Knowledge Management and Law Libraries
Bruce MacEwen talks about the “Law Library of the Future” at
Adam Smith, Esq. Bruce has an interesting characterization of the attitudes of four generations of lawyers regarding media, technology, and research. He concludes:
Ultimately, I believe the law library of the future is Knowledge Management. If I'm right, this is terrific news for librarians who can adapt themselves to this role and ensure that the conversation with the executive committee about resource allocation is cast in terms of scholarship, professional development, client and business intelligence, and competitive advantage through astutely marshalling the firm's intellectual assets: And not in terms of overhead, square footage, the price of subscriptions, headcount, and non-fee-earners.
If so, the library of the future will evolve:
from a tactical to a strategic resource
from static repository to dynamic, on-demand portal
from one-way delivery of assets to home for communities of practice, and
from a "one size fits all" commodity to an adaptive resource tailored to the needs of your firm today.
Law libraries are definitely changing and, as a lawyer who has created a practice based on the availability of online legal research resources, I like the change. Bruce is right that it is all about “knowledge management.” No matter how easily accessible knowledge may seem to be, there will always be a need for those who know how to find it.
That said, there is still something wonderful and inspring about a traditional library and those rows and stacks of books.
Posted on 8:27 AM by susan
