A Library Student’s First Law Library Experience by Kate Stockert

As the Metro bus expeditiously transported me downtown for the first day of my directed fieldwork at King County Law Library (KCLL), I found myself both giddy and nervous, wondering whether my skills and education would be sufficient for the role. Fortunately, from the first moment I stepped into the library, the KCLL staff welcomed me, sharing their breadth of knowledge, support, and patience. Each staff member took time to explain to me the intricacies of the library and his or her respective role within it. Looking back I realize how invaluable my time at KCLL will prove when I next step out into the job market.

Early Spring Quarter, resume in hand, I met with my advisor Penny Hazelton to discuss the process for setting up a directed fieldwork. Since Penny is a prominent member of the law library community, she was able to put me in contact with libraries interested in hosting me for the summer. Once we found a host library and I had registered for the course, Lorraine Bruce provided the necessary paperwork and instructions.

The first step of the directed fieldwork program required KCLL and me to agree upon five learning objectives as a means of anchoring my experience to achievable goals. The KCLL staff tailored the five objectives to my future career aspirations of working as an instructional and reference librarian, providing me with opportunities to co-teach legal research classes, and a chance to jump on board the technological superhighway by engaging in new Web 2.0 technologies. Each objective offered a good balance of autonomy and guidance, allowing me to spend time on my own to complete projects, and ask for help when needed.

Though learning reference requires several months of intense training and endless practice, KCLL found a way to help me get my feet wet by allowing me to respond to questions generated by members of the public via the library’s electronic QuestionPoint system. After I formulated responses, the KCLL staff reviewed my work and offered suggestions for improvement. These asynchronous email correspondences allowed me room to learn legal reference, since the responses were not needed immediately.

KCLL also provided me with the opportunity to contribute to the Library’s high-tech projects such as podcasting (KCLL’s SideBar) and composing a “Tech Tip” for the quarterly e-News. I particularly enjoyed writing the Tech Tip since it increases the information literacy levels of patrons, and is a great marketing tool for the library. Both the podcast and e-News helped me appreciate the law library’s need to market services and resources to patrons, and explore the multiple avenues available to libraries to “get the word out.” KCLL’s ingenuity with modern technologies helped me see the future of law libraries and the need for creativity and global thinking.

Overall, I found this experience inspiring and motivating, and it equipped me with new tools to use in class this coming school year. Thanks KCLL for a wonderful summer!

Cherish the Law We Have...

For the longest time, I thought Kool and the Gang were singing "Cherish the law we have...we should cherish the law we have..." I thought they were very rule-adoring musicians. Turns out, they were talking about LOVE not law. Oh well.

Anyway, speaking of law, check out first-year MLIS student Kate Stockert's report on the law librarianship panel that she planned....

MW

Law Librarianship Panel

Kate Stockert

On April 13^th five representatives from the Law Librarians of Puget Sound (LLOPS) visited the UW for a panel that drew students from the iSchool and the law school . These law librarians elicited such enthusiasm that iSchool distance students requested a recording of the session (check for details on accessing this recording on the iSchool listservs).

The panel participants provided a breadth of experience and a wealth of knowledge, describing the skills and expertise necessary for work in a law library. They told stories about judges sending electronic information requests from the bench and the librarian rushing documents into the court house in a furtive manner. They emphasized the complex needs of legal professionals and generally offered great insight into the law library.

The LLOPS panel members mentioned the variety of roles in law librarianship and the myriad of organizational environments in which the librarian can apply his or her information skills. It was interesting to hear about the sophistication of reference service requests and how the complexity of questions has increased with the advent of the Internet. Participants explained how the law library has worked to adapt to this change by offering a high-end level of service.

The law librarians’ demonstrated their resourcefulness by sharing new services offered by the law library such as keeping track of the law firm’s clients and litigation cases and informing the managing attorneys, to providing US Courts judges with a valuable daily newsletter to keep them apprised of developments in the courts throughout the US and World. Law firm librarians spoke about the firm library’s patrons, which includes attorneys and a plethora of practice areas of law, and the departments of public relations, business development, and human relations, providing a window into the law library’s dynamic environment and variety of information requests.

Students left the panel satisfied in knowing about a new and exciting career path, empowered with ideas as to what the profession entails and how they can pursue work in the law library.

A big thank you to Nancy Noble, Rita Kaiser, Tim Sheehy, Robyn Hagle, and Mary Hotchkiss for sharing your knowledge, experiences, and enthusiasm for the field of law librarianship.