Skip to main content
By
Recently The New York Times published an article by David W. Dunlap called 'So Little Paper to Chase in a Law Firm's New Library' about how a major law firm's relocation resulted in "leaving behind" nearly 95% of their physical library collection.

The article has lead the President of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), Holly M. Riccio, to write a Letter to the Editor pointing out that the article failed to understand the shift to digital that has allowed for such a large discard of print material.

Riccio writes:

“Given the author’s rhetorical strategy, one might conclude that Kaye Scholer’s library was “left behind” in the firm’s move. To the contrary, the law library was transformed into a comprehensive, firm-wide digital repository of legal information and resources.

Law libraries, like newspapers, are going through major transitions as they adapt to changes in technology and culture. Our members are helping to lead the way—reconceiving the library as a service, a virtual clearinghouse of legal knowledge, not just a physical space.”

Dunlap's article does note that a partner of the Firm does still have a print copy of a key text in his new office, and points to the location shift of the library from "the heart of the firm's headquarters" to "the basement".

What do you think? Was Dunlap too negative about the move? Was he too focused on the decorative nature of the physical editions "beloved of any photographer, videographer or cinematographer"? Do you agree with Riccio that "these transformations are necessary"?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ALLA Conference 2018 - Call for Papers

By
Submissions are now open for the 2018 ALLA Conference!   The 2018 Conference will be held in Darwin, Northern Territory at the Doubletree by Hilton Esplanade and there will opportunities to visit law libraries and enjoy the array of culinary and cultural highlights of Darwin. Centred around the theme of Global Impact/Local Footprint, the Conference Committee is looking for papers and posters, including but not limited to those that address the themes: Indigenous issues Career development Technology Education Presentations There will be a variety of presentation formats and lengths. The Conference Committee welcomes a variety of proposals including: Individual presentations Panel discussions (multiple, complementary speakers on a single topic) Practical workshop sessions Digital - posters (with an optional additional hard copy submission) Lightning talks (5/10 minute sessions) Abstracts should be submitted to convenor@alla.asn.au and submissions clo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Curtin University Law School now in the city

By
Curtin University has opened a new Law School campus in Perth’s Central Business District within an existing 1912 heritage listed building located at 57 Murray Street. Situated in the Perth CBD in close proximity to the Supreme Court, District Court and Perth Magistrate’s Court, as well as statutory tribunals such as the State Administrative Tribunal, the city campus will facilitate student’s education within an applied industry setting in line with Curtin’s primary vision of developing job-ready graduates. The new facility will also provide a unique home for the Law School and provide a hub for both formal and informal interactions between the staff, students and in-house legal professionals. Teaching and learning has been optimised within the building through the use of state-of-the-art collaborative and distributed learning space design and learning technologies. These facilities include a technologically equipped moot court, allowing for both traditional and seminar based lea...
Post a Comment
Read more