Why Librarians Really Are Heroes...

I’ve spent time writing about librarians’ “quests”, and ethical concerns of librarians.  And most of the time when I compare librarians to heroes, it’s tongue in cheek.  I spent four years in undergrad studying comparative mythology with a personal focus on hero myths, so it is on my mind a lot and it is easy for me to draw parallels between just about anything and heroism.  But I think sometimes I start thinking it is a joke.  And now I’ve been reminded about why librarians are heroic:

Librarians stand up for what they believe in.  Most recently, the Connecticut Four Librarians are what bring this to mind, but I have more than one example.

Connecticut Four Librarians

Library patrons aren’t always comfortable discussing what they’re reading or researching, and there are many reasons for this – personal, professional, who cares?  It’s not the librarian’s job to judge them or make them feel judged in any way.  But when the FBI demands that a patron’s records be surrendered and this can be done without an Order…well, it is in the name of protecting the country.  But is it fair?  

The Connecticut Four Librarians opposed the Patriot Act to protect the rights of patrons and libraries throughout the U.S.   The quiet bravery of these librarians really reminds me of why librarians have earned so much respect.  The four went up against the FBI to protect the rights of their patrons-- in particular, their right to privacy.  Due to gag orders, they couldn’t draw attention to what the government was doing and were forced to go about this all as “John Does”.  

Librarians with Tattoos

Yup.  Tattooed librarians are a thing.  We don’t all wear buns, glasses, and Peter Pan collars.  It may not sound heroic on the surface, but the movement and groups forming about tattooed librarians aren’t just about the tattoos.  They’re about evolution and stereotypes.  We can’t all be the stereotypical librarian anymore because our field has expanded so far and so quickly—and will continue to do so—so we need to be more than that sweet old lady who goes “shhh” from behind the counter.  The librarians with tattoos are the trailblazers for the new world of libraries: technology, information from all sources, and no judgement.  All are welcome, majority, minority, it matters not. 

Censorship

So you’re not convinced that librarians are heroes yet?  That’s okay, I get it.  Some people take more convincing.  How about the fact that every year ALA celebrates a banned book week to draw attention to the fact that across the country groups are trying to ban books?  The ALA has been actively opposing this for decades.  Once again, Librarians are out there protecting the rights of citizens (specifically the First Amendment in this case).  In fact, the Freedom to Read Foundation (“Free people read freely!”), affiliated with the ALA, is dedicated to providing legal and financial support to defend intellectual freedom since 1969. Some librarians have lost their job and community by standing up for our right to read.  Have you thanked a librarian yet taking on the factions who think you should only be allowed to read what they think you should read?  If it weren’t for them, we could say goodbye to J.K. Rowling, Judy Blume, Maya Angelou… and the list goes on. 

I’m not going to continue on expounding why librarians are the quiet heroes of our modern world (who needs Theseus and Samson when we have John Does and the ALA), but I really do think our librarians deserve recognition for always doing what is right, even when it’s not the easy thing to do.

Libraries, Lawyers, and Ethics, Oh My!

Law libraries, not surprisingly given their ties to both libraries and law, are subject to a code of ethics. 

The American Association of Law Libraries (“AALL”) last rewrote the code of ethics in 1999.  Sections of the code include: Service, Business Relationships, and Professional Responsibilities (1).

The American Library Association (“ALA”) focuses on service, censorship, users’ privacy, intellectual property rights, employee welfare, fostering non-biased environments, and enhancing knowledge.  This code was first adopted in 1939, and last amended in 2008 (2).

The American Bar Association (“ABA”) literally has an entire book on Model Rules of Professional Conduct, having evolved past the 1908 Canons of Professional Ethics.  Needless to say, it is much more detailed than the codes available through AALL and ALA, covering everything from ethics with clients, other persons, the public, firms, counselors, etc. (3).

