According to the article "Time to Put Away the Umbrellas", the layoff of their entire library staff in the Chicago office of Baker & McKenzie was a turning point for law librarians who responded by being "more vocal about how much they do for lawyers and for the firm as a whole." Apparently it worked, or perhaps the fact that librarians can still track down information more efficiently than lawyers would have eventually become obvious regardless.
The turnaround in our prospects is clarified by statistics compiled by American Lawyer, and are included in summary form in the article. But let me summarize. Staff is up. Compensation is up. Billable hours are up.
If you're working on your budget or annual report, and want to show management the current trends in law libraries, get a hold of this article, and/or the American Lawyer statistics! Does anyone know if this article has been reprinted elsewhere so that non-Californians can enjoy it, too?
"Time to Put Away the Umbrellas: Budgets and salaries head northward as firms concede librarians importance", California LegalPro, Fall 2005
Hi Cindy:
Pretty much the same info as the California article can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/da74f (another AmLaw site)
Going to an open house at Drexel University this Saturday to check into their MLS program. You (and many other folks) have convinced me that it is the way to go. Wish me luck!
Hope all is well.
Dave Rakowski
Allentown, PA