Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T13:45:49.622Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Frontiers of Legal Information: The U.S. Law Librarians of the Future*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2019

Abstract

It is necessary to guess a new probable future for law libraries and librarians. A future that is based on history, yet accounts for new contemporary backgrounds and data. A future that not only considers the widespread accessibility to the Internet and the incredible development of search algorithms for legal information retrieval on user-friendly platforms, but one that also considers the tremendous increase in the amount of digitized materials available to the average patron. Here, I will take an opportunity to look at the past and present and offer what I foresee as the future for U.S. law libraries and librarians.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by the International Association of Law Libraries. 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 I will focus mainly on reference and research law librarians because I am a reference librarian.Google Scholar

2 “Formal sources” include information sources regularly and systematically used within a system by the information seekers.Google Scholar

3 This article focuses on reference law librarians working in academic law libraries.Google Scholar

4 In 2014, the University of Chicago Law Library started using the title “User Services” instead of “Public Service.”Google Scholar

5 Elizabeth G. Adelman, The Three Percent: Common Issues in Nonautonomous Law School Libraries, in Academic Law Library Perspectives: Cases Studies and Insights 53 (Michelle M. Wu ed., 2015).Google Scholar

6 In the United States, most academic law library directors are given “faculty” or “library faculty” status and many law librarian positions are protected in terms of salary and status within the legal organization.Google Scholar

7 Recent movements toward following U.S. law school system, such as the Republic of Korea (“South Korea”), instigated the establishment of separate law libraries within a law school.Google Scholar

8 See Karen Sloan, Practice Ready? Law Students and Practitioners Disagree, Nat'L L. J. (Mar. 6, 2015), available at http://goo.gl/b8jJmn (last visited June 2, 2015).Google Scholar

9 Steven A. Lastres, Rebooting Legal Research in a Digital Age (Dec. 2012), available at http://www.llrx.com/files/rebootinglegalresearch.pdf (last visited June 1,2015).Google Scholar

10 BARBRI, State of the Legal Field Survey (2015), available at http://www.thebarbrigroup.com/files/white-papers/220173_bar_research-summary_1502_v09.pdf (last visited June 1, 2015).Google Scholar

11 “Secondary sources” are sources other than primary sources of law (primary resources include statutes, cases, rules, regulations, and international law).Google Scholar

12 On the other hand, researchers should also consider spending a good amount of time to find such a well-written book or an article.Google Scholar

13 The American Association of Law Libraries (“AALL”) was established in 1906 and represents more than 5,000 members, including law librarians.Google Scholar

14 AALL, Careers in Law Librarians hip, available at http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Careers/lawlibrarycareers/Careers-in-Law-Librarianship-Brochure.pdf (last visited June 1, 2015).Google Scholar

16 See Christine A. Brock, Law Libraries and Librarians: A Revisionist History; or More than You Ever Wanted to Know, 67 Law Libr. J. 325 (1974).Google Scholar

19 See AALL, UELMA Resources, available at http://www.aallnet.org/Documents/Government-Relations/UELMA (last visited June 2, 2015).Google Scholar

20 AALL, Advocacy, available at http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Advocacy (last visited June 2, 2015).Google Scholar

21 See Boulder Conferences on Legal Research Education, available at https://lawlibrary.colorado.edu/boulder-conferences-legal-research-education (last visited June 2, 2015).Google Scholar

22 See Richard A. Danner et al., The Durham Statement Two Years Later, 103 Law Libr. J. 39 (2011).Google Scholar

23 As of 2014, a law librarian's average salary is $45,000. Directors might earn more than $100,000 in some cases. Id.Google Scholar

24 See e.g. LEEP Online Learning provided by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Distance Learning at the Florida State University.Google Scholar

25 Louis Abramovitz, Thinking about Pursuing an MLS, 51 L. Libr. Lights 1, 1516 (Fall 2007), available at http://www.llsdc.org/assets/LLL/51/51-1.pdf (last visited June 2, 2014).Google Scholar

26 Id. at 16.Google Scholar

27 AALL, Careers in Law Librarianship, supra note 14.Google Scholar

28 See Law Librarianship, U.S. News and World Report, Rankings, for complete list of library schools available in the U.S. available at http://goo.gl/rVfb2Q (last visited June 2, 2014).Google Scholar

