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Camille D. Reynolds: Law Librarian Turned Director of Research and Information Services

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  6. Camille D. Reynolds: Law Librarian Turned Director of Research and Information Services

published June 23, 2008

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<<Growing up in a small town helped shape her goals for the future. She always knew that she wanted to leave her small town to see the world and become her own person. She credits her parents with instilling in her a strong work ethic and the sense she could be anything she wanted to be if she worked hard and applied herself.

"I've been inspired by my parents since I was young, and now, as a parent myself, that admiration grows. Both of my parents instilled in me the love of learning and the importance of education. They often told me if I kept learning and did well in school, I could be anything I wanted to be. That advice has stuck with me throughout my life — although I must say that as I've gotten older, I realize I'll never be a particle physicist or an accountant. There's a limit to my math abilities!"


Her father, an avid reader, has a photographic memory when it comes to nature or anything else he's read, seen, or heard. She says that he would often quiz her and her sisters to "name that bird, tree, or plant when we go on our family camping trips or for walks near our home out in the country." She says her mother set an example regarding education by going back to college when she was in junior high school. Her mother's goal was to graduate college before Reynolds graduated high school, which she did, and became a public school teacher. Reynolds says that it was very inspiring to see her mom studying and taking classes after being out of high school for almost 20 years.

In high school Reynolds continued to study hard and developed an interest in athletic competition. She ran varsity cross-country and track and received full scholarships to college, where she ran varsity cross-country and track all four years. She says that running taught her perseverance and the benefit of hard work. She also says that it taught her mental toughness that is useful to her in her professional career. Her specialties were the 10K (which on a 400-meter track is 25 laps) and cross-country.

"It takes a lot of concentration to stay focused running in circles for 25 laps or more," she says.

She adds that focus has been helpful in preparing budgets for six office libraries, locating an obscure document at a federal agency, and preparing and implementing a firm-wide intranet project plan.

When Reynolds graduated college, she thought that she wanted to go to law school and then eventually become a judge. Instead, she decided against law school, packed up all of her worldly possessions, and drove to Portland, Oregon, to live with her former college roommate.

She says she loved the West Coast and that Portland was a great transition city. She got a job at a small residential real estate redevelopment company as a temp and eventually wound up as a vice president of the company, all by the age of 23. She says that the job was a great learning experience for her, but after two years she felt it was time to go back to school.

She originally thought that she wanted to be a history professor but changed her mind and decided to go to library school. Her plan was to get a master's degree in library science, get a job as a university librarian, and work on her history PhD. She found an accredited library school in Kansas, and none in Oregon, so she decided to move back to where her roots were.

It was a great move: she met her future husband, reconnected with family and friends, and found a career she didn't even know existed. While looking for a job in the Kansas City area to support herself while attending graduate school on the weekends, she found a job as an analyst at a large law firm. She says she had no idea that law firms employed librarians, and after the first day she "was hooked." The fast pace of law firm libraries and the "thrill of the hunt" that came with uncovering that "hard-to-find piece of information" drew her in, and she hasn't looked back.

Reynolds states, "Becoming a law librarian was a perfect fit for me. It is intellectually challenging, interesting, and fast-paced. I think I'll always stay in libraries in some capacity and hope to inspire future generations to go into the profession. Librarianship of any flavor is a very rewarding career and one often overshadowed by stereotype. It's a dynamic and exciting profession that is constantly changing.

"With the advent of technology, librarians are needed even more. Information overload and identifying reliable sources in an online world increasingly filled with questionable sources makes the role of the librarian all the more essential. Librarians can navigate new technologies and combine them with traditional resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner. They also can act as conduits in their organizations, connecting various departments and practice groups. Firms and businesses need the best information at the lowest possible price, and they need it fast; a librarian can help them accomplish that."

Reynolds says that her involvement in a number of professional associations has enabled her to accomplish many of her professional goals early in her career. She is active in the American Association of Law Libraries, Northern California Association of Law Libraries, Special Libraries Association, and San Francisco Bay Region Chapter of SLA, on whose executive board she has served in recent years. She maintains that these associations and informal groups of colleagues are vital to thriving in the profession and at times succeeding on the job.

Reynolds has worked at Nossaman, Guthner, Knox & Elliot, LLP, for seven years. Prior to her promotion as the director of the department, she was the firm's first degreed librarian in its Northern California offices. She's currently the director of research and information services.

Coworker Jessica Fairbourn says, "She compares her job to that of a detective: she goes through all types of channels to locate a nugget of information."

Reynolds says that Nossaman is a great firm. She says that the people there "get librarians" and that they understand their importance in delivering the highest quality service to clients. While at Nossaman, she's witnessed the role and services of the library (now research and information services) department expand, making the work more challenging and exciting along the way.

"Both my personal and professional life to this point have prepared me for the most challenging and rewarding job I've faced: motherhood."

She says that outside of work, she has the most fun and spends the most time with her husband and nine-month-old daughter, who has already been introduced to "the library, the mouse, and the computer."

Reynolds adds, "Who knows? Maybe she'll follow in her mom's footsteps."

Clearly, all of Reynolds's hard work has paid off. Her job is vital to the organization she works for, and her accomplishments have prepared her well for the type of work she does. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Tennessee, a master's degree in library and information science, and a graduate certificate in information management from Emporia State University.
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  6. Camille D. Reynolds: Law Librarian Turned Director of Research and Information Services

published June 23, 2008

( 8 votes, average: 4.1 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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