Lightning Bolts

A few weeks ago, one of my judges came down to My First Law Library to talk with me about something, and at one point we ended up chatting about the librarian’s role. He told me how he appreciated that his courtroom has current jury instructions and that his law clerks always know where to go when they have thorny research problems.

What the judge didn’t realize is that those things are just a small part of what I do.

That conversation was a thunderbolt for me. I realized that nobody but me (and maybe my sweetheart of a husband) really knows what I do as a solo courthouse law librarian — especially one who has been relegated to the basement of a courthouse. If I want the respect of my food chain, a bigger budget, and more staff, then they need to know what I actually do for 40-plus hours a week.

Heaven help me, I need to write an annual report.

A typical annual report requires a lot of writing, which requires long stretches of uninterrupted time. And I just don’t have that kind of time these days.

That’s when a second thunderbolt hit me. Why don’t I blog the report? I can write it in bits and pieces and, as a bonus, get feedback from people I respect — my blog readers.

So, over the next month or so, check back here regularly for drafts of the various sections of My First Annual Report. And thanks in advance for your help!

Stay tuned.