Staffing for Law School Computing Services

Introduction

This is a completely reorganized and updated version of the table formerly called Law School Computer Staffing. The table includes data from 157 law schools, an increase of seven schools since the last revision in April, 1999. Much of the data is current as of January or February, 2000. If I did not receive updated materials, I used the data from the April, 1999, revision. Those schools are indicated with an asterisk.

The table is now organized by state, then alphabetically by university name. All accredited law schools are listed, even if they did not participate in the survey. Non-participants are encouraged to become participants, and participants are encouraged to send revisions at any time a change occurs. I revise the table monthly if necessary. The most efficient way to report is by dropping a note to me at <apuckett@arches.uga.edu>.

The Questionnaire

Question 1 is : "How many employee hours, expressed in FTE's, does the law library devote to support of computing functions? Include: software and hardware maintenance and trouble shooting; teaching and training on use of electronic resources; supervising computer labs and other electronic facilities; researching and planning for new or upgraded electronic resources; web page development and maintenance; scanning and imaging operations; network printing; administering magnetic or smart card programs; developing electronic services. Do not include: answering reference questions about electronic resources; using computers to perform routine duties like cataloging, reference, or word processing." The answers to Question 1 are in Column 3 of the table.

Question 2 is: "Same question for law school". The answers to Question 2 are in Column 4 of the table. Questions 1 and 2 are combined into one total staff figure in Column 5 to permit me to calculate the mean and median number of staff law schools devote to computing services. The mean and the median appear at the very end of Column 5.

Question 3 is: "Which statement is most true in your law school?:
(a) All computing staff report to the director of the law library_____
(b) All computing staff report to a separate department head independent of the law library_____
(c) The law library and the law school maintain separate computing staffs_____
(d) Other, please explain____________________________________________
If you checked either a or b above, please indicate the full title of the person to whom all computing staff report__________________________________________________ ."
The results of Question 3 are reported in the Comments column, Column 7. It turns out Question 3 is a
deceptively simple question. Comments 6 and 7 are direct answers to it, but nearly all of the other comments describe some variation of administration that cannot fit neatly into the standard answers. The issue of where computing "belongs" within the law school's administrative structure is still very much in a state of flux, and law schools are fashioning an amazing variety of solutions.

Question 4 is: "Please note whether employees are full-time permanent or part-time/ student employees". The results of Question 4 are also reported in the Comments column. Comment 1 refers to all full-time staff and Comment 2 refers to a mixture of full-time and part-time staff. No law school reports staffing its computing services needs solely by part-time or student employees.

Question 5 is: "How many FTE JD students and how many FT faculty does the law school have?" The answers to this question are reported in Column 6. The sole purpose of Question 5 is to provide some clue to the work load the computing services staff must bear. I have had a number of comments that suggest this question may not capture the full extent of the work load in a given school. For instance, two respondents told me their computing staffs support adjuncts' computing needs; one said his staff supports faculty members' home computing needs; and several respondents noted their school requires students to have laptops, which the computing staff must support, or their law school has a substantial graduate program, which often requires more time-consuming support than JD students. I am trying to come up with a question that would be quick and easy to answer, yet give a more accurate representation of the workload a given computing services staff carries. Suggestions are welcome.

Titles of Computing Services Administrators

Several participants expressed a desire to know what titles are being given to the people who administer computing services. Since most of my respondents are librarians, they were particularly interested in whether law library directors who take responsibility for computing are given title changes to reflect the new responsibility. I added that question to the survey I sent in August, 1998. 45 law schools report that the law library or the law library director has responsibility for all law school computing. At least fourteen law library directors have titles that reflect the new responsibility. The titles are: Assistant Dean for Library and Information Technology, Associate Dean and Professor of Law; Associate Dean for Library and Technology, Director of the Law Library and Information Technology; Director of Information Systems; Director of the Law Library and Computing; Associate Dean for Information Systems and Services Technology; Director of Information and Technology; Associate Dean for Library and Information Services; Associate Dean for Library and Information Resources; Associate Dean for Information Services; Associate Dean for Information Services
and Professor of Law; Director of Library and Computing Services; and Director of Library and Computing Services. One law school reported that the title of the library director had not changed, but the title of the associate director had, from Associate Director of the Law Library to Associate Director for Information and Technology. One former law library director reported having moved out of the library altogether to assume responsibility for the law school's information and educational technology services, but no precise title was given.

