[Prodev] Prodev Making (or Keeping) Your Library Relevant

[Margaret A. Schilt]

At the risk of sounding less than trendy, I would have to say that our most 
relevant service today is the provision of excellent reference services, 
both at the desk and through email.  Legal materials continue to be 
challenging to students, and because of the need to learn both online and 
print formats in the same amount of time devoted to research instruction, 
students end up with more confusion than they experienced when I went to 
law school.  They are not used to print resources and find the multiplicity 
of online resources overwhelming.  Consequently, they come to us with 
questions ranging from the elementary (what does "Stat." stand for?) to the 
complex (how do I find out what building regulations apply to a public 
housing project and where are they online?).  We put a great deal of time, 
effort and content into our web pages, and find frequently that students 
need guidance through them as well, although they are sometimes loth to 
admit it. There are few satisfactory substitutes for the attention of a 
live professional.

Margaret A. Schilt

At 11:01 AM 12/3/02 -0500, you wrote:
>Good morning!
>
>Hope that our technical problems are behind us today!  If you have
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>BENCHMARKS
>Yesterday we began with a look at benchmarks of relevance in
>today's law library.  Carol Bannen of a Milwaukee law firm library
>reported that she benchmarks on her library's successes by
>keeping STATISTICS including numbers of billable hours, numbers
>of requests, numbers of classes taught, and hits on intranet and
>internet library resources.
>
>Roseanne Shea of a Stamford CT law firm library reported that
>relevant services that kept attorneys coming back to her library
>were making access to information easy and faster than otherwise
>available.
>
>A report from Kim Deniker of the Mercer County Law Library in
>Pennsylvania indicated that COMMUNICATION was a critical part
>of being relevant in her library.  She communicated information
>about new products and services and she actively asked for
>feedback about these products and services.  Kim mentioned that
>her users were so diverse in the local bar that she found it
>necessary to offer a range of both print and electronic products to
>meet the range of user demands.
>
>Today, I'd like to hear from more of you about the following:
>
>1)  What is/are your most relevant service(s) and product today(s)?
>2)  Is it different from the most relevant service and product 2 years
>ago?  5 years ago?
>
>More than 300 people are signed up on this list.  Please don't be
>shy.  Take the time to write a short response.  I'd like to hear from
>librarians in all types of libraries.relevant services and products.  It
>will be interesting to compare the results.
>
>
>
>
>Rosalie M. Sanderson
>New York Law School
>57 Worth Street, LB 11
>New York, NY 10013
>
>V: 212-431-2897
>F: 212-963-8839
>mailto:rsanderson@nyls.edu
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Margaret A. Schilt
Faculty Services Librarian
D'Angelo Law Library
The University of Chicago