At this point, you’re probably wondering if I’m off my rocker and why I’m writing about ethics right now.  Honestly, I’m just curious.  I was thinking about how libraries and librarians work so hard to make information readily available for patrons.  That, in turn, led me to thinking about how attorneys have to do the exact opposite.  You can probably see where this path is headed…right to the intersection of “law” and “library”.

Of course, the ethics are different in some ways depending on the type of law library one ends up in.  I couldn’t help but think that if I were in a public law library, I would be actively working with patrons to give them access to legal information and direct them to legal help when necessary (because, as the AALL code of ethics points out, we’re not authorized to practice law). 

As a librarian in a private firm, though, my concerns lean more towards finding information efficiently, limiting the yield of searches due to time constraints, and maintaining vendor relationships with what sometimes feels like hundreds of thousands of vendors.  My ethics sometimes feel as though they are by necessity leaning more in the way of the ethics proposed by the ABA as opposed to the ALA.  That being said, the firm I work at strongly encourages me to enhance my knowledge and I frequently participate in webinars and training sessions, which seems to be a trait of both the ABA and ALA codes.

All of this ends with my query: how are ethics emphasized at different law libraries, and which code do they tend towards? (I know, I should be answering questions, not asking them...)

A Hero [Read: Librarian]’s Quest

At this point, you’re probably all sick and tired of my angst over cataloging a library that was never cataloged before – especially when the available software is limited to Microsoft Excel or Access.  So, I did what I was supposed to (grin and bear it, as they say) and made the best database I could possibly make using Access.  While not ideal, I felt it had more search and sort functionality than Excel, and I was able to create tabbed “library cards” with book information on one tab, and financial/subscription/status information on the other tab.

Bonus picture of one of my firm's well-loved, well-used historical books

 Of course, if you are familiar with Joseph Campbell’s monomyths, you know that the hero [read: librarian] must venture from home [read: Microsoft] at some point.  Microsoft Access is just not user-friendly enough for general use by patrons.  I was forced by my quest for usability to leave my desktop and venture into the depths of the internet.  But the search was totally worth it.

I’ve used LibraryThing, and other websites with similar functions, to catalog my personal library in the past.  However, given that a law library is a little more formal than the books I keep on my own shelves, I knew I’d have to dig for something a bit…more.  And I stumbled across Libib.

Libib is free, unless you want to use the Pro version which is $5 a month.  With the pro version, you can have as many patrons as you want, and you can list up to 100,000 books.  Patrons can check out books or request them directly online.  Basically, for a special librarian managing a small library, this is perfect.  There are even Libib apps that scan bar codes to check books out for you. 

I ran this by our IT guru and firm management; everyone seems intrigued by this.  It simplifies life all around… especially since we are preparing to launch our intranet and the Access database was just too complicated for general use.  The simple solution is to link our library catalog in Libib to our intranet site – and thus, the hero’s quest is finished and the return home can commence!

So, note to self, there is always free/inexpensive software when it comes to librarians.  It’s like our ethics to make information available extends to the tools necessary to provide said information.  That, and I think being helpful is just written into our very nature.

Once I've used Libib for a more extensive period of time, I'll post a part deux so if anyone else is in a similar situation they can consider how it's worked for our firm.

Physical Space and Retired Books

The bane of my existence as a law librarian is finding space for new books.  If you’re not familiar with legal resources, here’s what you really need to know: they’re updated all the time.  I mean, all the time.  The updates for books vary in type.   

Some of the more common types of updates include:

 Cumulative supplements (usually “pocket-parts” for the back inside cover of the book);

•  Replacement pages (resource is housed in a “binder” with easily replaced pages);
• Updated books (literally books – they send you new books to replace the old ones); and
• Supplemental books (could be Volume 1A, to be housed with Volume 1, for example).

And it’s not just books.  Like any library, there are also journals, newspapers, magazines, and directories.  My personal least favorite is the newsletters; nothing against newsletters in general.  I’m sure they’re quite lovely when you’re not trying to figure out where you can store them so people can see what they are.