29 The University of Washington started its Master of Law Librarianship program in 1939 and Marian Gallagher famously oversaw over this program from 1944 to 1984. See Laura N. Gasaway, The American Association of Law Libraries: The People, the Profession and Their Association, in Law Librarianship: Historical Perspectives 289, 297 (Laura N. Gasaway and Michael G. Chiorazzi eds. 1996). See also Law Librarianship, University of Washington Law Librarianship, available at https://ischool.uw.edu/academics/mlis/degree-options/law-librarianship (last visited June 2, 2014)Google Scholar

30 Here, I define “lawyers” as graduates from law schools, whereas I define “attorneys” as active members of a bar.Google Scholar

31 Brock, supra note 16 at 353 (Quoting Gallagher, “Comments on Dean Asheim's Proposed Program of Preparation for Law Librarianship” in CALL, Proceedings: Workshop on Law Library Problems, 49 (1953)).Google Scholar

32 In the mid and late 20th century, the focus of the discussion was whether law librarians needed a library degree. Id. at 356.Google Scholar

33 See 2010 Boulder Statement on Legal Research Education: Signature Pedagogy Statement, available at http://lawlibrary.colorado.edu/sites/default/files/images/docs/2010_boulder_statement_signature_pedagogy.pdf (last visited June 2, 2015).Google Scholar

34 The annual conference had been a training ground for law librarians. See generally Laura N. Gasaway, The American Association of Law Libraries: The People, the Profession and Their Association, in Law Librarianship: Historical Perspectives 289, 298 (Laura N. Gasaway and Michael G. Chiorazzi eds. 1996).Google Scholar

35 Claire M. Germain, Legal Information Management in a Global and Digital Age: Revolution and Tradition, 35 Int'l J. Legal Info. 134, 161 (2007).Google Scholar

36 Attending four to five days of the annual conference usually costs around $1,000 to $2,000 depending on flights and hotels.Google Scholar

37 AALL, Competencies of Law Librarianship (Mar. 2001), http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Leadership-Govemance/policies/PublicPolicies/competencies.html (last visited June 2, 2015).Google Scholar

41 See AALL, Education Program Review Special Committee, http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Leadership-Governance/committee/activecmtes/education-review.html (last visited June 2, 2015).Google Scholar

42 To name a few, NYU School of Law, New York Law School, CUNY School of Law, Florida State University College of Law, University of Miami School of Law, and Rutgers School of Law provide their law librarians with faculty status along with various titles such as assistant professor, adjunct professor, lecturer, etc.Google Scholar

43 See Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools, Standard 603(d) (Am. Bar Ass'n 2013-2014), available at http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/standards.html (last visited June 2, 2015).Google Scholar

44 Carol A. Parker, The Need for Faculty Status and Uniform Tenure Requirements for Law Librarians, 103 Law Llbr. J. 7, 11 (2011).Google Scholar

45 Id. at 12.Google Scholar

46 See Association of College & Research Libraries, A Guideline for the Appointment, Promotion and Tenure of Academic Librarians II.A. (approved at ALA Annual Conference, June 2010), http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/promotiontenure (last visited April 1, 2015).Google Scholar

48 Parker, supra note 44 at 13.Google Scholar

49 AALL: FCIL-SIS, 2015 Syllabi and Course Materials Database, http://www.aallnet.org/sections/fcil/teaching/syllabi (last visited June 2, 2015).Google Scholar

50 See e.g. Carol A. Parker, How Law Schools Benefit When Librarians Publish, Teach, and Hold Faculty Status, 30.3 Legal Ref. Serv. Q. 237–53 (2011).Google Scholar

51 See AALL, Awards, http://www.aallnet.org/about/awards.asp (last visited April 11, 2015).Google Scholar

52 See e.g. Brock, supra note 16; Law Librarianship: A handbook for the Electronic Age (Patrick E. Kehoe et al. eds., 1995); Hugh Yarrington, The Law in Cyberspace: A Futuristic View, in The national Conference on Legal Information Issues: Selected Essays 75 (Timothy L. Coggins ed., 1996); Judith Welch Wegner, Legal Education in the Future, in The National Conference on Legal Information Issues: Selected Essays 249 (Timothy L. Coggins ed., 1996); Holley M. Moyer, Connecting for the Future, in The National Conference on Legal Information Issues: Selected Essays 265 (Timothy L. Coggins ed., 1996); Myoung C. Wilson, Evolution or Entropy? The Changing Reference Culture and the Future of Reference Librarians, in Digital Reference service in the New Millennium 47–55 (R. David Lankes et al. eds., 2000).Google Scholar

53 See Brock, supra note 16.Google Scholar

54 Holley M. Moyer, Connecting for the Future, in The National Conference on Legal Information Issues: Selected Essays 265, 267 (Timothy L. Coggins ed., 1996)Google Scholar

