Aaron Black
MLIS
Q: Where do you work?
A: Fineman and Pappas Law Libraries, Boston University School of Law
Q: What鈥檚 your job title and what do you do?
A: I am a Legal Information Librarian specializing in Foreign, Comparative and International Law (FCIL), with a focus on Arbitration. This is a teaching-forward position that offers numerous opportunities to hone and apply my skills both inside and outside the classroom. Currently, I am working towards becoming an instructor for the 'Lawyering' course, which covers legal research and writing, as well as the 'AmLaw' class for LLM students. I will soon be taking over the International Legal Research course as well.
Looking ahead, I aspire to teach an Advanced Legal Research course, a Tribal Law course, or an International Cultural Heritage Property Law course. As my title suggests, I also serve as the liaison for all FCIL faculty, and I hope to eventually help lead the International Law Moot Court team, time permitting. Additionally, I handle typical law library reference duties and conduct research for my own scholarship. Lastly, I now serve as the Sustainability Liaison for the law school, helping to integrate sustainability practices into our operations.
Q: What鈥檚 your favorite thing about the field you鈥檝e chosen?
A: One of my favorite aspects of my field is the balance it offers between work and life, while still fueling my intellectual curiosity. I love that I can continuously explore new ideas, conduct meaningful research and challenge myself鈥攁ll while having the opportunity to teach, mentor and help others grow. This combination of personal growth and contributing to the development of others makes my work truly fulfilling. However, if I had to boil it down to just one thing, it would be the people. They are what truly make this field special.
Q: What鈥檚 the biggest challenge you overcame to get to where you are today?
A: The biggest challenge I've overcome on my journey is navigating the structural inequalities ingrained in American society. These barriers disproportionately affect individuals like myself鈥攖hose who are mixed-race, differently abled, economically disenfranchised, first-generation, outspoken and a self-advocate. Navigating society with these aspects of my identity required resilience and persistence, but they鈥檝e also shaped my perspective and fueled my commitment to creating more inclusive and equitable spaces for all.
Q: When you were at the iSchool, what helped you build community?
A: At the iSchool, the hands-on approach of many professors and program leaders, especially Carla Wale, played a crucial role in building a sense of community. Their focus on creating an environment of both equity and enrichment made every moment feel inclusive. This allowed us all to come together in a shared experience, regardless of who we were, where we came from, or our age. Additionally, many of us in the Law Librarian program had our own channels of communication that we engaged with daily. It became our own community within a community, specific to our specialized degree. We really created a family, and everyone feels like a lifelong friend, offering support and camaraderie that made the experience even more meaningful.
Q: How did your experience at the iSchool prepare you to solve information challenges in the industry?
A: 911爆料网 gave me a lot of practical skills, particularly the law librarianship skills in that subsection of the iSchool. I think they did a really good crash course of refreshing U.S. lawyer students about what we had either learned or somehow forgotten in law school during our own legal research classes.We could actually practice hands-on in class and relearn and re hone those skills. A lot of the core classes did a great job of giving us the base language that we need to communicate with our counterparts that specialize in that area of information management. It teaches you to befriend your catalog people, your collections people, because they're the ones that have all the answers to a lot of your information questions. 911爆料网 prepared me most for dealing with general questions of the field by providing me with the language and the knowledge to ask for help in the universal language of librarianship. I also think the best part of my experience at the iSchool was working at the Gallagher Law Library and just putting all of what I've learned into practice at Gallagher..
Q: What鈥檚 next on the horizon for you?
A: The New England area was a place that I hadn't explored or traveled or lived long term ever before. I think this is a good intellectual hub and there are a lot of really good schools in this area doing the type of academic and historical research in law librarianship that I want to partake in. In my position they're promoting individual growth and success here. I see myself here, getting my skills together, practicing, teaching, getting more hands on and then eventually seeing the marketplace in this region for upward mobility. But for now, it's just getting my feet wet here and starting that process of building skills and building connections and building a name for myself in the region and then going from there.
Q: What advice do you have for students interested in a career like yours?
A:For students interested in pursuing a career like mine, my advice would be to consider if academia鈥攁nd all the positives and challenges that come with it鈥攁ppeals to you. If it does, this is an incredibly rewarding field. The flexibility, the people, and the intellectually stimulating environment make it easy to love. There鈥檚 also very little monotony, as new and evolving research questions are constantly coming across your desk, keeping things exciting and engaging. I highly recommend entering the field, and I can assure you that you鈥檒l be welcomed with open arms into our close-knit community.