Law MLIS FAQs

Approximately 400 students are in the overall MLIS program. The number of students in the law librarianship program averages between seven and eleven, but has ranged in past years from two to thirteen, averaging seven students over the past six years. Students in the law librarianship program take their course of study for the year in sequenced, required classes. The law librarianship students join the general MLIS students for the MLIS core curriculum courses, and join UW law students in the legal research courses.

The program takes approximately 10 months. It begins in the third week of September with orientation and workshops, and runs for three academic quarters, followed by an abbreviated intensive summer quarter. The summer quarter includes the final class, Law Library Administration, and a four-week directed fieldwork that includes the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) annual meeting in July. Classes and the directed fieldwork are normally completed no later than mid-August.

Through the coursework and the internship component of the Law Librarianship Program, you will gain a combination of general library and information science and law-specific competencies. (See the competencies of law librarianship published by AALL.) The core curriculum will also introduce you to the principal theories in the field of library and information science. General competencies to be gained include reference and research services, library management, collection management and organization, and classification. Subject competencies to be gained include an in-depth understanding of the legal system, law-specific research skills, and knowledge of legal literature.

Yes, students in the program are encouraged to intern at the Gallagher Law Library at UW. The King County Law Library in Seattle also usually hosts one intern. Internships involve 10-11 paid hours per week during the academic year. The experience is a key element of the program, and enhances the graduate's resume with practical work experience in circulation, technical services and reference.

No. You will learn all required skills and competencies in one year—but it is a very full year! At the end of the program, you will earn the same MLIS degree as students in the 63-credit program and so will be qualified for any career that requires an MLIS degree. Because the program is accelerated, it is a planned program and the 44 quarter credit hours required to complete the law MLIS program do not include any elective credit hours. Although the program is intensive, a few former students have taken additional courses such as Cataloging and Classification; Government Publications; or Business Information Resources.

Most MLIS programs offer at least a legal research or law library administration class. A few schools – for example, University of Arizona, Catholic University of America, State University of New York at Buffalo, University of Denver, and the University of North Texas – offer 2 or more courses in law librarianship. For a full list of schools that offer law librarianship courses, see ALA-Accredited Graduate Programs in Library Science with Law Library Classes or Joint MLS/JD Classes.

Only the University of Washington offers 21 credit hours of classes that are specialized in law librarianship and can be completed in one calendar year, partnered with the application of classroom learning through the Law Library Intern Program. The opportunity to work in a law library while earning the MLIS enhances the student experience, making our students highly sought after in the job market after graduation. We currently have 103 graduates working in 63 U.S. law schools throughout 32 different states and the District of Columbia. This includes 17 out of the top 50 law schools ranked in U.S. News and World Report’s 2010 list of “Best Law Schools”. For example, five of our graduates work at Columbia University’s law library, and five others work in the law library at Georgetown University, including the library director.  (Click here for a full list of schools that have hired our graduates in the past.)

Entrants into the program often have very little prior library experience. Although we are happy to see applicants who have library experience, the paid intern program offers students the opportunity to obtain law library experience in both technical and public services while completing the MLIS coursework. We believe it is important for students to experience working in law libraries so they will be well informed about the profession and better trained for their first professional law library jobs.

In terms of other useful skills, knowledge of database creation software, web-page creation software, and other types of current technology is always a plus.  As empirical research is more important every year, some skills or prior coursework in statistical analysis would be useful. Virtually any prior use of or experience with technology would be beneficial.

Law librarians should know legal research inside and out and must know more than law students or attorneys. As a law librarian, you will be teaching others to do legal research, and so you will need to know how to research and how to use its tools categorically. Rarely do entrants into the program possess these types of skills. The legal research classes required as part of the Law Librarianship Program are broad and in-depth, and will teach you the latest legal research tools and methods.  They will also help you think about how to design and teach legal research courses in law schools.

The market seems to have recovered after a tough year in 2009. Currently there are jobs all over the country in academic, firm, county and court law libraries. Historically placement of our graduates has been nearly 100% within three months of graduation. However, graduates who plan to stay in the Seattle area will find steep competition for law librarianship jobs.