Twenty-nine law schools report that a law school department handles all computing for both the law school and the law library. Some of the titles of the people who run those departments are: Computer Manager; Director of Computing Services; Head of Information Technology Department; Director of Technology and Instructional Support Services; Director of Information Technology; Director of Law School Computer Services; Director of Law School Technology; Manager of Information Services; Director of Information Services; Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs; and Assistant Dean for Information Technology.

Professor Ann Puckett
University of Georgia Law Library
Athens, Georgia
September 13, 2002

State	University	Law Library FTE Staff	Law School FTE Staff	Total FTE Computing Staff	FTE Students/ FT Faculty	Comments
AL	Cumberland School of Law, Samford University	Not Reported
AL	University of Alabama*	1.50	1.00	2.50	566/30	1,3
AR	University of Arkansas, Fayetteville	2.50	0.00	2.50	375/35	2,6
AR	University of Arkansas, Little Rock*	1.50	0.00	1.50	371/33	1
AZ	Arizona State University	1.00	2.00	3.00	476/35	1,23
AZ	University of Arizona*	2.00	2.00	4.00	470/30	2,4,7,23
CA	California Western School of Law	2.00	3.00	5.00	664/42	2,5
CA	Golden Gate University	2.67	1.00	3.67	630/35	2,5
CA	Loyola University*	3.00	10.00	13.00	1310/65	1,23
CA	McGeorge School of Law*	2.00	7.00	9.00	921/45	2.7
CA	Pepperdine University*	5.00	1.00	6.00	650/35	2
CA	Santa Clara University*	1.00	1.00	2.00	800/35	2,4
CA	Southwestern University	3.50	4.00	7.50	780/50	23
CA	Stanford University	0.00	5.00	5.00	550/40	1,7,13,31
CA	Thomas Jefferson School of Law	3.28	3.50	6.78	517/26	2,7,15,21,26,28
CA	U.C.L.A.	Not Reported
CA	University of California, Berkeley	6.50	8.00	14.50	1000/60	2,23
CA	University of California, Davis	6.00	0.00	6.00	550/35	1,36
CA	University of California, Hastings	1.50	6.00	7.50	1200/56	2,3
CA	University of San Diego	2.00	2.00	4.00	1100/77	1,5
CA	University of San Francisco*	2.24	2.50	4.74	646/27	2
CA	University of Southern California	0.50	7.25	7.75	618/42	2,6
CA	Whittier Law School*	2.50	2.00	4.50	630/27	1,6
CO	University of Colorado	1.00	0.75	1.75	500/32	2
CO	University of Denver	5.80	6.80	12.60	917/41	1,36
CT	Quinnipiac College	Not Reported
CT	University of Connecticut	7.25	0.00	7.25	546/41	2,6
CT	Yale University	9.00	0.00	9.00	573/48	1,6
DC	American University*	1.60	10.50	12.10	1324/58	2
DC	Catholic University of America	1.70	6.00	7.70	845/40*	2,7,15,25
DC	George Washington University	4.00	4.00	8.00	1454/67	2
DC	Georgetown University*	4.50	17.00	21.50	1855/87	1
DC	Howard University	1.50	2.00	3.50	450/30	1,3,6
