National Center for State Courts


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Current Employment Opportunities

Law Library Job Descriptions 


Director, State Law Library

DIRECTOR, STATE LAW LIBRARY: Utah. Duties: Oversees daily operation of law library and satellite libraries, responsible for long range strategic planning, goal development and utilization of resources, supervision and direction of staff, administers operating budget. Qualifications: Required: Juris Doctorate from an ABA accredited university, Masters degree in Library Science (or equivalent) from an ALA accredited university. Preferred: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including modern law library management, library technology, grant proposal and patron services. Salary: $25.74 - $31.98/hr. (2007)

STATE LAW LIBRARIAN: Anchorage, Alaska. Summary: The State Law Librarian’s primary responsibility is to manage statewide law library resources and services with an emphasis on delivering services electronically. Duties: The State Law Librarian hires and supervises professional staff, manages the planning and implementation of state-wide library policies and procedures, oversees the development of legal research guides and instruction programs, publicizes library resources and services, administers the library's $1,000,000 subscription budget, and negotiates with vendors for electronic subscription services. The State Law Librarian also provides legal research instruction and assistance to justices, judges, law clerks, and administrative staff. Note: This classification is partially exempt and serves at the pleasure of the appointing authority. Qualifications: A master’s degree in Library Science or a closely related field from a college or university accredited by the American Library Association AND three years of progressively responsible professional library experience including at least one year as a professional law librarian. OR A master’s degree in Library Science or a closely related field from a college or university accredited by the American Library Association AND a Juris Doctorate from an accredited college of law AND one year as a professional law librarian. Salary: $66,000-70,000. (2006)

DIRECTOR, STATE LAW LIBRARY: Utah State Courts, Salt Lake City, UT. Duties: Directs the operations of the State Law Library to meet the needs of the court system and the public, oversight of daily operations, the ongoing assessment of library resources, the development and implementation of long term goals and policies, the supervision and direction of staff, and administration of library budget. Areas of knowledge, in addition to excellent interpersonal and communication skills, should include modern law library management, library technology, grant proposal, and patron services. Qualifications: The successful candidate will be a service, innovative individual with a Juris Doctorate degree from an ABA accredited university, a Masters degree in Library Science (or equivalent) from an ALA accredited university, professional level administrative law library experience including management and supervision of staff, and the development of interlibrary communication and partnerships. Salary is commensurate with experience plus excellent state benefits. (2005)

DIRECTOR OF STATE LAW LIBRARY: New Hampshire Court System. Summary: This advanced professional law librarian position oversees, manages, supervises, directs, plans and coordinates all aspects of the operation and services provided by the State of New Hampshire Law Library.  Provides guidance and direction in a variety of areas including, but not limited to, planning, budget administration, space planning, changes and trends in legal library access, availability and services, legal resources, materials collections, new legal research and library technologies, human resources and other library operations. Law Librarian must have knowledge and interest to direct library to greater use of electronic materials and electronic access to those materials. Duties: Directs, plans and coordinates all operational, procedural, facilities and related operations of the State of New Hampshire Law Library; reviews, assesses, recommends and participates in organizational and procedural analyses; evaluates recommended organizational changes; undertakes research and provides findings and recommendations; oversees and supervises staff; handles and/or delegates various human resources-related responsibilities; develops, compiles, presents, justifies and monitors budget requests and allocations. Develops, reviews, approves and implements policies and procedures; oversees facilities, automation, purchasing, procurement, circulation and related library services; serves as a law reference librarian and the inter library loan librarian as required; oversees and provides reference and research service to patrons; oversees and provides educational and training programs within and outside of the library environment. Directs all aspects of personnel operations; monitors recruitment, interview, selection, training, development, evaluation, counseling and disciplining of staff; identifies, recommends, and implements fiscal and personnel systems changes; conducts operational, management, fiscal and human resources studies; supervises the preparation of a variety of public and administrative reports; writes a variety of financial; procedural and related reports, correspondence, and internal memoranda; Identifies and monitors the development of short and long range plans, goals and objectives; gathers, interprets, and prepares for studies, reports and recommendations; performs other duties as assigned or required. Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree in Judicial, Business, or Public Administration or a closely related field; and, six years of progressively responsible experience involving library administration, court administration, management, supervision, personnel management, budget and fiscal policy analysis, information system needs analysis or closely related duties; or Master’s Degree in Library Science Judicial Public or Business Administration, or a closely related field; and, four years of progressively responsible experience involving library administration, court administration, management, supervision, personnel management, budget and fiscal policy analysis, information systems needs analysis or closely related duties. Preferred, but not required – Juris Doctor (JD) or Bachelor’s or Law (LLB); and, three years of progressively responsible experience involving library administration, court administration, management, supervision, personnel management, budget and fiscal policy analysis, information systems needs analysis or closely related duties; or any equivalent combination of experience and/or education from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been achieved. (2005)