Most academic jobs have at least a small teaching component, and some have a major commitment (for example, reference librarians at Creighton University Law Library teach sections of first -year research and writing courses). Many jobs in firm and government law libraries have a significant teaching and training component.

Entry-level salaries were $45,000 to $65,000 (USD) in Summer 2010 for law library jobs. Salary depends heavily on the area of the country where you are employed. See the AALL Biennial Salary Survey online and at Gallagher Law Library classified stacks (Call # Z675.L2 S34).

The American Association of Law Libraries offers a lot of information about the kind of work law librarians do as well as current jobs listings. Looking at jobs that are posted will show you the types of organizations hiring along with job descriptions and requirements. Our local law librarians association called the Law Librarians of Puget Sound (LLOPS) has membership forms and information about a listserv that posts job announcements. LLOPS meets once a month and is happy to have new members and people interested in the profession.

Most law librarian positions require the MLIS degree, so typically a JD degree alone is not enough to secure law librarian positions. Currently, 85% of those working as law librarians have a graduate degree in library science, and most jobs require that degree from an American Library Association–accredited institution. Nearly 30% of all law librarians also have a JD or LLB degree. In a 1999 survey of requirements for available law librarian jobs, an MLIS alone was required for 47% of jobs posted, and dual JD and MLIS degrees were required for 38% of posted positions. Law school accreditation requirements demand that the director of an academic law library hold dual JD and MLIS degrees. Many academic institutions also require that their legal reference librarians hold both degrees.

The transition from lawyer to librarian is not a painful process for most law librarianship students. However, those who weather this change well are prepared for it. That is, they have read everything they can find about the profession of law librarianship, and they have talked to law librarians in the field. Check out this article on how lawyers who become law librarians make the transition: Greenfield, E. (2004, Dec.), Looking for Law in All the Right Places (PDF). AALL Spectrum, 9(3), pp. 8-9, 28.

International students without an American JD degree should register for the regular MLIS degree (63 credit) program. As part of that program, the student can then register for all of the law librarianship courses offered (except LIS 595) in order to gain the necessary expertise in law librarianship.

It makes great sense to take the bar exam after you finish your law degree, while the information is fresh and a bar review course would be easier. Although bar membership is not required for law librarians, it would be useful if you want to serve on bar committees. Taking the bar exam later is much more difficult.

Many students come to the program after having worked as lawyers for some period of time. Of the students who come to the program right out of law school, we estimate that about 50% are members of the bar.

Full-time students graduate after four quarters, at the end of the summer quarter.

Because the program is accelerated, it is rigorous and very time consuming. A few students have audited or taken classes in addition to the program requirements, or have worked up to 20 hours a week while doing the program. It is strongly recommended, however, that a student plan to work no more than 10 hours a week.

This program was originally designed to educate lawyers who wanted to become law library directors. However, the program does teach all the core competencies required for all types of librarian positions in any type of library. If you are interested in technical services and would like to take a large number of courses outside of the requirements for the Law Librarianship Program, you may wish to consider taking an extra quarter or two or doing the 63-credit regular MLIS program.

The average rate of acceptance for the program for the past three years has been about 45%.

The strongest applications demonstrate a very strong interest in law librarianship by understanding what law librarians do day-to-day; by reference letters that speak to things like creativity, use of technology, understanding of diversity, interest in service to others, and initiative; and by a strong, well-written personal statement that demonstrates outstanding writing skills and a familiarity with the work of libraries.

The Law Librarianship program is a state-supported program and follows the tuition structure defined by the State of Washington. View more information on tuition and related fees.

Yes. We offer one graduate assistantship. The recipient of the assistantship works 20 hours/week (partly as a research assistant and partly as an intern in the Gallagher Law Library), attends classes full time, and receives a monthly stipend, paid medical insurance, and full tuition waiver.

In addition, the AALL and SLA both offer scholarships for people who want to earn their library degree.

Learn more about admission requirements and the application process. The same application is used for all MLIS programs.

Applicants who wish to be considered for merit-based scholarships issued by the Information School must apply by January 10, 2012. The admissions committee will continue to accept applications and materials until February 1, 2012. Applications will not be accepted after February 1, 2012. Admissions decisions will be conveyed in mid-March. Applicants are notified by email.