DC	University of the District of Columbia	Not Reported
DE	Widener University, Wilmington	2.50	10.20	12.70	949/54	2,23
FL	Florida State University*	2.40	6.60	9.00	683/41	2,35
FL	Nova Southeastern University	8.00	0.00	8.00	857/54	1,6
FL	St. Thomas University	0.00	4.00	4.00	469/30	2,7
FL	Stetson University*	0.00	5.00	5.00	681/42	2,29
FL	University of Florida	5.50	0.00	5.50	1265/61	2,6
FL	University of Miami*	0.50	19.00	19.50	1450/50	2,7,15
GA	Emory University*	7.50	0.00	7.50	640/44	2,3,6
GA	Georgia State University	2.50	3.00	5.50	556/36	2
GA	Mercer University	2.80	0.00	2.80	439/30	2,5,6,27
GA	University of Georgia	7.00	0.00	7.00	660/34	2,6
HI	University of Hawaii*	0.50	0.00	0.50	241/18	1
IA	Drake University	2.00	0.00	2.00	354/23	2,6
IA	University of Iowa	2.50	4.00	6.50	670/50	2,23
ID	University of Idaho*	0.25	2.25	2.50	299/20	2,26
IL	Chicago-Kent College of Law*	0.00	10.60	10.60	1260/70	2,7
IL	DePaul University	1.00	3.00	4.00	1042/46	2,5,23
IL	John Marshall Law School*	9.00	0.00	9.00	1273/54	2,6
IL	Loyola University	6.60	0.00	6.60	750/35	2,6,16
IL	Northern Illinois University*	0.50	2.00	2.50	281/22	2
IL	Northwestern University*	2.00	6.00	8.00	606/54	2
IL	Southern Illinois University*	0.00	3.50	3.50	360/30	2,28
IL	University of Chicago*	0.30	4.00	4.30	544/36	2,11
IL	University of Illinois	0.00	4.00	4.00	660/44	2,7
IN	Indiana University, Bloomington*	3.00	2.75	5.75	690/36	2,6,16
IN	Indiana University, Indianapolis*	1.00	1.00	2.00	796/45	1,3,5,23
IN	Notre Dame University	6.10	0.00	6.10	538/26	2,6
IN	Valparaiso University	3.20	1.00	4.20	435/24	2,23
KS	University of Kansas	1.00	2.00	3.00	550/30	1,7
KS	Washburn University*	6.50	0.00	6.50	470/30	2,6,14
KY	Northern Kentucky University*	4.05	0.00	4.05	348/22	2,6
KY	University of Kentucky*	0.50	1.00	1.50	435/28	1,3,6
KY	University of Louisville	1.50	1.00	2.50	361/29	2,6
LA	Louisiana State University	1.25	3.25	4.50	645/29	2,7
LA	Loyola University*	0.00	1.00	1.00	603/29	1,3,7
LA	Southern University	3.50	3.50	7.00	304/29	2,7
LA	Tulane University*	0.00	4.00	4.00	1013/58	1,7
MA	Boston College*	6.50	0.00	6.50	829/45	2,5,6
MA	Boston University	10.75	0.00	10.75	892/57	2,6
MA	Harvard University*	3.00	27.00	30.00	1850/70	2,12
MA	New England School of Law	3.00	3.00	6.00	837/40	1
MA	Northeastern University	3.00	0.00	3.00	584/31	2,6,16
MA	Suffolk University	3.00	9.75	12.75	1761/71	2,23
MA	Western New England College	1.00	0.00	1.00	493/26	2,17
MD	University of Baltimore*	2.00	0.00	2.00	905/43	1,3,5,6
MD	University of Maryland*	1.50	2.50	4.00	770/56	2
ME	University of Maine	0.00	0.00	0.00	275/16	8
MI	Detroit College of Law, Michigan State University*	4.00	0.00	4.00	736/32	2
