AALL Spectrum
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December 2006
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December 2006
Recruitment to Law Librarianship Committee News
On October 5, Recruitment to Law Librarianship Committee (RLLC) member Sara Paul participated in a Webinar sponsored by the International Paralegal Management Association. The Webinar, “Legal Management: An Overview of Career Enhancement Opportunities,” was organized as part of International Professional Legal Management Week. The goal of the program was to introduce various career opportunities to those in the legal profession.
Paul joined six panelists, each with a different expertise in the legal field. Professional Legal Management Week is observed annually during the first full week in October, and this is the second year that AALL has been asked to represent the profession of law librarianship.
Later in the year, the RLLC will ask AALL chapters what activities they might be doing to promote law librarianship. These can be events in the community, at a local library or law school, or anything else of interest you would like to share.
We hope that the materials on the RLLC Web page can help with local recruitment efforts at the chapter level, too. In addition, if your chapter has materials you think might be useful to add to our Web site, please let us know.
Submitted by Ann C. Green.
September/October 2006
Revised Charge for the Recruitment to Law Librarianship Committee
With a revised charge, the Recruitment to Law Librarianship Committee (RLLC) looks forward to another productive year focusing on its activities as a clearinghouse of law librarianship education and career information for prospective law librarians. On average, the RLLC has received and responded to one to three queries a week from the contact form on the RLLC Web site.
The committee will continue to publish new recruitment-related materials on its Web site. Feel free to share any of the materials on the Web site with your colleagues, friends, lawyers, and others interested in learning more about joining the profession of law librarianship. Prospective law librarians are also invited to contact RLLC Chair Ann Clifford Green at agreen@sonnenschein.com to arrange to speak personally to a local law librarian.
Submitted by Ann C. Green.
June 2006
Recruitment Committee Offers Recruitment Tips
Recruitment Committee members Susan Lewis-Somers, Jennifer Meger, Phebe Poydras, and Maureen Well, have developed a series of recruitment tips for law librarians. The tips offer practical steps librarians in law schools; law firms; and court, county, and other government libraries can take to recruit promising acquaintances and colleagues to law librarianship as a career. The tips will be sent to several law library online discussion lists and will be published in the November 2006 issue of AALL Spectrum.
The Recruitment Committee is also working with incoming President Sally Holterhoff to revise its committee charge to better reflect its role as a clearinghouse for education and recruitment information and resources.
Chair Lewis-Somers has responded to frequent inquiries from people interested in pursuing a career in law librarianship. She has sent information about graduate education in law librarianship and career opportunities in different law library settings, and she has arranged contacts with other law librarians in specific types of law libraries.
Finally, the Recruitment Committee will meet at the Annual Meeting in St. Louis on Monday, July 10, from 10:15-11:30 a.m.
Submitted by Susan Lewis-Somers
May 2006
News from the Graduate Education for Law Librarianship Special Committee
Do you know a potential law librarian looking for information on library schools with courses in law librarianship? The Graduate Education for Law Librarianship Special Committee has updated the Depth of Law Librarianship Offerings from ALA-accredited Graduate Programs Web page on AALLNET. The page provides information on library schools offering joint MLS/JD degrees and/or specific courses in law librarianship.
Users can locate library school programs geographically or by depth of offerings. Information on each library school is provided, including a link to the school's Web site. A new feature includes a reference to library schools that offer law librarianship courses online. Check it out at www.aallnet.org/committee/tfedu/list_1.html.
Submitted by Gretchen E. Van Dam
December 2005
Recruitment to Law Librarianship Committee Member Participates in Webinar
AALL is one of six organizations that cosponsored Professional Legal Management Week, October 3–7, 2005. As part of that week, the International Paralegal Management Association (IPMA) hosted a Webinar (Web seminar) for paralegals and legal assistants to learn more about careers in law librarianship and other legal management fields. Ann Clifford Green, librarian at Sonnenschein Nath Rosenthal LLP, represented AALL and the Recruitment to Law Librarianship Committee at the Webinar.
