Academic Law Librarianship
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Cheryl Kelly Fischer; Sangeeta Pal; and Alena L. Wolotira
Student Services is a key role in any Academic Law Library. One of the challenges facing librarians is students’ ever-changing needs and the growing ways in which libraries are expected to serve those needs. An additional challenge is that many law libraries do not recruit specifically for student services librarians but instead use existing roles, sometimes across departments, to meet the needs filled by student services librarians elsewhere. This chapter will explore many of the commonly offered services to students, the skills required of student service-focused librarians, and look more closely at some specific engagement strategies in action at two different law libraries.
- Student services design and implement library services for the benefit of law students.
- Student services are likely staffed differently depending on institutional needs but would benefit from cross-departmental collaboration, such as between Reference and Access Services.
- A passion for helping law students and the ability to find creative ways to engage students are essential skills for the Student services librarian.
- Student engagement involves meeting students’ immediate needs, bringing them into the library space, educating them about the library’s services, and providing opportunities to communicate future needs.
Skills
Student Services Librarian positions are relatively new in law libraries. The job descriptions for these positions typically require some teaching and working directly with students, including working with student journals and organizations and often have an outreach and marketing component to foster greater student engagement. In schools without positions devoted expressly to student services, these same needs are filled by other librarians often in either the reference department, the access services department, or both depending on institutional needs. Student services often greatly benefit from cross-departmental collaboration, such as between reference and access services.
The core skills needed for a successful student services librarian will also vary based on institutional needs. Two essential skills we have identified are a passion for serving students and an interest in outreach and increased student engagement. These are especially important when identifying librarians to serve in this capacity when there is no explicit student services librarian on staff.
A clear interest in serving students’ needs is critical because this is an ever-changing area of librarianship, which varies widely due to the makeup of your student body. As students matriculate each year and new students come in, their interests, needs, preferred methods of communication, and demand for library services will often change. Staying attuned to student needs must be a genuine interest to be most effective in developing and changing library services accordingly. Likewise, communicat