A New View of Law Librarianship

Note: This is the first in what is hoped will be a series of columns about the experiences of those new to the academic law librarianship profession--ed.

It’s hard to write the first installment of a new column, especially if the topic is something you’ve never really written about before, and you’re not sure how much your readers care about what you have to say anyway. Nonetheless, here it is – my first effort at discussing my experience as a “newer” law librarian for the ALL-SIS Newsletter.

“Newer” is a relative term. As I am already in my late 30s, and because I came to law librarianship after almost ten years in the software industry and three years of law school, it feels odd to call anything related to my career “new.” Furthermore, I just started my third year as an academic law librarian. I have already put in a lot of hours at the reference desk, and answered plenty of legal reference (and other) questions. However, those first few months, when I sat at the reference desk and argued with myself about whether or not I REALLY want someone to ask me a question, are still quite fresh in my mind. So I guess I’m new enough, for the purpose of this column at least.

One way in which I’m definitely on the “new” end of the law librarianship continuum relates to my first-time attendance of the AALL conference in Washington D.C., in July. Each day of the conference, as I pulled my name badge (to which those glaring “CONELL” and “FIRST TIME ATTENDEE” ribbons were attached) over my head, I prepared myself for another overwhelming day, with a lot of unfamiliar faces and new information. If you saw me there, and thought I looked shell-shocked, I was.

Mind you, everyone was friendly enough, and I learned a lot. I returned to Malibu energized - ready to write research guides, test out all the latest Westlaw, Lexis, and Hein Online features, and put into action all of my conference-inspired ideas. I have done some of that since I've been back at work. But I have also had a lot of day-to-day work to do to get ready for the first day of classes, which seems to fall earlier every year.

For me, the conference itself started with CONELL on Saturday morning. The CONELL chairperson, Beth Adelman, had assembled an excellent group of speakers to discuss how to maximize one’s AALL membership generally and one’s conference experience in particular. There was also a small discussion group session (mine was led by David Mao, who graciously answered my questions about working at the Congressional Research Service after the AALL-related questions had dried up), and the CONELL marketplace, where many AALL special interest groups had booths set up. I was touched to see how many people had done a lot of work, starting their conference a day early, to welcome and educate us “newbies.” This went neither unnoticed nor unappreciated by all of us beneficiaries.

CONELL 2009

In my view, an especially inspired choice for the final speaker of the CONELL event was Cornell Winston, a law librarian at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Impeccably dressed, with a booming voice and boundless enthusiasm, he encouraged all of us to get to know new people every day and not to just stick with our colleagues from our home libraries. I felt a twinge of guilt when he said this, because my conference roommate and travel buddy was one of my close colleagues, our public services librarian Jessica Drewitz. She and I planned to, and did, spend a lot of time together during the conference. But by sticking together we also, in a way, branched out. I went to a marketing program with her, and she went to the International Tax Research program with me. Since Cornell had also recommended that we attend programs outside our areas of interest, well, at least we managed that.

He also suggested that we do some sightseeing and enjoy the city. Although I did not get a chance to find Thurgood Marshall’s grave and get my picture taken in front of it (Cornell displayed his own graveside photo during his CONELL PowerPoint presentation), I meant to. But we went to the White House and the Supreme Court, and as we were standing in front of the Washington Monument one evening, President Obama’s motorcade passed by. These all seemed like decidedly “D.C.” experiences.

We also sweltered in the humidity of D.C. in July, as we are both more accustomed to Southern California’s dry heat. I personally wondered how so many people who work in the D.C. metro area could stand wearing a suit to work every day. I vowed to dress better when I got back to Pepperdine. With our year-round perfect weather in Malibu, I really have no excuse not to.

There were many conference highlights for me, such as getting a private tutorial on Cheryl Nyborg’s Subject Compilations of State Laws from none other than Ms. Nyberg herself at the Hein Online booth. She was exceedingly kind and gracious, and talked to me like I was a real librarian. I also was very impressed by Christopher Dykes’ 30-minute program on International Tax Law Research. The man is, in my view, a genius - he talked about taxes in a clear and understandable way, while being both entertaining and informative.

One of the most exciting events was the West party on Monday evening at the Renaissance Hotel. The AALL conference veterans we work with at Pepperdine had given us a general idea what to expect at this soiree, but of course we had no idea how enthusiastically law librarians could GET DOWN on the dance floor. Encouraged in this activity by an excellent and high-energy band (and, let’s be honest, an open bar), that party ended way too early for our liking. We were impressed by West’s generosity in hosting the occasion (although I personally was disappointed to not have won the $1000 AmEx gift card that West gave away), and in the unbridled enthusiasm for dancing displayed by so many of our fellow law librarians.

So there it is - highlights of my first AALL conference experience. I may return to this topic in future installments of this column. However, my main focus will be issues I face in my work as an academic law librarian that are directly attributable to my “limited experience” status. In my next column, I am planning to specifically discuss what I call THE NAME DILEMMA, or (1) what do you call faculty members at your law school, and (2) how did the manner in which you address them evolve? Having earned my JD from Pepperdine and taken classes from many of the professors I now support, this is a particularly interesting and troublesome issue to me. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic! Feel free to contact me at jennifer.allison@pepperdine.edu.