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Careers in law libraries
Law librarians work in a range of settings, such as private law firms, academia, courts, parliament, governmental organisations, and the legal departments of businesses, associations and non-government organisations. Law librarians can be involved in tasks such as legal research, teaching and learning, information literacy, classification of library materials, collection development, electronic services, and special collections and archiving. Law librarians work with material and information from a variety of sources. These include electronic online databases (for information ranging from legislation and cases, to company or financial information); print resources such as text books, reference books and law reports; journals and other documents. Law librarians are involved in the provision of this information to support the legal and policy making community, and also the general public.
Law LibrariesThere are three general categories that law librarians most commonly work in. These include:
Academic law librarians can find themselves working in specialised law schools, or academic libraries with legal collections. Academic law librarianship is a good career for those who enjoy legal research and working with scholarly information.
Government libraries offer a range of contexts in which law librarians can work in. Government libraries include courts, parliamentary libraries and government departments. The scope of government libraries is diverse and would be a good career choice for those who enjoy legal research and being involved in the legislative process.
Private libraries include law firms, the legal department of a corporation, business and non-government/not-for-profit organisation. Law librarians in private libraries are involved in a diverse range of services depending on the size and scope of the library. Often law librarianship in a private setting involves a high degree of client and reference work.
Library job titles and descriptions
Librarians possess strong technical skills and a client service focus. Librarians are often required to manage various elements of a library such as collection development, client services, strategic planning, budgets and major projects. Librarians are required to provide leadership, managerial, commercial skills and judgement. More information on librarianship can be found here http://www.alia.org.au/education/qualifications/librarian.html
Library Technicians generally focus on the operational and technical aspects of library and information management. Typical tasks that a Library Technician could undertake include organising and maintaining library resources, updating records and systems, retrieval of information from databases and handling interlibrary loans requests. More information on Library Technicians can be found here http://www.alia.org.au/education/qualifications/library.technician.html
Library Assistants are typically involved in library circulation work, inspecting and repairing damaged items, sorting and shelving library materials, and using electronic information management and cataloguing tools for data entry. More information on Library Assistants can be found here http://www.alia.org.au/education/qualifications/library.assistant.html
Education and TrainingMost law librarians will hold a library and information qualification recognised by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Studies can be taken at an undergraduate or postgraduate level. ALIA recognised courses can be found at http://www.alia.org.au/education/qualifications/ Post graduate courses are usually one or two year’s full time, or two to three years part time. Admission requirements for graduate courses vary, but in most cases a bachelor’s degree is required. Most library courses include practical and theoretical components, and assessment ranges from participation in tutorials, written essays/reports and examinations. More information on Library and Information courses can be found at http://www.alia.org.au/education/qualifications/ While it is not a prerequisite, some law librarians have a law degree. Depending on the level of law librarianship one is involved with, an understanding of legal systems and the law making process is an advantage. Those who have undertaken studies in law are encouraged to enter the library profession as it presents the opportunity to be engaged in legal research. In most cases,a legal qualification alone will not suffice - you will also need to hold a qualification in library and information studies. ALLA offers a number of courses and professional development opportunities for those working with legal information; please see our training, events and conferences pages.
Opportunities to work abroadA career in law librarianship presents many opportunities in terms of working abroad. The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) offers LIBEX, an international job exchange scheme. LIBEX offers CILIP members the opportunity to exchange jobs with library and information staff around the world.
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| Last Updated on Friday, 18 March 2011 20:58 |