[1097] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
RE: Casual Instructions
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Clifford Urr)
Mon Aug 31 12:20:15 1992
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 11:08:37 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
From: Clifford Urr <cliffu@well.sf.ca.us>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Reading this post on "casual instructions" reminded me to recommend a
superb, wonderful new book that we just received, entitled:
"Follow the Yellow Brick Road: Learning to Give, Take, and Use
Instructions," (ISBN 0-553-07425-3).
It's written by Richard Saul Wurman, the fellow who authored "Information
Anxiety." (John Sculley, of Apple, provides the book's introduction.) This
new book is truly an inspiration between covers - it has lots of
illustrations, sidebars, jokes, serious talk, quotes from the famous (e.g.,
"Knowledge is the small part of ignorance that we arrange and classify," -
Ambrose Bierce), a bibliography, etc.
Of special interest: chapter 11 of this book examines the problems in giving
instructions in properly using machines and technology, and chapter 12 is
devoted to writing instruction manuals, which will be very helpful to
librarians who are involved in writing instructions for users of various
library services and/or online databases. But almost all librarians will
find this title very useful and practical, whether managers, bibliographic
instruction librarians, reference librarians, and anybody involved with any
kind of library-related training.
- Cliff Urr
Director of Library and Information Services
James Martin & Co., Reston, VA
703-715-4127
cliffu@well.uucp.bitnet
