Avery Le
Reference Librarian, University of
Florida Levin College of Law
1. Why did you join AALLc?
I wanted to join more AALL committees/caucuses and become more involved
since I am still in my first few years as a librarian, and this caucus
is important to me because it reflects my background as an
Asian-American. I also felt like this was a good way to meet and network
with other Asian-American law librarians as well as our other law
librarian supporters.
2. What do you do as a law librarian?
I am currently a tenure-track Reference Librarian at the University of
Florida Levin College of Law. My main responsibilities are to manage the
UF Law Institutional Repository, teach a one-credit course on Legal
Research for 1Ls every semester, work the reference desk, act as a
faculty liaison, conduct research for publications, serve on committees,
as well as any other projects that come my way. The usual librarian
stuff that we all do! I believe I am the first Asian-American librarian
here at UF Law, so it means a lot to me to represent a minority group at
the institution that has opened up so many opportunities for me.
3. What do you enjoy most about your job?
I think being able to teach has been the most rewarding for me. I am
teaching 1Ls at the same law school that I graduated from not too long
ago. At first, the thought of going from being the student sitting in
the back of the room to the professor standing in the front in such a
short period of time made me nervous! I never pictured myself doing that
since I didn’t know I wanted to be a librarian until after I graduated
from law school. I love being able to come up with creative ways to
teach legal research that I think I would have enjoyed as a student
myself, and seeing my students’ eagerness to learn has made it very
worthwhile for me.
4. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I am a professional photographer also, so I like to grab my camera and
go take photos whenever I can and try to capture all of the beauty
around me. I also enjoy travelling, going to the beach (an advantage of
living in sunny Florida), hiking, and watching really bad reality TV
shows.
5. What is your favorite travel destination in Asia or elsewhere in the world?
I was born in Vietnam so I am going to say that’s my favorite because
all of my relatives are there, but I would also love to visit China and
Japan one day.