MI	Thomas M. Cooley Law School*	10.50	1.00	11.50	1248/58	2,6
MI	University of Detroit	Not Reported
MI	University of Michigan*	2.00	8.00	10.00	1150/60	1
MI	Wayne State University*	2.75	1.50	4.25	794/31	2
MN	Hamline University	Not Reported
MN	University of Minnesota	1.00	3.50	4.50	810/45	2,6
MN	William Mitchell College of Law*	0.70	5.00	5.70	804/34	2,7,30
MO	Saint Louis University	0.50	5.00	5.50	700/45	2,5,7,15,27
MO	University of Missouri, Columbia*	2.25	1.00	3.25	600/50	1,15
MO	University of Missouri, Kansas City	4.00	0.00	4.00	525/26	1,6
MO	Washington University*	1.75	10.50	12.25	650/37	2,19
MS	Mississippi College	0.60	0.00	0.60	363/18	1,33
MS	University of Mississippi	1.75	0.50	2.25	500/25	2,3,23
MT	University of Montana*	2.00	0.75	2.75	235/15	2,6
NC	Campbell University	2.85	0.00	2.85	287/19	2,6
NC	Duke University	1.50	6.50	8.00	680/34	1,10
NC	North Carolina Central University*	2.50	0.00	2.50	391/21	2,6
NC	University of North Carolina	2.00	3.50	5.50	683/51	2,5,16,23
NC	Wake Forest University*	0.50	6.50	7.00	476/29	2,18
ND	University of North Dakota*	2.50	0.00	2.50	215/15	2,6
NE	Creighton University*	0.50	0.75	1.25	453/25	2,5
NE	University of Nebraska	1.00	0.00	1.00	400/28	5,6,16
NH	Franklin Pierce Law Center*	1.00	2.00	3.00	398/19	2,23
NJ	Rutgers, Camden	0.20	2.00	2.20	760/33	1,7
NJ	Rutgers, Newark	4.00	0.00	4.00	750/42	2,5,6
NJ	Seton Hall University	Not Reported
NM	University of New Mexico	0.75	6.00	6.75	340/35	2,7
NY	Albany Law School	1.00	8.00	9.00	680/40	2,23
NY	Brooklyn Law School	5.75	6.50	12.25	1330/62	34
NY	City University of New York*	0.00	5.00	5.00	457/40	2,7
NY	Columbia University*	1.00	13.00	14.00	1074/64	1
NY	Cornell University*	3.00	8.00	11.00	564/32	2,5,9
NY	Fordham University	2.50	9.00	11.50	1533/75	2,18
NY	Hofstra University	1.00	3.00	4.00	799/40	2
NY	New York Law School	4.00	11.00	15.00	1220/55	2,37
NY	New York University	Not Reported
NY	Pace University*	2.00	5.00	7.00	755/43	1,7,28
NY	St. John's University*	0.00	4.00	4.00	1100/47	2,7
NY	SUNY, Buffalo*	1.00	1.00	2.00	714/45
NY	Syracuse University*	6.00	2.00	8.00	735/38	1
NY	Touro College*	0.00	5.50	5.50	700/39
NY	Yeshiva University*	1.00	2.00	3.00	973/46	1
OH	Capital University	Not Reported
OH	Case Western Reserve University	6.00	0.00	6.00	650/40	1,4,6,24
OH	Cleveland State University	3.00	1.00	4.00	762/34
OH	Ohio Northern University	1.00	0.00	1.00	285/21	1,3,6
OH	Ohio State University	1.00	2.00	3.00	640/41	1,7,10
OH	University of Akron*	1.95	0.33	2.28	573/23	1,5
OH	University of Cincinnati	7.50	0.00	7.50	374/26	2,6
OH	University of Dayton	0.50	5.50	6.00	443/27	2,7
