Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/87421
Embedded librarianship is one way to help the library remain — and be perceived as — relevant. Advantage: Embedded Librarianship The role of librarians in law firms continues to evolve to keep pace with changes in the legal industry, and librarians continue to seek out new ways to create value for their firms. Embedded librarianship is one way to help the library remain — and be perceived as — relevant, further strengthening librarians' positions as key players within the organization. Before taking on an embedded librarianship initiative, organizations need to conduct a thorough assessment of how to implement it given the constraints of staff, time and budget. However, as library initiatives go, embedded librarianship might be more attractive because it can be tailored to the firm's staffing needs and can be launched on a smaller scale if necessary. Then, once it produces tangible benefits, management can be approached to ask for additional staff to expand the scope to other teams, groups or departments. In the survey conducted by "3 Geeks and a Law Blog," survey respondents were asked about what benefits their firms have experienced from making use of embedded librarians. Some of the benefits identified by survey respondents included building stronger relationships with their respective groups, developing a better understanding of that group's research needs and what research products can be used to meet those 12 AALL/ILTA White Paper needs, cross-training of the library staff, improved workflow management, and a higher profile or increased recognition within the firm. Toward a True Partnership With traditional models of reference service no longer the norm in most organizations, libraries and librarians need to find ways to make changes that will allow them to continue to provide relevant, focused information and resources to their various user groups. In recent years, librarians have been moving away from the concept of the library as a space and toward the idea of the library as a service. The goal of embedded librarianship is to take this one step further — from a service to a true partnership. Being an embedded librarian takes time, but it is time well spent and, regardless of how many librarians an organization embeds or where they reside, an important relationship is always created. It is this relationship — a new kind of partnership — that will demonstrate the library's dedication to finding innovative ways to continue to add value and align with the continuously shifting needs of our organizations. A/I