Page 16 - Pierce County Lawyer - July August 2025

JULY/AUGUST EDITORIAL
Of Library Books & Things
When I was in the third grade,
my father asked me what I
wanted for my birthday He
suggested a baseball glove, and I told
him I wanted a dictionary like the one
they had at school. I still like books
about words and have all four editions of
Fowler. I enjoy seeing how word usage
has changed. My grandmother was on
the town library board for 44 years, so
when I was asked several years ago to join
the Pierce County Law Library Board of
Trustees, I readily agreed.
If you have been in the Law Library
recently, you will have noticed that many
shelves are empty. At the March 17, 2025
meeting the Board passed a resolution
adopting a collection development policy.
As a result, on April 7, 2025, 715 books
and other materials were disposed of.
This seems like an exorbitant number
but is far less than the 40,000 scrolls lost
in the fire of the Library at Alexandria.
Unlike the tragic loss of that ancient
library’s collection, most of the culled
Pierce County material can be replaced
or is outdated.
“The weeding of the collection will be
an ongoing process.” Section 8.1 of the
Collection Development Policy (CDP,
hereafter). The full text of the Collection
policy is available online.
I am a book hoarder. I have carried across
country books I have never read that I
have owned for over 50 years. So, I am
not the best judge of what should be
weeded out and what should remain, but
because of the empty shelves. I requested
a list of the materials disposed of. As a
Trustee I believe I have a fiduciary duty
to the Pierce County public to make such
an inquiry. The library has weeded books
before, but this massive weeding was by
far the most noticeable. For each item
disposed of there was a reason given;
the following is only a sample of the
materials no longer available:
• The DVD Preparing the Lay Witness
for Deposition was disposed of because it
was outdated and the staff have nothing
to play it on. I am not sure why the
information is considered outdated.
Preparing a witness doesn’t seem to have
changed much in the last 37 years. I did
not know the library did not have a DVD
player but I suspect many lawyers do
have one. I once had my own copy of this
DVD, but a client failed to return it.
• The First Rumple Omnibus was
disposed of because no ‘practical legal
research information was provided in
resource, no circulation, no permanent
value for this collection.’ This is simply
incorrect. The author, John Mortimer,
was a barrister who distilled a lot of wit
and wisdom into his short stories. They
are actually clinics on trial work. The
short story Rumple and Golden Thread
contains a marvelous closing, so I and
at least one other lawyer borrowed from
it many times. I think an outright ban
on fictional materials, biographical
material or autobiographical materials
is shortsighted. Stories, whether real
or fictional, are often inspiring and can
enhance a person’s practice.
• Opening the Candy Store, Stumbling
into Upward Mobility. Marked as
'redundant, outdated, no permanent
value for this collection.’ This is an
autobiography of Bill Abbott. Bill was
a lawyer in Tacoma. He came from a
poor Ohio State family and went to the
Naval Academy and became an aviator.
I think biographies and autobiographies
are important for a library if for no other
reason for their inspirational value such
as in this book. I thought it particularly
interesting because it was by a local
attorney. I am unaware of any other
books about Bill.
• The Irving Younger Collection. ‘No
practical research information provided
in resource. No permanent value for
collection.’ Anyone who has read Irving
Younger knows that his work is of value.
His book, The Art of Cross Examination,
may have been lost if part of the
collection. Fortunately, the Art of Cross
Examination by Francis Wellman seems
to have survived, for now.
The Section 3.3 of the CDP states:
“The Library’s collection will focus on
providing current and practical legal
research materials in the form of primary
and secondary legal resources. These
materials will focus on the State of
Washington and Federal Government of
the United States.”
There are some empty shelves which are
reserved for general books. Section 6.1 of
the CDP states, “request made by patrons
for material to be added to the collection
will be considered on a case-by-case
basis.” I encourage people and section
groups to send requests or suggestions
for the material that would be helpful and
of assistance.
The stated purpose of the Law Library
is to serve “information of needs of
judges, lawyers, officials, and citizens
of Pierce County…” CDP Section 1.
Perhaps to further distinguish it from
a general library, the CDP states “the
library will not collect theoretical, strictly
academic, legal history materials, foreign
and international law materials, fiction
materials, biographical materials or
autobiographical materials.” CDP Section
3.1. Sidney Sheldon said, “Libraries store
the energy that fuels the imagination.
They open-up windows to the world and
inspire us to explore and achieve, and
contribute to improving our quality of
life.” Somehow banning, based upon their
Dewy Decimal classification and not their
content seems antithetical to thoughtful
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