Law Lines Spring 2011

LLAGNY Law Lines Vol. 34 No.
Editorial Staff
Jacob Sayward
Jennifer Wertkin
Co-Editors
Kit Kreilick
Copy Editor
Bacilio Mendez II
Art Director
Publication Info
Law Lines is published four

times per year by the Law
Library Association of Greater
New York (LLAGNY).
Issues appear in Spring,

Summer, Fall, and Winter.
For membership informa-
Law Lines Vol. 34 No. 3 Spring 2011

tion, contact Sally Munson
at smunson@dl.com
or Rosalinda Rupel at
rosalinda.medinarupel@
cliffordchance.com. President’s Message ............................................................... 2
1 Editors’ Letter ....................................................................... 4
Contributions, comments Major Milestones ................................................................... 5
or news items for Law New Member Welcome ......................................................... 6
Lines may be sent to Law
Book Review: Commercial Litigation in
Lines Editors, lawlinesny@
gmail.com. New York State Courts, Third Edition ...................... 7
Talking about LLAGNY:
All contributions submit- An Idea to Promote Law Libaries ............................. 9
ted for publication are Law Library Laughs ............................................................ 10
subject to editorial review
Library School Perspectives: A View from the Classroom ... 11
and are published at
editorial discretion. A Day in the Life .................................................................. 13
New York Programming for Law Librarians:
LLAGNY does not assume Act Locally .............................................................. 15
responsibility for the Stranger in a Strange Land
statements advanced by
Musings of an MLIS Turned Law Student ............... 18
the contributors to Law
Lines nor do the views Using Comic Books to Teach the Law ................................. 20
expressed necessarily Using Google Custom Search
represent the views of To Access Recommended Legal Sites ....................... 22
LLAGNY or its members. Research Challenge & Cautionary Tale ............................... 37
Acceptance of advertising
The Dual Degree Debate ...................................................... 31
is not an endorsement of
products or services January 25th LLAGNY Board Meeting Minutes ................ 41
of advertisers. February 15th LLAGNY Board Meeting Minutes ............... 43
Spring 2011
February 22nd LLAGNY Board Meeting Minutes .............. 44

LLAGNY © 2011 March 4th LLAGNY Board Meeting Minutes .................... 44
Spring Crossword Puzzle .................................................... 45
ISSN 0148-0553
Winter Crossword Puzzle Solution ...................................... 46
President’s Message
LLAGNY Law Lines Vol. 34 No. 3

—Patricia Barbone
T
here is never a dull moment in LLAG- bership.” (LLAGNY By-laws Amendment,
NY. Let me bring you up to date on 2006) Thus charged, the Committee began a
all the activities that keep LLAGNY’s CLE track for attorneys in 2010.
Board & Committees hard at work. Answering a challenge this year as to wheth-
First let me tell you about the outcome of er offering CLE credit to lawyers was within
LLAGNY’s letter to West, a Thomson Reuters LLAGNY’s organizational purpose and wheth-
company, regarding West’s layoff of librarians er our tax status would be called into question,
in their Librarian Relations team last Novem- the Board hired a lawyer who confirmed in a
ber. Peter Warwick (President & CEO, Legal written opinion that neither of the issues raised
at Thomson Reuters) replied in writing ac- had merit. Further in the challenge to the CLE
knowledging our letter. He wrote, “We greatly offering was whether we had the necessary abil-
value librarians and strive to support them in ity to perform the necessary steps to ensure the
all areas of our business.” Mr. Warwick asked accreditation. The Board examined this and
Chris Cartrett, Vice President of Sales and Ac- voted that we have the skills and ability, howev-
count Management, to contact us; and both Mr. er declining to endorse the concept that LLAG-
Cartrett and Anne Ellis, Senior NY should apply to become an
Director of Library Relations accredited CLE provider.
have done so. The Board is This year I was pleased that
now in the process of sched- my firm sent three members
uling a meeting to receive a of our future summer associ-
more detailed explanation of ate class to the Bridge the Gap 2
the future of the Librarian Re- Program. I’m proud to have
lations team. LLAGNY mem- been a part of the continuance
bers should feel free to share of LLAGNY’s 18 year tradi-
any questions or comments tion and to see this acclaimed
with me or Vice President/ program provide research in-
President Elect Caren Biber- struction to incoming summer
man so they can be presented associates, library students,
to Mr. Cartrett. I would also like to share the librarians and attorneys. This program en-
fact that many librarians, both from LLAGNY hances the profile for our organization and
and from the greater legal community, have librarians in the wider legal community.
contacted me expressing support and apprecia- LLAGNY is planning an event combining
tion for the letter that we sent. We are the only educational programs with a showcase of ven-
AALL Chapter of SIS to have done so. dors. The program has yet to be named and is
LLAGNY held its Bridge the Gap (BTG) still in the planning phase, but if all goes well, the
program on Friday, April 8th. Janice Hender- event will take place at the NYC Bar Association.
son and Yasmin Sokkar Harker co-chaired. Members June Berger, Kathryn McCrae, Steve
First begun in 1994, as the primary mission Lastres, and Vicki Szymczak are spearheading
of the then M.C.L.E/Teaching Legal Research this exciting new program along with Vice Presi-
Committee, the BTG programming sought to dent/President-Elect Caren Biberman.
prepare law students for employment as sum- If you didn’t get a chance to attend the
Spring 2011
mer associates and interns. In 2006, the Com- LLAGNY Education program, Turbo-Charge
mittee name changed to Outreach to “reflect your Career through Mentoring and Internship,
the goal of providing research instruction to on February 23, you missed an inspiring night.
a wide variety of persons outside the mem- This program featured two speakers, the first of
which was Gabrielle Bernstein, best-selling author with a breakfast and a talk by NYLI Executive Di-
and motivational speaker, who lead the audience rector, Ralph Monaco, on the history of NYLI and
through a discussion of formalized and informal how their history parallels the changes in the field
mentoring relationships. She discussed the benefits of law librarianship. I spoke briefly to the twelve
of both mentoring and becoming a mentee; and of- students on the value of LLAGNY to their pro-
fered suggestions on ways to bring mentor-mentee fessional development; and I encouraged them to
relationships into your life for personal and profes- join as student members and to consider applying
sional success. After Gabrielle, the program was for one of LLAGNY’s scholarships. After that, I
turned over to LLAGNY member, Jennifer Alex- left the students in the capable hands of Student
ander, who spoke on setting up and managing an Relations Chair, Elizabeth Nicholson, who lead
internship program in your organization. Jennifer them on to their visits at Milbank and Hawkins,
works for a law firm and has a library degree, but Delafield & Wood. Thanks to Ralph Monaco at
does competitive intelligence for the firm’s market- NYLI, Sarah Kagan at Milbank, and Kathryn Mc-
ing department. She has been running an intern- Crae at Hawkins for volunteering their time and
ship program for library insight, and to Eliza-
school students for sev- beth Nicholson for co-
eral years. Her presen-
tation included practical While many ordinating the event.
As this is my last
folks have helped

advice on planning and President’s column in
organizing an intern- Law Lines, it is time
ship program so that it to acknowledge all of
adds value for the orga-
nization as well as the
make LLAGNY a the wonderful volun-
teers who have helped
intern, while still con-
forming to the library success, I would me on what I think of
as “Team LLAGNY.”
like to acknowledge
3 school’s requirements. This consists of my fel-
The space and refresh- low Board Members,
ments for the program the Committee Chairs,
were generously pro-
vided by Portfolio Me-
one person by name. and the hardworking
committee members
dia. Thanks to Kathryn
McCrae who did a great Kit Kreilick, who devote priceless
time and energy to the
you are a treasure!

job of coordinating such pursuits of this won-
an engaging evening. derful organization. I
Our next education would especially like
program on May 19th to recognize my staff at
should prove to be equally inspiring. This pro- Hughes, Hubbard & Reed who provided an abun-
gram, How to Add Value and Achieve Recogni- dance of support. I am deeply appreciative of the
tion,” is a joint program with SLA and will fea- many sponsors who have supported us throughout
ture Toby Gafni-Weiss, a motivational speaker the year and made our programs possible. While
and consultant, who will lead the audience into many folks have helped make LLAGNY a success,
a discussion about how law librarians and infor- I would like to acknowledge one person by name.
mation professional can market themselves and That person is Kit Kreilick, LLAGNY’s Technol-
become recognized within their organizations. I ogy Chair, who has tirelessly kept our website up-
hope to see many LLAGNY Members attending. to-date, often with little advance notice, for more
The Student Breakfast was held on Wednesday years than either of us care to count. I literally don’t
Spring 2011
April 27th. This year’s hosts were the New York know what I would have done without her; Kit, you
Law Institute; Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & Mc- are a treasure! To Kit, our loyal sponsors, and all
Cloy LLP; and Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP. the many LLAGNY members who have made this
The day started out at the New York Law Institute year so rewarding, you have my heartfelt thanks. ■
Editors’ Letter, Spring 2011
—Jennifer Wertkin & Jacob Sayward, Co-Editors
G
reetings and welcome to the Spring is- ians and Their Associations where he discusses 4
sue of Law Lines (although it has not the importance of being active in your local pro-
been much of a Spring with this miser- fessional organizations. In a similar vein, Tricia
able weather!). In this issue, we are fortunate Kasting, chair of the LLAGNY Public Relations
to have Trezlen Drake’s interview the creators Committee, encourages involvement on a local
of the Law and the Multiverse comic series by level as well. Vija Doks entertains us with a hu-
“real life” attorneys, James Daily and Ryan Da- morous cartoon.
vidson. Their work features fictional legal sce- This issue contains some of our regular fea-
narios as seen through the eyes of comic book tures, including Johanna Blakely-Bourgeois’
heroes. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. “Library School Perspectives.” )Let’s all con-
We also have many other interesting and in- gratulate her on graduation this month)!Our
formative pieces. Terry Ballard walks us through “Day in the Life” series continues with Ju-
the award winning Dragnet search engine at lie Reynolds’ discussion of moving from the
New York Law School, giving us a peek at this Washington D.C. branch of her firm to the
wonderful resource. Pepper Hedden brings us a New York City Branch.
cautionary tale regarding the challenge of work- Unfortunately, we were unable to get any
ing with “iffy” citations– a problem we have all members to volunteer for the “Librarians in
surely encountered. Imtiaz Jafar explores the the Real World” series. We are reaching out
debate between dual-degree and non-dual de- LLAGNY members to consider participating
gree law librarians. LLAGNY President, Patri- in this fun feature. Please let us know if you
cia Barbone, provides us with a thorough and would like to showcase an outside interest in
Spring 2011
informative book review of the new edition of Law Lines. We encourage you to come for-
the important, multi-volume West treatise, Com- ward with your talents!
mercial Litigation in New York Courts. We are We hope this season treats you well and
pleased to include in this issue, the second in- look forward to seeing you all at the dinner on
stallment of Chuck Lowry’s series, Law Librar- June 1st. ■
Major Milestones
Professional Dana Neacsu, Reference Librarian and Lec-

