Law Librarianship: A Content Analysis of Positions Advertised in the 'AALL Newsletter.'

This paper is a content analysis of 202 job advertisements located in the "American Association of Law Libraries Newsletter" (AALL Newsletter) between April 1992 and September 1993 for the purpose of determining what employers are looking for and informing individuals who wish to become law librarians about expectations in the field of law librarianship. This analysis uncovers the recent trends in law library employment qualifications. A vast majority of law library employers expect the candidate to possess at least an MLS (Master of Library Science) degree; most university or law school employers will require, or strongly prefer, both an MLS and a JD (Juris Doctor). This is important since over half of the jobs advertised in the "AALL Newsletter" during the study period are positions within university or law school libraries. Experience in a law library is highly preferred, particularly if the candidate possesses skills in computer-assisted legal research using databases with both legal (Westlaw and Lexis) and non-legal (Dialog) applications. The coding sheet is included in the appendix. (Contains 38 references.) (Author/JLB)