Director of the State Law Library: Utah State Courts, Salt Lake City, UT. Seeking an experienced administrator to serve as Director of the State Law Library. This position based in Salt Lake City directs the operations of the State Law Library to meet the needs of the court system and the public. Duties: include: oversight of daily operations, the ongoing assessment of library resources, the development and implementation of long term goals and policies, the supervision and direction of staff, and administration of library budget. Areas of knowledge, in addition to excellent interpersonal and communication skills, should include modern law library management, library technology, grant proposal, and patron services. Qualifications: The successful candidate will be a service oriented; innovative individual with a Juris Doctorate degree from an ABA accredited university, a Masters degree in Library Science (or equivalent) from an ALA accredited university, professional level administrative law library experience including management and supervision of staff, and the development of interlibrary communication and partnerships. Salary: $25.74 - $31.98/hr, DOE plus excellent state benefits. (2004)

State Law Librarian: West Virginia Supreme Court, Charleston, WV. Summary: Seeking a State Law Librarian. This is a professional managerial position which involves administration of the WV Supreme Court Law Library located in Charleston, West Virginia. Qualifications: include an MLS from an ALA-accredited program with a minimum of 2 years supervisory experience and 5 years library experience. Desired qualifications include: experience in a legal setting; previous experience preparing and administering a budget; knowledge of Westlaw and LexisNexis databases; and excellent interpersonal as well as oral and written communication skills. Some travel is required. Salary commensurate with experience. (2004)

STATE LAW LIBRARIAN: Saint Paul, Minnesota. Summary: The Minnesota Supreme Court is looking for an innovative and highly responsible Law Librarian to manage the daily operations of the Minnesota State Law Library (MSLL). This executive role will oversee MSLL fiscal, human, administrative and technological resources. Work involves providing leadership and accountability to professional and non-professional staff. This position is given wide latitude in managing library services and programs. Performance is subject to general administrative review by the Minnesota Supreme Court Law Library Committee. Duties: Defines, establishes and implements overall philosophies, objectives, policies and procedures for MSLL services and programs. Develops strategies and action plans to address problems and goals. Directs MSLL strategic plan development and monitoring to assure it is aligned to and furthers judicial branch policies. Provides direct and indirect supervision of professional and non-professional staff. Creates performance and development plans for department heads, conducts periodic discussions on progress and performs annual reviews. Oversees the development and presentation of MSLL biannual budget appropriation. Monitors day-to-day expenditures. Develops and presents policy recommendations to the Supreme Court Law Library Committee as needed. Represents MSLL to external customers, including other branches of government, professional associations and citizen groups. Qualifications: Bachelor's Degree supplemented by a Master's Degree in Library Science from an ALA accredited school. Law Degree and Admission to a state bar. Extensive professional level administrative experience with increasing responsibility including a minimum of 5 years progressively responsible law library managerial experience in a library comparable in size and service responsibilities to the Minnesota State Law Library. Salary: $62,201-$96,422. (2002)

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Assistant State Law Librarian

