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Katherine K. Coolidge: Law Librarian for Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP, Springfield and Boston, MA; Treasurer of the Special Libraries Association Legal Division [By Charisse Dengler] Katherine K. Coolidge—a lawyer turned law librarian—said she is much happier in her new profession. Working as a solo for Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, she performs all aspects of the law library management, including legal reference, collection development, budget preparation, contract negotiation for print and online resources, cataloging, and serial circulation.history of the administration.”
“If you think of it as running a business within
with incredibly smart people and to be
library or public courthouse library during
a business—that’s what I do,” she said.
appreciated for what I do.”
school in order to better understand the
Coolidge first considered changing
“When you’re a lawyer, your client
She also encourages students to work on
fields after she found herself becoming
appreciates what you do; but you’re always
their communication skills. She said the
disenchanted with the practice of law.
in a litigious mode. Every day, you’re arguing
ability to be pleasant and make people feel
After considering some different graduate
with somebody,” she said. “This is just so
like their interruptions are welcome is a skill
programs, she settled on a program offered
much more fun because I’m treated very well
that cannot be learned in school.
through Simmons College’s Graduate
here and people respect my education and
School of Library and Information Science
my ability. I am learning a lot about various
“I think, more than anything, you need to
on the campus of Mount Holyoke College
areas of law that I had never practiced in
be able to get along with people and be
in South Hadley, MA. The program was a
because I’m asked to do research in those
flexible,” she said. “You have to be able
good fit for her because it allowed her to
areas. It’s really very pleasurable for me.”
to tolerate interruptions and be willing to
intensity with which attorneys do their jobs.
pursue her new career while working on her master’s degree. “It seemed like a really good combination for me, where I could continue to use my education and experience in the law and take it down a different road,” she said. Coolidge has been a law librarian for threeand-a-half years now. She said she had some initial worries about making the change from lawyer to law librarian, but the enthusiasm and pride with which she talks about her new profession are evidence of the fact that she made the right decision. “I thought when I went to library school that I would probably become an academic law librarian. I was concerned that if I worked in a firm, I would be viewed as someone who failed at practicing law. But that hasn’t been my experience in this firm,” she said. “It’s just so much fun to be working
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Although Coolidge appreciates the differences between law librarians and lawyers, she also said that the skills she learned as an attorney have helped her in her new profession. “I have the work ethic of a lawyer, so I don’t mind if something goes beyond five or if I’m having lunch at my desk and somebody needs help,” she said. “I don’t really consider that to be my time. If I’m here, I’m available to help people. I think if you view your job as a nine-to-five kind of thing, people will not feel you’re part of the team. It is hard for somebody who hasn’t practiced law to understand that that’s the way lawyers think and work. They’re not being rude, and they’re not being demanding. They just want the work done within whatever deadlines are imposed on them by the courts or their clients’ needs.” She urges students studying law librarianship to consider working in a law
change directions and re-prioritize your work from moment to moment.” Another aspect of law librarianship that Coolidge loves is the interconnectedness of the profession. “People in this field are so generous with their knowledge and their time. That’s another difference between law librarianship and practicing law. Being a law librarian is all about sharing information; whereas, when you’re a lawyer, you’re really protecting information and disclosing only what’s necessary,” she said. “It’s a great field.” Coolidge is currently serving as Treasurer of the Special Libraries Association Legal Division (SLA), a position that she feels has been beneficial to both her and the firm. “The nice thing about participating at the national level is that you begin to collect colleagues all across the country. I can’t tell
continued on back
LAWCROSSING
THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF LEGAL JOBS ON EARTH
LAW STAR
www.lawcrossing.com
1. 800.973.1177
you how many times that has served to my
conferences. With reasonable student
I wish I had known that while I was in law
advantage,” she said.
membership fees and scholarships available
school, because it would’ve made my life a
to cover the costs of conferences, she said
lot easier.”
Within SLA, Coolidge is also the archivist
students “almost can’t afford not to join.” ON THE NET
for the Connecticut Valley Chapter (CVC), a position that includes participation on the
She also encourages law students to
CVC board, where she helps put together
utilize the skills of their schools’ law and
Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP
educational programming. In addition, she
reference librarians.
www.bulkley.com
Libraries; and within that, she is a member
“One of the things I regret that I never
Special Libraries Association Legal Division
of the Private Law Librarians Division and the
really appreciated while in law school was
www.slalegal.org
Law Librarians of New England Chapter.
the law librarians, especially the reference
belongs to the American Association of Law
librarian,” she said. “My perception of a
Simmons College’s Graduate School of
She advises students to get involved in
librarian was just somebody who cataloged,
Library and Information Science
professional law librarian associations as
circulated, and shelved books, but not
www.simmons.edu/gslis
early as possible and to start attending
somebody who could help me do research.
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