September/October 2023 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The September/October 2023 issue of AALL Spectrum is now available online.

It is a publication of the American Association of Law Libraries. 

This issue has a series of feature articles on user feedback surveys, marketing plans, and library signage.

SLA Survey on Strategies for Demonstrating Your Contributions

The international information professional organization SLA (Special Libraries Association) is conducting a survey on strategies people use to demonstrate how they contribute to the success of their organization:

"We are seeking real-world examples that will become the core of a toolkit of readily-adaptable templates that can be used by any member."

"Please complete this survey in the spirit of sharing and networking that helps SLA work for the benefit of its members. It should only take 15-20 minutes."

"Please respond no later than Thursday, April 30."

Results will inform an event at the SLA 2015 annual conference in Boston.

SLA reported earlier this week on its blog that preliminary results show that:

• 3 out of 4 respondents provide a regular report on services to stakeholders;
• 8 out of 10 chose language carefully when explaining the value of their operation;
• over 60% have specific vision/mission statements and values;
• 70% don’t benchmark services; and
• over 30% have a pre-prepared pitch for chance conversations

SLA Webinar on Strategies for Showing Your Value

The international information professional organization SLA (Special Libraries Association) is hosting a free "Partner Talk" webinar on March 26th from 2-3PM Eastern time that will tackle 5 Strategies for Showing Your Value to the C-Suite:

"Modern information professionals need to be agile, proactive and visible in the enterprise. This SLA PartnerTalk will help you show how critical your work is to your organization’s bottom line. Learn to—

1. Demonstrate how you can add value in ways they might not expect;
2. Understand your customers and how best to communicate with them;
3. Make the best use of your time;
4. Present your work with confidence; and
5. Help your organization’s executives manage information overload."

Roundup of SLA Twitter Chat on Building Your Brand

Earlier this month, the international information professional organization SLA (Special Libraries Association) held a "Twitter Chat" to discuss how to build a  "brand".

The conversation on Twitter covered topics such as taglines, personal websites, the difference between professional & personal brands, and the relative benefits of various social media in developing a brand.

The SLA has now published the contents of the event on the Storify website.

University of Toronto to Reoffer MOOC on Library Advocacy

The iSchool at the University of Toronto will be reoffering its popular MOOC (Massively Open Online Course) Library Advocacy Unshushed: Values, Evidence, Action starting in February 2015:

"How can we strengthen libraries and librarians in the advancement of knowledge, creativity, and literacy in the 21st century? Though libraries have been loved for over 3,600 years, their relevance in the digital age is being questioned, and their economic and social impacts are poorly understood. What is really essential about libraries and librarians, today and tomorrow? How can library members and all who support the mission of 21st-century librarianship raise the profile and support of these timeless values and services, and ensure universal access to the universe of ideas in all our communities? This course is based on what works. We’ll take an inspired, strategic, evidence-based approach to advocacy for the future of strong communities – cities, villages, universities and colleges, research and development centres, businesses, and not-for-profits."

Wendy Newman, a Senior Fellow and Lecturer at UofT’s Faculty of Information, will lead the 6-week online course being offered through the EdX consortium in partnership with the Canadian Library Association and the American Library Association.

The class, whose first version last year attracted 5,200 students, of which 43% came from outside North America, includes videos, online discussions, quizzes, and video interviews with guest experts.

Earlier Library Boy posts on MOOCs include:

• MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and Law Librarians (October 3, 2013): "Toronto law librarian Katie Thomas has written about MOOCs (massive open online courses) and law librarians over at On Firmer Ground, a blog for law firm librarians."
• February 2014 Issue of AALL Spectrum (February 6, 2014): "Among this month's selection of articles: ... The Promise and Perils of Massive Open Online Courses - MOOCs and the role of law librarians"
• MOOCs - Massive Open Online Courses or Massively Overhyped Obfuscated Concept? (June 5, 2014): "Yesterday on Slaw.ca, Sarah Glassmeyer, Director of Community Development for the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction penned a column entitled Massively Overhyped Obfuscated Concept – MOOCs in Legal Education ..."

