As Jen kindly introduced, my name is Brenda and I’m taking over as Reference Librarian here at the CCLA! It’s obvious to me that Katie did an amazing job here and it’s my biggest hope that I can continue on in that tradition.

By way of a brief introduction – I obtained my Masters in Information Studies at the University of Toronto, before doing some work at the Ontario Securities Commission law library. Most recently I have come from working as the Librarian at the Hamilton Law Association, the CCLA’s equivalent in Hamilton. On a more personal note, I’m probably one of the biggest nerds out there – video games, sci-fi/fantasy, board games – you name it! So stop by and say hello sometime, I promise I won’t bite (unless it’s the zombie apocalypse of course, then all bets are off).

Needless to say I’m extremely excited to be here and am really looking forward to working with and getting to know the legal community in Ottawa. And of course if you have any research questions my email (blauritzen@ccla-abcc.ca) and phone line (613-233-7386 ex.222) are always open!

This week, registrants for the Civil Litigation conference will be emailed a link to where they can download conference papers from our online system. If you are wondering how or if these papers can be loaded onto an iPad, the CCLA Library is here to help!

Join us on Wednesday, November 9th at 4:00 PM in the library for a short session to get you ready for the conference.

Please RSVP (or send any questions) to Jennifer Walker at jwalker@ccla-abcc.ca

You’ll need to bring:
1.  Your iPad
2.  The email address that was used to register you for the conference
3.  The registration number you received in an email to that email address once your payment was received
4.  Your Apple ID name and password (for downloading the App to read PDFs)

It’s important to have all of these with you for the session – you will not be able to download anything without them.

Outcomes:
1.  You’ll have an application that can read and store PDFs installed on your iPad (if you don’t have one already)
2.  All your conference papers for the Civil Litigation conference will be saved on your iPad
3.  You’ll know how to retrieve the papers later, when you need them at the Montebello

Some other information on apps:
There are many applications that can read PDFs, both paid and free, available from the App Store.  Feel free to download whichever app you would like.  During the session, we will be going through the process of downloading an app if there isn’t already one on your iPad.  I’ll walk you through both the paid and free apps, though you only need to download one.  We will be selecting “DocAS Lite” for a free option, and “GoodReader” as a paid option (the current cost is $4.99).  If you want to follow along with the session directly, please go ahead and download one of these apps before the session.  You can find them by searching for those exact names in the App Store.  Alternatively, I’ll show a bit of each program before I download them, so if you’d like to see the program in action, you can wait until we’ve looked at both and then download the program you prefer.  As always, if you choose a paid app, you must either have a credit balance on your Apple store account (from an Apple gift card), or have a credit card attached to the account for billing.

 

The CCLA is extremely excited to welcome our new reference librarian, Brenda Lauritzen, to the staff !  As you know, our previous reference librarian Katie departed from the CCLA at the end of August.  After a search with many, many excellent candidates, we’re thrilled to have Brenda joining us.  Most recently, Brenda held the role of Reference Librarian at the Hamilton Law Association (in other words, the CCLA’s equivalent in Hamilton).

Brenda’s first day will be Monday, November 7, 2011 – this coming Monday!  We  hope you’ll stop by to give her a friendly East Region hello and welcome her to the city.

For the period of October 3rd through October 14th, we’d like to give our clients advance notice of some small reduction in library services.  Our library will be open from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm (normally 5:00 pm), during which time all of our materials will still be available.  Reference assistance at the library will be limited to the following:

– Case retrieval (both print and online)
– Book requests, including borrowing books from other libraries
– Straightforward reference questions (e.g.: locating materials on a certain topic)

Should you require more in-depth assistance during this time, we’d like to refer you to our lovely colleagues – Gail Brown and Cynthia Simpson – at the Middlesex Law Library in London, Ontario.  While you can’t sit down with them in person (unless you’re up for an incredibly long drive), please feel free to give them a call at their toll-free number – 1-866-556-5570 – or write an email – library@middlaw.on.ca.  They can direct you to suitable materials available online, or here at the CCLA.

Also, as a reminder: the Courthouse (and thus, the CCLA) will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Monday, October 10th.  As always, CCLA members can access the library 24/7, including holidays.

A reminder that over the next two weeks the library will be hosting free Quicklaw and Westlaw training sessions. The first session, on Westlaw, will be held next Wednesday, August 31st from 1:00 to 2:00 PM. New Articling students are strongly encouraged to attend the upcoming sessions, which are a great overview of how to use specialized tools to find relevant cases quickly and efficiently. The training sessions are also a great opportunity for lawyers, as they now apply towards 9 of the 12 hours of annual CPD, with each hour of training equaling one hour of CPD. And they are free! The sessions will take place on the following dates:

Westlaw Tools, Wednesday, August 31st, 1:00 to 2:00 PM
Skip the keyword search. Learn how to use the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest, Canadian Abridgment, and KeyCite features to very quickly narrow and find the most relevant case law, legislation, and commentary that you need. Westlaw basics will also be reviewed.

