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Legal librarianship is constantly in a state of flux, with continual changes in job titles, habitual shifting of responsibilities and the explosion of legal artificial intelligence all playing a part. In January of this year, LAC Group surveyed their internal personnel about the future of law librarianship, based in part by the responses collected from the 2018 American Association of Law Librarians conference. The resulting blog post, Legal librarianship in 2019-2020, showcased three major takeaways:…
Continue Reading More thoughts on law firm research and librarianship

I recently had the pleasure of presenting a webinar on maintaining a work-life balance. Having worked for some very large law firms and corporations in a managerial capacity, I know all too well the struggle of having a life while also holding down a job about which you are passionate. If there is one thing I know from experience, it is that opportunities for continued learning are critical to that balance. Part of creating a rewarding work-life balance requires that we carve out time for education.
Continue Reading Carving Out Time for Education

I was recently honored to have been featured in the newsletter of the Southern California Association of Law Libraries (SCALL).  I have been thinking quite a bit lately about the overall future of our profession and the fear that seems to have gripped many within it.  Times are changing, no doubt.  But be that as it may, I am as optimistic about law librarianship today as I was on the day I landed my first firm gig.  Yes, there are some really big challenges ahead.  But they are opportunity-laden.  The highest hurdle is simply seeing the possibilities.  …
Continue Reading The “box” is dead . . .

Your business may not need a library, but it needs a librarian! For everything from risk management to productivity enhancement, librarians pay for themselves, and then some. Worried about putting a librarian on staff?  How about a virtual librarian, at your service? It’s flexible, affordable, and pays for itself in many different ways. …
Continue Reading Librarians are a Necessity

Re-imagining the civic role of libraries in our technological age is an intriguing subject to me. So, when an article sidebar espouses the innovative ways public libraries have reinvented themselves in order to play a central civic role in their various towns and cities, my ears perk up and my eyes open. I just wanted…

AALL reports this morning the name change proposal failed. A little more than 4 out of every 5 votes received were against the name change. AALL will continue to be the American Association of Law Libraries rather than the proposed Association for Legal Information.

Nearly 60% of the membership voted on the proposal, which AALL…

Though I have been accused of having “grizzly bear” hair by a certain toddler who shares a house with me, I have not been hibernating for the winter. I would not hold it against you if you thought that was the case, though–it has been a couple of months since I’ve posted a blog. But …

If you are a member of the American Association of Law Libraries and have not been living under that proverbial rock as of late, you are probably more than well aware that the organization is eagerly awaiting the results of the vote on a proposed name change. As the deadline to cast ballots nears, I want to encourage everyone who is a member to have your opinion counted. It takes just minutes and the result will impact not just the Association, but the whole of our industry for years to come.  While I feel it imperative to tell you to vote, what I do not want to do is tell you how you should do so. This is for several reasons.…
Continue Reading AALL Name Change – Enough with the Roses!

Unfortunately, good researching alone does not make a law firm library. Though the importance of the library may seem obvious to us librarians, we still must value continually marketing ourselves in the law firm setting. Fortunately, if we recognize them as such, our common day-to-day responsibilities offer ample opportunities to market ourselves. In Part 2…