Today’s interview is with Jeremy McCabe, a summer intern working in the Public Services Division of the Law Library of Congress. He is one of two interns working here this summer from the University of Washington Law Librarianship program.
Describe your background.
I grew up in Hammond, Indiana, which is a suburb of Chicago. I attended college at Northern Illinois University, where I also attended law school and earned my J.D. Soon after starting law school, I found I really enjoyed the legal research process and made the decision to become a law librarian. I am currently finishing my Masters in Library and Information Science with a certificate in Law Librarianship from the University of Washington.
How would you describe your job to other people?
I am an intern with the Public Services Division. Some projects I am currently working on include adding comparative law books to the Global Legal Information Catalog (GLIC), updating the Guide to Law Online, and organizing government documents relating to House and Senate Appropriation Committee Hearings. I also respond to patron queries from the Ask-a-Librarian service.
Why did you want to work at the Law Library of Congress?
I wanted my directed fieldwork to be at a government law library on the East Coast because I only have academic law library experience, and I have never spent more than one week east of Indiana. The Law Library of Congress has the world’s largest collection of legal materials and is ideally located in our nation’s capital, so this was the obvious choice!
What is the most interesting fact you’ve learned about the Law Library?
To understand just how large the collection is, there is nearly two football fields of compact bookshelves in the sub-basement filled with legal books! More of the collection is housed in the Law Library Reading Room and further space is being allocated for shelving on the fifth floor. If that weren’t enough, off-site storage is also available as the collection continues to grow.
What’s something most of your co-workers do not know about you?
My grandfather, uncles, father, sister, and I were pole vaulters during high school. My mother was a gymnast but certainly would also have made a great pole vaulter!