Framework for Strategic Directions

Introduction:

The profession of law librarianship is changing. As access to information grows, the organizations served by law libraries evolve and technology changes the delivery of information. These changes provide both challenges and opportunities for librarians. While the number of issues that need to be addressed seems endless, a strategic framework needs to focus on what is most important over the next three to five years. This plan addresses these issues through leadership, advocacy, and education. It introduces the three concepts and attaches them to the ideas presented in the opening.

Leadership:

Law librarians see a need to reinvent themselves in response to their changing environment, the proliferation of information, and the rapid changes in technology. This provides an opportunity to position the librarian and the library to a more central place in the parent organization. Stronger leadership skills are needed to make that happen. Developing these skills can be accomplished through the enhancement of existing AALL leadership training, the creation of new leadership training opportunities, and the development of resources (e.g., toolkits).

The average age of law librarians is approximately 50 years old. New librarians must be attracted to the profession through education and recruitment programs developed in cooperation with both library and law schools. Law librarians also need opportunities to learn from each other through mentorship and partnering programs. Within AALL, leadership training and opportunities are needed to prepare the next generation of law librarians to continue the goals and ideals of the Association.

Perceptions and stereotypes continue to hamper the profession. While librarians often depend on the written word to change those perceptions, actions are stronger. Participation by AALL members in organizations outside of the library community and in joint projects with other library associations (e.g., advocacy work) educates nonlibrarians to the value and expertise of law librarians.

Education:

Libraries, the information librarians manage, and the technologies they use continue to change at a rapid pace. Education programs are needed to ensure that librarians are able to stay ahead of those changes. While AALL has been successful in delivering education through its Annual Meeting, additional education opportunities are needed, and AALL cannot do it alone.

As the Association develops its new education component, AALL needs to closely examine content, delivery of the programs (format), and partnerships with other organizations. The manner in which education programs are delivered will not remain a constant but will change as needs and technology evolve.

To train the next generation of law librarians, more law librarian-focused and legal bibliography classes must be incorporated into library school curriculums. To attract new librarians to the profession and to ensure that all librarians receive the continuing education they need, an increased number of grants and scholarships must be available.

Advocacy:

Political and commercial policies affect law libraries and librarians in almost every facet of operation. While some law libraries deal with thorny questions in the realms of technology, copyright, and intellectual freedom, others are concerned with costs of materials, funding, and the continuation of their very existence. The issues law librarians face are no longer limited to local and national topics; they have moved into the international arena. When information policy inhibiting access to and use of information is adopted at the international level, it is often too late for AALL or its members to take effective action.

AALL must increase its role, in all political arenas, as the unified voice of law librarians in order to help influence and shape policies that will promote continued access to and use of information. This will require more resources and a commitment from AALL members.