Reflections on Rebranding of the American Association of Law Libraries

This is a follow-up to the Library Boy post of  November 29, 2015 entitled American Association of Law Libraries to Rebrand as Association for Legal Information.

As I reported:

"The American Association of Law Libraries, the sister association of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL), has announced that its Executive Board is recommendating that the association change its name to the Association for Legal Information."

The blog On Firmer Ground yesterday published a piece called Contemplating a Name Change that looks at how law librarianship has changed and asks whether those changes warrant changing the name of the association:

"These AALL advocates have called for the association’s members to look forward, to adapt, and to be proactive in addressing the challenges facing the legal information profession. Law librarians answered that call by shapeshifting into knowledge managers, competitive intelligence professionals, information specialists, and research analysts, among other roles. However, many of us maintain that, despite new titles and new roles, we are still essentially librarians, putting valuable and timeless librarian skills to good use organizing, finding, and disseminating information, regardless of format."

"Have we finally reached the tipping point though? In the face of all the changes, does the librarian name still properly convey all that we contribute to our organizations, and all the roles that our positions encompass? Or are the cumulative changes to our profession so great that a new, broader name for our association is warranted? Well-informed, reasonable minds will differ on this point, and American Association of Law Libraries members will have a chance to vote on a proposed name change beginning tomorrow, January 12, 2016."

"As we mull over whether Association for Legal Information appropriately represents our soon-to-be 110-year-old association and its members, we thought it would be worth reviewing some of the myriad reflections on our ever-changing profession and professional environment."

On Firmer Ground is a blog by and for law firm librarians. It is a joint project of the Legal Division of the Special Libraries Association, the Private Law Libraries Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries, the Canadian Association of Law Libraries and the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians.