Page 11 - Briefcase V35 Number 1

YEARS OF DEDICATION

MON YIN LUNG SPENCER SIMONS

After 12 years as associate director of the O’Quinn Law When Tropical Storm Allison devastated the southeast Texas region
Library, Mon Yin Lung said the only thing she won’t miss in in 2001, the University of Houston suffered more than $100 million in
retirement is the tight deadlines. damages. The University of Houston Law Center, particularly the O’Quinn
“I will miss the people I worked with and worked for,” Law Library, was one of the hardest-hit parts of campus, and more than
Lung said. “I loved every part of my job, except handling big 100,000 books were destroyed.
research programs with a 24-hour deadline that required me In January 2004, Spencer Simons was hired as director of the library
to pull an all-nighter.” and as an assistant professor at the Law Center. He was presented with the
The O’Quinn Law Library handles small and large arduous task of replacing books and restoring the library to prominence.
research projects for individual faculty members as well as “It was a very large, multi-year project; it was among the most challenging
the Law Center administration. and rewarding undertakings of my professional life,” Simons said. “The
While the library acquires and circulates books, Lung said project drew upon skills developed in my library and pre-library careers:
it is different from other libraries on campus based on its two project management, accounting, contracting and negotiation, resource
missions: It serves as the laboratory where the law students selection and collection development and, at ground level, the mechanics of
hone their legal research skills warehousing, transportation and
not only for class assignments, space planning.
but also for future professional “I took great satisfaction in
needs. It also is the research drawing upon a lifetime of varied
arm of the Law Center. work experiences to efficiently and
As the chief operation officer economically rebuild a first class
of the Law Library, Lung was academic law library collection.”
in charge of the reference and After a 13-year stint, Simons
research operation, circulation retired from the Law Center
and the organization of library at the end of 2016. He said the
material. favorite aspects of his work were
“It was my duty to see the creating new services and watching
two missions of the Law them enhance the scholarship,
Library being accomplished by instruction and service of the
implementing the directives Law Center. He also relished the
and policies of the Law Library opportunity to work and get to
Director, Spencer Simons,” she know world-class faculty and
said. “I participated in weekly staff and enjoyed encouraging and
reference duty in order to gain firsthand knowledge of our observing the growth of the next generation of law librarians.
students’ needs, and I served as library liaison to several Law “My years at the Law Center have been extraordinarily fulfilling,” Simons
professors for their legal information and research needs.” said. “I will miss the teaching; helping students learn and grow in the
Lung said she departs from the Law Center with a sense of profession is incredibly gratifying.”
accomplishment because of the library’s transformation. According to Simons, a law librarian needs a love of learning and the law,
“I am proud to say that, with the help of support from my the diligence and knowledge to research thoroughly, an ethic of service and a
colleagues, I was able to assist Professor Simons to change willingness to do whatever it takes to do every task as well as possible.
the Law Library from a warehouse of law books to a legal His colleagues said he did more than meet those standards.
research powerhouse. I am also proud of the librarians “I appreciate so much the service our library provides,” said Professor Seth
I trained and mentored, as well as some special library Chandler. “Spencer has been instrumental over his tenure in maintaining
operations such as 24/7 access for Law Center students. and improving its capabilities.
What can be a better job for an argumentative bookworm?” “Spencer assumed responsibility for the library in extraordinarily difficult
In retirement, Lung will have a change of scenery, having times, and conducted himself at all times with consummate good will and
relocated to Kansas City, Mo., where her husband, Wai-Yim grace,” added Professor Craig Joyce, Andrews Kurth Professor of Law
Ching, is the Curators’ Professor of Physics at the University and co-director of the Law Center’s Institute for Intellectual Property &
of Missouri-Kansas City. Information Law.
“This is the first time I am in full control of my time,” What’s next for the bookish professor? The native of Seattle and former
Lung said. “I will take advantage of this opportunity to spend fly fishing instructor has a potential homecoming in store.
more time with my elderly mother in Canada, read and write “I expect to retire back to the northwest eventually,” Simons said. “I
to please myself and participate in some community service.” particularly look forward to catching up on foregone reading, travel, fishing
and exploration of new experiences.”

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