Transferring Skills: From Archives Intern to Law Librarian

By Havilah Steinman Bakken (Follow us on LinkedIn) While earning my Master’s in Library and Information Science, I had the opportunity to complete an internship at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Archives. I grew up spending time at the San Diego Zoo parks, but would not have known about the archives had it not been for the

Catch Flights Not Feelings: Empowering Law Librarians Through Travel

By Shivani Naicker (Follow us on LinkedIn) The ability to travel is a privilege that I have been afforded from when I was six-weeks-old. This is not a humble brag; it was a practical reality for my parents. In the summers, my immigrant parents who both worked full-time jobs could not afford camps or the cost

Fill Out Your Occupation

By Candice Fong (Follow us on LinkedIn) Fill out your occupation. Seems like such an innocuous request but as a person who has a hard time defining themselves into a nice, neat package, I go through an existential crisis whenever I see this question. Do I write Librarian? Lawyer? Lawyer/Librarian? Librarian/Lawyer? Knowledge Management Specialist? Each label

Meditation, Mindfulness, and Legal Research

By Michael Muehe (Follow us on LinkedIn) “Please tilt away your computers and phones; in front of you is an index card,” I explained at the beginning of my research workshops. “I’m going to start the timer for 2 minutes, and as your mind wanders, I want you to write down on the card any thoughts

Disrupting Law: Free Access and the Modern Librarian

By Ulysses Jean (Follow us on LinkedIn) The traditional scarcity principle has long governed the economics of legal publishing, leveraging the perception of exclusivity to exact premium fees for specialized or rare legal resources. Corporate publishers became the gatekeepers of the cases, statutes, and regulations that comprise the laws. They repackaged them with annotations and convenient

Westpac 2023: Scholarship, Connection, a Pool Shark, and a Wedding?

By Jenny Silbiger (Follow us on LinkedIn) Aloha and Happy Fall! I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my first “outside of Hawai‘i” AALL Western Pacific Chapter conference experience, held on September 28th-30th, 2023. We had a beautiful start with the opening reception on the San Diego Harbor, where AALL Board Member, Kris Niedringhaus joined us

Law Librarians in Paradise: A Celebration of our Community

By Mandy Lee (Follow us on LinkedIn) We hurried toward one another, arms outstretched. Although we had met in person only once before, nearly a year previously, at the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) conference in Denver, our reunion was one of old friends. Jenny Silbiger greeted me, Hawaiian-style, with a fresh orchid lei which

Keeping a Healthy Mindset at Work – The Librarian’s Four Agreements

By Havilah Steinman Bakken (Follow us on LinkedIn) I recently had the opportunity to read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz for the first time. The author explores four decisions they have made to promote mental health and a practical mindset in daily life. Making the following four agreements with myself as the author describes

Your First Rodeo: What to know before you go to the AALL Annual Meeting

By Ramon Barajas (Follow us on LinkedIn) This year’s Annual Meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) will be my first in person conference since the Baltimore meeting in 2018. Little did I know at the time that I wouldn’t return for another five years. In preparing for this year’s meeting, I find myself

Work Life Balance, Guilty Mom Syndrome

By Itunu Sofidiya (Follow us on LinkedIn) I am the first to admit that I completely understand why many people don’t want to have kids. I have a ten-year-old son, who I absolutely adore.  However, mommying while working is difficult and expensive. I guess expensive is relative, because kids don’t have to bankrupt you. However, as a parent,