Dawes, Trevor A. and Michael J. Krasulski, eds. Twenty-First-Century Access Services: On the Front Line of Academic Librarianship, Second Edition. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2023.

Dawes, provides an outline of the main components, themes, and issues regarding access services (AS) in academic libraries.While the introduction confirms that the book does not hold to a single, constant definition of an access services department, it does acknowledge the diverse services that fall under this term-namely, circulation, reserves, interlibrary loan, stacks maintenance, and related functions-rather than sticking to the traditional circulation model.It also addresses the relevant questions in today's AS departments, such as expanding services (often under limited resources), overlapping services or departments, and an increasing need for academic libraries to evaluate their services to keep up with their community's needs.Composed of chapters written by professionals in the field, the book serves as a detailed introduction for new library staff and as exposure to further possibilities for established access services departments.The editors have divided the content of the book into four parts: "Facilitating Access," "Leading Access Services," "Assessing Access Services," and "Developing Access Services Professionals."In "Facilitating Access," the chapters cover the core functions of AS (circulation, stacks managements, resource sharing, building management, and emerging technologies) and how they work in the typical academic library.These chapters include definitions, best practices, and how these functions and branches fit into the bigger picture of a library.For instance, the first chapter defines patron data management, a core element of AS that, to some, may seem so fundamentally basic to a library that it is not even necessary to include in a book.However, the authors go beyond just listing the different patron types; they consider policymaking in relation to the same, considering nuanced situations such as creating and justifying policies for secondary patron types: community borrowers, members of consortia, and so on.The discussion also includes potential developments and innovations for the functions of AS listed above, depending on a library's size, patron demographics, and budget.For example, the chapter on stacks management describes options for optimising storage such as compact and movable shelving, remote storage, and automated storage and retrieval systems.