Quicklaw Tools, Wednesday, September 7th, 1:00 to 2:00 PM
Let them narrow the search results for you. Learn how to use Quicklaw’s Canada Digest, Canada Quantums, and Quickcite features to search within the most relevant case law, legislation, and commentary, instead of starting from scratch. Quicklaw basics will also be reviewed.

As always, the sessions are held in the CCLA Library, located in Room 2004 on the main floor of the Ottawa Courthouse, at 161 Elgin Street. If you’d like to attend or have any questions, please send a quick email to the Jennifer Walker at jwalker@ccla-abcc.ca. Walk-ins are also always welcome. We hope to see you there!

To those that have heard that there may be a changeover at the CCLA Library this fall, I can confirm that the rumours are true! In early August, my husband was offered an attractive job opportunity in Vancouver, and as a result I will be leaving my position at the CCLA as Reference Librarian and relocating to the west coast in early September. I am very excited for this new opportunity, but it is, of course, very bittersweet as I will miss the colleagues, clients, and friends that I have met at the CCLA a great deal. I wanted to take this opportunity to express how valuable my experience at the CCLA has been, and thank its staff, board, and community for the opportunity to work and grow at the library for the last few years.

Not all of you may know that I have had two incarnations at the CCLA. I began working in the library as a Library Assistant shortly after I completed my undergraduate degree in 2007. The CCLA provided me with my first professional, full-time job after graduating, with the added advantage of the chance to work in a library. At the time, I knew that I wanted to complete a Masters or post-graduate degree, but wasn’t yet sure what subject I wanted to pursue. Library and Information Science was on my short list, and the CCLA Library provided the perfect environment to learn about the degree from real, live, working, professional librarians. I learned a lot about the legal and library profession during my first stint. The librarians at the CCLA were very supportive and encouraging of my interest, and were happy to teach me how to perform legal research and give me opportunities to learn and practice. After a year or so, I left the CCLA to pursue my M.L.I.S. degree at the University of Western Ontario, returning briefly during my time off to assist with the library’s collection. Upon graduation, a job opportunity at the library conveniently became available, and I returned to the CCLA as Reference Librarian.

Looking back and knowing how difficult it can be to obtain experience in a law library setting, and how rare it is to get to try a career on for size before actively pursuing it, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity provided to me by the CCLA. The experience allowed me to pursue librarianship with the knowledge and confidence that it was the right career path for me, and helped me to successfully hit the ground running and launch my career upon graduating. If not for the CCLA, it is difficult to say whether or not I would be a librarian today.

Since my first day as an employee, I have seen the organization undergo dramatic change. These changes include an aggressive overhaul of the CCLA’s operations, technology, web presence, knowledge management, and library collection and services, just to name only a few initiatives. The results have been nothing short of impressive, and I am very proud of where the CCLA is today. Of course, there is still much to do, which is why the individual that takes over my position will be very fortunate. The planning of the upcoming library and barrister’s lounge renovations has been very interesting, and I can only imagine that the actual process will be even more exciting. Other new projects are also being planned, and the new Reference Librarian will have plenty of opportunities for creativity, growth, and leadership. These opportunities are the reasons why the CCLA is a great place to work.

In closing, I’d like to bid a fond farewell to the colleagues and clients that I have formed relationships with over the last few years. My thanks to all of you for your support and friendship and for helping me grow from a law library newbie to a confident and professional librarian. I greatly appreciate the time that I have spent with you, and know that it will aide me greatly as I embark on new professional challenges.

Katie Tribe’s last day at the CCLA Library is Friday, August 26th, 2011. To get in touch with her before then, please stop by the library or email her at ktribe@ccla-abcc.ca.

We’ll have plenty more to come here on the blog soon, but for now, the CCLA presents the following job posting:

Reference Librarian

The County of Carleton Law Association is a non-profit professional organization for the legal community in Ottawa, Ontario.  We operate a library for lawyers, students-at-law, and the judiciary in the Ottawa Courthouse.   We are currently seeking a Reference Librarian to join our team in a full-time and permanent capacity.

Reporting to the Head Librarian, this position offers a broad range of opportunities to further shape our reference services, create and lead training sessions, and work with a wide segment of the legal community.  The successful candidate will also be involved in the continuing development of our website and web presence.  As an independent body, we are always working on new and exciting projects, and we welcome someone who is innovative, enthusiastic, dynamic, and client-services oriented.

