Thursday, October 29, 2009

Ontario Law Librarians Profiled in US Publication

The most recent issue of AALL Spectrum, the monthly publication of the American Association of Law Libraries, contains an article entitled Doing More with Less - Innovative ideas from small law libraries by Dave Whelan, legal information manager for the Law Society of Upper Canada in Toronto:
"A tight economy highlights a common feature in smaller law libraries—the need to do more with less. One-person librarians are used to doing every type of library task
because there is no one else to do it. Even with limited staff time and the same budget limitations that many law libraries are experiencing, these creative librarians are finding ways to innovate."

"Some are using open source software to create inexpensive solutions. Others are using novel applications and relationships to extend their reach beyond traditional library services."

"The libraries profiled below are all in Ontario, Canada, and are associated with law associations ... There are 48 law association libraries spread out across the province, spanning over 900 miles from east to west."
The article looks at local innovations relating to open source circulation tools, remote access software to manage electronic legal research by lawyers at remote locations, creation of RSS feeds and continuing legal education.

Most of the people mentioned in the article are members of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries.

The full table of contents for this AALL Spectrum issue is available on the publication website.

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posted by Michel-Adrien at 6:53 pm

1 Comments:

Anonymous Realtor in Toronto said...

Great article. I'm especially surprised on how the libraries use the IT field to cut down costs of regular activities that would normally require a large sum of money. Using open source software is a great way to start, not many companies realize the advantages of that. Thanks for sharing this!

Take care, Julie

5:27 am  

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