Green, a former president of Law Librarians Society of Washington, D.C., Inc., was asked to speak about her own career experience, what it takes to succeed in the profession, the future of law librarianship, and how AALL has enhanced her career. Using the Webinar technology, she displayed a Power Point slide presentation remotely over the Internet while speaking on the telephone on a shared conference call with the other participants and presenters. A Zoomerang survey will be used to allow participants to query Green and the other panelists about their chosen careers.
The fact that law librarians were included on the panel was a terrific opportunity for our profession and for AALL. Other participants represented the following groups: IPMA, National Association of Legal Administrators, Association for Legal Career Professionals, International Legal Technology Association, and the Legal Marketing Association. Participants were directed to AALLNET's education and careers resources, which include excellent FAQs about law librarianship, and to the AALL Recruitment Committee Web site.
Submitted by Ann Clifford Green
July 2005
Committee on Recruitment to Law Librarianship Holds Roundtable in San Antonio
How can we ensure the continued vitality of law librarianship? As AALL closes its first century, where will we find the next generation of law librarians? Please join us for a discussion of these and other questions at the Recruitment Roundtable on Tuesday, July 19, at noon. Check your Annual Meeting Final Program for location.
Submitted by Ken Hirsh
December 2004
Recruitment Committee Plans
Our committee's full name is the Recruitment to Law Librarianship Committee, and, as the name implies, our objective is to encourage individuals to take up law librarianship as a profession. To that end, we are undertaking several tasks in this program year, including reaching out to library and information studies schools, our fellow professional associations, and other groups.
We will work with other AALL committees, including the Membership and Retention Committee and the Graduate Education for Law Librarianship Committee, with the goal of integrating the services the Association provides into the career lifetime of law librarians. Our work will culminate with a roundtable on recruitment at next year's Annual Meeting in San Antonio.
Fellow committee member Jim Milles has identified an excellent Web article on recruitment from the Virginia Association of Law Libraries, which can be found at http://law.richmond.edu/VALL/recruitment.htm.
I invite your suggestions on ways to attract talented future and current professionals to the field of law librarianship. Please contact me by e-mail at ken@law.duke.edu or by phone at 919/613-7155.
Submitted by Kenneth J. Hirsh
March 2004
The Recruitment Committee held a conference call in December 2003 and proposed providing free Annual Meeting registration for library school students. Bernstein, chair, will contact the chairs the Placement and Mentoring Committees to propose writing a joint letter to the requesting consideration of this issue. While costs vary for travel and lodging, registration is constant, and the committee feels this lead to an increase in attendance by students at the Annual Meeting.
Chris Vallandingham of the University of Florida will take over for Bonnie Shucha as the committee's Webmaster. The revision of the page last year led to numerous inquiries from prospective law librarians interested in pursuing a career in the profession. Kumar Percy is looking into the idea of a roundtable discussion on recruitment for the Annual Meeting, and Robert Marshall is looking at library school programs on legal research.
The committee represents all areas AALL and encourages everyone to play part by setting up brown-bag career talks your law school, firm, institution, or library school in your area. Offer to speak to library students about law librarianship or to teach a course.
Submitted by Mark P. Bernstein
May 2002
Recruitment: It's a Global Thing
The Recruitment Committee has attracted librarians internationally. Committee Chair Joyce Pearson recently received an inquiry from a nonlaw librarian (not an AALL member) who might be interested in becoming one. This librarian, who learned about AALL through the Internet, is mainly interested in taking courses in law librarianship. The problem? She will be unable to take classes in the United States while residing in India. Pearson provided her with information on distance learning through courses at Emporia State University's School of Library Information Management. The committee is excited to have her involved in AALL in whatever capacity she desires. Through membership in AALL, she would be able to take advantage of the many professional development activities AALL has to offer.
The Recruitment Committee has sent brochures along with issues of AALL Spectrum magazines and AALL information sheets on law librarianship to Emporia State for distribution in its library school. Chris Vallandingham, electronic information reference librarian at the University of Florida, will also distribute marketing materials to library schools in Florida. Another effort is canvassing high schools to attract potential members at a much younger age.
