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Articles 1 - 30 of 50
Full-Text Articles in Legal Writing and Research
Tuesday Morning Detective Work, Mary Whisner
Tuesday Morning Detective Work, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
The author describes her process for tracking down information requested by a law student.
My Year Of Citation Studies, Part 3, Mary Whisner
My Year Of Citation Studies, Part 3, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
In this third installment examining citation studies, Ms. Whisner looks at five articles from each of a sample of twenty-three journals published in 1982, and discovers some surprising results.
My Year Of Citation Studies, Part 2, Mary Whisner
My Year Of Citation Studies, Part 2, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
In this second installment examining citation studies, Ms. Whisner looks at citation patterns of articles versus student works, as well as patterns across journals.
My Year Of Citation Studies, Part 1, Mary Whisner
My Year Of Citation Studies, Part 1, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Ms. Whisner begins a year of exploring how legal scholarship citation counts are created and viewed. What works do authors actually cite? Which legal sources are included? She shares her findings here.
Service Within And Beyond Our Walls, Mary Whisner
Service Within And Beyond Our Walls, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
With the growth of the Internet, the typical patron base that reference librarians serve has increased to a much wider group of people who use various electronic means of communication to seek assistance. Ms. Whisner examines how technology has expanded these service borders and discusses the ramifications for the modern reference librarian.
Lexicographer For A Day, Mary Whisner
Lexicographer For A Day, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Ms. Whisner shares her love of learning about new words and phrases, and details how she investigates their origins and usages in dictionaries and full-text databases.
On Specialized Legal Research, Mary Whisner
On Specialized Legal Research, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Ms. Whisner describes what specialized legal research is and how students are initially exposed to the various topics that fall within the category, including taxation, intellectual property, and health law. She then provides strategies for learning about specific bibliographic sources and about the specialized vocabulary used to perform the necessary research.
Data, Data, Data, Mary Whisner
Data, Data, Data, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
The legal profession often requires extensive data for everything from simple statistical questions to large-scale empirical research projects. Ms. Whisner discusses some of her favorite sources for finding and evaluating statistics.
Exploring Precedent, Mary Whisner
Exploring Precedent, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Ms. Whisner looks at the concept of precedent in the case law arena and discusses how to handle cases from parallel and lower courts, including unpublished decisions. She offers tips to help make decisions when using precedent, including consulting secondary sources and key numbers.
The 4-1-1 On Lawyer Directories, Mary Whisner
The 4-1-1 On Lawyer Directories, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Directories listing biographical and contact information for attorneys have been a publishing mainstay for more than one hundred years. They are used for marketing, as well as historical and genealogical research. However, technology is changing the way attorneys advertise, and Ms. Whisner looks at the current state of lawyer directories and their usage.
Getting To Know Fastcase, Mary Whisner
Getting To Know Fastcase, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Librarians must learn how to use databases on a regular basis. The databases may be new, or they may be well-established ones that librarians haven’t used before. Ms. Whisner examines Fastcase, an online system that recently entered into a cooperative agreement with HeinOnline, and discovers some lessons about how she learns new databases.
Other Uses Of Legislative History, Mary Whisner
Other Uses Of Legislative History, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Although we usually think of using legislative history to determine legislative intent when interpreting statutes, Ms. Whisner shows that legislative documents can be useful for other, less controversial purposes as well.
Bitten By The Reading Bug, Mary Whisner
Bitten By The Reading Bug, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Is reading books about law helpful to law librarians? Ms. Whisner discusses why and what she likes to read, and makes recommendations about books others might find interesting.
Books On My Desk, Mary Whisner
Books On My Desk, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Are there still books that reference librarians need to keep on their desks? Ms. Whisner considers this topic as well as discussing her gradual shift from using reference books in print to using their electronic counterparts
Fifty More Constitutions, Mary Whisner
Fifty More Constitutions, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
The U.S. Constitution may get all the attention, but as Ms. Whisner points out, state constitutional law is also important to legal researchers. Unfortunately, the sources for researching state constitutions are more limited and difficult to find. She describes a web site created by the Gallagher Law Library at the University of Washington School of Law that makes available sources of Washington State constitutional history.