Errol Adams has completed his M.L.S. turer-in-Law at Columbia University, Arthur
degree at St. John’s University. W. Diamond Law Library successfully de-
fended her dissertation and completed her
Patricia Barbone was recently elected to the PhD studies in gauging informed citizenship
Chair of the AALL Council of Chapter Presi- through textual analysis of, inter alia, audi-
dents 2011-2012. Patricia will take over as ence-authored texts, at the School of Commu-
Chair at the end of the AALL Annual Meeting nication and Information at Rutgers Univer-
in Philadelphia in July. The Council of Chap- sity. Dr. Neacsu, is now working on an AALL
ter Presidents is made up of the Chapter Presi- program entitled “Employers` Expectations:
dents, Vice-Presidents/ President Elects, and Are Library Schools Doing Everything They
Immediate Past Presidents from all of AALL’s Can?” along with Patricia Barbone; Penny
31 regional chapters. The Council exists to Hazelton; and Tula Giannini, Dean and Pro-
facilitate communication among and between fessor at Pratt School of Information & Li-
the various chapters and AALL. brary Science.
Patricia also recently returned from a trip
to Dallas where she presented at the 8th An- Rebecca D. Newton is now a Reference Li-
nual Advanced Management for Private Law brarian at Bingham McCutchen LLP.
Librarians (AMPLL) a program sponsored by
Lexis and held April 8-10, 2011. Eugene Preudhomme, Law Library Director,
Appellate Division, First Department, has re-
5 Anna Blaine (Reference Librarian, New York ceived the prestigious Bernard Botein Award.
Law School), Dan Mitrano (Assistant Librar- The Bernard Botein Medal is awarded annu-
ian, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP), ally by the New York City Bar in recognition
and Kerri Spennicchia (International Law of outstanding contributions to the adminis-
Research Associate, White & Case LLP) par- tration of the courts. http://www.law.com/jsp/
ticipated in SLA Pratt Skill Share Fair Panel nylj/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202488639080
Discussion “Law Librarianship Today” held
on April 15, 2011. Alexa Robertson, PLI Manager of Library
Relations, participated in the April 15, 2011
Bruce Bosso was featured in the Brooklyn Speed Mentoring at the SLA Pratt Skill Share
Daily Eagle’s Pro Bono Barrister section on Fair .
March 11th, 2011, under the byline: PBB’s
New ‘Unsung Hero’ Bruce is the Principal Jill Sutton is the new librarian in the New
Law Librarian of the Appellate Division in York office of Vinson & Elkins.
Brooklyn. The feature credits Bosso’s excel-
lent service, experience, knowledge, and dedi- Personal
cation for his ‘hero’ status in the face of Kings Congratulations to Janet Peros, Reference
County budget cuts. Well Bruce, you are un- Librarian at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz,
sung no more! who greeted the birth of her first child on
December 1st, 2010. Little Samuel Kazimir
Pepper Hedden, Reference Librarian at the weighed in with lucky sevens: 7 lbs. 7 oz.
New York County District Attorney’s office,
Spring 2011
has completed her M.L.S. degree at St. John’s

University.
Help Us Welcome Our New 6
LLAGNY Members!
John Azzolini
Jenelle Blevins
Narinder S. Chawla
Mallory Corlette
Carmen Dubuisson
Jamie Furillo
Jenna Halvey
Daniel J. Hayter
Lauren T. Maguire
Emily Price
Frances Shoenfield
Laura Ross
Michael Totonetti
Spring 2011
Book Review:
Commercial Litigation
in New York State
Courts, Third Edition
—Patricia E. Barbone, Director of Library Services,
Hughes, Hubbard & Reed LLP
T
he multi-volume West treatise, Com- lawyers from many of the finest law firms in
mercial Litigation in New York Courts, New York State.
edited by Robert L. Haig, has always What is covered in the new edition? All 88
been a popular and highly regarded resource chapters from the second edition have been
in my firm’s library collection. Upon hear- substantially expanded. Nineteen additional
ing a new third edition was available, I knew chapters have been added to address new sub-
we should acquire it. However, in examining jects like law firm litigation management, the
the third edition for this review, I obtained a relationship of criminal cases to commercial
fuller appreciation of what an important legal civil litigation, Article 78 challenges; and com-
research tool this set has become. This book mercial real estate. In total, there are now 38
7 is a resource that pulls together procedural is- chapters devoted to substantive law subjects
sues in litigating commercial cases in New commonly encountered in commercial cases
York with a full discussion of the underlying including but not limited to: contracts, insur-
substantive law to provide practitioners with ance, sale of goods, banking, securities, anti-
a comprehensive resource for commercial liti- trust, intellectual property, and franchising.
gation. Experienced and junior litigators alike will
The latest edition is seven books: six vol- benefit from consulting this treatise. This is
umes plus a paperback volume with tables and the only work covering New York law that
an index. This an increase over the second edi- combines an in-depth treatment of civil proce-
tion which was 5 volumes. It covers volumes dure with a discussion of the substantive top-
2, 3, 4, 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D of the West’s New ics needed by commercial litigators. Straight
York Practice Series. There is an additional from the West product literature, this book is a
2,000 pages of text over the second edition. “step-by-step practice guide that covers every
Why was a third edition needed? When the aspect of a commercial case, from the investi-
sum total of the 2009 pocket parts was over gation and assessment that takes place at the
1,000 pages, it was clear the treatise was be- inception, through pleadings, discovery, mo-
coming unwieldy and needed to expand. In tions, trial, appeal, and enforcement of judg-
addition the authors believed it was necessary ment. Great emphasis is placed on strategic
to address some new and developing areas of considerations specific to commercial cases.”
law. New York’s procedural and substantive As previously mentioned, there are substan-
law has seen many changes over the past five tive law chapters that cover the subjects most
Spring 2011
years. Thus in 2009, work began on a new commonly encountered in commercial cases.
edition. The principal authors went from121 The publication includes in-depth text on law
to 144 in the third edition and include 20 dis- and procedure, strategies and client counsel-
tinguished judges as well as the best practicing ing, checklists, and cross-references. It also
includes tables of forms, jury instructions, ners litigating in New York State. For the

statutes, rules, and cases. Like most West trea- solo and small firm litigators, this book offers
tises, it contains research references to the Key enough ready access on both substantive and
Number Digest and related West publications procedural questions to make it an ideal desk
like N.Y. Jur. 2d and McKinney’s. In short, reference. For firm library collections, this
it provides the researcher with “everything book is an essential and well regarded treatise
needed to handle every aspect of a commer- offering advice, tips, and counsel from the best
cial litigation.” collective legal minds available in New York
A unique benefit of this treatise is that it is State. Recommended for law firms, both in-
not only useful to litigators but also to law- state and out of state, with commercial litiga-
yers working on behalf of their clients in the tion practices. ■
capacity of a “trusted adviser.” The book
places an emphasis on the strategic consider- Commercial Litigation in New York State
ations in commercial cases. The chapters on Courts, third edition, Robert L. Haig, Editor-
substantive law such as, intellectual property, in-Chief, West Publishing. Contains 7 volumes
products liability, antitrust, insurance, sale of plus CD-ROM of over 500 pages of essential
goods, or white collar crime, to name just a litigation forms and jury charges forms. Re-
few, offer a comprehensive overview of the tail price: $665. This book is a joint venture
relevant legal issues in undertaking litigation with West Publishing and the New York County
in any area of law. I can easily envision a situ- Lawyers’ Association (NYCLA) and proceeds
ation in which a transactional lawyer at a firm, benefit NYCLA.
who maintains a close relationship with his or
her client and the client’s business interests,
would consult this book, in particular the sub-
stantive law topics, to advise their client on an
ongoing matter; even while bringing the firm’s 8
litigation team on board.
The expanded third edition proves the book
continues to be an important contribution
to the body of legal scholarship, and a valu-
able tool for litigators and client advisers. As
Haig states in his foreword to the third edi-
tion, “They [the authors] have painstakingly
outlined strategies for the representation of
plaintiff and defendant. They have given
thoughtful consideration to the delineation and
attainment of objectives and to the advantages
as well as ramifications and pitfalls of various
actions and inactions on the part of the com-
mercial litigator throughout the entire course
of a lawsuit. This is not only a law book that is
valuable as a research tool and a source of le-
gal knowledge and citations, it is an idea book
filled with nuggets of wisdom and perspective
that could only have been gained by years of
experience in handling cases from the most
Spring 2011
simple to the most complex.”

This book is recommended for large law
firm library collections throughout the United
States; and for solo and small firm practitio-
Talking about LLAGNY:

An Idea to Promote
Law Libaries
—Tricia Kasting, Chair,
LLAGNY Public Relations committee, 2010-2011
Reference Librarian,
Deane Law Library, Hofstra University School of Law
E
ver talk to non-librarians about and LLAGNY reinforces that law librarian-
9 LLAGNY? One might be met with ship is a profession. Commitment to LLAG-
a blank stare and then a stutter of NY is a sign that we take what we do seri-
lay… what? Ohhh, kind of like a book ously and make the effort to keep ourselves
club, you get together to discuss what you informed and educated in our profession. We
read. We know people have little or no idea can point out that both LLAGNY and, for ex-
what is that law librarians do, and when in- ample, the American Bar Association (ABA),
comprehension is coupled with disinterest have common professional concerns includ-
why persevere. In the workplace, the effort ing new technology, career development, net-
to educate may prove worthwhile. working, and advocacy. In other words, we
How do we educate? At appropriate and have numerous topics of mutual interest to
opportune moments, talk about LLAGNY discuss. Mention of a workshop on licensing
to attorneys, faculty, students, and oth- or vendors’ products is reminder that librari-
ers in your institution. Incorporate your ans are directly involved with these decisions
LLAGNY activities into your elevator that affect the work that attorneys do every
speech; the day after a workshop or event day. Furthermore, it also illustrates librar-
bring it up in casual conversation; include ians’ special expertise with these matters.
librarians’ participation in LLAGNY in the Talking about LLAGNY is a gentle way
library newsletter/report. Or, when you to inform the non-librarians in our work-
use the listserv to receive the “must have place about what we do and the value li-
right now” document, let it be known that brarians add to the institution. Even if
the LLAGNY network was in play. Little attorneys, professors, staff or students do
Spring 2011
by little the idea that LLAGNY exists may not need to know, in detail, what it is that
spread beyond whoever is supervising the librarians do, a brief pitch on LLAGNY
library and pays the bills. makes them aware that there is more to law
Why is this a benefit? People do under- librarianship than what easily meets the
stand the concept of professional networks eye. That makes it worth the effort! ■
10
LLAGNY Law Lines Vol. 34 No. 3 Spring 2011

Law Library Laughs
—Vija Doks
Library School Perspectives:
A
s I near graduation this May, I re-
I believe that
alize that I have come full circle.
When I wrote my first column in
as long as
LawLines last March, I was a burned-out
attorney looking for a more collegial and
11 rewarding career. I found it! Okay, may-
people are
be I have not yet found a full-time job, but
I certainly did find my spirit and enthusi-
asm. Oh, I entered Pratt SILS with some
trepidation within my moderate expecta-
tions, but what I have learned far exceeds overwhelmed
by the sheer
the classroom teachings.
Many students have complaints about
their school, be it “why didn’t we learn
amount of
that in class?” or “why don’t they teach
us more technology?” or “why don’t
they teach us more information literacy
and relevant databases?” But for me, I
am just so pleased with the professional information
at their
librarian community and its vast poten-
tial that I believe I can continue learn-
ing new technologies as I move forward.
disposal,
After all, I have mastered Power Point
librarians
thanks to Pratt SILS and the presentations
for each class each semester and I have
been introduced to Many Eyes and Prezi.
Spring 2011
are relevant.
Many IT people scoff at that, saying “oh,
but those technologies have been around
for a while!” Yes, but I worked in an in-
house corporate counsel position for eight
A View from the Classroom
—Johanna Blakely-Bourgeois, Pratt SILS
years. Believe me, getting a scanner was waning profession. I do not believe that;
cause for celebration. Technology? My I believe that as long as people are over-
former employer had not yet heard of that whelmed by the sheer amount of infor-
and was at the end of the new technology mation at their disposal, and those same
parade. The sheer exposure to the library people are in a serious time crunch (after
community and its dilemmas (collection all, in today’s world, who is not pressed 12
v. access?), concerns (relevance of librar- for time?) then librarians are relevant. The
ians?), and enthusiasm (an overall will- premise that people will be able to magi-
ingness to support and mentor the next cally do all of their own searching and
generation of librarians) has been a very information retrieval is, I believe, mis-
refreshing change for me. taken. I argue that many people, profes-
And I have learned so much about my- sionals and non-professionals alike, are
self, too. I realized that I love the law – happy to have someone else take over that
copyright and trademark issues are my fa- “headache” so they can focus on what
vorite subjects to read and dissect. I enjoy they would rather do. After all, we epito-
drafting grant proposals and negotiating mize information retrieval professionals
contract provisions and finding where to (never mind my friends’ assumptions that
locate a case or statute. I love researching because I am graduating from Pratt SILS,
legal issues. I joined the New York City I automatically know how to retrieve any
Bar Association (something I never did information from any database at any time
when I actually practiced). So even though - which is rather funny). I agree with my
I entered Pratt SILS assuming that I would professors: we do still need to make sure
move away from the law, I have realized people understand how necessary we are.
that I am running right back to the law. I It is not that we are not absolutely needed
understand now that I just want my con- (we are!), it is just that many organiza-
tribution to the law to be something that tions do not realize how badly they really
Spring 2011
is less lawyer and more community-cen- do need us. So, I will be one of the many
tered…hence, librarianship. graduating students who is here to remind
I realize that some people believe that a myriad of organizations just how much
libraries are doomed and librarianship is a they really need us… ■
I
began my career at Baker & Hostetler in
the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a
part-time reference assistant in October
2009. It was very fortuitous that I found out
13 about the opening there not long after decid-
ing to attend library school (I received my
J.D. in 2003). I felt at home right away work-
ing with Esther Koblenz, the reference li-
brarian, and Lorna Stockmeyer, who handles
technical services. Esther was especially good
about giving me research projects, which was
always my favorite part of law school: all of
the fun and none of the work, so far as I was
concerned.
I finished library school in late summer
2009 and needed a full-time position. Hap-
pily, Baker came through for me again with
the New York librarian position. For a few
months I took regular trips between the offic-
es, and I became resident here almost exactly
one year ago.
The New York office is in Rockefeller Cen-
ter, which is terribly impressive for the folks
back home in Texas. The cachet of working
in such a recognizable place does have a ten-
Spring 2011
dency to make one smug. However, I abso-
Day in the Life Julie Reynolds,

