It has now been a year since I started at My First Law Library. I have accomplished quite a lot in a relatively short time, but I have also become frustrated with the pace of progress in moving the library out of the basement and into the Old Brick Jail. Here, then, is my assessment of my first year at My First Law Library.
The Good
I am making progress. The collection is almost in order. Considering the state of things when I arrived, this is huge accomplishment. Of course the collection will never be in perfect order; no library ever has its entire collection organized precisely the way the librarian would like it. But the out-of-date books are no longer part of the main collection, and updated books have arrived to replace them. I continue to travel north once a month to pick up my latest allotment of pocket parts and recent discards from from my patron library.
The library is much cleaner, orderly, and functional. It is challenging to make a basement an inviting place to visit and work in — especially one that had been neglected for so long. But I have moved things around to give patrons comfortable spaces to work and relax. The library has new computers and I offer free WiFi, coffee, and a modern scanner. The feedback I have received from my attorneys, judges, and law clerks has been extremely positive. Over the past year, several attorneys have made the library their satellite office.
(N.B.: It is truly amazing how many paper clips and staples attorneys use.)
I am still working to develop a strong client base. Last week, I presented at statewide conference for solo practitioners and small firms touting the benefits of working with law librarians. Also last week, I attended a meeting of local women attorneys; when I happened to mention to one of the attorneys that I compile law-review articles for the local bar association, she realized that if she ever wanted an article, all she needed to do was call or email me.
One attorney at a time, I’m getting them used to thinking about the library as an indispensable information resource.
The Bad
A have spent a great deal of time researching and selecting the furniture that will be needed when it comes time to move the library into the Old Brick Jail — and making sure that it stays within the budget. Working with an excellent vendor, I finally obtained a price quote that did exactly that. The bonus was the furniture could also be used in the current basement library. I put together a little document that explained what we would be getting and what it would look like. I was very pleased with myself.
Only to find out that there had been a misunderstanding about the budget and that my quote would be considered in next year’s budget.
One of my readers recently asked me when I would be moving to the Old Brick Jail. This week I found it it won’t been anytime soon. Why? Well public works has not received the designs I had completed back in August. Why not? I wish I could comment publicly.
My First Law Library 