Providing Non-Traditional Library Services in a Law Firm: An Interview with Steve Matthews -
Getting to know Steve Matthews, the founder of Stem Legal. I was especially interested in Steve’s take on the potential interplay between the law library and the IT department…
Law librarians need to be involved in [IT] projects much much earlier. That means:
- being a bit of a visionary, and seeing what the firm is not doing;
- maintaining dialogue and ongoing discussion – especially during planning season;
- bringing information to the table that helps IT make better decisions;
- watching for ways to support IT’s projects, building some “good will”; and finally,
- moving some of that good will towards IT-Library joint projects.
…and the marketing department:
Most law libraries have BI & CI on the radar these days (or at least they should), but librarians can also have a role in marketing. Think about:
- resource collections with a marketing draw beyond law;
- getting the newest decisions to the blogging lawyers in your firm;
- rounding up industry news, and helping your firm publish content as a service.
I just handed in my Information Policy, Regulation & Law paper…which means I have finished all of the requirements in satisfaction of the Master of Information (Library and Information Science, Collaborative Program in Rare Books and Print Culture) degree.
YAY!
What Should We Call Me?
We had an amazing panel of law librarians come to speak to INF 2133 on Monday; so informative! One thing they mentioned is the trouble finding the right title: are we librarians, consultants, information specialists?
The business cards I’ve received from practitioners are split fairly evenly between law librarians and information specialists. Curious, I decided to see what the breakdown looked like in terms of printed references; here’s the result.
(via Google Ngram Viewer)
(via Social Media in the Legal Sector)
“Make sure you know how much time you can spend on something, and how much Westlaw or Lexis money you can burn…you’re going to be the one who gets yelled at when the client balks at the $30,000 research bill you ran up on a fairly minor point of law. If you’re not sure how much time something should take, ask. If you don’t know how much time you can spend on Westlaw or Lexis, ask. Even, “Hey, do you have a ballpark idea of how long this should take?” can save you from a very unpleasant situation down the road. (Oh, and make sure you know how to research cost-effectively. When in doubt, ask.)” — 10 Things Your Law Firm Boss Wants You To Know, but Isn’t Going to Tell You | The Girl’s Guide to Law School