lutely refuse to call it “45 Rock.” New York Having a smaller print collection has re-
has amazing architecture. It’s always a plea- quired me to be more nimble in how I address
sure to walk through the Art Deco lobby ev- reference requests. The libraries in our other
ery morning. offices are always happy to lend us books.
I’m the New York office’s first librar- I’ve almost been forced, though, to really un- 14
ian. On one hand, being the first means I derstand and make use of our electronic re-
can establish my own procedures and put sources to help meet my attorneys’ needs.
my stamp on the library here. On the other It’s also very exciting to see how new tech-
hand, until I arrived the traditional librarian nologies can assist us. Even if the latest app
duties had been taken care of by a variety doesn’t necessarily have a purpose in the legal
of people, requiring greater effort to bring research world, the lessons learned from that
it all together. Some of the challenges have program could help build something that we
included coming to grips with the print col- can use. The sky’s the limit, frankly, and I’m
lection, assessing training needs, and just eager to see what happens next.
getting to know our ever-expanding group In a way, it’s as though the New York office
of attorneys. and I have grown up together over the past
Another difference: the library itself. The year. Even with increasing responsibilities
D.C. office has an impressive library, with and more attorneys to take care of, making the
elegant wood bookshelves, study carrels, and move to New York was definitely the right de-
compact shelving for overflow. It really looks cision. I learn something new every day and
like a library and is hard to miss when you get the satisfaction of knowing that I’m help-
walk through the lobby. By contrast, the New ing contribute to the firm’s success. And I’ve
York office is always pressed for space. It’s at found the same collegiality with my fellow
such a premium that a traditional library space New York law librarians that I enjoyed back
simply isn’t feasible. That said, I’m proud of in D.C. I’m really looking forward to working
Spring 2011
what we do have here. with all of you in the future! ■
Baker & Hostetler LLP

New York Programming
for Law Librarians:

Act Locally
—Charles J. Lowry
T
his is the second article in a planned ner. It concerned itself with both the basic and
four-part series. In the last number of general aspects of its subject (statutory author-
Law Lines, we looked at the various ity, case research, secondary materials) and as-
organizations to which law librarians belong. pects of the subject that were very specific to
This article and the next article will look, re- it (gradations in authority of IRS opinions and
spectively, at local and national programming. letters, the importance of unpublished materi-
The fourth and final article will look at the als). It was very typical of the kind of pro-
sometimes mutually rewarding and sometimes gramming that LLAGNY traditionally offers,
mutually vexatious relationship between pro- with the difference that this series offers audio
fessional associations and vendors. only and no physical location. As an added
In New York, law librarians are doubly for- service, the programs, after their original pre-
tunate, in that both the local SLA chapter and sentation, will be archived and available for up
LLAGNY, the local AALL affiliate, have am- to a year. Programs of this kind are valuable
bitious professional programming which far within an organization of 700 members, 70%
15 exceeds their social programming. of whom work in private law libraries.
As might be expected, the LLAGNY pro- Of course, professional programming, as
grams concentrate with greater focus on ma- with social programming, is expensive. It
terials that are very specifically geared to law is unrealistic to think that dues allocation or
librarians. There are examples close at hand, session charges will produce a full and well-
including a series of recent programs devel- rounded program season. That naturally
oped as a joint LLAGNY-PLI initiative. None enough leads to corporate sponsorship, and
of these programs up to now, interestingly, the corporate sponsors most willing to spon-
was held in a specific locale, but were instead sor these events are vendors. In this particular
audio programs, accessible electronically but case, PLI has its name attached to LLAGNY’s
not physically. The series was announced in name in a series of e-mails and had one of its
September 2010 by Patricia Barbone, current books attached in the flyer as a relevant (and
LLAGNY chair. There have been three pro- conveniently discounted!) text for the subject
grams announced so far: in September of 2010 matter. I have been in this business and around
on tax resources in the law library, in January these programs, as sponsor, panelist or audi-
of 2011 on Dodd-Frank, and in May of 2011 ence member, for many years, and it seems that
on high yield instruments. Speakers at these this is the sort of arrangement that both librar-
programs have included a researcher and an ians and vendors are comfortable with: useful
attorney from Fried Frank and librarians from and transparent. For the joint LLAGNY-PLI
the Boston University School of Management series, the organizers went a step further and
and the Harvard Law School. To give some secured the services as moderators of three of
Spring 2011
example of the “flavor” of these programs, we New York’s distinguished and well-respected
can note that the very first program, on tax re- law firm librarians. Thus solid programming
sources in the law library, offered instruction was offered to the law library community, with
both from a librarian and from a tax practitio- a regulated commercial opportunity for PLI.
But beyond these substantive programs, it is velopment, or concerns broader technological

perhaps a sign of the times that LLAGNY also of- advances that are of interest and use in all kinds
fers career-related programs and adjunct services. of libraries, is conducted through SLA-NY’s
Typical is a February 23, 2011 program at Port- partnership with METRO. The Metropolitan
folio Media on mentoring, internships and rela- Library Association of New York (www.metro.
tionship building. The two speakers were from org) is very active in professional development,
outside the library community (Gabrielle Bern- conducting more than a dozen programs every
stein, best-selling author and lecturer) and from month. The link to METRO’s most recent calen-
inside the library community (Jennifer Alexander, dar is here: http://www.metro.org/en/cev/mon/.
competitive intelligence and business analysis SLA-NY has also hit upon the idea of using
manager at McKenna Long & Aldridge in New a presentation and discussion about a particular
York). Connected to that is the re-establishment book as a launching pad for a more general dis-
by LLAGNY of an annual breakfast for LLAGNY cussion. A recent example of that was a talk by
officers and local library students. The event was Joe Quinlan, Chief Market Strategist for Bank
held this year on April 27. These efforts are sup- of America. He spoke to an audience of 60-70
ported by public notice boards on the LLAGNY SLA-NY members on the general subject mat-
site both for internships and library positions. ter of his book THE LAST ECONOMIC SUPER-
If this is the kind of programming offered to POWER : the Retreat of Globalization , the End
LLAGNY members, how different is it from the of American Dominance , and What We Can Do
programming offered to the 1,000 members of About It. It is true, of course, that there was no
the New York SLA chapter? There would ob- “library component” in the presentation by the
viously have to be some differences, if only be- author, but it is equally true from the question
cause SLA includes members from well beyond period that (a) the audience was well-informed,
law libraries. Still, the legal division is nation- articulate and very interested, and (b) focused on
ally the second-largest SLA division, and it has such library questions as sourcing, further read-
many common interests with the largest division, ing and the validity or utility of statistical sets. 16
business and finance. Still, it is surprising to Considering how much overlap there is in local
look over the last six or eight months of SLA- membership, and how energetic each chapter is in
NY programming and find not a single program professional programming, is there hope down the
that involved a predominantly scientific or ar- road for symbiosis, if not active co-operation? It is
tistic perspective. Instead, all the professional indeed happening. On May 19, LLAGNY and SLA-
programming seemed to involve either business/ NY jointly hosted a program on the library world’s
legal topics or more general library topics. hottest topic, reinventing the library and subsequent-
From looking at the prior months of the SLA- ly marketing it to the rest of the organization.
NY events calendar, it is clear that one of the most These professional development programs
popular patterns of professional development of- will never take the place of a strong internal
fered by SLA involves more specifically vendor- training and career development program within
centric training sessions. In the last three months an individual employer, but in the days when
alone, SLA-NY has advertised to its members three library staff numbers are being dramatically re-
specific training sessions offered by West Library duced and many librarians now find themselves
Relations, one each for business research, news re- working alone or as part of a smaller group, per-
search and public records research. These sessions haps the greatest benefit of the programs we have
were actually held at a West office, and the RSVP discussed is as both a learning tool and a sound-
request went directly to a West associate. Bloom- ing board, so that librarians who might otherwise
berg has run similar training sessions under SLA- feel isolated can see what their colleagues are
NY auspices, though the one I attended was not in concerned about, happy with and anxious over. ■
Spring 2011
the Bloomberg offices but at Baruch College.

Much of the SLA-NY programming that is Chuck Lowry is an enterprise sales representative
not subject specific but instead concentrates on for Fastcase. He can be reached at 703.740.5941
library management, staffing and collection de- or clowry@fastcase.com.
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Stranger in a Strange Land

Musings of an MLIS Turned Law Student
——Bacilio Mendez II, MLIS (& JD-to-be)
A
s many of you may recall, “So, what So, bm2, what did you learn
did you learn in law school this year?” in law school this year?
is quite possibly the worst thing that
anyone could ask a student who just wrapped I learned:
up their 1L year. Well, I would like to take this • how not to brief cases.
opportunity to share with you some of my per- • how important a good study group is.
sonal responses to that very question. My hope • that people, especially smart people, are
is that you will find them humorous; some more rascist than I had ever imagined.
of them may even stir up old memories from • how not to take law school exams.
your own immediate post-1L/JD/MLIS life. If • that in three years, the people all around
you’re so inclined, send your responses to this me could conceivably be the point per-
question to bacilio@bacilio.com and you just son for someone’s divorce, will, immi-
may see them in the next issue of Law Lines! ■ gration hearing, or adoption. (This both
terrified and inspired me.)
Before the fun starts, however, I would like to • how to drink coffee.
implore the law firm librarians reading this to • that I am not a competitive person and,
to take it easy, at least at first, on your summer therefore, non-threatening to my fellow
associates. Now, I know that in my previous classmates.
article I was pretty hard on the shoe-shopping/ • how to remember last names. 18
Facebook-ing/Jersey Shore watching 1Ls that • even after a year of training, and no
peppered my cohort, but, those outliers not- fault of their institution’s librarians,
withstanding, keep in mind that most of the many 1Ls are underprepared for their
summer associates that will be at your office summer jobs, in terms of research skills.
doors, or flooding your inboxes any moment • how to graciously pretend not to see
now, really just want to do a good job. people weeping in public.
Also, your summer associates will most • that, after first semester, people love to
probably still be reeling from finals and, for talk about their grades and dream out
all their suffering, will only have retained an loud of the possibility of transferring to
eighth, if they’re/you’re lucky, of the information a “better” law school.
they studied in their doctrinal classes. So when • how to discern when the person weep-
they come to you with partial citations and an ing actually wants a hug and not to be
attitude, let it go and have a good laugh about graciously ignored.
it at the next LLAGY Happy Hour. And while • that the average New York City middle
you’re at, buy your local, friendly academic school student knows more about their
law librarian a drink; keep in mind, your worst 4th Amendment Rights in a stop and
summer associates are their everyday patrons. frisk situation than most adults.
• a ton of latin. (No, really.)
• that students lie about having learning
disabilities to get extra time on exams.
Spring 2011
• how to read, write, and calculate damages.

