#courthouse library

The Thin Edge of Law Library Funding

The recent legislative activity in California and Missouri on behalf of law libraries reminded me of the Micawber principle, which highlights the narrow margin between financial success and ruin.  Law library funding is frequently disbursed by an entity that has many other valid demands for the funds, and accessing new funds can be difficult.  Recent courthouse law library activity shows the…

There are hundreds of law libraries, and many of them are run by one person or a small handful of people.  This sort of resource limitation can mean that partnerships and collaborations will allow the law library to do more: deliver more services, provide access to expanded content.  It’s interesting to see where the challenges in making these connections happen, and sometimes I wonder about what…

The Law Library Desert

One thing about political upheaval that generates a huge amount of litigation is the knock-on effect of increased discussions about the law.  If you follow the key phrase local law library, you’ll have seen what I have: the law library referred to in arguments as to why the opponent’s statement is invalid.  When I went looking, the local law libraryisn’t always local.  If we require space for…

Do the Things that Only Your Library Can Do

When we talk about libraries adapting and changing, there seem to be two threads.  One is to do the same things – like information delivery or reference – differently.  Books are complemented with online resources, chat or bots are an alternative to in-person questions.  The other is to do things that are new or considered not typically library roles.  What happens when better situated…

The Small Law Library Catalog, Revisited

One benefit of blogging for a long time is the chance to revisit topics.  I looked at options for small law library catalogs in 2010 and it was a mixture but was heavily weighted towards standalone and offline options.  Like everything impacted by the cloud, there are a wide variety of low cost and free web catalog options to improve access to a law library collection.

To be frank, this wasn’t…

How Law Libraries Make Money

That was a search query someone used to arrive at my site.  And it got me thinking about the many times I’ve spoken with law library governance groups about how the law library can be a revenue generator.  It’s tricky, and elusive, but here are some ideas about how and whether a law library can be anything other than a cost center. I’ll start with some basic assumptions, which you may or may not…

What Does the Library Do?

If it wasn’t confusing enough about what to call people who work in libraries, it’s far more confusing to evaluate what a library is.  I’ve been watching developments in other libraries as the idea of what a library is or isn’t shifts.  Many of the roles that public or academic libraries are adopting wouldn’t necessarily apply to a public law library, but the underlying concept is the same:  what…