OH	University of Toledo*	0.93	1.50	2.43	584/29	2,5,15
OK	Oklahoma City University*	3.25	0.00	3.25	461/27	2,6
OK	University of Oklahoma*	0.50	4.00	4.50	572/34	2,4,7,28
OK	University of Tulsa	0.60	1.25	1.85	452/26	2,7
OR	Lewis and Clark Northwestern School of Law*	0.00	4.00	4.00	657/43.5	2,7,15
OR	University of Oregon	Not Reported
OR	Willamette University*	1.20	0.40	1.60	440/20	1
PA	Dickinson School of Law, Penn State University*	1.50	3.50	5.00	530/27	2
PA	Duquesne University, Penn State University*	1.50	0.00	1.50	525/27	2,3,5
PA	Temple University	1.50	2.00	3.50	1200/57
PA	University of Pennsylvania*	5.05	11.50	16.55	780/46	2,6
PA	University of Pittsburgh*	0.50	1.25	1.75	710/45	2,4,29
PA	Villanova University*	4.00	0.00	4.00	680/40	6
PA	Widener University, Harrisburg	1.25	2.00	3.25	343/24	2,23
PR	Inter American University of Puerto Rico	Not Reported
PR	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico	Not Reported
PR	University of Puerto Rico	2.30	0.00	2.30	498/33	2,6
RI	Roger Williams University	1.75	1.00	2.75	323/24	2,35
SC	University of South Carolina*	2.00	1.00	3.00	758/42	2
SD	University of South Dakota*	0.00	0.00	0.00	162/15	17
TN	University of Memphis	Not Reported
TN	University of Tennessee	3.50	0.00	3.50	483/33	2,6
TN	Vanderbilt University	0.00	7.00	7.00	560/40	2,5,7,10
TX	Baylor University	0.00	1.00	1.00	400/20	2,4,7
TX	South Texas College of Law	1.00	8.00	9.00	1107/56	1,38
TX	Southern Methodist University	4.25	0.00	4.25	756/45	1,5,6
TX	St. Mary's University	Not Reported
TX	Texas Southern University	Not Reported
TX	Texas Tech University*	2.00	0.00	2.00	625/26
TX	Texas Wesleyan University*	1.00	2.00	3.00	500/26	1,23
TX	University of Houston	Not Reported
TX	University of Texas	8.00	9.50	17.50	1365/75	2,20
UT	Brigham Young University*	0.75	7.50	8.25	469/30	2
UT	University of Utah	2.00	3.50	5.50	375/28*	2,6
VA	College of William and Mary	0.00	3.00	3.00	530/30	1,35
VA	George Mason University	Not Reported
VA	Regent University*	2.50	0.00	2.50	405/26.5	1,4,5,6,11
VA	The Judge Advocate General's School	0.10	5.00	5.10	66/40	1,7,32
VA	University of Richmond	5.00	0.00	5.00	472/27	2,5,6
VA	University of Virginia	Not Reported
VA	Washington & Lee University	1.00	4.00	5.00	360/33	2,22
VT	Vermont Law School	1.10	7.50	8.60	500/26	2,5,7,10,26
WA	Gonzaga University	5.50	0.00	5.50	450/34	2
WA	Seattle University	4.13	10.39	14.52	873/39	2,23
WA	University of Washington	1.00	5.50	6.50	500/42	2,23
WI	Marquette University	1.00	1.50	2.50	553/30	2,3,6
WI	University of Wisconsin	4.60	3.50	8.10	811/69	2
WV	West Virginia University*	1.25	1.00	2.25	435/30	1
WY	University of Wyoming*	0.25	0.30	0.55	224/14	1,5