55 Id. at 268.Google Scholar

57 Myoung C. Wilson, Evolution or Entropy? The Changing Reference Culture and the Future of Reference Librarians, in Digital Reference Service in the new Millennium 55 (R. David Lankes et al. eds., 2000).Google Scholar

58 See James G. Milles, Legal Education in Crisis, and Why Law Libraries Are Doomed, 106 Law Lib. J. 507, 508 (2014).Google Scholar

59 To increase their rankings in the U.S. News & World Reports, law schools are focusing more on jobs and successes rather than research and scholarship. See also Alfred L. Brophy, Ranking Law Schools, 2015: Student Aptitude, Employment Outcome, and Law Review Citations, 7–8, http://ssrn.com/abstract=2624399.Google Scholar

60 “The role of skilled librarians, as intermediaries in guiding user in complex information environments has become weak due to some reasons such as using the databases out of libraries … and personalization of information seeking process as a result of information technology development.” Mohammad Azami and Rahmattolah Fattahi, Matching the Databases’ User Interface with Ellis’ Model of Information Seeking Behavior: A Qualitative Study 287–88, in New Trends in Qualitative and Quantitative methods in Libraries (Anthi Katsirikou eds. 2010).Google Scholar

61 Milles, supra note 58.Google Scholar

62 In 2011, the conference, “The Future of Law Libraries: The Future is Now?” was also held on June 16, 2011 at the Harvard Berman Center, but this conference was more about what law libraries should do in an optimistic context.Google Scholar

63 Milles, supra note 58 at 507–10.Google Scholar

64 Id. at 508.Google Scholar

65 Id. at 509.Google Scholar

66 Kimberly Dustman & Phil Handwerk, LSAC, Analysis of Law School Applicants by Age Group: ABA Applicants 2005–2009 2 (Oct. 2010), available at http://goo.gl/odikUX (last visited June 5, 2015).Google Scholar

67 LSAC, Three-Year Applicant Volume Graphs, http://www.lsac.org/lsacresources/data/three-year-volume (last visited June 5, 2015).Google Scholar

68 Brock, supra note 12 at 346; John G. Palfrey, Do We Still Need Libraries? (Dec. 30, 2012), http://jpalfrey.andover.edu/2012/12/30/do-we-still-need-libraries/ (last visited May 29, 2015) (“These days, in most towns in America, the same debate recurs each year when budget time rolls around.”); See John G. Palfrey, Come Now, Let Us Reason Together: A Clean Slate Project on the Future of Libraries, LlBR. J. (May 23, 2011), available at http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2011/05/digital-content/a-point-counterpoint-on-the-digital-public-library-of-america/ (last visited May 29, 2015).Google Scholar

69 See e.g. Spencer L. Simons, Financial Basics, in Academic Law Library Perspectives: Cases Studies and Insights 23–24 (Michelle M. Wu ed., 2015).Google Scholar

70 See Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools, Standard 606 (Am. Bar Ass'n 2013–2014), available at http://goo.gl/fXxC79 (last visited June 2, 2015).Google Scholar

71 Milles, supra note 58 at 512.Google Scholar

72 Bar exams are considered extensions of school exams.Google Scholar

73 Milles, supra note 58 at 515.Google Scholar

74 See e.g. American Association of School Librarians, American Library Association, Parent Advocate Toolkit, http://www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/tools/toolkits/parent-advocate (last visited June 2, 2015); Pennsylvania School Librarians Association, Tools for Parents, http://www.psla.org/advocacy/parents/tools-for-parents (last visited June 2, 2015); SchoollibraryPALS: Parents Advocating Libraries in Schools, http://schoollibrarypals.wikispaces.com/ (last visited June 2, 2015).Google Scholar

75 Milles, supra note 58 at 516–17.Google Scholar

76 Milles, supra note 58 at 516 (quoting Brian Leiter, Measuring the Academic Distinction of Law Faculties, 29 J. Legal Stud. 451 (2000)).Google Scholar

77 Milles, supra note 58 at 517.Google Scholar

78 Paul Campos, The Crisis of the American Law School, 46 U. Mich. J. Legal Reform 177, 194–95 (2012) (quoting Herbert Stein, Herb Stein's Unfamiliar Quotations, Slate (May 16, 1997)).Google Scholar

79 Richard A. Leiter, Law Librarians’ Roles in Modern Law Libraries in Academic Law Library Perspectives: Cases Studies and Insights 387 (Michelle M. Wu ed., 2015).Google Scholar