• which segments of pop culture I can
live without (music that has lyrics, non-
weight loss competition based reality
television shows, law school parodies).
• how therapeutic doing the dishes can be.

• which segments of pop culture I cannot
live without (social media websites, the
news, yoga, movies).
• your Mother will forgive you for not
calling … but only to a point.
• that date night is mission critical.
(The mission being maintaining your
sanity while a 1L.)
• that joining a club is also mission critical.
• that it is rude to ask people if they have
secured a summer job, especially if you
have. Should you slip and ask someone
who does not yet have summer plans,
you owe it to your unemployed class-
mate to at least feign being shocked that
you were able to secure a job.
• that if you pass the bar in New York,
19 you don’t have to take the New York
Real Estate Broker’s Exam.
• that Law & Order is a pack of lies.
• the funniest thing to say in response to
just about anything that anyone else says
is, in almost any situation is: “That’s a
character and fitness fail, right there.”
• that, while attending legal conferences
is not nearly as fun as attending library
conferences, the people are just as nerdy
and awesome.
• no matter how hard you try, after first
semester, everything you see is a tort.
• going to law school, knowing that I
don’t want to be a lawyer, is the best
gift I could’ve given myself.
• I am more than worth the cost of tuition.
Bacilio Mendez II is the 2010 Nathan R. Sobel

Law Library Fellow, Chair of the SLA-NY and SLA
Legal Division Diversity Committees, Co-Chair of
Spring 2011
the SLA GLBT Issues Caucus, & Art Director of

LLAGNY’s Law Lines. Bacilio is also a graduate of
Pratt Institute’s School of Information and Library
Science &, for your amusement, will be offering
up tales of his time at New York Law School.
Using Comic Books

to Teach the Law
—Trezlen D. Drake
W
hat do two attorneys who enjoy over- New York Times reporter found them—especially
thinking comic books and legal con- since they were still anonymous on the blog; they
cepts do with their free time? They write didn’t included any sort of contact information.
a blog on the legal ramifications of the actions of Even though this blog, with the accompa-
comic book characters. Or, at least that’s what you nying comic caricatures of the authors, might
do if you are IP attorney James Daily and insurance give Davidson and Daily license to think of
attorney Ryan Davidson, co-authors of the Law and themselves as superheroes, they are not so de-
the Multiverse Blog. luded. “We are in no ways legal superheros.”
The concept of the blog came from a conversa- Daily stated emphatically. “That honor goes
tion that Daily had with his wife and friends over to the folks in legal aid or legal services.”
dinner about privacy issues invoked in the US and Davidson continued, “We are both fairly
on the planet of Krypton by Superman’s use of his young attorneys. I don’t think we have saved
X-ray vision. They all encouraged Daily to move the day for anybody recently.” The images
forward with the idea. He spent a were drawn by an interviewer
couple of weeks afterward, crafting from “The Beat”, a news blog
blog posts before he posted anything about comic culture. “After [Jen
to the projects page of MetaFilter, the Vaughn] interviewed us, she of-
listserv to which he and Davidson fered to draw us.” She later gave 20
are members. Within an hour of that them permission to use the draw-
November 30, 2010 post, on whether ings on their blog.
Batman would be considered a state The blog topics runs the gam-
actor because of his close relationship ut from the expected--criminal,
with the Gotham Police, Davidson property and tort law--to the un-
contacted him offering to collaborate expected—administrative, estate,
on the blog. And, thus, this dynamic immigration, tax law and legal
duo was born. ethics. While the topics are not
When Daily originally began this frequently in their fields of exper-
blog, he wanted his friend on Meta- tise, the authors are still game to
Filter to read the blog and think it was address them. They both begin
cool. In the seven months since in- their research in secondary sourc-
ception, the blog has amassed a faith- Illustrations by es to get the background they
ful following. The readership has Jen Vaughan need for their posts. And the use
expanded to include law students, of the comic book trope as well as
attorneys, law professors, and everyday people who the authors’ voice keeps this blog from sounding
are either interested in the law or comic book. Daily like another dusty legal treatise.
estimates that the blog has about 4,000 readers. In Daily and Davidson use the blog to teach peo-
addition they have about 2000 RSS feed subscrib- ple about the law in a fun and practical way fol-
ers, 485 Twitter followers, 705 Facebook Likes, lowing Daily’s original desire to keep the blog
Spring 2011
and 79 readers subscribed via WordPress. This is “accessible to the layperson.” Because of this,
impressive for a blog that has done next to no adver- they often refer their readers to public domain
tising, although Davidson does confess to asking a resources such as Wikipedia, LII and Google
couple of friends to mention the blog on their Face- Scholar, even though they themselves have ac-
book pages. And, they still aren’t really sure how the cess to major legal databases.
If you aren’t into comic books or don’t know fulltime legal jobs and having a life, they’ve limited
a lot of comic book characters, this is still a good themselves to blogging every Monday, Wednesday,
blog to read. “Most people have at least heard and Friday. They now spend about 15 hours a week
of Superman and are aware of his powers,” says writing the blog and try to keep their posts between
Daily. “You can mention someone like Batman or 1000 to 1500 words. And, with their upcoming book,
Superman and everyone knows the story…. We they have to work harder to manage their time.
try to address characters people recognize.” According to Davidson, the book is a legal
“And even if they don’t,” Davidson continues, guide for superheroes and supervillains. “It’s basi-
“It’s a world that they recognize.” cally a guide to the law using CB situations as an
“It’s the real world but there is just this one differ- example. And each chapter will address a particu-
ent thing,” Daily finishes. lar issue with a good overview of certain princi-
And, once they have found that item of recogni- pals. The nice thing about the book, is that we can
tion for their readers, Daily and Davidson apply U.S. cover other issues that that we cannot do on the
laws to that world or situation. blog because of length.” The book will be pub-
At the beginning of the blog, the duo added con- lished by Gotham books, a Penguin imprint, and
tent five times a week to provide “a solid backlog should be on the shelves by early summer 2012.
of content” so that readers would see how serious To read Law and the Multiverse, go to:
they were about the blog. But, with the demands of http://lawandthemultiverse.com. ■
Q: Are there lawyers in the mul- or trade paperbacks. They couldn’t of the law firm, their law librarians
tiverse? Who sanctions them? find the issue they needed for a trial are comic book nerds. They are
Is there a Bar Association? and it wasn’t available. [We see this seen in the background having ar-
J: In the comic book world that as] analagous to having Westlaw guments regarding trade verse pa-
we deal with, most of the action or Lexis versus print editions with perback [editions of] comic books.
happens in the world, mostly in pocket parts in the real world. Characters, but not necessarily.
the US, most of it is in New York R: There are the Watchers, a race
City. So, She-Hulk is an attorney Q: What kind of library do they of very powerful beings who watch
21 in New York. visit – I don’t think I have ever and keep records of everything
… Most of the [comic book] action seen any depiction of a library that happens. But they tend not
occurs in fictional countries. Most of setting (maybe even books) in to get involved. And, they are not
these fictional countries are dicta- a superhero comic strip? really librarians.
torships of one kind or another. So R: She-Hulk is the best example. J: [They are] more like historians,
there are not a lot of legal proceed- They spend time going through the anthropologist. We haven’t really
ings with attorneys, most of the time stacks of comic books in the firm. dug into Daredevil, but we plan to.
that there are legal proceedings J: The scene with the Flash As for a superhero who happens to
R: Reed Richards [of the Fantastic appeared to be done at the court- be a law librarian or a librarian.…
Four]: in the real world, he went house library. There seems to be R. I don’t think there is one.
to law school and sat for the bar. a mixture of public law libraries J: Lawful acquisition of information is
J: The only thing I can think of is and firms. not in line with the genre. And time
the trial of Reed Richards. He rep- R: I don’t know if there is a depic- travel [affects this too]. There are
resented himself, but there was tion of law school. Maybe if you huge sections of the timeline that
also a prosecutor. go back far enough in She-Hulk. seems to never have happened.
Maybe a flashback in Daredevil.
Q: How do multiverse lawyers J: In Daredevil Volume 2 #38, Q: What about Wonder Woman?
do legal research in the multi- there is a legal research scene J: Her legal status is weird: She’s
verse? In print? Online? With showing Matt Murdock (aka Dare- not from the US. She’s from an
superpowers? devil) and his law partner Foggy island nation and is some kind of
J: Good question. Kinda all three. Nelson doing late night research at royalty. [Interviewer’s Note: Wonder
The Flash used his super-speed to their firm’s law library. The scene Woman is a Princess of the Amazons
read through all the books in the implies that the two attorneys have but at home she is known as Diana
law library at an incredible speed. just finished working through a few of Themyscira, or Paradise Island.]
So, yeah, sometimes they use dozen printed volumes, and there is R: Not actually American.
their superpowers. a large set of bookshelves housing J: She presents more interesting le-
R: She-Hulk she was part of the law what are apparently case reporters. gal issues. Her lasso is unbreakable.
firm that had a superhuman law There is a laptop in the scene, but If she catches a villain in it they can’t
division. Their law library consisted it is not shown being used. lie; if they speak they must tell the
of massive stacks of comic books. truth. She can force them to speak
J: They break the fourth wall. Q: Who is the librarian in the mul- using it. The 5th amendment, the
Spring 2011
[They] pick up all the comic books tiverse? What do they look like? right to remain silent, is implicated.
on that character. They use comic J: Definitely specific characters in
books as evidence. She-Hulk’s law firm. It’s always the [Thanks to my colleagues and
R: They also had a debate about same people with motivations and friends for your contribution of
whether to buy individual issues identities. However with the nature questions for this interview!]
Using Google Custom Search To

Access Recommended Legal Sites
— by Terry Ballard
Assistant Director of Technical Services for Library Systems,
Mendik Library, New York Law School
I
n the summer of 2010, I was look- web page and the one generated by the
ing for a good summer project that Law Library of Congress, there was an
would enhance the research pos- enormous pool of likely sites to choose
sibilities for our users. I noticed that from in creating a legal-based custom
this library had a detailed structure of search.
web pages that provided links to rec- At the beginning, my idea was to
ommended web sites like Oyez, the create this engine and launch it as a
United Nations, Thomas and many oth- search gadget on our Facebook page.
ers. While these were all great sites, After the first few entries, I devel-
to use these pages you would need to oped a work flow for adding new sites.
go in and out of each one and make in- It turned out that not every web site
dividual searches. Wouldn’t it be nice works with Google Custom Search.
to have some kind of federated search Ironically, no other Google products
that looked up a topic in all of these such as Scholar or Google Books will
with one search? Then I remembered create results in a Google Custom
something that had been shown to me Search. The way to test these is to cre-
22
at a meeting of the American Library ate a second search engine that only
Association by Ben Bunnell, a librari- searches one site at a time. One of the
an turned Google Books administrator. features of the custom search engine
Google Custom Search allows you to is a preview. For instance, I would add
set up your own search engine that only the URL for the United Nations and
looks at sites that you select. I had set then go to the preview screen and ask
one of these up years ago to search for it to search for Ivory Coast. In less
sites relating to Irish historical docu- than a second, I would get 100 search
ments, but it was not terribly effective. results (100 is the limit but there are
It occurred to me that the Irish engine ways around that to be discussed lat-
was not useful because I had only cho- er). Once a site is green-lighted it is
sen a handful of sites. Looking at our added to the main search engine.
Spring 2011
By the time I had entered 20 sites, it was almost no direct response, but our
was becoming obvious that we were on to tracking mechanism through statcounter.
something big here. The results screens com told the story of the initial response.
had good information and they continued On the first day nearly a thousand librar-
to appear lightning-fast. Normally the re- ies took a look. Some of the visitors had
sults would appear in less than a second. very impressive dot gov addresses. Over
At this point, the work in progress was the next week, DRAGNET was a hot topic
shown to the full group of librarians. It in the blogosphere and the Tweetosphere.
was clear that this would be a feature of Later that week I heard from Nicholas G.
our main web page, not just Facebook, Tomaiuolo, a librarian and writer at Cen-
and it would be demonstrated to new tral Connecticut State University who
students at the beginning of the Fall se- had been doing some work of his own on
mester. In the beginning, the project had Google Custom Search. He was helpful
a series of prosaic names such as “Men- in steering us towards a solution to the
dik Library’s Federated Search of Legal problem of the 100 hit limit in DRAG-
Databases.” After a spirited exchange of NET’s results. The answer was to set up
23 ideas, library director Camille Broussard tabbed search categories in the coding. To
struck gold with the name “Dragnet.” I do this, you choose “Refinements” in the
managed to retrofit the name into an ac- control panel.
ronym by coming up with “Database Re- Once your tab is named, it can be set
source Access using Google’s New Elec- with one of two flavors. In most cases we
tronic Technologies.” stipulate that the results for this tab must
By August 30 when DRAGNET was be present in one of the sites that we have
announced to the world, the engine con- set with that tab, such as federal or New
tained about 80 databases. I wrote about York. Otherwise, it can just emphasize
the project to a number of listservs. There those sites.
Spring 2011
Afterwards, you can go through the list of sites and tag them using a dropdown box:
24
After the tabs were set up, search results in DRAGNET were displaying up to 500 results, and
the user could choose a field of specialization for a more refined search, or choose the “recent”
tab to get up-to-the-minute results:
By the fall of 2010, DRAGNET had grown to my goal size of 100 sites. We looked for new
Spring 2011
ways to use this technology, and we didn’t have to look far. Since 2009 we had been tracking
about 150 law journals that put their current issue and at least some of their archive free on-
line. Since we already had a list of sites and the correct URLs, it was an easy task to create a
second DRAGNET search bar to search all of the journals instantly. We then added search tabs
for specialized journals such as environmental and international law. We also created a Google
Custom Search to find material from the constitutions and established law of the fifty states and
the federal government.
In the spring of 2011, I began a project of adding the DRAGNET engines to the iGoogle direc-
tory of gadgets. These are all in the directory and accessible to anyone with an iGoogle account:
25
In February 2011, we entered the DRAGNET products in an annual competition to honor

