Lisa Smith-Butler
Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect Candidate

Biography

Law Library Employment

• Associate Dean & Director & Associate Professor of Law, 2009 - Present
  Charleston School of Law, Sol Blatt Jr. Law Library, Charleston SC
• Assistant Dean & Director, Law Library & Technology Center & Associate Professor of Law, 2004 - 2009
  Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center, Law Library & Technology Center, Ft. Lauderdale FL
• Associate Director, Law Library & Technology Center, 1998 - 2003
  Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center
• Head of Public Services, 1995 - 1998
  Georgia State University, College of Law Library, Atlanta GA
• Reference/Operations Librarian, 1993 - 1998
  Powell, Goldstein, Frazier & Murphy, Atlanta GA

Selected Publications

• Books
• Law Librarianship in the 21st Century (Scarecrow Press 2007) (co-edited).
• Chapters in Books
• Administration, in Law Librarianship in the 21st Century (Scarecrow Press 2007).
• Articles
• Workplace Privacy:  We’ll Be Watching You, 35 Ohio N. L.Rev. 53 (2009).
• Cost Effective Legal Research Redux:  How to Avoid Becoming the Accidental Tourist, Lost In Cyberspace, 6 Fla. Coastal L.Rev. 101 (2008).
• Practicing Law Librarianship:  Podcasting, Vodcasting, and Law Libraries:  How to Understand the Newest “IT” Technology and Use It In Your Library, AALL Spectrum, June 2006 (co-authored).

Selected Presentations

• Marketing Your Library:  Exploring New Technologies to Create Evolving Newsletters that Energize Your Patrons (AALL, Portland, Ore., July 2008).
• Future of Academic Law Libraries (SEAALL/LLSDC, Alexandria, Va., Mar. 2008).
• Workplace Privacy:  We’ll Be Watching You (Stetson University Junior Faculty Forum, Gulfport, Fla., Nov. 2007).
• Blogs:  Technology Ethics and Trends (AALL, St. Louis, Mo., July 2006).
• Laptops in the Classroom (CALI, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., June 2006).

Professional Organizations

• American Association of Law Libraries, 1992 -
• Public Relations, 2009 -
• Publications Committee 2001 - 2003
• Special Committee, Principles of Licensing Agreements 2002 - 2004
• CONE (Council of Newsletter Editors) Co-Chair, 2007 - 2008
• Atlanta Association of Law Libraries, 1993 - 1998
• Co-Chair of the Newsletter Committee, 1995 - 1997
• South Florida Association of Law Libraries, 1998 -  2009
• Newsletter Editor, 1999 - 2001
• Vice President/President Elect 2001 - 2002
• President 2002 - 2003
• Past President 2003 - 2004
• Chair, Scholarship Committee, 2004 - Present
• Southeastern American Association of Law Libraries, 1995-
• Newsletter Committee, 1996 - 1997; 2000 - 2002; Editor 2006 - 2008
• Local Arrangements Committee, 2002
• Secretary, COSELL, 2004 - 2006

State Bar of Georgia, Admitted 1987 (Inactive)
Nebraska State Bar Association, Admitted 1984 (Inactive)

Personal Statement

I am often asked whether I think there is a future for law librarians and law libraries. After all, I am told, “everything is now online.”

Many things are online which makes my job different. It often takes minutes now to accomplish what once took hours or even days. New technology has automated many library tasks, freeing me to pursue more service and people oriented activities. Because I am in the information business, my days are full as I help faculty, students, and staff navigate their way through the information thicket. An image below, pulled from Google, captures the 21st Century library patron’s dilemma.

As a 21st Century information professional and librarian, I help acquire, process, and organize information resources in various formats. I then assist patrons with retrieving this information in a cost effective and efficient manner. To alert patrons about our law library, I market the services we provide. We provide many services to many different patrons. So I answer, “Yes.  I think there is a future for law libraries.” It is important to me to share and discuss this viewpoint with my colleagues.