Law librarians: the new information specialists.

Many observers of law office management trends speculate that the increasing reliance on online services and materials in CD-ROM format heralds an end to the need for law librarians. On the contrary, because of the plethora of information now besieging us, librarians are needed more than ever to serve as organizers, catalogers, and guides to the information superhighway.

Massive computerized databases save time and effort in some respects but create new demands on time in others. For example, it is common for each database to have a unique and sophisticated searching protocol. Moreover, these databases arc constantly changing and expanding. It would be difficult for attorneys to find the time both to master the necessary searching software and to keep up with innovations in a way ensuring optimal efficiency and expertise. Also, ordering and updating materials, as well as troubleshooting technical difficulties, consume a great deal of time. Librarians will save lawyers time and money by taking charge of information services.

In the next century, librarians will continue to ensure that cost-conscious clients stay satisfied. Law firms currently arc struggling with how, to bill for online and CD-ROM research. Increasingly, clients insist that these services should no more be billed separately than should law books. If a firm decides to absorb these costs as overhead, it is all the more critical that databases be selected by an information specialist who knows about different products and vendors and that searching be done as quickly and skillfully, as possible.

Some firms now boast of being "bookless."(1) While it is possible to maintain a library of CD-ROMs, the start-up costs arc formidable if lawyers are to have simultaneous access to any publication at any time. Licensing requirements for multiple users add to the CD subscription costs and may prevent lending, copying, or retaining the disks.(2) CD-ROM updates may not be as current as paper ones, and coverage may not be as thorough.(3) Also, some CD-ROM sets are divided into multiple dices. Attorneys who want to conduct an exhaustive survey must repeat searches as many times as there are disks.(4) For all these reasons, a knowledgeable librarian is an asset in CD-ROM libraries.

Another drawback of the bookless firm is that it will not provide attorneys with all the resources they need. Much research needed in firms today is not law-related in the traditional sense. The library, in whatever format, must contain a wealth of nonlegal information from a variety of books and online databases. The most intangible but valuable resource of all, however, is people who know how to start looking and whom to call for the obscure information needs that come up constantly for the good litigator.

So will law librarians still be necessary in the 21st century? Absolutely. In fact, it's fair to say that their role will be greatly expanded. They will analyze and select not only information but the products that generate it. They will teach users techniques to search through different systems and help steer them to the best resources to meet their needs.

Attorneys who don't have their own librarians are charting the seas of information without a navigator. At the very least, they should take advantage of state court and county law librarians or law school librarians if possible.

The information age holds great promise. A wealth of data can be accessed, facilitating creativity and productivity for attorneys. What is essential is that both lawyers and librarians envision a new role for law librarians. They should be seen not merely as custodians but as information specialists; not merely as overhead items but as valuable assets.

As Robert Oakley, director of the law library at Georgetown University Law Center, writes, librarians of the future will be "navigators and cartographers, mapping out the islands of legal information and helping our users to get there."(5)

Notes

(1) See, eg., David B. Pudlin & John P. Lavelle Jr., Now on CD: "Pageless in Philadelphia," NAT'L L.J., May 29,1995, at CI. (2) On these and other restrictions of licensing, see Mary J. Koshollek, Legal Resources on CD-ROM: Buyer Beware, NETWORK 2D, Spring 1995, at (3) Id. (4) See Jean O'Grady & William DeSalvo, Meeting the CD-ROM Networking Challenge, LAW TECH. PRODUCT NEWS, July 1995, at 35. (5) Robert L. Oakley, Legal Information Policy and the Changing Nature of Law Libraries., L. LIBR. LIGHTS, Jan,-Feb. 1995, at 1, 7.