Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/87421
Be Not Afraid of Progress As time moves on and the older generation retires, more and more materials are likely to move online. This isn't always related to generational dfferences — there are a number of technology-averse young new associates, and one of the best users of online legal resources at my firm is in his eighties. As a rule of thumb, however, younger attorneys are more comfortable with online and e-resources, and they are the ones doing the bulk of the research. Older attorneys are generally more comfortable with books, and they are the ones signing off on the completed research (and on the library's bottom line). It's best to look at each resource individually — don't go with one for the sake of format or cost alone. Look PORTRAIT OF THE NEW LIBRARIAN BY NINA PLATT AND DEB SCHWARZ OF LAC GROUP There are few professions undergoing an identity crisis like library and information sciences. Technology, social media and digitization are profoundly affecting all of us, and not only at work but in every facet of our daily lives and in our relationships with others. In many organizations, the well-placed and expensive real estate that once housed the library has either been eliminated or redesigned to make way for open work areas or community space, a process that can feel diminishing in more ways than one to the library staff. Does taking away the books mean the role of the librarian is devalued or, worse, made redundant by the wealth of free and fee-based digital resources that are relentlessly pushed out to end users (i.e., attorneys, marketers, etc.) by publishers and aggregators? The answer is largely dependent on 58 AALL/ILTA White Paper how articulate and persuasive to management the library staff can be — and how the services provided by librarians have transcended the physical space the library once inhabited. MEET THE NEW LIBRARIAN Managing virtual resources — e-books, databases, websites, blogs, social media outlets, videos and digital archives — requires a diverse skill set that includes negotiating skills, knowledge of copyright, contracts, licenses, rights and permissions, and the appropriate depth of subject-matter expertise required to evaluate publisher and content-provider offerings and platforms. As published original content moves away from traditional formats, finding ways to evaluate, manage