Second, most academic law librarians are also law school professors in their own rights. For example, this gentleman’s title is Law Librarian AND Professor of Law

http://www.law.yale.edu/faculty/BKauffman.htm

It’s quiet common for academic law librarian to teach classes beside just legal research.

Third, county (public) law libraries are certainly seeing additional influx of patrons due to the economy. And court librarians are also telling me that they are seening different kind of workloads even if they don’t open to the public.(And many court libraries are opened to the litigants, if not the general publics.)

http://www.lb9.uscourts.gov/directory.php

Fourth,
“Do you see how much money they make?! Without the crazy new-lawyer hours. Just the crazy lawyer money.”

http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_salary_survey.asp

I know everything after 1997 is member only. But you have to take my word for it that it didn’t get raised that much since then.

Fifth, one thing I like about law librarianship is that we are willing to hold each other accountedable. At AALL national and local chapter meetings, I had seen law firm librarians hunt down academic law librarians to give them some “constructive feedbacks.” i.e. “I have this summer associate/new associate who took your legal research and writing class, and him/her is deficient in abilities to do this and that ….” Much more rare, but I had seen it happen before, court librarians give feedbacks to law firm librarians for poorly researched briefs submitted by “your attorney.”

Those of you who work in an academic library, ask random students what an index is and how they would use one to conduct research. Ask some other easy questions.

Kentucky (I’m in the Western part of the state) is in need of libraries. I think Livingston county is building a new public library, maybe? There are some counties on this end of the state that refuse to build libraries. There are also several counties that are cutting school librarians.

I’ve never been fond of national whatever weeks. I think people should be paying attention to the important bits all the time. But those tiny chunks of caring make people feel special, so who am I to take away their happy.

I have worked as a law librarian for the past 20+ years and have yet to see a law professor at our law firm, much less one doing glorified research.

What do I see?

I see senior partners who want information yesterday, if not sooner.

I see my JD, along with my MLS, and BS in engineering being tested every day because requests are vague and lawyers don’t have time for you to ask for clarification, that is your job, you figure it out.

I see that if I give incorrect or late information, it can mean a deal loses millions of dollars, or worse case, an innocent person will not have justice served. And what comes with that, a pink slip. Tenure? bwaaaa haaaa haaaa haaaawwwwwwww. I guess in academia, poor information just leads to a student getting a C instead of an A.

On the other hand, I get paid very well and it is an extremely satisfying job. Once you get used to the stress.

Do you see how much money they make?! Without the crazy new-lawyer hours. Just the crazy lawyer money.

But I’m a public librarian, and we can’t afford to pay our staff or buy books, let alone order all of ALA’s fancy posters and geegaws to celebrate National Library Week.

I have more important things to do than sit around an proclaim how important I am.