Everday Research, Mary Whisner
Everday Research, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Law students and lawyers, like the rest of us, need to find information for their everyday lives. Ms. Whisner outlines ways that law students can use research to help them find jobs or decide what type of legal career they want to pursue.
Relevance, Choices, And The Goldilocks Problem, Mary Whisner
Relevance, Choices, And The Goldilocks Problem, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Ms. Whisner ponders a core question in answering reference queries: How can we know whether what we find is relevant to what the questioner wants? Her article provides criteria to consider and some guidelines for choosing sources in response to a query.
Looking For Waldo, Mary Whisner
Change And Continuity (Rip Van Winkle's Reference Office), Mary Whisner
Change And Continuity (Rip Van Winkle's Reference Office), Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
How much has law librarianship changed over the past twenty years? Ms. Whisner imagines coming back to her library after being asleep for twenty years, and concludes that while our tools have changed, the basics of our jobs have remained remarkably stable.
Enact Locally, Mary Whisner
Enact Locally, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Legal researchers often forget about municipal ordinances when looking for governing authority. Ms. Whisner discusses the wide range of topics that can be covered by local law, and encourages law librarians to think about it both when researching and when teaching the process of legal research
Learning From Reference Experience, Mary Whisner
Learning From Reference Experience, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
While we all learn from experience, law librarians seeking to improve their reference skills can speed up the learning process by using some of the methods Ms. Whisner outlines.
The Rewards Of Tedium, Mary Whisner
The Rewards Of Tedium, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
While routine projects can be tedious, Ms. Whisner points out factors that make those tedious projects a little easier to bear, as well as some lessons to be learned from a specific project she undertook.
Getting Facts Straight (And Writing Well Too), Mary Whisner
Getting Facts Straight (And Writing Well Too), Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Librarians who provide information need to ensure that they are providing the best information and that they are communicating it as accurately as possible. Ms. Whisner reviews some situations where things can go wrong and ways to make sure that they don't.
Mattress Tags And Pillow Cases, Mary Whisner
Mattress Tags And Pillow Cases, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
A simple question about the origins of the law prohibiting the removal of mattress tags led Ms. Whisner on a whirlwind tour of state and federal law, regulations, and history. In the end she not only found the answer, she also learned a few new lessons about legal research.
Thre Dreaded Bluebook, Mary Whisner
Thre Dreaded Bluebook, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
The Bluebook is reviled by many as confusing, arcane, and nitpicky. And some of those who are stumped and intimidated by the Bluebook come to reference librarians asking for help. Thus we are presented with a wonderful opportunity to serve (while building our credibility and earning our patrons' thanks). But of course we must first get past our own Bluebook anxiety.
Just Looking, Mary Whisner
Just Looking, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
While acknowledging that much of what librarians do is research focused on answering specific questions, Ms. Whisner suggests that there are virtues in being a "just looking" shopper of legal information. Browsing through resources such as blogs, Web sites, and newsletters allows librarians to build knowledge about what's available and to identify items that can be shared with patrons, colleagues, and themselves.
A Manual "To Inform Every Citizen", Mary Whisner
A Manual "To Inform Every Citizen", Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Ms. Whisner examines the history and development of an "old friend" of many reference librarians, the United States Government Manual.
On Fun, Mary Whisner
On Fun, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
While acknowledging the many scholarly and thought-provoking contributions that Bob Berring has made in the areas of legal information and law librarianship, Ms. Whisner suggests that his ability to also make them fun is of equal, if not greater, importance.
The Pajama Way Of Research, Mary Whisner
The Pajama Way Of Research, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
While acknowledging the attractions of being able to conduct legal research in the comfort of one's home-in your pajamas no less-Ms. Whisner notes what a student misses by relying solely on computer-assisted legal research systems. She encourages librarians to engage in outreach efforts that will not only alert patrons to services they might be missing but also persuade them the services would be helpful.
A Blog's Life, Mary Whisner
A Blog's Life, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
Seeking to provide a current awareness service to an underserved part of her library's clientele, Ms. Whisner enters the world of blogging and discovers that there is both joy and learning to be had in bringing a blog to life.