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Where Do You Work
I just set up my desk in the main part of my library to give a presentation. It has me thinking about where I work. There has been some discussion this spring about the law library as a service vs a place or space. For examples, see:
- For each library, a librarian. Preferably in it.
- “Climbing the Value Ladder: Rethinking the Law Library on the Road to 2020” Discussed by Jordan Furlong Keynote Speaker at PLL Summit
- The 3 Foot Radius of the Law Library
Today, I have a projector and portable screen attached to a virtual machine with a keyboard and mouse set up on the library table. Our space can be used for a presentation for 5, or 7 if some sit on the couch. It is a small space. My goal is to give the presentation of electronic products in the same physical space as the texts in the library to promote a sense of unity in research materials regardless of the format the information is accessible in.
Where do you work?
Shaunna, I like your rationale for having the training session in the library. It’s a solid reason. I suspect that we frequently opt to hold training sessions in the library because it is more convenient for US – we don’t have to move out of our safe place. I’d like to see more training take place in the client’s world – show them that the tool has relevance in THEIR context. It also makes it more likely that they’ll attend…
I hope that I don’t do training in the library because it is more convenient for me. Close introspection says that is a factor though.
Most training in my shop happens as librarians areinvited to attend practice gr meetings. We do angle for invites like fisherman with cheese baiting our hook … new services and products, or new iterations of the same products.
I did find myself referring to the physical materials often with a “on that shelf there” or “in the … Area” as we worked through the material today. Hopefully, I met the goal to deliver the message that format (print, electronic, desktop, or mobile) isn’t as important as the totality of the research answer.
Wendy, you are totally right pointing out that librarians should put users in mind first, even when it is a command performance, like articling student research training in a law firm.