“Keeping Current Can Be Hard to Do for Law Librarians”

I bet! In fact, I’ve often thought that being a law librarian would be a most interesting job. Just think about everything you would learn!

"Librarians are curious people. We like to skim magazines and books, we like to surf the Web and we have some interest in a lot of topics. A former co-worker used to say that librarians are ‘trivial’ in that we are always picking up trivia — a definite asset when one needs to keep current in their profession.

"I was familiar with blogs, wikis and social software before I wrote ‘The Many Hats of a Law Librarian: Part 3.’

[snip]

"So, keeping current has two parts: awareness of new or changing resources/activities and appreciation of possible uses or impact in your institution. Or, there may not be a use in your library. Mash-ups look to be a fun technology, but I do not see a need for it at my institution at this time. Law firm librarians may find it more interesting.

"Keeping current is not just for technology advances, although technology does drive much of the change and activity. My ‘Hats’ series [of articles] is an attempt to describe how the Internet and electronics have impacted and continue to impact our profession. Our traditional hats as modified by technology means current awareness crosses more lines and covers more topics than ever."

Author Tricia Kasting is a reference/government documents librarian at Hofstra University School of Law’s Deane Law Library in Hempstead, N.Y.