Confession of an Accidental County Law Librarian
I started my library career as a work-study circulation clerk at the university library. Despite the job’s low pay and tedium, I found the experience enjoyable. By the time I was ready to graduate, I had an epiphany that “it’s great to be paid to find answers to interesting questions.” I applied to library school.
When I was starting library school, I applied to a dozen different libraries for part-time positions. I had already interviewed with a couple of libraries when I noticed a vacancy at the Santa Clara County Law Library. Without the burdensome civil service procedure or academic bureaucracy, I was interviewed and hired within a week.
Starting from the bottom—loose-leaf filing—I slowly gained additional duties and responsibilities. Working in a small library with a headcount of 10 (5.5 full-time employees) exposed me to many facets of librarianship. That was a sharp contrast to my previous experience within a large, heavily departmentalized academic library. As I contemplated specialization, I decided to settle on law and/or government document librarianship. I felt that unlike most other nations, which are unified by a common ethnicity or religion, Americans are united by shared ideals, commonly expressed through legal documents such as the Constitution and Bill of Rights. As a first-generation immigrant, I realized that public law libraries serve an important role in making laws and the values they represent accessible to America’s diverse population.
In the fall of 2002, I was supposed to finish my MLIS degree and move on. Then my predecessor suddenly decided to retire after twenty years. Due to internal board politics, I was appointed assistant librarian and became the acting director within a week. I didn’t expect it to be a long-term appointment, but eighteen months have just passed and I have accomplished a lot already.
My new position came with many new responsibilities and a steep learning curve. Slowly but steadily, I started to grow into my position. The turning point was in my second month of directorship. A local senior law librarian, whom I am sure had no intention of being condescending, told me that my board of trustees was irresponsible to put me in my position because I couldn’t possibly fulfill my duties. She told me that when the board finally comes to its senses and replaces me, she won’t hold it against me if I go to her for a job. Once I let go of my ego and accepted the truth in her statement, I stopped worrying excessively that I might fail. Instead, I vowed to fulfill my duties to the best of my abilities and to accept the outcome. Focusing on my strength—I received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an IT focus—I updated the library’s accounting system and computer system. I am a sixth-generation bureaucrat, with ancestors who served in Manchurian, Japanese, and Chinese nationalist administrations. Whenever I have doubt about my ability to manage the library, I remind myself that I come from a long line of bureaucrats, and that’s what I have became. Of course, I would be naïve to believe I survived the last eighteen months due to my inherited abilities. I have had much assistance in surviving this long. The directors of other California county libraries, including Cossette Sun, have provided much needed mentoring with very helpful advice and encouragement.
Cossette T. Sun
Career Path to Law Librarianship
I graduated from the National Taiwan University Law School with a LL.B. I was one of fourteen women law students out of a class of one hundred students. Most of them entered the legal profession, either practicing law or taking the civil service examination to be judges. When I completed my law degree, I had to make a difficult choice between practicing law and going abroad to further my education. I decided to attend graduate school in the United States. I received an M.A. in International Law from the University of Houston and an M.S. in Library Science from Simmons College.
Since 1978, I have been director of the Alameda County Law Library in Oakland, California. My previous professional experience includes positions at Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis University School of Law, and Boalt Hall at the University of California at Berkeley. My transition from academic libraries to a county law library was a smooth one. Although I liked working with the faculty and students, I found it more rewarding to work with the judges, attorneys and lay people in the community.
The best way to network with colleagues nationally and locally is to serve on committees and run for offices. I have served on various AALL Committees such as Cataloging and Classification, Foreign and International Law, Scholarships, the Special Committee on Minorities Financial Assistance, and the Placement and Nominations Committee, to name just a few. I was President of the California Council of County Law Librarians from 1982 to 1984.
Diversity is always an issue close to my heart. In 1997, I chaired the AALL Committee on Diversity and planned the educational program, which the committee presented in conjunction with the 1997 AALL Annual Meeting in Baltimore. This symposium focused on the current legal status and practical implementation of affirmative action. For more information about delivering services to a diverse patrons, read the article entitled “Delivering Services to Diverse Patrons at the Bernard E. Witkin Alameda County Law Library” (AALL Spectrum, v.3, no.5 February 1999).
Most recently I served on the AALL Executive Board for three years from 2000 to 2003. I continue to be active after my term ended in 2003. Currently, I chair the subcommittee of the Mentoring & Membership Committee of AALL’s State, Court & County Law Library SIS. I am also a member of the Judicial Council of California Task Force on County Law Libraries, which is charged with identifying the needs related to county law library funding, operations and facilities.
In my hometown of Castro Valley where I have resided for over twenty years, I received an appointment from the County Board of Supervisors. I was a council member for the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (a body which functions as a city council) for eight years. I have been President of the Alameda Taoyuan Sister County Association. I accompanied the County Administrator and members of the Board of Supervisors to several Asian countries on two Alameda County Trade Missions. When I learned that the local library desperately needed a new library, I volunteered to serve on the Castro Valley Library Advisory Committee. This position also gives me the opportunity to interact with the public librarians. I recently joined the local League of Women Voters to keep up with local politics.
As a member of the Bar, I am active in the Alameda County Bar Association and have also served on the Attorneys for Children and Law Day Committees. The Alameda County Bar Association awarded its annual Distinguished Service Award to me in January 1997.
My mentor, Professor Emerita Eileen Searls of St. Louis University, once said, “Every librarian should experience the process of building a new library.” Remembering her advice, I became active in acquiring and renovating an old building across from the courthouse, into which the library moved in 1995. My Board and I are very proud that this 1924 landmark building was preserved and completely equipped for twenty-first century legal research. To share my experience, I moderated the program "Getting What You Want: Working Effectively with Design and Construction Professionals" at the 1995 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries in Pittsburgh.
Law Librarianship has been a rewarding and enjoyable career. My role, however, has gone beyond my duty as a law librarian. I reach out to the legal and local community where I can offer my services as a legal researcher, an administrator, and an interpreter using my bilingual background.
Last but not least, I should mention that working is not the only thing I do in my life. I am married to Dr. Sun and together we raised three daughters. All our daughters are happily married. We have three grandsons and one granddaughter.