A Day in the Life: Allison Reeve I’ve heard many clichés and stereotypes about librarians. We dislike noise and conversation. We have poor eye-sight requiring glasses, bad hair requiring buns, love to read, and own cats. And, of course, the cataloging librarian works in a dark, musty back room with low lighting surrounded by dusty books on ancient carts, emerging only to slither her way through the endless stacks. Well, I do wear contacts, I sometimes wear a bun, and I do try to read at least a chapter a day, but I only have one cat. I am also the librarian that patrons ask to quiet down (this has happened twice in my library career) and whose desk and shelves are tidy enough not to give her away as a cataloger. However, the Cataloging and Technical Services Librarian position at Wheat Law Library does not allow for any of the other standard stereotypes. The main focus of my duties as a cataloger is to let patrons know what we have available and make it accessible, whether those materials be print or electronic. To accomplish this goal I handle a variety of tasks. Many days I will spend some time finding or creating the best cataloging records to ensure our materials are available and findable. This means that Marsha Tiemann, cataloging manager, and I scrutinize new and old cataloging records to ensure our faculty, students, and public patrons have access to our materials. It is also important for Wheat Law Library to stay current on cataloging trends and new technologies that help us achieve our goals for access. Recently, the library worked with one of our electronic subscription vendors to load records of digital materials available through Making of Modern Law into our catalog. Despite the location of an item, in the stacks or on the web, my goal is to make it accessible to you. This semester I spend part of my days sitting in on the Advanced Legal Research course and working on assignments. Participating in this course develops my skills as a legal researcher able to assist all patrons at the library reference desk. It also helps to keep the technical services side of my position tied to public services. Additionally, I work closely with Chris Steadham, associate director, to assess large donations for inclusion in the collection. In my position I must also keep Wheat Law Library connected to the main university library system. This means working closely with the cataloging and systems departments on the hill to ensure we all stay connected to best serve the University, Lawrence, and Kansas communities. As can be seen, no one day can be predictable in this cataloger’s life. I invite you say hello and ask questions, not only about what I do, but concerning some of the special projects going on in Wheat Law Library.
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wheat law library - hearsay
NEWS & NOTES u The library has a new database!
Loislaw provides access to two collections of legal treatises: the Missouri Bar Association CLE Library, which contains Missouri legal practice materials covering almost 50 topic areas, and the All Treatise Library, which contains selected Aspen legal treatises. Topics include bankruptcy, real estate, estate planning and probate, business practice, construction law, elder law, employment discrimination, evidence law, family law, litigation, personal injury, and product liability. u This spring, Associate Director Chris
Steadham taught the Kansas Supreme Court Research Clinic. u Want to find out what new books
are available in the library? It’s easy to do online. Just visit: http://guides.law. ku.edu/newbooks. You can also contact Su Johnson at sujohns@ku.edu with questions about additions.