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Reflections in the Fishbowl: the Changing Role of Law Librarians in the Mix of an Evolving Legal Profession

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2018

Abstract

This paper by Victoria Elizabeth Baranow is a reflective piece after co-moderating a session at the 2017 CALL Conference in Ottawa with Shaunna Mireau. The session was titled ‘Unconference Through the Fishbowl: The Changing Role of Law Librarians in the Mix of an Evolving Legal Profession.’ A play-by-play article on the session was written based on notes and recollections from the session and published in the TALL Quarterly, the journal by the Toronto Association of Law Libraries.1 The article was used as the basis for this paper; which goes one step further in attempting to answer some of the big questions we are faced with each day while also questioning some of the assumptions and wider cultural forces at play in our law librarianship profession.**

Type
International Perspectives
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018. Published by British and Irish Association of Law Librarians 

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Footnotes

**

The editor of LIM is grateful both to Victoria Elizabeth Baranow for allowing this article to be reprinted in this journal and to Susan Barker as editor of the Canadian Law Library Review where this article was originally published: (2018) Canadian Law Library Review / Revue Canadienne des Bibliotheques de Droit 43(1), 9–15.

References

Footnotes

1 The TALL Quarterly article can be downloaded from HeinOnline by non-TALL members and contains both a description of the session as well as an explanation of how the fishbowl format works. Baranow, Victoria, “Debriefing CALL: Unconference Through the Fishbowl,” (2017) 37:1 Tall Q 5Google Scholar.

2 A big thank you to Jennifer McNenley who took notes throughout our session - my article for the TALL Quarterly and this article for CLLR would not have been possible without her notes to fill in the blanks of my memory.

3 Reeve, Allison C., “Empowering and Inspiring Law Library Managers to Lead,” (2017) 22 AALL Spectrum 18 at 20Google Scholar.

4 Fitchett, Taylor et al. , “Law Library Budgets in Hard Times,” (2011) 103:1 Law Libr J 91 at 102Google Scholar.

5 Ibid at 101.

6 Ibid at 95.

7 George, Paul M., “Care and Maintenance of the Successful Career: How Experiences Law Librarians Make Their Work Rewarding,” (2001) 93:4 Law Libr J 535 at 560Google Scholar.

8 Canick, Simon, “Library Services for the Self-Interested Law School: Enhancing the Visibility of Faculty Scholarship,” (2013) 105:2 Law Libr J 175 at 180Google Scholar.

9 ALL-SIS Task Force on Library marketing and Outreach, Marketing and Outreach in law Libraries: A White Paper,” (2013) 105:4 Law Libr J 525 at 528Google Scholar.

10 Ibid at 528.

11 Supra note 4 at 99.

12 Supra note 4 at 103.

13 Kaczorowski, Monice M. and Lapachet, Jaye A.H., “Attitude, Creativity, Collaboration, and Tech - The New Success Formula for Law Librarians,” (2012) 17 AALL Spectrum 22 at 22Google Scholar.

14 Ibid at 22.

15 Lynch, Shannon, “Creative Ways to Promote Your Law Library - 19 Years Later,” (2017) 61:1 Law Libr Lights 1 at 3Google Scholar.

16 Ibid at 4.

17 Emphasis in original; Supra note 9 at 528–529.

18 Supra note 13 at 22.

19 Fisher, Charles, “The Library's Living Brand - Investing in Library Staff Performance Can Create an Atmosphere Where Patrons Want to Dwell, Learn, and Prosper,” (2006) 11 AALL Spectrum 16, at 18Google Scholar.

20 Supra note 9 at 532.

21 Ibid at 538.

22 Supra note 13 at 23.

23 Supra note 19 at 17.

24 Supra note 13 at 22.

25 Ibid at 22.

26 Brown, Fiona, “National Survey of Australian Law Libraries - Final Report,” (2015) 23 Austl L Libr 71 at 88Google Scholar.

27 Ibid at 88.

28 Supra note 9 at 527.

29 Ibid at xiv-xv.

30 Supra note 26 at 88.

31 Supra note 13 at 23.

32 Supra note 8 at 189.

33 Ibid at 189, n 78.

34 Supra note 4 at 101.

35 Supra note 8 at 175.

36 From his photograph he also does not appear to be a visible minority, a factor that could make this discussion even wider and longer than my word count allows; additionally, I myself am not a visible minority, although I am female and have a disability (hearing impairment).

37 Melvie, Ann Marie, “President's Message,” (2017) 42:3 CLLR 7 at 7Google Scholar.

38 Rumsey, Mary, “Is the Law Library a Women's World - An Examination of How, If at All, Gender is a Factor in Law Librarianship,” (2006) 10 AALL Spectrum 16 at 16Google Scholar.

39 PayScale, “Law Librarian Salary,” <https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Law_Librarian/Salary>.

40 Supra note 38 at 16.

41 Ibid at 17.

42 Ibid at 17.

43 Ibid at 36.

44 Ibid at 36.

45 Supra note 8 at 197.