AALL 2015 Day in the Life Photo Contest

The 2015 Day in the Life Contest lasts until February 28, 2015. This is an annual photography contest organized by the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL).

It is open to AALL members only.

Photos can be submitted in the following categories:

• Librarians as Information Evaluators and Managers
• Librarians as Teachers and Trainers
• The Artistry of Librarianship
• Most Humorous
• Best Altered Image/Use of Special Effects
• Best Video

Winners from the 2014 contest were featured in the July 2014 Issue of AALL Spectrum, a monthly publication of the Association.

Canadian Association of Law Libraries Webinar on Communicating and Proving Your Expertise

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) is organizing a webinar on January 27, 2015 on Defining, Communicating and Proving Your Expertise:

"This session describes the processes and requirements for professional services providers such as law librarians to position themselves as valuable experts and avoid being cast as commodity 'helpers'. Cal Harrison will explain the concept of 'market position' in a way that is free from 'branding jargon' and that is immediately actionable by any individual in the professional services sector."

"Attendees will leave understanding how they can define, communicate and prove their intangible (but real) value to their firm and clients in a very tangible manner."

The speaker is Cal Harrison, President of Beyond Referrals, a consulting firm that advises on the selling, and the buying, of professional services such as architecture, engineering, law, and management consulting.

The webinar will take place at 1:00pm-2:30pm Eastern time.

ALL/ACBD Member: $40 + $5.20 HST    = $45.20/webinar
Non-member: $60 + $7.80 HST    = $67.80/webinar
Student Rate: $25 + $3.25 HST    = $28.25/webinar

It is possible to register online.

September/October 2014 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The September/October 2014 issue of AALL Spectrum, a monthly publication of the American Association of Law Libraries, is available.

Among this month's selection of articles:

• Public Relations: Outstanding Achievements: "The marketing strategy or public relations initiatives that work well for one library might not necessarily work well for another. One of the most impressive qualities shared among the 2014 Excellence in Marketing Award winners is that they each evaluated their patrons and their unique communities and creatively produced marketing materials that were able to speak to their audiences and stakeholders. AALL’s Excellence in Marketing Award honors outstanding achievement in public relations activities by an individual, group of individuals, library, chapter, special interest section, consortium, caucus, or any other group affiliated with the Association. This year’s winners include a law firm library, a federal court library, a chapter, a public academic/county law library, and a private academic law library."
• Networking, Mutual Assistance, and a Whole Lot More: "A small group of Attorneys General Office (AGO) librarians gathered informally at AALL’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. The talk turned to explaining what we do and how it differs from what other law librarians do... "
• Mentorship: The AALL Push: "AALL believes in mentoring. Exploring the various aspects of the AALL website confirms that it is currently one of the major tenets of the organization and with good reason. Law librarianship is sometimes a misunderstood and underappreciated profession. Many people do not really know what we do, so it’s important to show them. Every day is game day for us, and we should remember that. A lot of things are happening, both in law firms and in academia. We can’t control these changes, but we can make sure that our profession is ready to respond to and manage these changes."
• Out With the Old, In With the New: "LibGuides can be a great tool, as many librarians in various types of institutions will testify. But there are some considerations for their use. Following, Danielle A. Becker, electronic services librarian at Minnesota State Law Library, and Shamika D. Dalton, assistant university librarian at University of Florida Levin College of Law, provide their insights on working with the tool in their respective institutions."
• Changing Spaces: "As print collections shrink in favor of the electronic delivery of information, library space—once needed to hold the volumes we counted on to justify our existence—is no longer necessary for that purpose. Those of us who manage law libraries with large footprints are regularly asked to justify the continued maintenance of space that houses much smaller collections. Even those with smaller library spaces find themselves, at the very least, with more space than they had before and facing decisions about its use."

