SLIS MLS student Mikhail Koulikov recently attended the 59th annual meeting of the Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries (ORALL). The meeting was held from October 15-17, 2008 in Dayton, Ohio. Mikhail, who won an ORALL scholarship to attend the conference, was accompanied by law librarians representing law schools, private firms, and county libraries from throughout Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio.
The three day conference gave attendees the chance to discuss issues within the law library profession. Discussion topics included uses of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 tools in law libraries, methods of conducting fee-based and free online research on individuals and companies, the concept of 'early case assessment,' which draws on the skills of law firm librarians to identify and evaluate potential business opportunities for law firms, and the ways different libraries in the mid-Ohio region are dealing with cuts in their budgets and space allocations.
Of his experience at the conference, Mikhail states that "attending this conference really gave me an idea of the real issues that law librarians are facing in their daily jobs, while also introducing me to many of the leaders in the field. It was a great learning experience, and well worth the time! This is my last semester at SLIS, and I look forward to using what I learned at the conference as I begin my career as a professional law librarian." Mikhail recently completed an internship at the New York Law Institute and is a member of the American Association of Law Libraries, and the Special Libraries Association-Student Chapter at SLIS.
See Related SLIS News Story:
• MLS Student to Intern at New York Law Institute
Posted November 12, 2008