Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/87421
XXXX Library and research services (LRS) departments have traditionally relied upon their reputations of providing good services to the staff and attorneys who use them. However, as these departments find themselves moving away from being autonomous departments and are instead teamed with other departments under a larger umbrella of services, the demands placed on LRS to follow much more formalized best practices have increased significantly. Although it is not a foregone conclusion that LRS will be grouped with the technology services groups, there are many law firms that have taken this approach. As with any change, there are challenges to overcome … and opportunities to explore. Best practices from the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) standards can be adopted and modified to fit the structure of the library and research services. The idea behind adopting pieces of the ITIL standards is to improve the overall delivery of services without losing the service-oriented goals of the department. In fact, adoption of the ITIL standards should actually increase the effectiveness of the overall services provided by the LRS and create high-quality processes that are documented, sustainable and repeatable. In addition to process improvements, the standards enable the LRS to measure services using similar techniques and processes used by its technology peer departments. AALL/ILTA White Paper 41