Columbia Law School, Diamond Law Library (New York, NY)

Assistant Director for Special Projects and Lecturer in Law, July 2019 – Present

  • Identify, develop, and execute discrete Law Library projects, including:

    • Review the HeinOnline author profile information in advance of U.S. News & World Report new ranking system, identifying corrections to be made and potential weaknesses of using the data set.

    • Edit, organize, and update content of the Law Library’s webpages in preparation for an upcoming Columbia Law-wide redesign.

    • Perform needs analysis related to pending construction projects, including the removal of all print materials from an entire floor and the relocation of 12 Law Library staff or librarian workstations to converted stack space on a different floor.

    • Contact and arrange staff-requested trainings and information sessions (e.g., Ergonomics lunch & learn and office sweep; Naloxone training with Columbia Health).

  • Lead the Fee-Based Services department, a department within the Law Library that provides subscription services to approximately 30 institutional subscribers (primarily law firms), as well as document delivery services on an individual order basis.

    • Manage a departmental budget of approximately $150,000 to $200,000, based on revenue generated by the Fee-Based Services department.

    • Supervise two full-time Officers of Administration and serve as departmental resource when subscriber requests require specialized legal knowledge.

    • Develop new initiatives to generate revenue and provide enhanced service to subscribers.

  • Participate in management and goal-setting for the Law Library as part of the senior management Planning Group.

  • Provide legal reference and research services to library patrons in person and via telephone.

  • Provide formal classroom instruction as instructor of record for Advanced Legal Research class.

Head of Public Services and Lecturer-in-Law, July 2017 – June 2019

  • Lead and direct all aspects of the public services functions of the Columbia Law Library, including reference, instruction, access, and inter-library loan services.

  • Continuously evaluate policies, procedures, and workflows involving public services and develop updated policies and implementation strategies to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the public services staff.

  • Directly supervise the law library’s full-time professional staff in public services, consisting of six full-time professional librarians, including five in the reference department who also hold degrees in law.

  • Indirectly supervise seven unionized full-time public services staff members, in addition to other student circulation desk workers.

  • Lead search committees to fill vacancies that occur within the public services department, and directly train new reference librarians.

  • Schedule a reference desk that is open seven days a week during the semester, as well as coordinating other events such as tours of the library, clinic trainings, and special projects.

  • Work regular shifts on the reference desk, providing legal reference services to all library patrons in person and via telephone, and to faculty members via email as well.

  • Serve as a member of the Planning Group - this group consists of the Director, Associate Director, Head of Technical Services, Head of Acquisitions+Finance, and the Head of Public Services, and is charged with overall administration, strategic planning, and management of the day-to-day operations.

  • Serve as a member of the collection development group, providing feedback on resources and review of possible acquisitions and deaccessions .

Reference Librarian, March 2013 – June 2017

  • Provide legal reference and research services to library patrons in person and via telephone and monitor the reference desk email account and respond to faculty research requests.

  • Create accounts and enter item information for ILL requests using ILLiad.

  • Assist faculty members with research projects as part of the library's liaison program.

  • Teach basic legal research skills to 1L JD candidates in Legal Practice Workshop I.

  • Introduce LLM candidates to legal research methods under the United States legal system as part of Legal Research and Writing.

  • Serve on Columbia Law Library committees

    • Operations Group Committee
      Chair, 2015 – 2016; set agendas and lead discussion between professionals from all areas of the law library (access services, technical services, reference) on areas of general operational importance; Member, 2013 – Present.

    • Recognition & Thanks Committee
      Chair, 2016 – Present; Original Member, 2013 – Present; drafted original Recognition & Thanks Policy, outlining duties of the Committee; coordinate events celebrating employee welcomes, farewells, and achievements.

    • WebPAC Committee
      Original Member, 2014 – Present; help design the remodel of the WebPAC (Pegasus).

  • Participate in the Columbia Law Library’s Administrative Rotation system

    • Student Research Support Rotation, July 2016 - June 2017
      Directly supervise and support 1.25 union staff members responsible for Inter-Library Loan.Organize and schedule training sessions for each of Columbia Law's Moot Court teams and student-edited journals.

    • Teaching Coordinator Rotation, July 2015 – June 2016
      Coordinate scheduling of legal research instruction sessions and creation and distribution of assignments for 29 sections of 1L JD students and 12 sections of LLM students.

    • Vendor Liaison Rotation, July 2014 – June 2015
      Administered/coordinated database access for faculty, students, and visiting scholars and arranged trainings on existing resources and trials of new databases.

    • Foreign, Comparative & International Law (FCIL) Rotation, March 2013 – June 2014
      Supported collection development in select Latin American countries, updated existing FCIL research guides, and created new Beginning Your Foreign Legal Research guide. Represented the Columbia Law Library at ASIL and NEFLLCG meetings.