What can AALL members do? All librarians working in law schools should place information in their career services offices. At the University of Kansas School of Law, information is readily visible and available in the career services office. Law librarianship must be viewed as a first-tier career choice; it should not be considered as an alternative career, a choice "outside" of practice, or a skill or activity restricted to lawyers only. The handouts on law librarianship at the University of Kansas are in the same location as information on other areas of the law. This conceptual mindset can make a difference to students and attorneys using a career services office.
Those in the private sector can also help create greater awareness and interest in the field of law librarianship. Many high school and college students look for part-time jobs or internships. What better place than a law firm to work and gain practical business experience? Be creative and take a chance. It can only help you as well as our profession.
Submitted by Gayle Lynn-Nelson
July 2000
The year 2000 was the inaugural year for the $50 million Gates Millennium Scholars Program, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and administered by the United Negro College Fund. One of the eligible programs of graduate study towards which these awards are targeted is library science. Although it is too late to participate in this year's awards, press releases around the time of the nomination deadline indicated that there were fewer applicants than funds available.
So, next year, think about those you know who may qualify for consideration for these generous awards and make a nomination. You can visit the Web site today and request a mailed copy of the 2001 nominators' package in November. Why not get on the mailing list and resolve to identify a deserving student or colleague who would like to get the MLS? This is a great opportunity to make a dream come true for a future colleague and work towards a more diverse profession, but scholars must be nominated, so the success of this program depends on us!
Individuals were eligible this year to be nominated as Gates Scholars if they:
- are African-American, American Indian/Alaska native, Asian Pacific American, or Hispanic citizens/permanent residents of the United States;
- have attained a cumulative GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale;
- have been accepted into or are enrolled in a graduate degree program in mathematics, science, engineering, education or library science;
- have significant financial needs as defined by the federal needs analysis formula; and,
- have demonstrated leadership ability through participation in community service, extracurricular activities, or other activities.
Gates Scholars will receive funds for the cost of tuition, fees, books, and living expenses for the academic year based on financial need. Eligible Scholars may receive support during their entire course of academic study.
All in all, this is exciting news for the library profession. Joining the American Library Association's Spectrum Initiative to fund minority scholarships, the Gates Scholars program will open the doors to librarianship for those who may have been unable to dream of a career in librarianship due to financial obstacles. However, those of us who are already in the profession must take the time to submit nominations. Bookmark the Web site (www.gmsp.org), get on the mailing list, and put on your thinking cap. It's about time to recruit some colleagues to law librarianship via the Gates Scholars Program!
Submitted by Donna Bausch
March 2000
Who are the next leaders of the law library profession? Your first thought is probably that they are among our ranks and working their way through the challenges of their jobs and the Association. We should, however, also think about library school students who may or may not be contemplating law librarianship as a career.
The aim of the AALL Recruitment Committee is to enlist a new generation of librarians. One very important place to start is library school. Library schools are booming with business these days. Information professionals with electronic expertise have suddenly become a preferred species. Library school faculty confirm that recruiting is heavy from the business and corporate world.
So what can we do to recruit and persuade future librarians that the legal community is a fulfilling place to work?
First, we should volunteer our services to library schools. Give thought to becoming an adjunct professor if you are near a library school. Volunteer to be a guest speaker in courses on law librarianship, legal research, government documents and online technologies. Share your expertise in legal research by teaching skills in content or searching legal databases such as Westlaw. Remember that a skilled and trained library school student is more valuable as a new employee when she or he enters the job market.
A second avenue for recruitment lies in working with local student organizations. If you belong to an AALL Chapter near a library school, why not hold a joint meeting with an organization interested in special libraries or technology? Members of your Chapter can provide speakers, advisors and mentors. Let the library school community know the wide range of activities that your Chapter offers.
A third and very effective way to recruit is to sponsor library school students as interns at your workplace. Many library schools have fieldwork, internships, and practicums where they place students for varying lengths of time. Students earn credits and gain valuable pre-employment experience. You, as a law librarian, are able to personally educate the future legal information professional in practical job skills and the challenge of law librarianship. Students in our library schools are eager to hear what the real world can offer them. Take the time to offer your experience, education, and expertise to the next generation of law librarian leaders.