ASSISTANT STATE LAW LIBRARIAN: New Mexico Supreme Court Law Library. Summary: The New Mexico Supreme Court Law Library is currently seeking one (1) permanent, part-time (20 hours per week) Assistant State Law Librarian in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This position is under the direction of the State Law Librarian. Duties: Provides legal reference service in the afternoons and early evenings (until 6 p.m.) 6 to 8 hours per week; Configures and maintains computers, both client workstations and stand-alone computers, and provides support, including troubleshooting, for computers in the library; Trains patrons and staff in legal research, government documents research, computer applications, and library techniques and procedures; Updates digital legal information resources. Qualifications: Master's degree in Library Science (or equivalency certificate from the State Library) and one year of full-time work experience in a library with reference duties. One year of work in a law office or law library dealing with legal information services or legal research, or equivalent course work (one semester of legal research, one semester of substantive law and one semester of reference work). Substantial law course work is preferred. Knowledge of New Mexico Law and some Spanish is preferred. Salary: $20,096 to $31,400. (2007)

ASSISTANT STATE LAW LIBRARIAN: Summary: Under the general supervision of the State Law Librarian, coordinates and acts as the liaison to the federal depository library program and ensures library compliance with federal laws and regulations which govern the handling of materials from the Government Printing Office (GPO). Duties: Processes and records all documents received from the GPO in accordance with library procedures, classifications, cataloguing guidelines, and GPO bibliographic regulations; reviews initiatives, policies, rules, and regulations promulgated by the GPO to ensure compliance with the library depository program standards; represents library interests to other state and regional depositories; prepares and stands for federal inspections; converts document holdings from paper to electronic format using database management program; staffs reference desk and assists patrons by answering pro se legal and government document reference questions; and manages microfiche collection. Qualifications: A Master's degree in library science with some computer course work and experience working under a Government Documents Librarian.

ASSISTANT LAW LIBRARIAN: Nevada Law Library. Summary: Under the general direction of the Law Librarian is responsible for collection development and the electronic resource functions of the library; assists in program and budget planning. Duties: Responsible for detailed legal reference services to the Court and its staff, for maintaining and updating the Library's web site, for acquisition of materials in all formats, for developing the technological programs of the library and assisting in the development new programs for public services. Qualifications: MLS from an ALA accredited library school, 6 years of library experience with at least four years of supervisory experience; experience with automated library systems; proficient in manual and computer-assisted legal research; highly knowledgeable of electronic resources; strong oral and written communication skills; comment to enhancing service to the public and the ability to work as a team member. Salary: $52,617 - 75,502 depending upon experience plus State of Nevada benefits package. (2005)

SENIOR REFERENCE LAW LIBRARIAN: Lansing, Michigan. Summary: The person in this position is a Senior Reference Librarian for the Law Library of the Library of Michigan, who provides legal reference and research service to State employees and the general public. Serves as the Law Library Collection Development Coordinator, responsible for the selection, organization and preservation of print, microform and electronic resources. Participates in educational and outreach activities.  Duties Knowledge of legal bibliography and current events; research proficiency in legal print and online resources; knowledge of general reference resources; knowledge of government documents; knowledge of the legislative process and the organization of state and federal government; ability to gain the trust and confidence of patrons and staff. Qualifications: Master’s Degree in Library Science from an ALA accredited school required; and, Law Degree preferred. Three years of experience as a legal reference librarian, five years preferred. Salary: $20.22-$27.44 per hour. (2005)

LIBRARY COMPUTER SERVICES COORDINATOR: Olympia, Washington. Duties: As the principal assistant to the Washington State Law Librarian, the Library Computer Services Coordinator is responsible for a variety of administrative matters and projects. This position will provide administrative support for maintaining and developing the law library's portion of Innovative Interfaces (III) as well as the development and delivery of data processing systems and user support functions. The position is responsible for the information technology requirements for the Law Library, including maintenance of online catalog, database assistance and computer training. The incumbent in this position will be delegated the authority to act independently, exercising independent judgment for assigned areas of responsibility. The incumbent will perform complex duties in support of functional operations of the Sate Law Library. Qualifications: Bachelor's Degree, business administration or information technology major preferred, AND three (3) years of experience to include two (2) years of information technology. An equivalent combination of training and experience that demonstrates required knowledge, skills and abilities may be considered. Salary: $32,544 to $41,520. (2004)

Archived Law Library Director Positions 1992-1999

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Last Modified: November 19, 2007
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