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Academic Exercises: Using Law Library Skills To Find an Academic Library Dream Job
by Jennifer McCabe
When I graduated from library school in 1995, I already had four years of paraprofessional experience in a public library. My first professional job, though, was as a law librarian in the branch office of a large national law firm. I took this job for a number of reasons. First, I had studied legal research in graduate school and was eager to use my knowledge. The job was also in the city I wanted to live in, a city in which the job market for librarians was tight.
I knew, however, that I didn't want to work in a private, for-profit setting for the rest of my career. I gave myself five years to learn the profession, to get experience, and to decide which direction to go from there.
Law Library Lessons
During the years I spent as a law librarian, I constantly referred to my experience in and knowledge of the public library. When an attorney needed an article from yesterday's local newspaper, I knew where to go. When the online version of a medical journal did not include photos and charts, I knew where to get them. When the secretaries wanted elocution tapes to teach their attorneys how to dictate, I could quickly find them. I was fortunate in that my office was a few blocks away from the public library -- and I always welcomed the chance to walk down there. My understanding of online databases, the ways that information is organized, and the ways that people search for information far outweighed any deficit in my understanding of civil procedure.
I soon learned that one of the difficulties facing solo librarians is the feeling of isolation. Because I was new to law and because I learn through conversation and interaction, I began actively to seek opportunities to meet other law librarians. I was fortunate to have colleagues in our offices in other cities, and I quickly became part of a network of law librarians in my city. But in my office, I was still alone in trying to coordinate training, educate users about the library, make cataloging decisions, and justify my professional development.
After four and a half years, for various personal and professional reasons, I decided to quit my job. It was something I had been thinking about and planning for a long time. I wanted to relocate and knew that my self-imposed five-year deadline was approaching. I was mindful of the valuable experience I had gotten while at the law firm, and anxious to build on this experience. I wanted to work with a more diverse group of users, and with other professional librarians, in more varied subject areas. I had an intuitive feeling that I could satisfy my needs in an academic library.
The Academic Job Search
After satisfying my wanderlust for a few months, I began to look for another job, concentrating on academic library positions in mild climates. I was a bit concerned that my lack of a subject master's degree might hinder my job search, but it turned out that most jobs I applied for did not require one. What I found was that my practical experience proved more valuable than I had anticipated.
My job search began in earnest at the end of October 2000, although my resume and vita had been completed a few months earlier. I spent many hours each day searching for job openings and writing application letters. By January 3, 2001, I was starting my new job.
Just as my experience in the public library had helped me immensely as a law librarian, so did my experience in the law firm help me in my job search. I had created and managed operating budgets, built and managed collections, and maintained web pages. These are skills that can benefit any librarian in any setting. Further, to combat my feelings of isolation as a law librarian, I had made it a personal policy to accept every public speaking invitation I was offered. Not only did this give me good exposure in the community, but it put my stage-fright to rest and helped me become accustomed to preparing and delivering presentations. This, I believe, was what ultimately led to the offer I accepted.
When I started to get invitations to interviews that included the requirement that I prepare a presentation for a group of librarians, my initial gut reaction was fear. But then I quickly remembered that I had done plenty of presentations -- to groups of paralegals and lawyers, no less! And, while I had no firsthand experience with academic librarianship, I am a professional researcher. There is no topic that is out of my reach. Thus, I used all of my professional experience in a practical, professional way.
The Payoff: An Academic Dream Job
I am now working in my dream job. I am a reference librarian in a medium-sized public university, with liaison responsibilities to the Health Sciences, Nursing and Social Work departments. These departments were chosen based on my experience with legal research and knowledge of government and regulations, experience that I'd gained as a law librarian. I now have many colleagues in the library, including two ex-law librarians, all of whom have welcomed me, and eagerly shared their experience and expertise. I have contact with faculty in designing instruction, and with students both in providing reference assistance and information literacy instruction.
I have found that many of the "rules" of librarianship apply to job hunting. For example, I begin my instruction by telling students that effective research begins by listing search terms and choosing the appropriate database. The same could be said of job searching, you must determine what you are looking for and where it is likely to be found. As librarians we have skills that can be used in a wide variety of settings, and one of the most rewarding ways to use them is in finding the right job.
Jennifer McCabe is a reference librarian at James Madison University, working in the CISAT library. She found her current job through the LIBJOBS mailing list.