Canadian Library Association Feliciter June 2014 Issue

The June 2014 issue of Feliciter, the journal of the Canadian Library Association (CLA), is available on line.

The theme of the issue is marketing libraries.

July 2014 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The July 2014 issue of AALL Spectrum, a monthly publication of the American Association of Law Libraries, is available.

Among this month's selection of articles:

• Public Relations: What Makes an Outreach Librarian an Outreach Librarian?
  Delving into outreach librarian duties and responsibilities
• What's In A Day?
  The 2014 photo contest winners show a typical—and not so typical—“Day in the Life” of a law librarian

 

February 2014 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The February 2014 issue of AALL Spectrum, a monthly publication of the American Association of Law Libraries, is available.

Among this month's selection of articles:

• Public Relations: What Can Infographics Do for You?
  Using infographics to advocate for and market your library
• The Promise and Perils of Massive Open Online Courses
  MOOCs and the role of law librarians
• The Invention of HeinOnline
  The story of Hein's dramatic transformation in response to the coming of the electronic age
• Career Management from the Trenches
  Some suggestions from the AALL Economic Status Committee
• Taking Legal Research Instruction to the Next Level with the National Legal Research Teach-In

AALL 2014 Day in the Life Photo Contest

The 2014 Day in the Life Contest lasts until February 28, 2014. This is an annual photography contest organized by the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL).

It is open to AALL members only.

Photos can be submitted in the following categories:

• Librarians as Information Evaluators and Managers
• Librarians as Teachers and Trainers
• The Artistry of Librarianship
• Most Humorous
• Best Altered Image/Use of Special Effects
• NEW! Best Video
• NEW! Student Services

Winners from the 2013 contest were featured in the July 2013 Issue of AALL Spectrum, a monthly publication of the Association.

Canadian Library Association 2014 Webinars

The Canadian Library Association (CLA) is hosting a series of professional development webinars in 2014.

These include:

• Service Lifecycle Management:Pruning Gives Other Services Room to Grow (January 22)
• So what do you do – and why do I need you – exactly? Tips on Branding for Information Professionals (February 13)
• "Good Enough" Information: Threat or Opportunity? (March 5)
• Leading from the Centre: Using Basic Project Management Tools to Support Innovation (March 11)
• Herding Cats: Leading Teams Over Whom You Have No Formal Authority (March 13)
• Becoming Indispensable: The Value Proposition (April 10)
• Digital Scholarship from the Bottom Up: The Library’s Role in Open Access Student Journals (April 16)
• Transferable Competencies: Opportunities for LIS Graduates in Non-Librarian Positions (April 22)
• Mother Said There’d Be Days Like These: Dealing Professionally & Elegantly With the Unforeseen at Work (May 8)

Equipment requirements, registration costs as well as an online registration form are available on the CLA website.

Wrapping Up 2013 for Law Firm Librarians

Kate Greene Stanhope, Manager Library & Information Services at McInnes Cooper, has written a post called Wrapping Up 2013 on the On Firmer Ground blog.

On Firmer Ground is a blog about law firm librarians and is a joint project of the Legal Division of the Special Libraries Association, the Private Law Libraries Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries, the Canadian Association of Law Libraries and the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians.

In her post, she explains how she reached out to colleagues in Canadian law firm libraries to share "their thoughts on what kept them busy this year and what 2014 might look like".

The big themes are:

• Beyond legal research – The intersection of library and marketing: "More law libraries are collaborating with marketing, whether formally or informally, to lend expertise in the areas of Competitive and Business Intelligence."
• KM for Library & Information Services: "Legal information professionals continue to drive Knowledge Management within firms, but KM practices have relevance in helping us manage our internal know-how, specifically the collective knowledge amassed in the provision of research and reference services. "
• Prominent Roles in KM and Technology Projects

In concluding, Greene Stanhope writes:

"Looking ahead, the dynamic nature of the work we do as Legal Information Professionals will probably be reflected in the changing composition of our groups. At Lawson Lundell, an innovative, team approach is described in the advertisement for a new position, Manager of Information Resources. And, in 2014, my group will welcome the firm’s Conflict and Audit Coordinators as we become more involved in the life cycle of information within the firm, from new business intake to closed file management, and everything in between."

