Cataloging Your Potential: An Aspiring Law Librarian’s Guide to Building a Digital Presence

Permanently Cataloged under “First -Day Realities”, Instance #001: I just spent the last 3 years making “law student” my whole personality. 3 years of late nights and copious amounts of caffeine go by like a long blink. I earned one of the degrees, did the work, and officially stepped into my dream career: law librarianship, which I discovered was my calling after aimlessly wandering through a labyrinth my first 2 years.

I showed up on my first day in a professional outfit, full of momentum, only to be immediately met with, “Are you a student?” Which is a totally fair assumption I had prepared for, but it still threw me. After a split second of brain lag, in a slightly stammered reply, I managed, “Actually…. I work here.”

This welcomed me to what I realized was a humbling intersection of early-career ambition and the process of establishing my credibility as an aspiring law librarian, even if I still get mistaken for a first-year. I may not be able to control looking like a student in person, but what I realized is that there is a whole other part to my professional life that I COULD control—social media and digital networking.

With roughly 99% of Gen Z using social media daily (CTAM), having a digital presence is second nature. But digital platforms are no longer just personal outlets—they are powerful tools for establishing yourself, networking within your field, and shaping how you are perceived as an emerging professional.

So, I needed to figure out how best to leverage social media to build my professional reputation. This was going to be a laborious task, as my feed was mostly a chaotic mix of industry connections, now-irrelevant student orgs, and remnants of questionable college choices. So, I did what any law librarian, or in my case, aspiring law librarian, would do. I researched, asked countless questions, and gathered wisdom and knowledge from those who came before.

It was then, after some thought and reflection, that I was able to compare building my online presence to a library collection. After all, clean metadata is everything, and my digital presence doesn’t need to be any different.

Apply the following collection principles to your social feed, and it will look like a perfectly shelved series in no time.

Weeding, Refining, and Building: The Essential Checklist for a Rising Law Librarian’s Social Feed

Embrace the shift: Acknowledge that your public feed is no longer just a law school highlight reel. Transitioning into law librarianship means curating an online presence that reflects your information expertise and professional credibility while still being yourself.

Own your professional identity: You have earned your place in the catalog, and it’s time to claim your shelf space. Treat platforms like LinkedIn and other professional forums as natural extensions of your expertise, research, professional updates, industry perspectives, awards, and other accolades (even if public visibility isn’t your preferred forte). This is a great way to network and connect with others in the field. Remember, this may be the only way people “know” you.

Stop overthinking and start building: Channel the energy of self-doubt into active professional growth. You don’t have to worry about creating the perfect professional brand; focus on sharing thoughtful insights, industry news, and uplifting others. And remember it’s okay to show your personality. Being a respected professional doesn’t mean you have to hide the human behind the expertise.

Weed your feed: Treat your digital footprint like a library collection; it needs periodic weeding. Review your accounts and unfollow, unfriend, or untag outdated student org chats and pages, or anything that no longer aligns with writing your new chapter. It is also completely normal and okay to have feelings of both excitement and grief as you achieve and close that chapter of your life.

Learn from established pros: Observe how seasoned law librarians and others in the field navigate their digital presence. Take the advice of trusted mentors and colleagues already in the field. Attend as many professional development activities as possible.

Building a digital presence isn’t merely self-promotion, though that can be a tough line to walk. It’s also about establishing yourself, your reputation, and your digital presence to gain professional trust in a digital world. By posting with intention, you will begin to create a profile that genuinely reflects both your technical skill set and your unique personality as an aspiring law librarian.

Volumes of Wisdom 

Mentor Insight and Reflection: One of the most impactful pieces of advice I’ve received is to view this chapter as an asset rather than a hindrance. I don’t need to rush. Instead, being a young professional allows me to bring a fresh vision and new perspectives. From this, I have learned not to let early-career inexperience stop me from taking on new challenges. The best-case scenario: everything works out, I expand my network, and maybe even discover a new niche… blog writing? The worst-case scenario: It doesn’t work quite how I wanted it to, or I discover certain areas aren’t for me. That’s okay too. Either way, I get invaluable experiences.

Ultimately, building a digital presence and reputation isn’t about hiding where you started; rather, it is about intentionally mapping where you want to go. This is an ongoing process, not a product of immediate perfection. Every post, connection, and contribution builds the professional reputation you seek to create.

Shelving the Final Thoughts, Bookmarking for Reference

So, to every new and aspiring law librarian, I leave you with this: Embrace where you are right now: your fresh perspective, your eagerness to contribute, and your courage to try new things are the strengths that will drive your success. Show up with intention, lean into the learning process, and trust the value you bring to the shelf.

Devyn R. Murphy, J.D.

Technical Services Specialist, Charleston School of Law.