Key Responsibilities

o Providing legal research and reference assistance to our library clients

o Developing and promoting library activities and outreach or training sessions

o Updating the CCLA Website and CCLA Library Blog

Competencies and Strengths

o Excellent legal research skills

o A customer-service oriented approach to library services

o Experience or interest in the development of training programs, library programming outreach, and library marketing

o Experience in updating content management systems and website maintenance

o Very strong oral and written communication skills

o Excellent interpersonal skills, time management, and organizational skills

o Proficiency with Inmagic DB/Text and Microsoft SharePoint is an asset

Qualifications

o Masters in Library and Information Studies (MLS/MLIS) from an ALA accredited institution

o One to two years library experience, preferably in a law library

o One to two years of experience performing legal research

o Bilingual (French / English) is a strong asset

Please submit electronically a covering letter and resume to:

Jennifer Walker
Head Librarian
County of Carleton Law Association
2004 – 161 Elgin Street
Ottawa, ON
K2P 2K1
jwalker@ccla-abcc.ca

Application Deadline:  August 24, 2011 at 5:00 PM

We thank all applicants for their interest in this position.  Only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.

Back in May, Katie (our Reference Librarian) reported on the trip she and our Library Technician Amanda made to the Canadian Association of Law Libraries annual conference in Calgary, Alberta.  She teased in the last paragraph that I’d be reporting in the summer time on my trip to the American Association of Law Libraries annual conference.  That conference was held last week, and I’m pleased to give a write-up on the experience.

This year, the AALL conference was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  I had never been to Philly before, nor to the AALL conference, but the birthplace of American independence seems just about as right a place as any to start.  My first thought of the conference was just how incredibly large it was.  At any given time there would be six sessions running (sometimes more!), plus pre-confrences, early morning coffee chats, and of course, a wonderful keynote address from Dahlia Lithwick.  Her keynote address on the relationship of Supreme Court Judges and social media was timely, entertaining, and engaging.  From that point on, however, existed the constant struggle to decide on which sessions to attend.

Throughout the conference, sessions were informally divided into different interest streams, such as “Collection Development and Cataloguing” and “Library Management and Administration.”  Sessions were also categorized by the special interest groups that proposed the program, such as the Private Law Libraries Special Interests Section (SIS) or the Publishing Initiatives Caucus.  In addition to the main conference sessions, there were other sessions being held by some of these groups.  Of the sessions I went to (all of which were excellent) there were some that were particularly useful, interesting, or inspiring.  I could go on about all of them, but I’ll just highlight a few here.

In “Best Practices for Evaluating a New Electronic Resource,” attendees were treated to an excellent new resource for their libraries – an electronic resource checklist to be used when considering the purchase of a new product.  More than just “Should we buy this – yes or no?” the best practice as described in this presentation includes testing the product with key stakeholders, performing a cost benefit analysis, and examining licensing options.  The checklist – provided to session attendees through the conference web platform for sharing papers – records these steps and can be used to document the selection and purchasing (or not purchasing) of a product.  Many of those in attendance did not have anything like this for use in their library (myself included), so this worksheet will be an incredible resource to use here at the CCLA in the future.

“The Value of a Public Law Library: How County Law Libraries in Pennsylvania Collaborate with Courts to Provide Service to the Self-Represented Litigant” was a presentation from the State, Court, and County Law Libraries SIS.  This SIS is made up of people doing the work closest to what we do here at the CCLA, so I jumped at the chance to attend this program.   Discussing the work of the Lancaster and Berks Counties law libraries, this was a very eye-opening look at what some county libraries in Pennsylvania have done to help self-represented litigants work their way through the legal system.  With few resources but plenty of community engagement in their projects, these libraries have created information packets to sell to pro se litigants.  In both cases, these initiatives have been a rousing success by helping self-reps conduct very simple court matters unassisted (such as filing for divorce when both parties consent and there is no property to divide), encouraging some self-reps to seek legal assistance, and providing court staff with a place to send members of the public for accurate and useful information.  I was especially impressed by this session, and look forward to joining AALL and this SIS so I can keep abreast of what else they are working on.

“Providing Excellent Customer Service in the Law Library: Hold the Pickles” was easily the best attended of all the sessions I went to, and was a truly interesting way of looking at customer service in a law library.  Using the customer service model developed by Zingerman’s Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan, two librarians spoke of how this was implemented successfully in their library.  It was an excellent cap on all of the conference’s programming, getting how at the heart of librarianship is the importance of helping others.

While many of the vendors in attendance were selling materials that we don’t routinely collect here in the Ottawa courthouse, I did take the opportunity to check out what our American friends are up to, particularly those at Lexis and Thomson Reuters.  Fans of amazing integration, watch for the Microsoft Office tie-in to Lexis to hit Canada (hopefully!).  If you like e-books, Thomson’s new line will be sure to impress (I loved it!).  The large number of vendors was something to behold, and next year I will definitely be carving out more time to visit with them and see what will be upcoming for legal research.

Overall, the conference was a fantastic experience, and I must express major congratulations to the AALL and their conference planning committee.  I am greatly looking forward to their conference next year in Boston.

We’re pleased to let our library users know that our subscription to DIVORCEmate has been re-installed on one of our public computers, and that it is now featuring access to the Forms One component of the program.  After many requests for the Forms application,we’ve added it for the next year.  As per our user license, DIVORCEmate is only available on one of our computers.  Currently, it is on the computer nearest to the Reference desk, directly next to the printer.