When comes the wind that billows our words' sails?

Outreach for Music Librarians
Edited by Scott Stone

I read this book for work purposes. It was very informative and provided a lot of ideas that I hope to use and adapt for my library. All the chapters were well-written. I even enjoyed reading the sections on outreach activities that are not relevant for my workplace, like Sara Manus' excellent chapter on programming for pre-college students and their families.

Ideas, Strategies, and Scenarios in Music Information Literacy
edited by Kathleen A. Abromeit

This short volumes brings together eight diverse and interesting chapters, each by a different author, on music information literacy instruction, plus an annotated bibliography for further reading. The chapters are grouped into three broad themes: instructional theories and techniques, instructional modes, and building relationships and collaborations.
I found this book both incredibly useful and very readable. I especially liked that even in the instructional theories section, each of the chapters focused on specific things the author had implemented at their institution and in their instruction sessions. While theory and background are certainly helpful, it's always the practical advice and illustrations that I most crave, and this book delivered.

Managing Student Assistants: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians
by Kimberly Burke Sweetman

Sweetman's book is pretty much what it says on the cover. It's a very easy, straightforward read. I liked the inclusion of real-world examples and explanation, although there are a few out-dated pieces of advice as the book was published in 2006. Sweetman heavily concentrates on the pre-hire steps: including determining the need for student staff, defining student positions, and setting up a hiring procedure. Thus, the book was less useful for those of us who stepped into institutions where the student staff is well-established.

Library Acquisition of Music
by R. Michael Fling

This is not a book one reads for fun; it is a book you read because you need to. And since my new job includes collection development and acquisition, I definitely needed to read it. Fling writes in a very plain and straightforward fashion, so while it does feel a bit dull at points, everything is clear, which makes it easy to absorb and retain the information. Fling certainly delivers on the information, too. While some of the information for specific vendors is surely out of date, Library Acquisition of Music is pretty invaluable if that is what you will be doing professionally.