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BY LINDSEY CARPINO, ANNIE MENTKOWSKI & CLANITRA STEWART NEJDL

BUILDING

BETWEEN LAW LIBRARIES

STRATEGICPARTNERSHIPS

COLLABORATIONTHROUGH

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“Collaboration” and “partnership” are two words that most of us hear on a regular basis. It has almost

become a truism that it is important to collaborate with others to succeed pro-fessionally. However, as law librarians and legal information professionals, it is incumbent upon us to actively embrace collaboration and form strategic part-nerships with other law libraries.

Why Collaborate?First, collaboration is a significant way to provide additional benefits and ser-vices to our end users, be they judges, attorneys, students, faculty, or members of the public. Not only do collaborative partnerships maximize the resources available for services to these users, but they also allow for faster, more efficient service and the potential for creating more unique and innovative services. Examples of such innovative services could include embedding an academic law librarian in a public law library to improve access to justice, or creating an advanced legal research course that has an experiential component that takes place in a law firm under the guidance of a law firm librarian.

Secondly, collaboration is a major benefit to our institutions and orga-nizations because it can result in saving money and resources through cost-sharing, which in turn allows for more services to be provided.

Thirdly, collaborative partnerships help foster good relationships with other entities that may prove important to our employer institutions and organizations in the future.

Finally, collaboration is a boon to our profession because it improves the skills of the individual law librarians and legal information professionals involved and leads to the creation of best practices that can be shared across the profession. It is also worth noting that the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Body of Knowledge (BoK) specifically encourages partner-ship and collaboration in the domains of Professionalism + Leadership at Every Level, Marketing + Outreach, and Management + Business Acumen.

NetworkingYou cannot have a meaningful discus-sion about building strategic partner-ships without talking about networking. However, it is critical to think about net-working in a new light and push your-self outside of your typical networks. It

Tips on networking, methods of collaborating,

and overcoming the obstacles to forming

dynamic partnerships.

STRATEGIC

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is not unusual to take a siloed approach to networking by only networking in your established communities (e.g., attending continuing education events that only apply to your current role, only attending events were you already know most of the attendees, etc.). However, the siloed approach, while convenient and comfortable, may not yield the best results for dynamic partnership building.

To really stretch yourself profession-ally and grow a diverse network takes some thought and planning. Below is a short list of suggestions for improving your networking skills.

�3 Take advantage of social media plat-forms such as Meetup and seek out like-minded librarian groups in other disciplines.

�3 Reach out to the alumni association at your alma mater.

�3 Attend webinars and conferences hosted by AALL chapters or groups of which you are not already a member.

�3 Get involved with your local bar or other professional association.

If you are willing to push yourself out-side your established network of law librarians, the possibilities for collabora-tion are infinite.

Collaboration MethodsOnce you identify strategic partners through networking, you’ll find that there are endless methods for collabora-tion. For example:

Government Law LibrariesGovernment law librarians may consider:

�3 Providing tips or strategies for regula-tory or legislative history research to incoming clerks or to new associates at law firms.

Law Schools and Academic OrganizationsAcademic law librarians may consider:

�3 Introducing graduating law students to law firm or government librarians, thereby helping students build import-ant professional connections;

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One very simple step you can take to build your professional network is to update your AALL

omm nities profile

as added t ree ne sections to t e omm nities mem er profile

�3 Areas of Expertise currently includes 23 topic areas

�3 Speak On Areas of Expertise is where you can state whether you would be willing to speak on the areas of expertise you selected

�3 Teach Areas of Expertise is where you can state whether you would be willing to teach within these areas

e s re to eep o r omm nities profile c rrent oing so can elp o find potential partners and elp ot ers find o en t e are loo ing or spea ers or additions to their professional networks.

Update your profile at bit.ly/AALLMyCommunities

AALL MY COMMUNITIES

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�3 Hosting or sponsoring a “Bridge the Gap” program with a law firm library;

�3 Offering a professional development program or workshop for law students and alumni; and

�3 Providing trainings related to access to justice.

Law FirmsLaw firm librarians may consider:

�3 Guest lecturing in local law school legal research courses to share best practices for new associates.

Public Libraries and InstitutionsPublic libraries may consider:

�3 Expanding access to resources

�3 Providing CLE (continuing legal education) programs

�3 Hosting law-related book clubs

�3 Collaborating on community resources such as law-related online guides

Additionally, all types of legal infor-mation professionals may consider resource-sharing and serving as contacts for interlibrary loan needs. Other pos-sibilities include collaborating on grant applications to develop library out-reach and programming, and working together on technology-related efforts such as the digitization of resources.

Remember, collaborating on small projects can lead to big opportunities for greater collaboration.

Overcoming Barriers to CollaborationUnfortunately, barriers to collaboration may come up from time to time. These barriers tend to fall into two categories: administrative and practical.

Administrative barriers can include difficulties getting buy-in from senior leadership, IT restrictions, and other rules and regulations, such as licensing restrictions.

Practical barriers can include lack of time, fear of failure, and, most com-monly, lack of financial resources. In

regard to this last barrier, remember that lack of financial resources is a com-mon condition among all types of law libraries and that there may be grants or other funding sources available depending on the type of collaborative project being developed. As part of the process, it is well worth investigating the availability of such sources as additional ways to fund the partnership.

It is important to acknowledge potential barriers early in the process, because if they are anticipated at the outset they will be easier to eliminate. Our best advice is to be realistic but resolute. Do not give up unnecessarily, because the benefits of collaboration can far outweigh the efforts.

Onward to SuccessEven though we may think of our own areas of law librarianship as distinct, all law librarians and legal information professionals are facing similar con-cerns. Shrinking budgets, collection reductions, security concerns, vendor negotiations, and the overall need to “do more with less” pervade our pro-fessional lives. If we can look at the bigger picture of law librarianship as a whole, we can work together and share our unique perspectives on how our similar challenges can be overcome. Continuing to network and to collab-orate with colleagues in our own orga-nizations and at other organizations will be critical to our own success, the success of our organizations, and the success of our profession.

Teaching + Training

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CLANITRA STEWART NEJDLRESEARCH SERVICES LIBRARIAN AND LECTURER IN LAWAlyne Queener Massey Law LibraryVanderbilt UniversityNashville, TNclanitra.s.nejdl@vanderbilt.edu

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ANNIE MENTKOWSKIAGENCY LIBRARIANUnited States Railroad Retirement Board Chicago, ILannie.mentkowski@rrb.gov

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LINDSEY CARPINOLEGAL CONTENT SERVICES SUPERVISORBakerHostetlerChicago, ILlcarpino@bakerlaw.com

ADDITIONAL RESOURCEVisit Teaching Legal Research: A Collaboration in My Communities at bit.ly/AALLMyCommTLR to share information, strategies, and resources to help law students and new attorneys build solid legal research skills. This group is open to all la li rarians academic, private, and government

Unfortunately, barriers to collaboration may come up from time to time. These tend to fall into two categories: administrative and practical.

AALL2go EXTRA Listen to the 2019 AALL Annual Meeting program ilding trategic artners ips Using Outreach Between Academic, Government, and Law Firm Libraries to a imi e al e, at bit.ly/AM19Partnerships.