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15 Legal Reference Services Q. 1 (1995-1996)

handle is hein.journals/lgrefsq15 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITORIAL As the age of electronic information becomes a reality, law librarians are asking themselves the most basic of questions. Suddenly the issue of who we are, of how we define ourselves, are on the front burner. As a profession devoted to service we have never been very good at asserting ourselves. We did not adopt the barriers to entry taken up by law, medicine and accounting. It is not too big a stretch to think about Ceti- fled Information Consultants who would verify facts in the same light that we think of certified public accountants who verify numbers, Librari- anship always stayed open textured, and indeed has fled in fright when issues of liability have risen up. Instead of reaching out to grasp the danger of liability and wedding it with transaction fees and the attendant prestige, we have chosen to step back. Part of that decision stems from the commitment of librarianship to service. If we, as librarians, are dedicated to offering service to everyone at no or very low cost, we cannot possibly afford the training and risk-taking behavior that travels with the fees charged by professions like accounting and law. If we are giving it away to most folks, there is no way to charge a market rate for what we offer to the private sector. And the market rate is our problem. We provide very valuable commodi- ties, data and expertise, to those who need them. Those of you who work in law firm libraries know the absurdity of teaching new associates, paid twice your salary as beginners, how to do what they need to do. Those of us in law schools see slightly different versions of the same conundrum. Here we are, Legal Reference Services Quarterly, Vol. 15(1) 1995 @ 1995 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved, I