CS-SIS Member Spotlight: Patricia Barbone

The Computing-Services Special Interest Section is made up of awesome law librarians doing interesting things.   The CS-SIS Member Spotlight is designed to shine light on our membership so that we can learn more about each other and stay connected.

CS-SIS Member Spotlight:  Patricia Barbone

Law Librarian in the Big Apple

Patricia Barbone has worked in law firm libraries for over 30 years and is currently the Director of Library Services at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP in New York.  Prior to law librarianship, Patricia started as a business librarian at Booz Allen Hamilton and taps her business background often in her law firm work.  A native of New York and a fan of the theater, Patricia received her bachelor’s degree in literature and economics from SUNY and her master’s in library science from Queens College.

Now a manager, Patricia recalls the positive mentorship she received from Jean O’Grady when she began as a law librarian and continues to be inspired by many peers in our profession.  She remains satisfied in the career and considers law librarians to be the best group of people to work with as they are intelligent, curious, and open minded.  Patricia enjoys indulging in the news looking for information on how changing policies and politics will affect both the firm’s clients and the country at large.

Professional Connections

Patricia has served as president, vice-president, and treasurer of the Law Library Association of New York and as treasurer for the Private Law Library caucus.  Her interest in CS-SIS stems from her curiosity in new technology being used in law schools.  She commented that at times legal technology hits law schools first, and CS-SIS is a source of information on how people are implementing the technologies.  At other times, she noted that firms get access to technology first.  For instance, she was tapped to serve on Ravel’s Information Leadership Advisory Board.  An area of interest is the way algorithms are changing ‘search.’  A recent March 2018 ABA article, “Results May Vary: Which database a researcher uses makes a difference” by Susan Nevelow Mart made a big impact on Patricia. She comments, “It’s not just about what search terms you use anymore.  Now the algorithm your legal research provider uses could have more input than you do in your search results.  This will definitely affect what I recommend to our first year associates.”

Embracing Technology

While we may not get a chance to talk with this hard working librarian at AALL annual meetings due to her work obligations, Patricia and our law firm members are actively embracing technology in the firms.  She notes that many firm librarians are experimenting with artificial intelligence using the Fastcase Sandbox, and her firm is using a few of the leading docket analytics tools for early case assessment and business development.  She’s also working with ServiceNow to create a request tracking system and uses ResearchMonitor to monitor database usage, manage passwords, and make more informed acquisitions decisions.

Thanks to Patricia for her willingness to be interviewed for this CS-SIS member spotlight.   If you are interested in interviewing and writing a blog post about a CS-SIS member, please contact Tawnya Plumb at tplumb@uwyo.edu.  It is a great opportunity to learn about a fellow member.