The Role of the Legal Information Officer (Chandos Series for Information Professionals)

This is a no-nonsense book, written by a leading authority. It covers the ever-changing role of the information officer and how to survive. It discusses such issues as: what does a law information officer do on a day-to-day basis and the mechanics and processes for supplying information; a practical guide to enquiries and undertaking research; and how to set up and manage an information service. Importantly, the author does not take a 'dry' approach to the subject; rather, he discusses the following contentious issues: given the amount of information available on lawyers' PCs, are information officers really necessary?; when should the information officer undertake the research and when should the lawyer do it; will information officers become redundant as the role of the professional support lawyer becomes more important. In essence, the book analyses the changing role of the law information officer and serves as a practical survival guide. Based on practical, day-to-day experience Jargon free; no 'high-faluting' theories Examines the threat (if such it be) of professional support lawyers Content: CHANDOS: INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL SERIES , Page ii Front Matter , Page iii Copyright , Page iv Introduction , Pages ix-xi About the author , Page xiii 1 - Information roles and information sources , Pages 1-19 2 - Managing and recruiting , Pages 21-35 3 - Marketing and promoting your service , Pages 37-57 4 - Research and enquiries , Pages 59-74 5 - The Internet: threat or opportunity? , Pages 75-92 6 - You say taxonomy, I say classification – you say thesaurus, I say classification , Pages 93-104 7 - Know-how and knowledge management , Pages 105-112 8 - Copyright , Pages 113-118 9 - You're on your own now , Pages 119-140 10 - The future for the legal information professional , Pages 141-157 Appendix 1 - A week in the life of a legal information officer , Pages 159-168 Appendix 2 - Starting from scratch , Pages 169-173 Appendix 3 - 20 tips for being a first-class legal information officer , Pages 175-177 Useful contacts , Pages 179-183 Bibliography , Pages 185-187 Index , Pages 189-190 This work covers the ever-changing role of the legal information officer and how to survive in it. It tackles controversial issues such as whether the role of the information officer will become redundant, and whether the responsibility for research should lie with information officers or with lawyers