Interested in Law Librarianship?

By Grace Chilingirian and Allison Coltin
 

This fall, the San Diego Area Law Libraries Association will be launching “SANDALL Buddies," a new mentoring program that pairs up professional law librarians with library students, new librarians and other types of librarians who are interested in the field of law librarianship.

The pairs can choose to perform a variety of activities together, such as attending events, working on projects such as newsletter articles and planning a SANDALL event to help mentees get more familiar with the organization. The Buddies Program is designed to be flexible to allow pairs to set their own goals and expectations and establish their own meeting schedules and contact preferences. There will also be occasional social events where the pairs can meet other participants and share ideas.

Seeing Through Librarian-Tinted Lenses: The Relevancy of MLIS Coursework

by Kimberly A. Price

I work in a law firm without a library (eek!). I’ve sometimes lamented the fact that I do not have a job  in a traditional library setting, or even a library associated with my work; but having a job pays the bills, and given the current state of the economy, I do truly feel blessed to have a job at all. While I still long for the day I can refer to myself as a “librarian”, I have recently realized that, even in my current job, I am already using many of the skills I’ve learned thus far in my MLIS coursework.

If I put on my “librarian lenses”, I can see that much of the work I do is relevant to my future career choice. I find this encouraging, and I hope you will too, as it is validation that the things we are learning are practical and important, in more ways than I originally anticipated. This realization has broadened my own view of what it means to be a librarian or information professional, and it has helped me recognize experiences outside of my MLIS courses that will be directly applicable to my culminating eportfolio and future job.

Looking at the glass half full, I’d like to share some of my experiences, with the hope of inspiring you to put on your own “librarian lenses” and recognize the value of the lessons and skills you have learned in this program, regardless of whether you are working in a library or not.