80 See Moore's Law, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law (last visited July 15, 2015).Google Scholar

81 Oliver R. Goodenough, Stages of Technological Innovation in Law: A Conceptual Frame, Presentation at the National Summit on Innovation in Legal Services, (May 2015), available at http://perma.cc/JS5E-J7LV (last visited July 15, 2015).Google Scholar

82 See Hannah Furness, Libraries Could Outlast the Internet, Head of British Library Says: Stop Asking Whether Libraries Will Still Exist in the Digital Age, Roly Keating Says, The Telegraph, (May 25, 2015), http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/11627276/Libraries-could-outlast-the-internet-head-of-British-Library-says.html (last visited May 28, 2015).Google Scholar

83 Moyer, supra note 54 at 266.Google Scholar

84 Brock, supra note 16 at 343; Albert J. Harno, Legal Education in the United States 129 (1953) (Langdell suggested that “printed books were the ultimate sources of all legal knowledge and the content of these printed books was to be made up of selected cases—thus, students were confined in their study of the law to the reading of adjudicated cases.”).Google Scholar

85 John G. Palfrey, Come Now, Let Us Reason Together: A Clean Slate Project on the Future of Libraries, LlBR. J. (May 23, 2011), available at http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2011/05/digital-content/a-point-counterpoint-on-the-digital-public-library-of-america/ (last visited May 29, 2015).Google Scholar

86 Brock, supra note 16 at 344.Google Scholar

87 The Task Force on Law Schools and the Profession: Narrowing the Gap, American Bar Association, Legal Education and Professional Development – An Educational Continuum (July 1992) [hereinafter “MacCrate Report”].Google Scholar

88 William M. Sullivan, et al., Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law (2007) [hereinafter “Carnegie Report”].Google Scholar

89 Milles, supra note 58 at 519.Google Scholar

90 See Jootaek Lee, Gatekeepers of Legal Information: Evaluating and Integrating Free Internet Legal Resources into the Classroom, 17 Barry L. Rev. 221 (Spring 2012), reprinted in Access to Legal Information & Research in Digital Age 165–91, (National Law University Delhi Press: New Delhi, India, 2012).Google Scholar

91 See Moyer, supra note 54 at 269.Google Scholar

92 Milles, supra note 58 at 518 (quoting Brian Z. Tamanaha, Failing Law Schools 173 (2012)).Google Scholar

93 John G. Palfrey, Cornerstones of Law Libraries for an Era of Digital-Plus, 102 L. Libr. J. 171, 172 (2010).Google Scholar

94 Palfrey, supra note 85.Google Scholar

95 Kenneth J. Hirsh, Like Mark Twain: The Death of Academic Law Libraries Is an Exaggeration, 106 Law Lib. J. 521, 527 (2014).Google Scholar

96 Paul D. Callister, Law and Heidegger's Question Concerning Technology: A Prolegomenon to Future Law Librarianship, 99 LAW LlB.J. 285, 304–05 (2007).Google Scholar

97 See Armin Falk and James J. Heckman, Lab Experiments Are a Major Source of Knowledge in the Social Sciences, 326 Science 535–38 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

98 ABA: Task Force on the Future of Legal Education, Comments, http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/taskforceonthefuturelegaleducation/comments2.html (last visited May 28, 2015).Google Scholar

99 Milles, supra note 58 at 518.Google Scholar

100 Leiter, supra note 79.Google Scholar

101 See Palfrey, supra note 93 at 189; Fumess, supra note 82.Google Scholar

102 Moyer, supra note 54 at 272.Google Scholar

103 Hirsh, supra note 95 at 527.Google Scholar

104 Ronald Wheeler, Is This the Law Library or An Episode of the Jetsons, 20 J. Legal Writing Inst, (forthcoming 2015).Google Scholar

105 Citing The Jestons (Hanna Barbera television broadcast 1962 – 1988).Google Scholar

106 Wheeler, supra note 104.Google Scholar

107 John G. Palfrey, Do We Still Need Libraries? John G. Palfrey (Dec. 30, 2012), http://jpalfrey.andover.edu/2012/12/30/do-we-still-need-libraries/ (last visited May 29, 2015).Google Scholar

108 Palfrey, supra note 93 at 189.Google Scholar

109 Hirsh, supra note 95 at 528.Google Scholar

111 Wilson, supra note 57.Google Scholar

113 Moyer, supra note 54 at 271.Google Scholar

114 See Moyer, supra note 54 at 272.Google Scholar