the best library publication, non-print division. Early in March, we were notified that we had
won. I will be going to Philadelphia in July to accept the award on behalf of the library. In the
future, we hope to create a mobile application so users will be able to search DRAGNET on
the train. To see the original DRAGNET site, go to http://www.nyls.edu/library/research_tools_
and_sources/dragnet. To see the full list of DRAGNET products, visit http://www.nyls.edu/
library/research_tools_and_sources/dragnet1. I can be considered a resource person for anyone
who wants to create their own such page. ■
Spring 2011
Terry Ballard is the Assistant Director of Technical Services for Library Systems at the Mendik
Library of New York Law School in Lower Manhattan. He received his MLS from the University
of Arizona in 1989. He is the author of “INNOPAC: A reference guide to the system,” published
in 1995, and also the forthcoming book “Google This: Putting Google products and other so-
cial media to work for libraries,” to be published in the spring of 2012 by Chandos Publishing.
Research Challenge
& Cautionary Tale

— Pepper Hedden
The email came an hour before the end of the day:
“I am looking for “The Weiss-McGrath Study”. I’ve tried Google, but

all I can find are references to the report, not the actual report. I was
wondering if you had some databases that may have it?”
On The Hunt
The request sounded fairly simple at first blush. Finding the study just needed a librarian’s su-
perior research skills. As it turned out, not so. (full disclosure: As a new reference librarian, I
stand properly chagrined. See why below.)
The total information given was the name of something, but was it a book? A journal article?
When was it published? What is the subject? Since the request came to a law library, an initial
assumption was that it had some legal relevance.
To observe what the requestor had found, a simple Google search validated that are dozens
of references to the work without citations anywhere - in references, endnotes or footnotes.
Google Scholar and Google Books searches produced the same result.
However, additional bits of information were added. First, sometimes the work was referred
27 to as the Weiss-McGrath Study and in others it was a Report (herein after Study). That seemed
to put it into the realm of a journal article. Second, the majority of the hits were to support the
proposition that jurors retain more understanding and memory of evidence when it is augment-
ed by visual presentation in addition to oral presentation. Probably a study in a legal journal.
Third, a reference to a 1992 ABA Journal article.
The clues fit nicely together – the study was reported in 1992 in an ABA Journal article. Ex-
cept for a nagging opposing clue found a couple of times where Weiss-McGrath was followed
by “published by McGraw-Hill”. There was a possibility the study was in a book, but McGraw-
Hill seemed an unlikely publisher of legal works.
Putting book clue aside and proceeding to find that 1992 ABA Journal article, proved sorely
disappointing:
“The value of demonstrative evidence to help jurors understand complex issues has
long been recognized by experienced trial lawyers. Contemporary research on cogni-
tive function has further underscored its importance. For example, a study entitled
“The Weiss-McGrath Report” found a 100 percent increase in juror retention of visual
over presentations and a 650 percent increase in juror retention of combined visual
and oral presentations over oral presentation alone..”1
Alas, no attribution whatsoever, and, as it turned out misleadingly stated. Maybe it was a
book after all. A call to two McGraw-Hill offices resulted in neither being able to locate any
Spring 2011
information on this Study.

Remembering a hit that had, “Dombroff, Dombroff on Evidence” linked closely with a refer-
1 Krieger, Roy. (1992). Now Showing at a Courtroom Near You ... ABA Journal, 78, 92. Retrieved April 19, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global.
(Document ID: 8728676).
ence to the report,2 a Google search turned up a web site for the law firm of Dombroff Gilmore
Jaques & French in Washington, D.C. and its phone number. Could this be the author? The author
of the treatise on evidence would be lawyer. Calling Mr. Dombroff and chatting, he admitted writ-
ing the treatise and citing the Study and he was certain the Study was not in a book.
The trail again turned more convincingly toward an article. Further research located a welcome
quote from another article:
“One study, often erroneously referred to as the “Weiss-McGrath report” (it is actually
a 254-page book), is frequently cited as offering proof of the effectiveness of forensic
animation.”3 (emphasis added)
This led to another:
“The well-known Weiss-McGrath report compared retention of information presented to

focus groups during the course of 72 hours (the length of a short trial) via three different
formats: orally only; visually only; and visually and orally together. The group presented
with information solely by oral means retained only 10 percent of the information. The
group presented with information solely by visual means retained twice as much infor- 28
mation, but still only 20 percent of the total material presented. Those who received the
information both orally and visually retained 65 percent of the information presented.
See H. Weiss and J.B. McGrath, “Technically Speaking: Oral Communication for Engi-
neers, Scientists and Technical Personnel” (1963).4 (emphasis added)
The above was actually one of the first few results reviewed, but the name of the resource was
overlooked. This novice was looking for a reference list, endnotes or footnotes, not a reference
at the end of the paragraph. Even if the reference had been seen, the title just did not fit with the
assumed profile.
Finally with the right name, a search of Google Books and. . .there it was, available on Amazon,
a 254-page book written in 1963 intended not for lawyers, but for engineers, scientists and techni-
cal people for a mere $10 to $12.
Getting the Goods

In these budget crushing days, the next step was consulting WorldCat to see if one of the local
libraries had a copy. Fortunately, there was one copy at a library within walking distance and an
ILL was finagled the following day.
2 Allee, J. S. , Product Liability (2005 ed.) Published by ALM Properties Inc., Law Journal Press, New York, NY. Retrieved from Google Books
Spring 2011
Web site link: http://bit.ly/hASCsc

3 Breaux, S.P. (2003) Is forensic animation right for your case? As the capabilities of computer animation grow, so does their use at trial. Here’s
how to determine whether this tool can enhance your case presentation. Retrieved April 19, 2011 from Goliath: Business Knowledge on Demand
Web site: http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-237325/Is-forensic-animation-right-for.html
4 Cox, T. (2009). Information Age Saps Jurors’ Attention. Retrieved April 19, 2001 from Law.com Law Technology News Web site: http://www.
law.com/jsp/lawtechnologynews/PubArticleLTN.jsp?id=1202428037744
The Surprise
After the requestor had finished with the book, additional questions needed to be answered. The
authors were at Southern Methodist University, possibly sociology professors, in 1962. The
preface stated:
“This book grew out of the author’s experience in helping solve communications
problems with management and training officers in many technical industries.” . . .
This book is designed [1] for use in schools and colleges where scientists, engineers,
or other technical personnel are educated; [2] for industrial-training groups; and [3]
for individuals who wish to improve this skills in oral communication.”5
Indeed, it is very much like a textbook with exercises following each chapter. After perusing
every page, the following are only the two paragraphs on pages 77-78 contain the words have
been cited over the last fifty years:
“The best way to know reality is to experience an event. But this is not always fea-
sible. . .One study showed that telling alone produced an audience recall of 70 per
29 cent of the material three hours later; only 10 per cent after three days. Showing alone
produced 72 per cent recall of the material after three hours; 20 per cent recall three
days later. But telling and showing together produced 85 per cent recall after three
hours; 65 per cent after three days.
Military leaders claim that 40 percent of instruction time is saved by the use of
visual methods. Psychologists say that 85 per cent of human knowledge is absorbed
through the use of sight. Material that is seen is remembered 55 per cent better than
material that is only heard, according to research in reception through the senses. A
160-page government report was condensed into six simple visuals. These visuals
were presented the cabinet level and their message absorbed and approved in less that
fifteen minutes.6
The McHugh report was an internal document of Tecnifax Corporation, and notice the pub-
lication date, 1856. In a world abundant with sociological, psychological and philosophical re-
search, is there no more current, authoritative material to be cited? Or has the Weiss-McGrath-
McHugh material become so ubiquitous as to now be classified as conventional wisdom not
really worth citing? Perhaps so, as many articles, including those cited above and below did not
bother with a citation to the originals.
More disturbing, however, is how the actual information has been so carelessly used and
summarized. For instance, an article on a law firm web site misleadingly said 1] there was “a
1992 study known as the Weiss-McGrath report”, 2] sites both “(Source: Weiss-McGrath report,
Spring 2011
5 Weiss, H. and McGrath, J.B. (1962) Technically Speaking: Oral Communication for Engineers, Scientists and Technical Personnel. New
York: McGraw-Hill.
6 Francis J. McHugh, Graphic Presentations, Tecnifax Corporation, Holyoke, Mass. 1856, p.9
(of 14).”
1992)” and “(Source: 18th Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course, State Bar of Texas, 1995)” for
the same data, the latter in a matrix, 3] “the study was designed to evaluate specifically how in-
dividuals retain information” (emphasis added), and went on to describe the details of the study
as imagined as if it took place under today’s research standards:
“The study compared retention of information presented in three different formats:

