suggestions on how libraries can work toward building DRM-free digital collections. This book shines in its later chapters, which offers novices a framework on what to look for and best practices in digital collections contracting, a comprehensive overview of digital rights and information privacy and their importance to libraries, and a brief yet thorough explanation of what librarians need to know about DRM and copyright law.VERDICT: A useful volume for all librarians in need of a crash course on the subject.

Catherine A. Lemmer is library director of Lake Forest Library, Lake Forest, Illinois. Prior to this she was a law librarian and assistant director of information services at Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law and a research instructor in both the J.D. program and the LL.M. program in American law for foreign lawyers.Carla P. Wale is the head of public services and a research instructor in the J.D. program at Temple University Beasley’s School of Law Library. She previously held positions at the Georgetown University Law Center and Northern Illinois University’s College of Law.

Editors Lemmer (director, Lake Forest Lib., IL) and Wale (Temple Univ. Beasley Sch. of Law Lib.) offer a primer on digital rights management (DRM) that moves from the basics and technical aspects to legal scenarios and hands-on situations where DRM comes into play. The authors include an introduction to DRM and related technologies, going on to explain how libraries can use DRM to manage open-access materials (with a guide that details various open-access models), and how workflows and organizational structure can help manage the practicalities of DRM. The last chapter comes down firmly and emphatically against using DRM in academic libraries and offers suggestions on how libraries can work toward building DRM-free digital collections. This book shines in its later chapters, which offers novices a framework on what to look for and best practices in digital collections contracting, a comprehensive overview of digital rights and information privacy and their importance to libraries, and a brief yet thorough explanation of what librarians need to know about DRM and copyright law.VERDICT: A useful volume for all librarians in need of a crash course on the subject.

Catherine A. Lemmer is library director of Lake Forest Library, Lake Forest, Illinois. Prior to this she was a law librarian and assistant director of information services at Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law and a research instructor in both the J.D. program and the LL.M. program in American law for foreign lawyers.Carla P. Wale is the head of public services and a research instructor in the J.D. program at Temple University Beasley’s School of Law Library. She previously held positions at the Georgetown University Law Center and Northern Illinois University’s College of Law.

Editors Lemmer (director, Lake Forest Lib., IL) and Wale (Temple Univ. Beasley Sch. of Law Lib.) offer a primer on digital rights management (DRM) that moves from the basics and technical aspects to legal scenarios and hands-on situations where DRM comes into play. The authors include an introduction to DRM and related technologies, going on to explain how libraries can use DRM to manage open-access materials (with a guide that details various open-access models), and how workflows and organizational structure can help manage the practicalities of DRM. The last chapter comes down firmly and emphatically against using DRM in academic libraries and offers suggestions on how libraries can work toward building DRM-free digital collections. This book shines in its later chapters, which offers novices a framework on what to look for and best practices in digital collections contracting, a comprehensive overview of digital rights and information privacy and their importance to libraries, and a brief yet thorough explanation of what librarians need to know about DRM and copyright law.VERDICT: A useful volume for all librarians in need of a crash course on the subject.