	MEAN	5.73
	MEDIAN	4.50

Top of Survey Table

Comments (back to top of table)

1. All full-time, permanent staff.

2. Mixed full-time permanent staff and part-time or student staff.

3. Respondent stated explicitly that staffing is inadequate.

4. One or more additional staff have been approved but not yet hired.

5. Law school or law library receives support from university computing services or contracts out additional computing work (outside help not counted in FTE's).

6. Law school computing is administered through the law library.

7. Law library computing is administered through the law school.

8. "None, it is catch as catch can." (Answer to first question). "It tends to be which ever library employee who can be reached by phone (many times [the law library director])" (Answer to second question).

9. The Cornell Legal Information Institute has its own staff: 1.5 FT employees, two professionals who devote significant time, and substantial student help.

10. Law school computing service and law library are administered and budgeted separately, but both report to the same person.

11. Support for all law library staff PC's, the integrated library system, CD players, OPAC terminals, public access terminals, the law library web page server, and all mainframe or gateway sources is provided by the University Library Systems staff. All network services and wiring are done through University networking services. Support for discussion lists and news groups is provided by the University's Academic Computing Services.

12. Library and Law School IT staff numbers do not include part-time student and "casual" staff, FTEs who devote part of their time to IT and part of their time to other responsibilities, or IT staff in an educational technologies unit or research programs who do not focus on IT

support or service for the general Harvard Law School community. IT staff numbers do not include some network services that are outsourced.

13. No library staff have official responsibility for computers, but the respondent noted, "several staff members turn on our many machines and do some modest trouble shooting."

14. All full-time library staff have significant computing responsibilities (e.g., web building and maintenance).

15. Reference librarians do Lexis and Westlaw training and other work that requires familiarity with the substance and content of databases, including offering classes on using the Internet. Library staff also spend significant time servicing printers and doing other minor trouble shooting.

16. Law Library automation is run by the University Library.

17. The university administers all computing.

18. A separate department in the law school reports to both the library and the associate dean.

19. The FTE figure for the law school is a combination of two departments: Computing Services, with 8 FTE's; and Multimedia, with 2.5 FTE's.

20. The Library and the Law School maintain separate computing staffs, but both are contracted out to another agency on campus.

21. The Law Library's computing staff administers student support, including the computer labs, and updates law school web pages. The university Information Technology Department handles law school faculty and staff computing needs.

22. Two FTE's report to University Computing which supports the network and all faculty and staff PC's as well as the public lab. Some home page work and all library functions are under library administration. Library automation is managed by the two libraries.

23. The law library and the law school maintain separate computing staffs.

24. "The Computing Services Department, responsible for all Library and Law School technology, is supervised by the Associate Director for Information and Technology. That department and position reports directly to the Director of the Law Library, who retains the traditional title."

25. The law library's only responsibility for computing services is to supply lab attendants during evenings and weekends.

26. The law school does most of the computing support. The law library supplies staff to service terminals for law students in the law library.

27. The computing staff reports to the Dean on some matters (e.g., admissions, career services, etc.).

28. Computer Services does hardware and software, but library staff handle LEXIS, Westlaw, Internet instruction, planning for new electronic resources, etc.

29. The Director of Computing Services reports jointly to the Assistant Dean for Administration and the Director of the Law Library. All other computing employees report to the director of Computing services.

30. The law school Information Services Department provides most computing support. The law library hires student computer lab assistants, and the reference librarians teach, troubleshoot, and maintain the library's web page.

31. "The Computer Department reports to the Associate Dean for Information Systems, who reports to the law School Dean. The Computer Department does all computer support at the law school/library."

32. The Judge Advocate General's School confers only the LL.M in Military Law. It has no J.D. students.

33. "Our Reference/Computer Services Librarian is responsible for law library computing, i.e., staff and patron in-library use and student computer labs. Our university IT staff is supposed to service all law school functions not directly library-related. But because the law school is located 30 minutes from the university, our Reference/Computer Services Librarian often has to service other computer needs within the law school."

34. "The Library's computing staff is mixed full-time permanent and part-time student; the Law School's IT staff is all full-time permanent staff. The Library has major responsibility (hardware and software) for student computing (labs, laptops, printing, etc.) and for research, content-based services for the entire law school; the [Law] School's IT staff has major responsibility for faculty, administrative, and staff computing (hardware and software) and for all network services. Individual departments (including the Library) are responsible for website content within their areas."

35. The university administers the computer lab in the law library.

36. All computing staff report to the Director of Information Systems, who reports to the Library Associate Director.

37. "Many library staff have computer/database/instruction/scanning as part of their daily assignments. The number 4 in a rough approximation of staff time devoted to these areas. The IT department is contracted out to a vendor, which may bring in additional staff for special projects. IT is responsible for network, hardware, general software, all administrative computing and lab upkeep."

38. A separate Technology Dept. (not part of the library) has 8 employees who report to the VP of Technology. One of those employees is assigned full-time to the library., One librarian devotes all of her time to support, but reports to the Library Director. The librarian acts as a liaison between the library and Technology Dept. And supervises the Computer Help Desk which is manned by students.

Top of Staffing Survey page

Top of Survey Table

Professor Puckett's home page

The University of Georgia School of Law Athens, GA 30602 (706) 542-5191