Patricia Patterson wrote:
>
> Peterson & Ross, an approximately 90 attorney firm, has decided to operate
> its law library on an entirely contractual basis and has laid off its entire
> staff. The staff consisted of one, possibly two, librarians, and two
> clerical staff. The librarian was not a member of CALL or AALL.
>
> The perception of this event is worse than the reality. The perception is
> that another firm has decided, with good reason, that a library staff is not
> necessary when attorneys can use online and CD-ROM for their legal research.
> The reality is that the firm has lost 55 attorneys in the past year, has
> outsourced both mail and photocopy in the past two months, and has cut
> secretaries, docket and file room personnel. The firm seems to be grasping
> at straws.
>
> The librarian has been asked to stay for a couple of weeks to train the
> outsourcing company in law library activities. As I understand it, the
> company to take over this library has been in business approximately two
> months and may have neither staff nor experience to carry this off.
>
> I will try to keep you all informed as things proceed.
>
> More importantly, I was meeting with the managing partner and the executive
> director of my own firm recently as they made the decision that attorneys
> should not be given WWW at their desks. Their reasoning was that attorneys
> will waste their time trying to accomplish what one of our librarians can do
> in a very short time. Our librarians are perceived as information
> specialists and I assume yours are also. Of course, we must continue to
> provide outstanding service in every aspect of access to information to
> continue to hold their trust.
>
> I think that knowledgeable attorneys know and appreciate the work of
> knowledgeable, service-oriented law librarians. Have a great weekend.
> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX>
> Patricia Patterson | SCHIFF HARDIN & WAITE
> Director | 7200 Sears Tower
> Legal Information Services | Chicago, IL 60606
> ppatters@interaccess.com | 312-258-4701
>
> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Dear Patricia,
Your story certainly underscores a point I made in an article I
wrote which appeared in the April, 1996 issue of Searcher (title:
"Obedience to the Unenforceable: The Ethics of Outsourcing"); namely,
that it is usually firms in trouble who outsource.
You are fortunate that you work for people who value your skills
and knowledge, and understand how the proper utilization of librarians
and information specialists can impact the bottom line.
BTW, a friend of mine who read my article commented that
ValuJet's aircraft maintenance was outsourced. I wonder what corporate
genius convinced management that aircraft maintenance was not a "core
competency!"
Ann C. Davidson
Davidson Library Services
dls@hslc.org
Opinions expressed are my employer's.
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