Skip to main content

To be or not to be a law librarian? : that was my question

By
I can’t say that for the most part I was looking to law for a change in my library career. I was aware however that I needed a change. Not feeling particularly happy in my current position and, although I loved being a local history librarian, I had had enough of working in local government. I found myself in one of those situations in life whereby I knew I needed something different but wasn’t sure exactly what it was. OK, so I had a few ideas going through my head but felt that I was locked into local history because that was my speciality and there’s not much opportunity to practice local history outside of the local government situation. It was a bit of a dilemma really – wanting something but not really knowing what it was, let alone how to go about getting it. Then out of the blue (as so often happens when you least expect it), a message came through WAIN. Kirsty McPhee, on behalf of Kott Gunning Lawyers, posted a position for a library manager. It was one of those moments when I knew that "this is it Lorraine, you need to go for it". Of course, the voices in my head were telling me “You don’t have a chance.” “You have no law experience.” “Why would they even consider you?” Anyway, having nothing to lose but my pride and self-esteem (I’m such a sensitive soul), I decided I would apply for the position. The rest, as they say, is history.

A year later, and amazingly I’m still here. I have survived. In part, I would have to thank the network of law librarians who are a great bunch and always so eager to help each other. I never felt like I was totally alone as I knew if I needed assistance it would only be an email away. Even with my little knowledge as a law librarian (something which I am painfully obvious of when I see the wealth of experience everyone else seems to have), I am excited to now be a member of the ALLA (WA) Committee. I hope I can contribute something worthwhile to the group as I know I will be receiving heaps in return.

Well, here’s to my second year – no more questioning whether I can or I can’t – it’s time once again to get on and "just do it".

Lorraine Pearce
Information Resources Manager
Kott Gunning Lawyers
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ALLA National Board - Nominations Open

By
ALLA members would have received an email from Emma Joneshart, President of ALLA Ltd regarding a call for nominations for members to join the ALLA Ltd Board of Directors. Nominations will be voted upon at the ALLA AGM, held on Thursday 23 September during the ALLA Virtual Conference 2021 . The ALLA Ltd Board of Directors is an important part of the Australian Law Librarians' Association's governance. Made up of at least eight members of ALLA, nominations are open for the following positions:  Vice President Secretary Treasurer Vendor Relations CPD Coordinator General Directors The Vice President position is for a term of 3 years, consisting of a year each as Vice President, President and Past President. The other positions are for a 2-year term, allowing for a sufficient time period to become familiar with the role and have meaningful impact on ALLA projects.  Each role is varied, with support from other members of the Board, and in addition to monthly meetings (mainly via te...
Post a Comment
Read more

Keeping Up With ALLA (WA) News

By
In March 2023 we announced the  closure of the Allgwa list , and welcomed the arrival of the  ALLA (WA) Google Group .  To take full advantage of the Google Group - particularly the ability to deliver news directly to your inbox - the ALLA (WA) Committee has made the decision to cease posting to the ALLA (WA) Blog.  ALLA (WA) Members are encouraged to join the Google Group to make sure they don’t miss out on key news, events, job opportunities from the committee and our members.  Over the past twelve and a half years we've have over 208636 visitors (and still counting) to the ALLA (WA) Blog, from all over the world. We thank all of our readers who have supported the blog. We especially thank all of our blog editors and contributors who have volunteered their time, skill and knowledge to develop this resource. The ALLA (WA) Blog will continue to be available in an archive format. We look forward to using the ALLA (WA) Google Group to share infor...
1 comment
Read more

Copyright training 27th July

By
The Australian Libraries Copyright Committee is offering training sessions in Perth on Monday, 27 July. The sessions are free to to member organisations and their employees - ALIA, NSLA, CAUL, NLA, AGLIN, NAA, CAARA and Aust Soc Archivists ( note: ALLA is not included ). Each half day session costs $60 for non-members. For more details and registration information, visit the ALCC website . Space is limited, so don't delay!
Post a Comment
Read more