December 2013 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The December 2013 issue of AALL Spectrum, a monthly publication of the American Association of Law Libraries, is available.

Among this month's selection of articles:

• Public Relations: A Day in the Life 2014
  How will you document your library? 
• LibGuides, Blog Posts, and Articles, Oh My!
  Library-supported portfolio pieces for law school students and graduates 
• Research Competition Awesomeness
  Implementing legal research competitions at law schools 
• Massive Open Online Courses
  One participant's perspective 

Fall 2013 Issue of Law Library Journal Now Available

The Fall 2013 issue of Law Library Journal is available on the website of the American Association of Law Libraries.

Among the articles are the following:

• Locked Collections: Copyright and the Future of Research Support: "Researchers in institutions of higher education depend on access to the scholarly record, and academic libraries play a critical role in supporting this research. As academic collections shift to primarily electronic format, research support is in jeopardy. Copyright holders, through the use of licensing and contracts to control electronic works, limit or prohibit interlibrary loan and other means of research support. As predominantly digital library collections increase, libraries may find that they have locked collections. They will be unable to lend or to borrow. This article examines how increased reliance on e-collections impacts the ability of academic libraries to support research and explores and assesses various approaches to ensure research support."
• Oh My Blawg! Who Will Save the Legal Blogs?: "Legal professionals continue to need access to legal blogs for their scholarly, historical, and practical research. However, at this time there is no concrete solution guaranteeing the continued availability of the wide range of legal blogs. Without immediate action, the essential content of legal blogs may be lost forever. This article provides an overview of the state of legal blog preservation and suggests a blueprint for creating an optimal process to ensure continuing access to vital legal blogs."
• Marketing and Outreach in Law Libraries: A White Paper: "In recent years, libraries have turned to marketing and outreach to better educate library users about services and resources while gaining an understanding of their needs. Marketing and outreach are relatively new concepts in academic law libraries, and librarians tasked with these functions have found resources and examples of this type of work to be lacking. Though focused on academic law libraries, the article identifies the challenges facing all law libraries, explains why libraries need marketing and outreach plans, and provides examples of marketing and outreach successes."

September/October 2013 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The September/October 2013 issue of AALL Spectrum, a monthly publication of the American Association of Law Libraries, is available.

Among this month's selection of articles:

• Public Relations: Recognizing Excellence
  The 2013 AALL Excellence in Marketing Award winners  
• A Customer is a Patron is a Client . . . But Not Really
  Naming and what it makes us think about our users 
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Books?
  Thoughts on legal content dissemination and consumption in the digital environment 
• Cautious Creativity
  Thoughts for the risk-adverse law librarian

Canadian Association of Law Libraries Needs Volunteers to Visit Schools With Library Programs

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) is looking for members to volunteer for educational visits to schools across Canada offering library and information studies degrees, or library technician diplomas.

The primary purpose of these  visits is to provide students with an understanding of CALL as a professional organization for the promotion of  law librarianship.

CALL's Membership Development Committee will provide volunteers with contact information as well as materials that can be used in school presentations. The Committee is trying to recruit people to conduct the visits between September and November 2013.

CALL members interested in volunteering for this outreach project should contact Paul McKenna at the School of Information Management, Dalhousie University (Halifax), e-mail: paul.mckenna AT dal.ca before August 23, 2013.

