A Conversation with Andrew Zimmerman (08/08)
By Rachel Baarz
At the 2008 SLA Conference in Seattle, Washington, this past June, I met a person who has contributed much to the legal community. I have long been a fan and user of Zimmerman’s Research Guide, www.lexisnexis.com/infopro/zimmerman/. I was thrilled to meet Andrew Zimmerman when he stopped by the LexisNexis® booth in the exhibit hall during one of my shifts. Upon returning home from the Conference, I realized there was a lot more I’d like to find out about both the Guide and the man behind the masterpiece! Mr. Zimmerman was gracious enough to take time out of his busy summer to answer a few questions for me.
What’s new and exciting in the world of Zimmerman’s Research Guide?
A: Lots! Almost every day I find something new for the Guide, and I try to add it right away. That’s one of the high points of my day.
The last big Guide project was an overhaul of the New York State and New York City entries. I did that with guidance from William H. Manz, the editor for the current edition of Gibson’s New York Legal Research Guide. Next up will be a new-and-improved entry for the District of Columbia. I’m still looking for a collaborator on that project.
Also, I’ve started a stealth project to review the entries that don’t get much attention. That’s something I didn’t have to do before, but I do now that the Guide has reached a certain age.
What is the funniest/strangest comment or question you have received regarding the Guide?
A: Someone once asked me how to rob a bank and get away with it. It’s a good question, but outside my area of expertise.
When you aren’t wearing your law-librarian hat, what do you like to do for fun?
A: I like to bike, read, and play classical guitar.
If you weren’t a law librarian what would you be?
A: Retired. Or unemployed.
What are some of your favorite non-work-related Web sites?
A: I like Wikipedia and YouTube. I check Yahoo! Finance and the Yahoo! Celebrity News page daily.
What does your “dream vacation” look like?
A: I have a friend who has a place in a big Painted Lady (Victorian House) just off the lower Haight in San Francisco. I would like to go out there for a while and never come back.
While traveling to your dream vacation destination what three things must you take along?
A: Sheet music, a journal, and The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
What book are you currently reading?
A: Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life by George Eliot.
Country, Jazz or Rock ‘n Roll?
A: Rock ‘n Roll. The Guide has been nurtured on a steady diet of Tom Waits, the Pixies, and Exile on Main Street from the Rolling Stones.
