Gullon serving in his 34th year at the Law School library

After graduating with a Master of Science degree in library science from Florida State University (FSU) in 1990, Ismael Gullon was searching for a job as a librarian. He had worked at Goldstein Library Science as a graduate student at FSU and prior, as a library assistant at Georgia State University, College of Law Library and at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC, where he earned his bachelor’s degree.

For his new job, he wanted a southeastern location with easy access to an airport so he could fly home to San Juan, Puerto Rico to visit his family in Ponce where he was born and raised.

Leah Farb Chanin, ’54, director of Mercer’s Furman Smith Law Library at the time, hired Gullon as catalog librarian in 1990. Chanin was a strong supporter of professional development and told Gullon he would be attending seminars, workshops, and conferences to hone his skills, and talents, preparing him to serve the needs of the Law School’s community of students, faculty, and staff. It was exactly what he was looking for. Gullon emphasizes that Patricia A. Cervenka, Suzanne L. Cassidy, and Leslie A. Street, former law library directors, also encouraged and supported his professional development.

Five years later Gullon earned the position of technical services librarian, where he managed all activities of technical services and the Innovative Interfaces’ Innopac integrated library system.

Today Gullon serves as associate law librarian for collections and technical services and manages all aspects of collection development (including print and electronic resources), technical services, and the law library Ex-Libris Alma/Primo integrated shared system. He also trains and supervises support staff. Ismael continues to provide reference and research assistance to the law students, law faculty, attorneys, and staff.

But his favorite thing about his job is engaging with the law students, faculty, and staff. “I love to interact with our students, learn where their homes are, why they chose Mercer, and why they want to become an attorney. I am here to share my knowledge of the best legal resources in the law library, and to share some nuggets of wisdom about searching online. I let them know that the law librarians are here to help them become successful researchers.”

With almost four decades of library work experience, Gullon has seen many changes in the way libraries operate. Most notably, the transition of print materials to CD-ROM materials, and now to electronic materials. “We have been transitioning, like most law libraries, from a heavily large print collection to an electronic collection. Some electronic collections subscriptions provide 24/7 online access to the books. Every week, I catalog and download new titles, and update new enhanced electronic bibliographic records to LawCat law library catalog.”  For 2023-2024, he has cataloged 10,000 new electronic titles and enhanced/updated 27,000 records.

In 1994, Gullon participated in the implementation of law library Innovative Interfaces “Innopac,” the first integrated library online system for cataloging, acquisitions, serials, and circulation functions. He was an active member of the Innovative Law Users Group, served as chair in 2013-2014, and worked to make the library group a tax-exempt organization. He participated in the migration and implementation of the Ex-Libris system integrated library system in 2020.

Gullon is a member of American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), AALL Technical Services Special Interest Section (former chair), AALL Library System & Resource Discovery Special Interest Section (former secretary/treasurer and chair), AALL Latino Caucus, and Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries (former treasurer). In addition to attending conferences and committee meetings, he has been a speaker and a program coordinator/moderator. Recently, the Southeastern Chapter of AALL recognitzed Gullon for his substantial special services to the Chapter for 2023.

Gullon stays in contact with many alums and enjoys catching up with those he hasn’t seen in a while. “The law school community is strong and vibrant. It is rewarding to travel and run into a Mercer Law graduate and hear about their accomplishments and successes. I was able to catch up with Doyle Mullis, ’97, who was visiting the law library recently. He graduated from Mercer Law School almost thirty years ago. He emailed and stated ‘I find [the law library] is such a great resource for alums like me, and I hope to continue to use it more in the future. You were a wonderful part of that experience and I am so glad you share your knowledge and time with those who visit the library.’”

This summer, while the Law School is “quiet,” Gullon will be updating procedures and learning about new features and enhancements implemented since the library migrated to the Ex Libris-System integrated system. A good bit of his time will be spent reviewing and evaluating the law library collection to ensure it meets curriculum needs and faculty scholarship.

Billie Jo Kauffman, law library director and professor of law, said, “Ismael is a fixture in the Law School community. If you want to know anything, he knows everything and he is very willing to help anyone.”