CALL is interested in finding people to visit the following institutions:

1) Library and Information Studies (Masters Degree):

• School of Information Management, Dalhousie University
• Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, McGill University
• École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information, Université de Montréal
• Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto
• Faculty of Information and Media Studies, University of Western Ontario
• School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alberta
• School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of British Columbia

2) Library Technician Diploma:

• Library & Information Technology Diploma, Nova Scotia Community College
• Techniques de la documentation, Cégep de Trois-Rivières
• Techniques de la documentation, Cégep de Jonquière
• Techniques de la documentation, Collège de l'Outaouais
• Techniques de la documentation, Collège de Maisoneuve
• Techniques de la documentation, Collège Francois-Xavier-Garneau
• Techniques de la documentation, Collège Lionel-Giroux
• Information & Library technologies, John Abbott College
• Library & Information Technician Diploma, Algonquin College (Ottawa)
• Library & Information Technician Diploma, Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology (Toronto)
• Library & Information Technician Program Diploma, Mohawk College
• Library & Information Technology Diploma, Red River College (Winnipeg)
• Library & Information Technology Diploma, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science & Technology (Saskatoon)
• Information Management & Library Technology Diploma, Grant MacEwan College (Edmonton)
• Library & Information Technology Diploma, Langara College (Vancouver)
• Library & Information Technology Diploma, University College of the Fraser Valley (Abbotsford)

July 2013 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The July 2013 issue of AALL Spectrum, a monthly publication of the American Association of Law Libraries, is available.

Among this month's selection of articles:

• Cooking Lessons and Legal Research
  Creating and integrating instructional videos into legal research training 
• Innovative Displays in Law Libraries
  Showcase your collections and your talent with displays that capture the creative spirit of your law library 
• A Day in the Life
  Congratulations to our 2013 photo contest winners 

April 2013 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The April 2013 issue of AALL Spectrum, a monthly publication of the American Association of Law Libraries, is available.

Among this month's selection of articles:

• Public Relations: Relationship Marketing by Frances M. Brillantine (Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in Washington): "Public interest law auctions, held annually at many law schools, provide an excellent opportunity for librarians to collaborate with students. Individual support of the auction, either by donating, bidding on items, or attending, demonstrates that we support our students and their interests. An even stronger show of support is a donation made by the library or a library department. Donations made by the library also provide an opportunity for staff to build relationships among themselves while working on something enjoyable, which leads to improved service to students. Strong relationships and support among colleagues are essential to good customer service— and good service is the most valuable marketing tool we have."
• Cloudy with a Chance of Collaboration by Carla Wale (Northern Illinois University College of Law) and Ellen Richardson (Boston University): "(...) cloud-based collaboration services (cloud services) allow librarians to come together to create scholarship, work on projects in the office and across miles more efficiently, share ideas and interests, and inspire each other, ultimately benefiting the larger community. In this article, we examine the basics of cloud services, including security concerns; review some of the major services; and look at some ways fellow librarians are using these services to facilitate collaboration to get their projects off the ground and into the cloud."
• Law Firm Changes Offer Opportunities for Libraries by Sarah Sutherland (McMillan LLP in Vancouver): "Certain aspects of the practice of law are changing, particularly as they relate to the traditional ways lawyers charge for their work and how completed work is leveraged for future benefit. Some firms, for example, are moving to incorporate knowledge management (KM) practices, alternative billing, and law practice automation (...) These changes have the potential to create both great problems and great opportunities for law libraries and KM departments. The first thing libraries and KM departments can do is integrate into the project teams working on these initiatives. There are enormous informational aspects to all of these projects, and it is the job of the library and KM staff to ensure that they are being considered and addressed in the planning stages."
• A Pilot Using OverDrive by Nina E. Scholtz (Cornell University Law Library): "E-books are not just for popular reading; legal publishers are entering the e-book market as well. Major publishers are launching e-book platforms and offering law libraries the opportunity to purchase both individual titles and collections of electronic books that they also offer in print. One publisher has announced the availability of a specialized lending platform similar to that offered by OverDrive and other library lending platforms ... With these increasing signs of a strong future for e-books, and possibly for e-lending as well, in spring 2012 Cornell University Law Library decided to pilot OverDrive for the Cornell Law School community. "