Interview With Law Librarian of Congress Jane Sánchez

In Custodia Legis, the blog of the Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., posted an interview last week with Jane Sánchez, Law Librarian of Congress and Acting Deputy Librarian for Library Collections and Services:

"For library students and young librarians that might be interested in going into librarianship in a specialized area like law, what advice would you have? What kind of experience is important?"

"I would encourage library students to start with internships in the public and/or private sector, to discover what they like, what kind of work and work environment motivates them. New law librarians should take a chance and try different roles–either functional ones within their library or leadership roles within an association."

"In my own career, I have been a cataloger, created back-of-the-book indexes, developed and created databases, assigned metadata, been a reference librarian, and I have worked for a legal publisher and many different types of libraries, both inside and outside the federal government. Also, I suggest novice librarians build a support network early on; you never know who may assist you later in your career. Finally, consider public service! Public service offers opportunities to apply your knowledge in ways that may surprise you, allowing you to stretch beyond single areas of law."

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2.65 million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.