This was the decade of the IT office revolution which would have a profound impact on working practices within law firms, including the library. The first, and arguably biggest, change was the creation of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee in 1991. The first law firm website was set up in 1994, and by the end of the decade virtually all law firms were using this as the key way to present their offerings. The first text message was sent in 1992. In 1994 Amazon was founded, as a source for buying books! By 1996 we were able to organize our contacts and diaries on a PalmPilot. Google was founded in 1998.
As for the law librarian, for some of us one of our first tastes in electronic storage of information was Longman's Precedents on Disk (5¼ inch floppy disk with 1.44 mb capacity – equivalent of one photo on today's iPhone). We moved into the world of CD-ROMs with the introduction of Compliance's Butterworths Books on Screen, launched in 1993 with a computerised version of Butterworths Tax Handbook. By the end of the decade most of the larger law firms were investing heavily in KM systems to make the most of their intellectual capital. But this IT revolution was to create challenges for the law librarian. There was the start of the shift from print to online, and our position as custodians of information would be tested by the rise of other departments such as IT, Business Development, as well as the introduction of Professional Support Lawyers (PSLs).
How we communicated within the law firm also changed significantly. Word processing teams were replaced by desk top computers. Typed memos by email. And this was the decade of dial-up internet linked to your telephone line. Slow, inefficient with lots of clicking and buzzing noises. But who can forget the sense of wonderment at being able to dial into Companies House! And don't forget mobile phones – we started the decade with £3k devices the size of bricks and finished with the Nokia 3210 (with internal antennae and Snake!) and the first Blackberrys.
For BIALL it was also a time of change. Not least in how we organised our annual conference. In 1990 this was a four day event, starting on Friday and going on to Monday, always held in September. The decade started with a risk. For the first time in its history BIALL had opted to hold the conference in Ireland, with concern in Council how this might impact on the number of attendees. How wrong we were. The conference was a massive success - brilliant programme, wonderful place, and over 200 delegates. Since then, BIALL has been back to Ireland and Northern Ireland five more times. 1990 also, sadly, saw the death of Wallace Breem, a founder member of BIALL and a key figure in our development. The Wallace Breem Memorial Award was set up the following year.
The next big change came in 1994 when the conference was held in a hotel for the first time. Prior to that, to keep costs down, it was held in universities with delegates staying in student accommodation, enjoying the joys of shared loos and kitchens. Again, there were concerns about number of attendees, but the Birmingham conference attracted 285 delegates and made a healthy profit. It introduced the charity raffle and, to reflect the explosion in technology, we had demo's of JANET, LINK, Scroll and Lawtel.
In 1996, having been involved in the organisation of the last three conferences, I presented a paper to Council recommending the establishment of a formal Conference Committee, initially made up of the Chair, Hon. Treasurer, LCO, the Exhibition Organiser and BIALL Administrator. This would allow for continuity and expertise. The final conference of the decade at the Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow saw a record number of 383 attendees.
Within BIALL there were numerous structural changes going on. Lynne Quiney, Chair 1992–94, introduced a completely new committee structure, removed the role of Membership Secretary and appointed a paid administrator. Maximum terms of office were established. When Christine Miskin stepped down as editor of The Law Librarian in 1995 she was replaced by a contracted, paid editor. It was also a decade of growth for BIALL, membership rising from 466 in 1990 to 700 by 1999.
The decade finished with an extensive BIALL Survey, Law and Order: Trends in Legal Information Provision, sponsored by Sweet and Maxwell. Questionnaires were sent out to 750 legal information professionals asking questions about many of the key issues in the management of legal information within the UK and Ireland. A detailed 40 page report was finally published covering a wealth of areas. For example; within law firms: 73.7% had access to the online databases, 86.4% to the internet, and 92.4% to CD-ROMs; whilst one of the biggest concerns we had as a profession was that desk top access would begin to diminish the role of the law librarian. Be interesting to see what the survey results would be in today's law library world….
