Kathleen Agno
I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend Libraries Without Borders:
the 4th Northeast Law Libraries Meeting in the beautiful city of Toronto Canada. The
generous grant from NJLLA allowed me to learn more about the law library profession,
refresh my research skills and socialize with my peers.
The Opening Reception was at Queen’s Park – the Ontario Legislative Building.
where the Legislative Library & Research Services brochure had a great slogan: You Ask.
We Answer. They emphasize “we do the work for you.” It spoke to me coming from
the law firm library environment where presenting yourself as an authority often goes
hand in hand with the information you find in your research.
Michael Ignatieff, a member of Parliament in Canada, was the Keynote Speaker.
who pointed out that there is a continuity of legal traditions. He referred to a visit to a
court in Africa where the judges not only had their country’s law books but those of
other countries. He further encouraged everyone to be sharers of information, not
hoarders.
The educational programs offered practical research tips in the areas of general
international law, cross-border insolvency, private equity markets, and securities
research in Canada and the United States. Other than summarize what I learned at
these sessions, the Libraries Without Borders website has made the power point
presentations and streaming audio of their programs available through their website.
I went to two programs offered by the NJLLA which were both well attended and
well received. First, Molly Brownfield’s presentation on resources in international law
was comprehensive and the best of all – she pointed to all FREE resources. Second,Gayle Lynn Nelson’s Teaching Adults: The ABCs of Adult Learning was an interactive
program. She provided personality tests for us to take. She demonstrated how we must
often appeal to our users’ personality learning style via their aural, visual and tactile
senses to get our training message across.
I went to another program on the challenges facing law firm libraries. It is
interesting to know what other law libraries are doing in terms of maintaining their
library, training and servicing their patrons. For example, one Canadian law librarian
discussed how they are paring down their collection. From another perspective, a New
York law firm described their knowledge management initiative which is used to train
their patrons as well as store their requests. They are also using radio frequency
identification (RFID) technology to track books in their library.
The program allowed me to meet up with other New Jersey law librarians and
other librarians in different areas of the Northeast. The librarians from the Toronto area
were especially warm and inviting. They hosted Dutch treat dinners and opened their
libraries for tours. Overall, it was a well-organized event. I am looking forward to the
next Northeast Law Libraries Meeting. Rumor has it that New Jersey could be a future
host….. (but don’t hold me to that).