Laura, Scott and all,
I would like to point out that not all the correspondents on law-lib work for large County Law Libraries or University libraries where all the research tools are at your fingertips and searches are all FREE. Many are solo librarians, working in small law firms and do not have the budget or easy access to First Search or OCLC. Their bosses frequently will not pay for searches on the commercial sites and therefore for many of these people, Law-lib is often, if not the first line of attack, then pretty close to it.
Please don't discourage folks from using Law-lib in this capacity. For many ILL is Law-lib's most useful facet.
I do agree with you that a quick summary of resources already tried would be helpful as would a final email stating the source the material was found. (a kind of old fashioned "please and thank you")
Claire Campbell
Library Manager
Patton Boggs LLP
Dallas, Texas
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu]On Behalf Of Laura Orr
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 4:39 PM
To: law lib
Subject: RE: Friday musings: Law-lib as Blog
Scott:
It used to drive me crazy too and I'd think, why don't they try locally? Didn't they learn this in library school? Don't they have a local law librarian to phone?
But then I remember what I knew (rather didn't know) when I was a new librarian and the craziness washes away. I had absolutely marvelous law librarian colleagues, with the patience of saints, who stayed with me through that whole traumatic new librarian learning curve and to this day I thank them (University of Maryland law school library staff back when I started in the late 80's - thank you!). Also, some of these law-lib posters are all alone and I can't imagine how difficult that must be for someone new to the profession. They have only us until they find or build a local network, learn about the process of librarianship, and legal bibliography.
Besides, think how many of our lawyer patrons and publisher reps don't know what CFR is :-)
Laura
Laura Orr
Law Librarian
Washington County Law Library
111 NE Lincoln Street
Hillsboro, OR 97124
Phone: 503-846-8870
Fax: 503-846-3515
Email: laura_orr@co.washington.or.us
If you ask me anything I don't know, I'm not going to answer ... attributed to Yogi Berra
-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Burgh [mailto:sgburgh@ameritech.net]
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 10:20 AM
To: Laura Orr; law lib
Subject: Re: Friday musings: Law-lib as Blog
Nice posting. I too have thoughts on the use of law-lib.
But speaking of law-lib as an ILL tool sure hits me. Using the list serve as a primary source of of interlibrary loan activity belies a basic lack of librarianship.
Whenever I see some of these requests for basic ILL on the list serv, I think, haven't these people ever heard of First Search or OCLC. Many of the list serv ILL requesters do not even indicate what they have already tried. Is this not taught in the library schools anymore or are these untrained library workers? One can search and see who owns the item pretty quickly. Using the listserv as an interlibrary loan substitute or a line of first attack is not something I would do or allow a staff member to do.
Scott Burgh
Chief Law Librarian
City of Chicago Department of Law Library
Laura Orr <Laura_Orr@co.washington.or.us> wrote:
Isn't Law-lib our very own communal blog - one without all the usual blog
pressures? We can write things like this and we have done so for years (is
law-lib 15 years old yet? Anyone ready to party :-), without having to set
up a blog, figure out how to post or worry about things like this
(http://bojack.org/index.shtml, 10/13 posting), and without the pressures of
having to keep it alive and kicking with enough oomph each day to keep the
readers coming back while still trying to do our jobs. (This from someone
who has just set up her first blog and wants to keep it in the closet for a
while until I figure out how to do it and my job without giving up my
sanity.)
Law-lib did used to be more fun, more edgy, but it hasn't lost its touch
totally. It's an ILL tool, but it is much more (see my Law-lib posting of
10/21/04). We're not AALL and have no affiliation to it, so have no
obligation to follow the usual rules about "staying on subject." We can
make our own rules of participation and etiquette, but still keep hold of a
personality - a real one and not a corporate or stodgy professional
association one. AALL is awfully dull sometimes, don't you think?
Law librarians are so much more than Needs and Offers conduits. We're funny,
silly even, passionate about our work, aggravated to distraction,
misunderstood, outspoken, and committed to sharing information with our
patrons. I'm the first one to say AALL and its counterparts in every
profession should keep to their missions and stay away from taking stands on
issues unrelated to that mission. But here on Law-lib, we're relatively
free. (And anyone who wants an ILL-only listserve is welcome to find a host
and set one up. Most of us will join.) Listserve technology may be low
tech, but it's very easy to manage. Too many Law-lib emails? Switch to
Digest. Voila, problem solved. Or use the archives
(http://lawlibrary.ucdavis.edu/LAWLIB/lawlib.html). They're not always up
to date, but if you just want to see what's going on, or has gone on, with
law librarians, it can't be beat. This sort-of low tech technology (I grew
up in the punch card and then the DOS world) can hold its own with the new.
Anyway, forgive the somewhat disjointed meanderings through law-lib and law
librarianship. I do believe that both might just be equally important to
me.
Laura
P.S. Overheard by a librarian at SLA in Toronto (I heard it 3rd hand so
don't quote me): Hotel worker: "I love these librarians. They drink like
fish but don't trash the rooms." (Presumably we tip well too :-)
Laura Orr
Law Librarian
Washington County Law Library
111 NE Lincoln Street
Hillsboro, OR 97124
Phone: 503-846-8870
Fax: 503-846-3515
Email: laura_orr@co.washington.or.us
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