ThomsonReuters White Paper – Taking a Closer Look at the Changing Role of Today’s Law Librarians – Study indicates substantial change to the demands of the role and a shift in responsibilities

“The legal profession has undergone nearly a decade of fundamental change, and perhaps no single role has seen greater impact than the law firm librarian. Budget pressures, shrinking law library footprints, a decreasing reliance on print, a greater push for online resources, and the advent of new job responsibilities are just a few of the factors that have combined to push law librarians into new territory.

NEARLY HALF OF RESPONDENTS REPORTED TAKING ON NEW JOB RESPONSIBILITIES – As one reflection of this change, the American Association of Law Libraries has explored a “rebranding initiative,” as an attempt to “redefine and reinvigorate the value of law librarians and legal information professionals.” A decade ago, such an initiative would likely never have taken place. According to a recent survey of law librarians completed by Thomson Reuters, however, the evolution of the law librarian’s role may provide cause for such a discussion. According to the survey’s 123 respondents from a combination of large and medium law firms, more than half of respondents said their role had undergone substantial change within the past three years, with 15 percent reporting “extreme change.” How much has changed? Forty-eight percent of respondents reported spending more than three-quarters of their time on activities that were not part of their job descriptions three years ago. That’s a staggering degree of change..

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CHANGING ROLE OF TODAY’S LAW LIBRARIAN – NEW TITLES FOR EXPANDING ROLES In fact, only 47 percent of respondents reported using the title “law librarian.” The remainder of respondents used titles such as “research manager,” “research librarian,” “research specialist,” “research analyst” or “knowledge manager…”