Law Libraries

Law librarians say technology has them more in demand

The December 10 Memphis Business Journal has a long article about how the migration of law resources online has increased demand for law librarians and changed their jobs. "Becky Bowman, law librarian for Baker, Donelson, Caldwell & Berkowitz, says she is busier now than five years ago because she must juggle buying books, researching print and electronic resources, and training all the attorneys and paralegals in the new forms of research." [Memphis Business Journal]

In Google We Trust?

Anonymous Patron writes "American Bar Association Journal reports For more and more lawyers, Google has become an irresistible and indispensable ultimate answer-finder.
Yet even those who are admittedly a little gaga over Google say that search engines ought to be used with caution, especially when it comes to relying on search results as evidence."

It Skills Pushing Up Law Librarians' Pay

Anonymous Patron writes "Scotsman.com News - Latest News - It Skills Pushing Up Law Librarians' Pay The recent growth in information technology has helped push salaries for law librarians at major firms up by nearly a third, according to a new survey.

Some of them can even command salaries of £100,000 a year – with a 30% annual bonus on top.

The expansion of knowledge management systems and techniques has also moved law librarians towards the top in their firms, as their research and associated skills have grown in importance in an increasingly competitive legal world, according to the survey, by leading law publishing firm Sweet and Maxwell."

Law Book Shortage in Australian Library

An Anonymous Patron writes: "From The Australian: The Australian Universities Quality Agency, in the report of its May audit, says The University of New England's law library is unable to support its law course and has not had an increase in funding in eight years."

Courthouse Library to Close April 1

An article in the Scranton Times Tribune reports that the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Pennsylvania is closing its law library, located in the basement, to provide more room for the sheriff's offices. New cells have been built, and the prisoner-handling operation will be moved down there once the work is complete.

In the meantime, the county bar association has been supporting the library out of its own pocket for the past nine months. The bar association is now suing the county over its refusal to continue paying for library materials, arguing that the county is required to do so by law.

Florida's County Law Libraries Threatened by Funding Change

bentley writes "A recent change in the way Florida funds its state court system puts the continued operations of county law libraries in question, according to a letter to the editor of Hernando Today. "At the present time, the law libraries are funded by filing fees, paid by anyone filing a civil lawsuit in the state courts. That's how it should be - those who use the libraries are paying for it. But effective July 1, 2004, counties will be prohibited from charging these nominal fees; and each county will be forced to either maintain the law library from county funds or shut it down entirely.""

FL Public library that opens doors to law could close

Neat Article On the Rupert J. Smith Law Library which is free to the public, provides an up-to-date stock of Florida and federal laws. It also offers computer access to legal databases such as Lexis and Loislaw.

A full-time librarian is available to assist people searching through the library's 45,000 books. A conference room provides a venue for private discussions between attorneys and clients.

Although usage is on the rise, according to its operators and board of trustee members, the library founded in 1957 is in jeopardy of shutting down next year.

The costs and benefits of meeting law firms' information needs

Law.com takes a look at in Library Economics 101, by Joan L. Axelroth.
She says In these days of limited resources, it is not enough to present management with the costs of running the library, assuming that they will support the operation because it has value. Rather, library managers must be prepared to explain what is involved in running a library system that meets the firm's information needs. Managers must also be prepared to show how the library's resources, products, and services enhance the firm's bottom line.

Syndicate content