Interview With Law Librarian of Congress

In Custodia Legis, the blog of the Law Library of Congress in Washington, has launched an interview series, starting with Roberta Shaffer, who was appointed Law Librarian of Congress in August 2009.

Excerpt:

"It surprises many people to realize that at the Law Library we are looking at the entire landscape of the laws of the world – in this case, PAST, present, and future. Do you realize that our collections encompass over 240 jurisdictions? We consider how this information will be acquired, accessed, organized, managed, mobilized, and preserved in an era of technological advances, changing expectations by our diverse constituencies, financial constraints, and globalization. We need to be aware of the content of the law, its context, its consumers, and its containers — always mindful of authority, authenticity and accuracy. We must also think about all these issues as part of the entire Library of Congress and the challenges that the Library faces in the 21st century. One of the most exciting things about law is that it is transdisciplinary–it is infused by and infuses all other disciplines."