(1) orally only; (2) visually only; and (3) visually and orally. After the initial presen-
tation of information, the study measured information retention at various intervals.
After 72 hours the group presented information solely by oral means retained only
10% of the total presentation. The group receiving information solely by visual means
retained twice the information, or 20% of the total information presented. But those
who received information both orally and visually retained 65% of the total presenta-
tion. The authors of the study concluded that presentations using both visual and oral
stimuli result in increased information retention over a longer period of time than
presentations utilizing only visual or oral elements.”7
While all true, this all paints a false picture of recent research not, in fact, done.
30
Lessons Learned
There are several lessons in this research. Research must be thorough. It seems that those
who cited the Weiss-McGrath study did cursory research, if any. Librarians cannot be so glib.
Whenever something is proffered, especially statistics, find the original if at all possible. Those
that cited the information in some cases seriously skewed it in their efforts to sound different or
authoritative. Finally, never give up! Your clients will appreciate the value of your efforts and.
the results may surprise everyone. ■
Spring 2011
7 Benny Agosto, Jr., (n.d.) Admissibility Of Computer-Generated Animation. Retrieved April 15, 2011 from Abraham, Watkins, Nichols,
Sorrels, Agosto & Friend Web site: http://www.abrahamwatkins.com/Firm-News-Articles/Admissibility-Of-Computer-Generated-Animation.
shtml
The Dual Degree Debate*
— Imtiaz Jafar
* This is excepted from a longer piece by the same title.
Introduction
As a result of the “industrialization of the United States and the accompanying improvements in travel
and formal education,” university-level law programs and the large law firm emerged, bringing with
them “new sets of information and resource needs unseen before the twentieth century.”1 Around
this time, the title of “law librarian” was gaining legitimacy; this is evidenced in the formation of the
American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) in 1906 and in the “extensive scholarship” defining
this bona fide title.2 Throughout the twentieth century, the role of the law librarian underwent many
transformations both in the private sector and in academia. This fascinating development witnessed
many debates on the education and credentials defining the integrity of the profession. In this paper,
we will focus on one present day debate: is the dual degree important in the academic reference set-
ting? By surveying the literature surrounding this colorful discussion, we will conclude with, as the
profession which the law librarian supports is fond of concluding with, an inconclusive determina-
tion: yes and no; it depends; yes in an academic environment and not necessarily in a law firm or
practitioner’s library where an emphasis on subject specialization instead is more valued.
Although there is presently “no one accepted model of education for law librarianship, [ ] the current
thinking is that the entry-level credential is the MLS degree.”3 (As such, we will later only briefly touch
on the tangent debate of the benefit of the MLS in the legal education of the law librarian.) “85% of
those working as law librarians have a graduate degree in library science” and “[n]early 30% of all law
librarians also have a J.D. or LLB degree.”4 Law school libraries prefer, if not outright require, “indi-
31 viduals to have both J.D. and MLS degrees, although there are still a number of respected law librarians
working in law schools with only the MLS. Non-academic law library settings seem to actually prefer
librarians without the J.D., as they do not want librarians who may be tempted to give legal advice.”5
Many private law firms also value “work experience in law libraries” or “[specialized] training in tech-
nology [more] than the law degree.”6 Therefore in seeking to answer our main question, we must also
compare the functions of law librarians in both academia and the private sector.
Competencies of Law Librarianship

We begin our journey by outlining the “Competencies of Law Librarianship” as defined by the
AALL in March of 2001 under the subheading of “Reference, Research and Client Services.”
The librarian working in this area: Provides skilled and customized reference services
on legal and relevant non-legal topics (3.1); Evaluates the quality, authenticity, ac-
curacy, and cost of traditional and electronic sources, and conveys the importance of
1 The author wishes to express thanks to Ralph Monaco, Executive Director of the New York Library Institute and Adjunct Professor at St.
John’s University for his assistance and encouragement. This paper was originally written for a Law Library Administration course taught by
Professor Monaco.
Theodora Belniak, Law Librarian of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries: a Figuration In Flux, the General Article, LAW LIBRARY
JOURNAL, Fall 2009, at 427, 429.
2 Id.
3 Serena Brooks, Educating Aspiring Law Librarians: a Student’s Perspective, LAW LIBRARY JOURNAL, Summer 2005, at 517, 518.
Spring 2011
4 AALLnet.org, Recruitment Committee, http://www.aallnet.org/committee/rllc/resources/education.asp#Qualifications (last visited Oct. 30,

2010).
5 Brooks, supra note 3.
6 Id., citing Maya Norris, The Accidental Profession: Work Experience, Education Prove Vital in Training Law Librarians, AALL SPECTRUM,
Mar. 2002, at 26, 26.
these to the client (3.2); Assists clients with legal research using both print and elec-
tronic resources (3.3); Assists non-lawyers in accessing the law within the guidelines
provided by the [ABA’s] Model Code of Professional Conduct and other applicable
codes (3.4); Aggregates content from a variety of sources and synthesizes information
to create customized products for clients (3.5); Creates research and bibliographic
tools (handouts, aids, pathfinders, bibliographies) on legal and related topics (3.6);
and Monitors trends in specific areas of the law (3.7)7
In 2010, this section of the “Competencies of Law Librarianship” was revised, and now reads as follows:
3.1 Provides skilled and customized reference services, including specialized subject services
on legal and non-legal topics3.2 Evaluates the quality, authenticity, accuracy, and cost of in-
formation resources in a variety of formats best suited to the user’s needs, and conveys the
importance of these to the user.3.3 Assists users with legal research using information resources
in a variety of formats best suited to the user’s needs.3.4 Consistent with applicable codes as-
sists non-lawyers in accessing the law.3.5 Aggregates content from a variety of sources and
synthesizes information to create customized products for users. 3.6 Creates research and bib-
liographic tools on legal and related topics in a variety of media. 3.7 Monitors trends in specific
areas of the law. 3.8 Monitors and participates in trends in library resource sharing.8
32
Although the shared competencies were adjusted after she put pen to paper, Theodora Bel-
niak (2009) explores the differences of the academic and law firm librarian into the Twenty-First
century. Writing about the impact of globalization on
technology, communications, economics, politics and travel, [she concludes that they have]
altered the legal landscape and those who navigate its terrain. The digitization movement
has pushed legal information beyond any comprehensible limit, making management more
important than merely knowing the sources. The law has been divided into increasingly
specialized areas of study, and sources of information have followed suit.9
The Law Firm Librarian

Before we delve into the academic law librarian, we borrow the words of Holley M. Moyer
(1993) to delineate the some of the roles of the law firm librarian:
• Organize Expansion—Firm librarians may research demographic and

business statistics and other information relevant to the decision to open
international and national branches.
• Client Acceptance Process—Use librarians to examine financial health of pro-
spective clients.
Spring 2011
7 Kay M. Todd, Competencies of Law Librarianship: Reference, Research, and Patron Services, LEGAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUAR-
TERLY, Dec. 2007, at 7, 8.
8 AALLnet.org, Competencies of Law Librarianship, http://www.aallnet.org/prodev/competencies.asp (last visited Oct. 30, 2010).
9 Belniak, supra note 1 at 443.
• Administrative and Management Changes—before committing to a

revised fee or partnership structure, attorneys should have law librar-
ians explore the experiences other firms have had with these changes.
• Ethical Rulings—Firm librarians should track such decisions and forward
them to attorneys.
• Lateral Hires—Recruiting partners should routinely work with firm
librarians to identify publications by prospective hires and other infor-
mation that may shed light on potential problems.
• Prospective Visits—Librarians can research the organization, financ-
es, past legal actions, and other information on prospective clients to
prepare attorneys in their competition for the clients.
• Practice Management—Practice groups should involve librarians in
business meetings so that librarians will be able to recommend collec-
tion purchases and otherwise support the practice.
• Finances—Librarians should organize acquisition data by practice
group and branch, particularly as firms move toward greater financial
accountability.
• Space Planning—Librarians are vital to decisions regarding space al-
location and should be intimately involved in decision-making.
33 • Total Quality Service—Librarian expertise in information organiza-
tion can support the firm’s efforts to provide more efficient, high qual-
ity service to clients.10
From this we conclude that the involvement of the law firm librarian is in more that offering
reference service to attorneys. We also notice that the J.D. is not absolutely necessary for the
law firm librarian in carrying out these functions.
Knowledge of the Law

But what of knowledge of the law? Do reference librarians in law firms need to know the law,
and must this be a J.D? Craig Eastland (2005), writing (his own wish list) for the private sector
from the point of view as a hirer of reference librarians for a private law library, states that “li-
brary schools are failing private sector librarians.”11 Because most newly graduated librarians
cannot do legal reference work, the hirers of private sector law librarians are not able to hire
recent graduates due to the training required to bring them up to speed.12 His suggestions for
improvement provide insight into our main question of focus.
First, he asks library schools to “know the legal market in your community and create classes
that make your graduates attractive to that community.”13 Single general courses in law librarian
are inadequate to serve the purposes of the private sector. Second, “teach the law. Knowing
10 Id. at 444 (citing Ellen M. Callinan, Library Administration in the Private Law Firm, in LAW LIBRARIANSHIP: A HANDBOOK FOR THE
Spring 2011
ELECTRONIC AGE, at 43, 666-67 (Patrick E. Kehoe, Lovisa Lyman & Gray Lee McCann eds., AALL Pub’ns Series No. 47, 1995) quoting
Holley M. Moyer, Make the Most of the Library Staff, HILDEBRANDT REPORT, Jan. 1993, at 5).
11 Craig Eastland, An Education Wish List From the Private Sector, AALL SPECTRUM, Nov. 2005, at 16, 16.
12 Id.
13 Id.
something about the law can make a significant difference in a reference interview. [Although
seasoned attorneys are effective in facilitating the reference interview,] many new associates
freeze up a bit and need a push to start doing the legal analysis. [Eastland is not advocating] that
one must be a lawyer to do an effective reference interview, but having a working knowledge of
the structure of the law helps.”14
Perhaps the strongest argument for teaching the law to law librarians
is that the law is too complex and too conceptual to just be picked
up on the job. It would be difficult, for example, to absorb the legal
distinction between corporate officers and corporate directors piece-
meal, but the law could be explained in just a few minutes. Knowing
the difference would make for a faster and more productive reference
interview.15
So where does one gain this knowledge of the law to make an effective reference librarian in the
private sector when a complete J.D. is deemed not necessary? And can this legal education serve as
a substitute for the J.D. in the academic setting, if we subsequently conclude that a J.D. is not neces-
sary in this setting? The discussion of the second question will be incorporated into the latter part
of this presentation focusing on the academic setting. As for the first question, we now consider it
along with the tangential debate of the sufficiency of the MLS in the law librarian education process. 34
Law librarians are professionals, and in entertaining the debate over degrees, Jensen (1998) uti-
lizes Black’s Law Dictionary’s definition of a professional: “one engaged in one of the learned pro-
fessions or in an occupation requiring a high degree of training and proficiency.”16 A professional
requires “knowledge, and [w]hile formal education isn’t the only way to gain the needed knowledge,
it is an easily documented indicator of exposure to certain types of training and knowledge.”17
And while it is possible to learn much of the needed knowledge of the job, it probably
takes most people longer to master multiple aspects of specialized area of knowledge
through on the job osmosis than it does through a formal education program targeted
at that area of knowledge. Knowledge acquired on the job can also have a patchwork
characteristic with some gaps in basic areas that is often avoided by the systematic
nature of formal education. Given the speed with which our jobs change and the de-
creasing time that many library employees spend in a single position, most law libraries
probably cannot afford to wait for a person to learn the basics of legal subject matter,
information management and librarianship or technology management on the job.18
Concurrently, we join with the current thinking of the value of the MLS as the entry-level de-
gree for the profession.
14 Id.
Spring 2011
15 Id.
16 Mary B. Jensen, The Debate Over Dual Degrees and Professionalism in the United States, THE LAW LIBRARIAN, March 1998, at 14
quoting Black’s Law Dictionary (citation omitted by Jensen).
17 Id.
18 Id.
But, as mentioned earlier, most single course offerings in law librarianship by themselves fail to
adequately provide the requisite education to initially prosper in a law library. In the past, it was pro-
posed that a paralegal certificate would be a good academic pursuit for the aspiring law librarian.19
Harris (1985) states that paralegal programs that “establish and maintain high standards for entrance,
course work, and faculty offer an alternative to be considered in formulating a new theory of edu-
cation for the law librarian.”20 However, the paralegal option “seems to have been rejected by the
law library community.”21 Judith McAdam (1996) analyzes formal methods by which the aspiring
law librarian can gain legal background needed for her designated profession.22 She studies options
such as: “1) MLS courses in legal bibliography and related subjects; 2) continuing education cours-
es; 3) paralegal certificate; 4) joint Law/MLS degree [ ]; and 5) law degree and an MLS obtained
separately.”23 Another suggestion, discredited by McAdam because of its targeted audience, is a MA
in Legal Studies, which is the equivalent of the first year of law school studies.24
It would seem from this literature review that the only viable option for legal background for
the law librarian is the J.D. degree. Penny Hazelton (1993) states that “the J.D. is still the recom-
mended way to obtain the competencies of the subject of law for the practicing law librarian.”25
Now we examine this idea in the context of the academic setting. This examination will com-
prise the rest of this presentation.
The Academic Setting

