Thank you, Al, for your excellent points. Outsourcing should be a cause
for concern among law librarians, but we don't need to overreact. The
outsourcing services are not the enemy. They may sometimes be
competition for in-house librarians, but we can use that as an incentive
to sharpen our own research and marketing skills; consider how
competition has improved the major online legal services. And
outsourcers can even be our allies. Most of us know of situations where a
law firm started with part-time library services of some kind, and liked
the service so much it eventually got its own library staff. If we have
an "enemy", I would be more inclined to nominate short-sighted
administrators and consultants who won't give us a chance to educate
them. There will always be some of those types we can't reach (one of
Murphy's Laws: you can't outthink someone who isn't thinking). But
nothing is to be served by turning on each other.
To survive in the current economic and technological environment, we must
remember our customers' perspective. In a way, it's not libraries or
outsourcing services that they need; these are only means to an end. Our
users need INFORMATION. As a private law firm librarian, my task is to
show my attorneys, paralegals, or whoever that I am the best resource they
can have to get whatever information they need. And I in turn will make
use of all the resources at my disposal, including the various kinds of
support from the wonderful staff and leadership of AALL, and the timely
issues from Alert Publications/Donna Heroy. Let's use this discussion to
strengthen our positions and our profession.
Barbara Duval, Librarian
Smith Helms Mulliss & Moore, LLP
Charlotte, NC
bduval@vnet.net
On Fri, 7 Jul 1995, Alvin Podboy wrote:
> I have just reread Donna Heroy's article "Outsourcing Library Services:
> Death Knell for the Profession or an Idea Whose Time Has Come?". I must
> admit I liked the article the first time I read it and still do. I don't
> like the title (I usually don't like headlines) but I do like the
> content. The article is, in fact, a "news piece, not an opinion piece".
> I agree with Roger Parent that the Association is "trying to provide a
> vehicle for members to communicate with each other on this matter",
> obviously they have succeeded. Since not all law librarians are on
> law-lib, the Newsletter serves as another vehicle to disseminate
> information. Outsourcing is an alternative method of providing library
> service. Should we ignore it? Should we bury our heads in the sand?
> Will it just go away? Did the Association (by printing an article)
> endorse outsourcing? I do not believe so. While Mark Estes' reply was
> legalistic (he is after all a law librarian) it was true. Will the ABA
> Journal report on the Justice Dept's criticism of the law school
> accrediting process (see the NY Times 6/28/95 pg. 1)? I expect so! Will
> that report endorse the Justice Dept's position, or simply report it. I
> found Heroy's article very inforative. She gave us interviews with
> players we had not previously heard from. The article educated,
> stimulated and encouraged coversation. The last few issues of the AALL
> Newslettewr have been worth the price of membership. I prefer discussion
> of issues over city tour guides. Ms. Heroy could have published her
> article in her own journal or (my guess) any number of publications. By
> choosing the Newsletter she demonstrated that she is still a librarian at
> heart. The choice is not between outsourcing and the death of
> librarianship. The choice will be a mixture of traditional
> librarianship, outsourcing and a combination of the above. I submit that
> this is also not only a private law firm concern. As the artice
> demonstrates government libraries have long been outsourced. If the
> Justice Dept. attacks accrediting standards on one level can other
> issues be far behind? Will academic libraries be outsourced? Who
> knows? Is outsourcing the end of librarianship? Reread the article, it
> is full of opportunities. Librarians can own outsourcing firms. We can
> be multi-firm librarians. we can serve other constituents that
> previously could not afford us. I urge you to attend at AALL
> "Outsourcing: Boon or Bane for Law Libraries?" Tuesday, 7/18/95-2:45pm
> and the "Hot Topic" Wednesday, 7/19/95-1:15pm (concerning law library
> outsourcing). Also please send any comments re. outsourcing to Patricia
> Patterson, Chair; Task Force on the Value of Law Librarians in the
> Information Age (another unfortunate title). I still mourn what happened
> to the librarians at B&M, however, I also feel sorry for the attorneys
> that must function without their librarians. Time will judge McBreen's
> and the Chicago office of B&M's actions. Until then I refiuse to bury my
> head in the sand. Peace! Al Podboy, Baker&Hostetler, Cleveland, Ohio.
> (216-861-7101)
>
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