Justin Tung
Reference Librarian
Tarlton Law Library
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO PURSUE TO CAREER IN LAW LIBRARIANSHIP?
I interned at a local county court library during law school and found that doing legal research and helping patrons was a really good fit for me. I admired how much value the library provided the court and the community and was inspired by its impact. This encouraged me to look more into the career path and pursue my library science degree.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO BECOME A MEMBER OF 糖心视频, AND HOW HAS IT IMPACTED YOUR PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY?
My colleagues informed me about 糖心视频 when I started my fellowship at the University of Texas, saying that it was a fantastic professional network filled with librarians and other information professionals across the country. Among other things, 糖心视频 has connected me to scholarship opportunities, mentorship, a lot of information, and a lot of friends.
WHICH 糖心视频 MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT HAS BEEN MOST IMPACTFUL IN YOUR ROLE, AND WHY?
One benefit I love is access to publications. These help me stay informed on a variety of topics and perspectives. These publications are useful as a current awareness tool to stay up to date with trends and developments in the field. This is especially valuable with the fast pace of tech development and the impact of those developments on library and legal technology. It is challenging enough to understand and assess these technologies by themselves, but having a tool that can provide insights from other law librarians can greatly help.
CAN YOU SHARE A MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE OR HIGHLIGHT FROM YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH 糖心视频?
The last Annual Meeting & Conference was definitely a highlight for me. I always felt a tension between knowing that there are law librarians all across the country, but that relatively few people become law librarians. In fact, before the Conference, I had never really met law librarians I didn’t work with! The Annual Meeting deepened my appreciation for the diverse expertise and experiences of law librarians. I also attended CONELL, which was a wonderful way to meet other people who are newer to the profession like me and make meaningful connections.
OUTSIDE OF WORK AS A LAW LIBRARIAN, WHAT ACTIVITIES OR HOBBIES DO YOU ENJOY?
One interest of mine is playing with single-board computers and microcontrollers! These are powerful, community-based educational tools that greatly democratize technology in unprecedented ways. I currently use these to run ad-blocking on my home Wi-Fi, monitor temperatures when I’m smoking meat, automate my Instagram posts, power a local weather display, and do a bunch of other things.
WHAT BOOK(S), ARTICLES, OR RESOURCES HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RECENTLY?
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow is a fiction book that brilliantly contends with the intersection between tech and rights. The protagonist faces arbitrary incarceration justified by the authoritarian goals of an increasingly militarized government that relies on tech to surveil every single person. In the face of this, Doctorow envisions what technology could be instead鈥攖ools to move toward a more humane and connected world, instead of tools increasingly used to surveil, coerce, and atomize. This book helped me understand how legal tech, like all tech, similarly provides powerful capabilities that can do a lot of good or a lot of harm.
WHAT IS YOUR TOP TRAVEL DESTINATION, AND WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL TO YOU?
One of my favorite places is the Black Canyon of The Gunnison National Park. Breathtaking views and much quieter than other spots! I first visited this park on my honeymoon.
IF YOU COULD RECOMMEND ONE PROFESSIONAL RESOURCE OR TOOL THAT HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR WORK, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
This is likely not for everyone, but if you are so inclined, I would recommend learning how to use the inspector in your browser. It has a ton of features but being able to do things like concretely see page elements, look at the web traffic requests, or inspect headers and cookies can solve a lot of friction in using the modern web. Webpages are becoming more and more bloated and try to hide more and more from users. This can result in frustrating situations such as inconsistent site behavior hindering repeatability or intrusive elements like website overlays. Being able to peer behind the veil of HTTP can be a very helpful tool in building understanding or troubleshooting an issue.