Updates for the resources tend to run in predictable cycles: weekly, monthly, quarterly, twice a year, annually, and bi-annually.  Because most of these updates are treated as subscriptions, they appear without warning and are invoiced separately.   Once you have received the update is when the fun really begins…deciding what to keep and where to put it.

Maybe it seems like a no-brainer.  You have an update, you can get rid of the old one, right?  Well, sometimes that’s right.  Sometimes it’s not.  Attorneys may need to refer back to specific points from older versions, especially since cases don’t run on the resources’ update schedules.  The way I have handled this is by creating a “Retired Book” Shelf.  As the updates take their place in the stacks, the displaced, out-of-date resources are brought to their retirement home.  I pencil in the date on a label on the spine, and they have 1 year from that point for attorneys to refer back to them or let me know that they need to be kept longer.

Other resources, such as newsletters and journals, I check to see if we have access to archived versions online.  If we do, I try not to keep more than a year's worth on hand.  When we don't have archived volumes online, the attorneys need to step in and help me determine if the information covered is still relevant.  Due to the always-changing nature of law, storing journals from several years back is inefficient since the information has to be cross-referenced with more current issues anyway.

Of course, retiring books and only trying to weed out out-of-date journals and newsletters does not fix the issue of needing more physical space.  As much as possible, I have been electing to purchase electronic resources for the library.  Some are simply not available electronically, or the primary attorneys who use them may prefer to use physical copies.  So, it is a work in progress – but in a fun way, it’s like a jigsaw puzzle. 

Public Libraries

I know I don't write about public libraries much...not because I don't appreciate them, but just because in the past it wasn't an interest of mine to work at one.  But boy, do I love how much the libraries near me offer.  On the website alone you can access free courses, language classes, test prep programs, and more.  Plus, the website boasts a computer lab that includes computers specifically for searching the library catalogs, plus computers for general population use.

Because there was such a focus on technology and access, I made a hasty assumption that the physical library would be less current...you know, because it would be spreading the staff too thin.  And I was very, very wrong.  It was clean, the staff was friendly, the reference desk was manned, and there were three floors of well-stocked books.

As I said, I've always appreciated public libraries, but I've never found one to be so interesting, maybe because I've always been in places where there were budget cuts and the library was very limited in its ability to expand.

I'll keep you updated on whether or not the online courses are any good...I've already started one and it's quite a blast!

**Update: The courses are pretty decent, although it depends on the school/professor they are offered through.  I've taken two "fluffy" courses I had a passing interest in (creative writing and drawing) and one scientific course (psychology) and am preparing to begin a history course.  The professors don't always provide feedback immediately (who can blame them) but in one of my classes the feedback was frequently "assignment completed" which was unhelpful since I really wanted to learn more.  Otherwise, they have been very informative.

On an unrelated notes...Sunflowers are blooming everywhere here!

Shelving Identifiers

I’m still working on projects like the SEO project for our firm website, and working on a team to figure out our intranet.  But now I have a new (self-assigned) project as well: shelf assignments.  I’m serious, none of the shelves are identified so sometimes when we get supplements for books I have to hunt on three separate floors before finding it.

Because the physical organization of books here is by attorney and not how you would expect to find them organized in an academic law library, and we have multiple offices, I have to come up with a unique shelving system.  My thoughts on this so far are:

(City initial)(Floor number)(Bookshelf)(Shelf)

For example, for the top shelf of the bookshelf closest to me would be identified as B2H1.  When an attorney searches for the book in the database, they will see that the shelving location and know that it is located in the city “B” office on the second floor.  Even if they don’t know which shelf is which (yet), they can look for the H on the top of the bookshelf unit, and the number of the shelf.

I have a color-coded map at my desk that I'm working at to label the shelves preemptively to make sure this works before I give it a go. 

 

I kind of love that my first law librarian position is at this firm – which has never had a law librarian before – because there is so much room for potential growth and I can really work from the ground up to see what works best for the firm.

Someday I will have to take the time to write about my battle with print v. electronic resources.   I just ordered my first electronic book today for the firm (yay)!