Submitted by Anne V. Ellis
February 2000
This is yet another call for us law librarians to do all we can to perpetuate our noble profession, keeping it viable and relevant in this rapidly evolving age of information technology. Frankly, I have met very few people who begin to understand what we do as law librarians. Stereotypes die hard (if at all) and even as we enter a new millennium, the average citizen's perception of the role of a law librarian still falls way short of what we actually do.
I would like to think that we all look for day-to-day opportunities to dispel myths and educate people we meet as to what this profession is all about. Opportunities for a shameless promotion of law librarianship abound every day in almost every facet of life. I observed with great interest the recent discussion on law-lib as to how to introduce and explain the work of a law librarian to the very young.
Many of the responses were ingenious. I couldn't have thought them up myself. This is an indication that to be successful, recruitment should not only start from the top with the college-bound, or even the adult seeking out a second career but right at the bottom with the kindergartener who (hopefully) has not had the opportunity to form stereotypes. Children should understand what we really do and be able to role-play a law librarian with pride, just as they do a firefighter, doctor, or astronaut.
Recruitment efforts often conjure images of a wide-scale, full-fledged national campaign to win people over to the profession. While such efforts are necessary and very important because of the high visibility achieved, just as important and effective are efforts on the individual grassroots level--just where you and I are. Let's take the time to promote our work as relevant and important to the people we meet every day.
Submitted by Femi Cadmus
November 1999
Wednesday afternoon, about 1:30 PM. I'm buried in paperwork when my newest reference associate comes to my office and says there's someone looking for information on core legal collections for law libraries, do I have any ideas that might help? Thinking that I'm really quite busy right now, I quickly pull our latest copy of Melanie Putnam's Core Legal Collection for Ohio from the bookshelf behind my desk and hand it to him.
Then it occurs to me that maybe I should handle this one myself. The paperwork can wait. So I head on out to the reference desk, and soon discover that our patron is a former colleague of mine in library school who has just graduated, and she's interested in a law librarian job that has just come open downtown. So we talk a while; I give her a tour of our library, demonstrate Lexis and Westlaw for her in our computer lab, and print her a copy of Mary Whisner's article on choosing a career in law librarianship. (If you haven't read it yet, you should. It's really good.) Finally I send her on her way with lots of information, my business card, and an open invitation to call me anytime. It was time well spent, and a perfect opportunity I had almost lost.
The Recruitment Committee has a new website at http://www.globaltown.com/aall-rc/. We want the new website to be a place where AALL members can share their insights on bringing people into our profession. If you have stories and ideas of your own to share, we'd like to hear from you.
Submitted by Rick Goheen
October 1999
Proactive law librarians can be persuasive and downright influential at attracting new members to the profession. In our daily endeavors we often encounter prospective law librarian candidates. The question is whether our radar systems and antennae are open to discerning when a prospective law librarian candidate is ripe to an appeal to join the profession.
We certainly know that our knowledge of information and subject area expertise are attractive in and of themselves. In our law libraries and information centers, we are valued because of the bottom line. We continue to bring to the business of lawyering a service that cannot be provided more efficiently, as cost-effectively, or as quickly elsewhere.
When we choose to recruit quality candidates, it is a blood transfusion of sorts for the entire profession. This mission, should you choose to accept it, can be initiated using the "each one recruit one" motto. Here are recruitment tips for reaching out to law schools and library schools.
Tips
- Outreach to Library Schools--Reconnect with your alma mater. Contact the placement officer at your school and offer a paid or unpaid internship for a deserving student. Post a message to your favorite library school listserv or write an article for the library school newsletter disclosing the rewards found in working as a law librarian. Organize your local AALL Chapter to host a career day program at the library school nearest to you.
- Outreach to Law Schools--Host a legal career alternative program in connection with the placement office in your law school. Recruit those patrons who are lawyers running from the law. Grab the attention of the law school's library student workers and explain to them that law librarianship is a profession where one can combine practicing with teaching and research.
Submitted by Valerie A. Railey
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