35 Meredith NcNett (2010), writing for AALL Spectrum, describes the experience at the law school
reference desk:
[t]he legal reference experience requires a knowledge that is based upon a broad range
of understanding both within and without the contextual and historical confines of the
legal system. In addition, there is the specialized assistance requested by the barrage
of ever-needy law students, time-challenged law faculty, legal and non-legal patrons
from the community (some just looking for a warm place and a friendly ear), and
those acting pro se. Often, answering questions at the reference desk necessitates a
strong mixture of analysis and diagnosis, along with good old-fashioned guesswork—
all with careful attention paid to not incurring the liability of providing legal advice.26
While this experience seems to suggest that legal knowledge and knowledge of the academic
environment play a key role in the professional life of the academic law librarian, a closer re-
view of the writings of reference librarians must be conducted to either strengthen or refute this
concept.
19 Catherine K. Harris, Paralegal Programs: An Educational Alternative for Law Librarians, LAW LIBRARY JOURNAL, 1984-1985, at 171.
20 Id. at 175.
21 Brooks, supra note 3, at 529.
Spring 2011
22 Judith E. McAdam, The Place of Legal Education in Law Librarianship, CANADIAN LAW LIBRARIES, 1996, at 251.
23 Id.
24 Id. at 252.
25 Penny A. Hazelton, Law Libraries as Special Libraries, an Educational Model, LIBRARY TRENDS, Fall 1993, at 319,
26 Meredith McNett, What Do You Wish You Had Been Taught in Law or Library School, AALL SPECTRUM, April 2010, at 34.
Mary Whisner (2008) takes this topic head on as she analyzes the question: “[h]ow does
having a law degree help you as a law librarian?”27 Although she states that the law degree is
“not the only way to acquire the skills, knowledge, or whatever else it takes to do my job,” she
discusses areas where the degree would be of benefit. They include “knowledge of legal institu-
tions, legal terminology, and substantive law; ability to read legal materials, knowledge of legal
culture; comfort in dealing with law students, lawyers, and law professors; and interest in law.”
First, formal legal studies leading to a J.D. provide “knowledge of law.”28 Knowledge of law is
bound to make some difference when assisting a patron. For example, to know “the difference
between secured transactions and securities regulation” would make a world of difference is
assisting the student who himself knows little of the subject.29 “The more familiar we reference
librarians are with vocabulary, subject areas, and so on, the easier it becomes to refer a patron
to an appropriate source, or if we are doing the research for someone, to get there ourselves.”
30
And it “is not about knowing all subjects, but about having a sense of the general way the law
works” when assisting students to think like lawyers.31
Second, knowledge of legal culture beyond that of formal institutions is a key strength gained in
law school. It involves “values, relationships, and personalities.”32 While this too can be gained by
several years of working in a private sector legal environment, the overall experience is more eas-
ily gained by the law school experience which includes summer positions in the practicing envi-
ronment. Furthermore, being able to commiserate with students and sharing in the experiences of
the faculty are realized with the J.D. Credentials are more valued by the student and the faculty.33 36
The third area, not trivial in itself, is interest in the law and overall job satisfaction. “It is
more fun to do research and help others do research if you care about the field (or at least some
aspects of it). In turn that can make you better at it, because you are more likely to read and take
other steps to learn more about it.”34 Of course if the librarian hated the law school experience or
is running from the practice of law, then the benefit of the J.D. will be lessened, and the degree
may even be a detriment.35 All that being said, Whisner concludes
…my legal education does help me in my job as a law librarian. It gave me excellent
foundation knowledge of legal institutions, legal terminology, and substantive law. It
helped me develop my ability to read, analyze, and sort legal materials. It introduced
me to legal structure, and has helped me form relationships with law students, law-
yers, and law professors. Finally, it nourished my interest in law, which makes it more
interesting to see what comes up each day in the reference office.36
27 Mary Whisner, Law Librarian, J.D. or Not J.D.?, LAW LIBRARY JOURNAL, Winter 2008 at 185.
28 Id. at 186.
29 Id. at 187.
30 Id.
31 Id.
Spring 2011
32 Id. at 188.
33 Id. at 189.
34 Id.
35 Id.
36 Id. at 190.
Joining in the debate over the dual degree is Mary B. Jensen (1998), who, although not advocating
that all academic librarians simply hold dual degrees without other formal education or specialized
experience, does see the benefit of a formal law degree for the reference setting.37 In a law firm set-
ting patrons are fully trained lawyers, and “to some extent the librarians can rely on the patrons to
know what they are asking for and to be able to frame their questions with language that fits the sub-
ject matter. What they need librarians for is usually to help with the selection of research tools or the
techniques of retrieval.”38 In a law school setting, the situation is different, where either the librarian
is dealing with a patron who knows less about the subject matter or one with a “solid legal education
[who is] seeking assistance in doing complex research in specialized areas of the law. In this situ-
ation, the librarian may need considerable legal education to understand the questions the patron is
asking or to be able to provide the level of assistance that is being sought.”39
As such, Jensen (1998) concludes with the thought that in a law library, whether private or
academic, “a law degree is not necessary for everyone.”40 However, with certain questions and
situations, “a law degree is beneficial and perhaps even necessary.”41 Therefore, an ideal refer-
ence team would “contain some dual degreed librarians or at the very least have access to people
with law degrees who can assist the librarians.”42
If you have a large team, a mixture of librarians with dual degrees, only law degrees, library de-
grees coupled with other advanced degrees or paralegal training, and only library degrees may
37 result in a quite satisfactory reference service. If you have a reference team of only one person
and either a substantial number of patrons without a full legal education (like law students) or a
substantial number of legally educated patrons doing complex research (like law faculty), your
reference librarian probably needs both degrees. But if you are a small firm where most of the pa-
trons are fully trained lawyers and most of the practice isn’t highly specialized, you may be quite
satisfied with the level of service provided by reference librarians with only a library degree.43
Before we conclude with our journey though the literature on the question of the dual degree,
we examine the work of Mark P. Bernstein out of the Saint Louis University School of Law.
Bernstein (2007) explores “how specialization in law school curricula and legal practice im-
pacts reference service in the 21st century.”44 Factors such as the numerous specialized journal
published by law schools, faculty doing more interdisciplinary and empirical research, students
opting for J.D./M.B.A.s or law degrees simultaneously with other masters degrees, the increas-
ing number of specialized LLM programs, and the increase in specialized law school centers and
certificate programs reflect a trend towards specialization, and as such, impact law libraries.45
37 Jensen, supra note 16, at 14.

38 Id. at 15.
39 Id.
40 Id. at 15.
Spring 2011
41 Id.
42 Id.
43 Id.
44 Mark P. Berstein, One Size Fits All No More: The Impact of Law Specialization on Library Services, AALL SPECTRUM, March 2007, at 16.
45 Id.
These changes will affect the qualifications of law librarians going forward. As “practitioners,
faculty, and students will utilize reference librarians more than ever,” “reference librarians will
need to become better versed in an array of subject areas.” As such, credentials for reference
librarians will evolve where the JD/MLS “may no longer be the gold standard.”46 Reference li-
brarians will need to bring “specialized background to law libraries rather than having the law and
library degrees be pro-forma core requirements.”47 Summing up, Bernstein (2007) proffers the
notion that specialization will alter “the traditional model of the JD/MLS reference librarian.”48
While this may not be in the near future, it is worth keeping this idea in the back of our mind.
Conclusion
We conclude that the dual degree is necessary for the academic reference law librarian for the
following reasons based upon the arguments and propositions set forth in this paper;
• The emphasis upon research and teaching in the school library, as

contrasted with the more practical aspects of the Bar, court and prac-
titioner’s library, and the difference in attitude toward the academic
law librarian resulting from the academic atmosphere, the system
of academic rank, and so forth distinguish the academic law library
from the other libraries where such tradition is not important.
• ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools49 requires law de- 38
grees for head school librarians or dictates that directors have JDs.
It states that a director of a law library should have a law degree
and a degree in library and information science
• Academic law librarians who want to rise to the position of head law
librarian in law school must get a law degree in addition to MLS.
• Penny Hazelton’s program at the University of Washington re-
quires that the candidate for the Masters of Library and Information
Science, Law Librarianship have a JD Degree.50 Many academic
institutions look to graduates of this program when recruiting Ac-
ademic Law Library Directors. As cited above, Hazelton (1993)
states that “the JD is still the recommended way to obtain the com-
petencies of the subject of law for practicing law librarian.”
• Philosophically, a JD helps in an academic setting. The librarian is
dealing with a patron who knows less about the subject matter or
one with solid legal education who is seeking assistance in doing
complex research in specialized areas of the law. But in a small
firm where most of the patrons are fully trained lawyers and most
46 Id.
47 Id.
Spring 2011
48 Id. at 23.
49 ABAnet.org, 2010-2011 Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools, http://www.abanet.org/legaled/standards/stan-
dards.html (last visited November 5, 2010.
50 Washington.edu, The Information School, http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/academic/school_information.html (last visited No-
vember 5, 2010).
of the practice isn’t highly specialized, you may be quite satisfied

with the level of service provided by reference librarians with only
a library degree.
As further evidence of the positions just summarized I reference comments from Reference/
Electronic Services Librarian at Hofstra University School of Law, David Dames, which best
sums up the essence of this essay, and as such, is presented here in its entirety.
My opinion is that a JD is necessary for academic reference librar-

ians, but perhaps only because of an absence of viable alternatives. For
the most part, academic law librarians could probably obtain sufficient
legal training by going through a program equivalent to the first year
of law school, without the second and third years, but such shortened
programs don’t really exist.
At least this much legal training is necessary for reference librarians
to be able to understand faculty research, to be able to relate to the
experience of law students going through school, and to gain some re-
spect of law students and faculty. A full JD is probably necessary for a
librarian who teaches upper division students, but this is more because
39 of the need to gain students’ respect than because of any extra knowl-
edge or skills that are learned in the second and third years of law
school. Experience with specific legal or interdisciplinary subjects
is helpful for librarians who assist with faculty research, and having
taken relevant electives in the second or third year of law school can
be very helpful for this, but there are also other ways of learning about
specific legal or interdisciplinary subjects, and many JDs unfortunate-
ly do not remember much that they learned in their elective classes,
regardless. And although experience in legal practice is increasingly
relevant for those who teach legal research in law school, such experi-
ence could be as a law librarian, rather than as an attorney. That said,
aspiring academic law library directors should have JDs, as directors
can become involved in the administration of their law schools.
I believe that JDs are required of academic reference librarians for
some reasons that aren’t directly related to their professional respon-
sibilities. For one, it is easy for schools to require JDs because there
are always disaffected attorneys who want to work in academia. And
having highly-educated librarians helps schools attract faculty. And,
although the work may not always require it, law faculty and students
simply tend to give more respect to work done by someone who has
passed a bar exam.
Spring 2011
Although law firms have traditionally not liked to hire JD librarians

(this is changing a little), I think that law firm librarians should also
have a legal background equivalent to the first year of law school.
Although much of the research law firm librarians do is business and
other non-legal research for which a legal education is basically irrel-
evant, law firm librarians do still receive legal research questions, and
it is often necessary for a librarian to either have some legal education
or years of experience doing legal research to be able to respond to
such questions in a timely and cost-effective manner
Our journey is now complete. ■
References
What do you wish you had been taught in law or library school? 2010. AALL Spectrum 14 (6)
(April): 34.
Belniak, Theodora. 2009. Law librarian of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: A figuration
in flux, the general article. Law Library Journal 101 : 427-50.
Bernstein, Mark P. 2007. One size fits all no more: The impact of law specialization on library
services. AALL Spectrum 11 (5) (March): 16,17, 22-3.
Brooks, Serena. 2005. Educating aspiring law librarians: A student’s perspective. Law Library
Journal 97 (3) (Summer): 517-36. 40
Eastland, Craig. 2005. An educational wish list from the private sector. AALL Spectrum 10 (2)
(November): 16.
Harris, Catherine K. 1985. Paralegal programs: An educational alternative for law librarians.
Law Library Journal 77 (1) (1984-): 171-5.
Hazelton, Penny A. 1993. Law libraries as special libraries: An educational model. Library
Trends 42 (Fall): 319-41.
Jensen, Mary Brandt. 1998. The debate over degrees and professionalism in the united states.
The Law Librarian 29 (1) (March): 14-7.
McAdam, Judith E. 1996. Place of legal education in law librarianship, the. Canadian Law
Libraries 21 : 251-5.
Todd, Kay M. 2007. Competencies of law librarianship: Reference, research, and patron ser-
vices. Legal Reference Services Quarterly 26 (1/2): 7-33.
Whisner, Mary. 2008. Law librarian, J.D. or not J.D.? Law Library Journal 100 (1) (Winter):
Spring 2011
185-90.
Minutes of the January
LLAGNY Board Meeting

— Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, January 25th, 2011
In attendance: Mikhail Koulikov, Patricia AALL VIP Guest/AALL Guest at June Dinner
Barbone, Emily Moog, Jill Gray, Rebecca The Board is exploring options to invite a VIP
Newton, Sadys Espitia, Victoria Szymczak, guest to the upcoming 2011 AALL meeting
Caren Biberman and Ellen Kaufman and to invite an AALL guest to the annual
LLAGNY June dinner.
The meeting convened at approximately 6:23 pm.
Chapter Response to West Firing of Library
1. Approval of Minutes Relations Staff
Motion to approve the minutes of November The Board has been discussing the West lay-
9th, 2010. Approve (Szymczak). Second offs at the level of librarian relations. The
(Kaufman). Motion Approved. Board is currently planning to send a letter to
the President and CEO of ThomsonReuters.
2. Treasurer’s Report The Board also plans to send the finalized let-
Patricia Barbone presented the Treasurer’s report. ter to the other AALL chapters, post the en-
tirety of the letter on the LLAGNY website
3. Winter Meeting Recap and Caren Biberman intends to blog about it
Jill Gray reported from the Special Events on the Law Librarian Blog.
41 Committee Chair, Tom Eikenbrod, that The Board reviewed the draft letter as of
LLAGNY expects to break even on the event. the date of these minutes and suggested com-
ments to be made to future drafts.
4. Old/New Business
Personal Advertisements on the LLAGNY listserv. Bridge the Gap Update
It was agreed that personal advertising is not The Board reviewed the proposed budget for
acceptable on the LLAGNY email listserv. the Bridge the Gap program. The budget is
LLAGNY can take steps to have recurrent in- about the same as last year’s program except
fractors removed. that Bloomberg has pulled out as a sponsor.
As of the date of these minutes the commit-
AALL Chapter Professional Development tee is actively looking for new sponsors.
Awards The Board debated whether LLAGNY
Patricia Barbone plans to nominate LLAGNY should continue with the CLE component
for an AALL Chapter Professional Develop- of the Bridge the Gap program. The CLE
ment Award. component was instituted last year in order
to reach out to the needs of attorneys who
Approval of Education Flyer for February 23 had been laid off during the recession. Car-
program en Biberman is opposed to presenting CLE
The Board noted one small formatting com- programs without further board discussion
ment. and a vote. At this point CLE presentations
Motion that the Board approve the flyer are scheduled and some board members feel
Spring 2011
for the February 23 program on mentoring uncomfortable canceling pre-arranged and

and internships with above noted formatting committed CLE presenters.
change. Approve (Newton). Second (Gray). The Board will hear additional comments and
discussion over email and in future board meetings.
A recommendation was heard to hold future Bylaws
Bridge the Gap events at law schools. The Board noted that the bylaws are in need of
amending. There are plans to develop an ad
PLI - LLAGNY Program on Dodd-Frank hoc committee to make recommendations to
The recent PLI program was very successful update the bylaws.
and had over 400 attendees. The Board que-
ried as to the number of law librarians among NY State Documents Inventory Working Group
the attendees. The LLAGNY President will It was brought to the attention of the Board
forward this information via email to the by Sadys Espitia that the Technology Com-
Board. mittee wishes to include a link on LLAG-
NY’s website to a Google site that aims to
Student Luncheon recruit volunteers for the NY State Docu-
LLAGNY normally holds an annual Student ments Inventory Working Group. The Tech-
Breakfast but has not heard from the commit- nology Committee would like to add this
tee regarding the status of the event this year. link temporarily to the LLAGNY website
The Board would like to possibly schedule a main page and to the Government Relations
luncheon this year and plans to reach out to page for an indefinite period. The Board ap-
the Committee Chair in order to program the proves of these links. 42
event.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:26 pm.
Nominations Chair
The Nominations Chair, Christina Rattiner, is
working on developing nominations for the
upcoming elections. There will be a posting
in Law Lines.
It was determined that Board members may
freely nominate other members.
Morris Cohen Memoriam

Board member Mikhail Koulikov is writing a
tribute to Yale Law School Librarian Morris
Cohen. He is currently accepting anecdotes
and comments from chapter members.
Leadership Manual
Board members were asked to review the cur-
rent leadership manual which is distributed to
incoming committee and board members. The
Spring 2011
LLAGNY President would like current board

and committee members to review the leader-
ship manual and offer any comments.
Minutes of the February
LLAGNY Board Meetings

— Hughes, Hubbard and Reed LLP, February 15th, 2011
In attendance via conference call: Rebecca a) Will the Ethics CLE presentation affect our
Newton and Caren Biberman non-profit status?
Answer - unknown
In attendance: Mikhail Koulikov, Patricia b) Where will the records be kept?
Barbone, Emily Moog, Jill Gray, Sadys Espi- Answer - the current plan is that they
tia, Victoria Szymczak, Ellen Kaufman, Jan- will be kept by Janice Henderson
ice Henderson (committee chair) and Yasmin c) Are the planned courses yet approved for
Alexander (committee chair) accreditation?
Answer - no but it is expected that
The meeting convened at approximately 6:06 pm. they will be.
d) Are we giving discounts to library students
1. Bridge the Gap Answer - no we do not.
The co-chairs of the outreach committee pre-
sented a discussion with regard to the Bridge It is proposed that LLAGNY acquire a legal
the Gap Program. There will be three tracks opinion as to whether the offering of an Ethics
following the corporate practice, the litigation based CLE program will affect the non-profit
practice and the service practice. status of LLAGNY.
43 The aim of the program this year is to reach A question was raised concerning the num-
out to the smaller mid-size firms who may not ber of librarians attending the previous BTG
have in-house programs. For the CLE pro- programs and it was believed that a quarter
gram LLAGNY invited back a previous pre- of attendees were law librarians. The number
senter who was well-received. The basis of will be determined in future correspondence.
the CLE programs this year is ethics. Discussion was heard whether LLAGNY
The co-chairs of the outreach committee should go ahead with CLE programming that
recommends that we continue with the CLE may fall outside the scope of our organization.
offering and apply for accreditation to do so. Motion that before LLAGNY make a deci-
The co-chairs of the outreach committee be- sion on whether we hold the CLE portion of
lieve that putting on CLE programs will en- the Bridge the Gap program that we obtain a
hance our reputation in the eyes of lawyers legal opinion about whether the CLE course
and provide worth to the program. offerings will affect our non-profit status. Ap-
A question was heard regarding whether prove (Biberman) Second (Szymczak).
the LLAGNY Bylaws support offering CLE
programs and the bylaws were reviewed at Roll Call - Mikhail Koulikov (aye), Patricia Bar-
the meeting. bone (nay), Jill Gray (nay), Emily Moog (nay),
It was suggested that LLAGNY focus on Sadys Espitia (aye), Victoria Szymczak (aye),
providing Research topic only CLE programs. Ellen Kaufman (abstain), Caren Biberman (aye)
The Board believes that Research fits into our and Rebecca Newton (aye) Motion approved.
mission and reason for being.
Spring 2011
Caren Biberman placed several questions It was moved that the previous motion be
to the Board and the co-chairs of the outreach amended to state that the opinion will be re-
committee. quired by March 7th. Approve(Gray) Second
(Koulikov) Motion approved.
2. Old/New Business additional mailing expenses will be allowed
in the event that the CLE program is eventu-
Bridge the Gap Budget ally approved. Approve (Biberman) Second
Motion to approve the Bridge the Gap budget (Gray). Motion approved.
provisionally with the understanding clearly
conveyed that we have not yet approved the The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:00 pm.
CLE program and with the understanding that
— Conference Call, February 22nd, 2011

In attendance: Mikhail Koulikov, Patricia $5000 to engage counsel to review the matter
Barbone, Emily Moog, Rebecca Newton, Jill of offering CLE courses in regards to our non-
Gray and Ellen Kaufman profit status. Approve (Gray) Second (Moog).
Motion Approved.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 6:05 pm.
CLE Program
Motion to approve an allocation of up to
44
Minutes of the March

LLAGNY Board Meeting
— Conference Call, March 4th, 2011
In attendance: Mikhail Koulikov, Patricia ming as presented by Janice Henderson and
Barbone, Emily Moog (Acting Secretary), Yasmin Sokkar Harker for the Bridge the
Nancy Rine, Jill Gray and Ellen Kaufman Gap programming. Approve (Gray) Second
(Rine). Motion Approved.
It is noted that Caren Biberman and Victoria
Szymczak, via email, protested the calling of
Spring 2011
CLE Program
Upon receiving the letter from Lisa A. Ste- this meeting.
gink, JD, that the CLE programming falls
within LLAGNY’s tax exempt purposes, that The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:24 pm.
LLAGNY move forward with CLE program-
23 Fat Albert Creator
45
46

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LLAGNY Law Lines Vol. 34 No.

Law Lines is published four

Issues appear in Spring,

For membership informa-

Law Lines Vol. 34 No. 3 Spring 2011

February 22nd LLAGNY Board Meeting Minutes .............. 44

LLAGNY Law Lines Vol. 34 No. 3

folks have helped

you are a treasure!

Professional Dana Neacsu, Reference Librarian and Lec-

has completed her M.L.S. degree at St. John’s

LLAGNY Law Lines Vol. 34 No. 3

simple to the most complex.”

Talking about LLAGNY:

LLAGNY Law Lines Vol. 34 No. 3 Spring 2011

Library School Perspectives:

dency to make one smug. However, I abso-

Day in the Life Julie Reynolds,

what we do have here. with all of you in the future! ■

Baker & Hostetler LLP

for Law Librarians:

LLAGNY Law Lines Vol. 34 No. 3

the Bloomberg offices but at Baruch College.

© 2010 Thomson Reuters L-360002/6-10

LLAGNY Law Lines Vol. 34 No. 3

• how to read, write, and calculate damages.

• how therapeutic doing the dishes can be.

Bacilio Mendez II is the 2010 Nathan R. Sobel

the SLA GLBT Issues Caucus, & Art Director of

LLAGNY Law Lines Vol. 34 No. 3

LLAGNY Law Lines Vol. 34 No. 3

In February 2011, we entered the DRAGNET products in an annual competition to honor

& Cautionary Tale

“I am looking for “The Weiss-McGrath Study”. I’ve tried Google, but

information on this Study.

This led to another:

“The well-known Weiss-McGrath report compared retention of information presented to

Getting the Goods

Web site link: http://bit.ly/hASCsc

“The study compared retention of information presented in three different formats:

Competencies of Law Librarianship

4 AALLnet.org, Recruitment Committee, http://www.aallnet.org/committee/rllc/resources/education.asp#Qualifications (last visited Oct. 30,

The Law Firm Librarian

• Organize Expansion—Firm librarians may research demographic and

• Administrative and Management Changes—before committing to a

Knowledge of the Law

The Academic Setting

37 Jensen, supra note 16, at 14.

• The emphasis upon research and teaching in the school library, as

of the practice isn’t highly specialized, you may be quite satisfied

My opinion is that a JD is necessary for academic reference librar-

Although law firms have traditionally not liked to hire JD librarians

Our journey is now complete. ■

LLAGNY Board Meeting

for the February 23 program on mentoring uncomfortable canceling pre-arranged and

Morris Cohen Memoriam

LLAGNY President would like current board

LLAGNY Board Meetings

— Conference Call, February 22nd, 2011

Minutes of the March