Law Commons^™

W&L Law Library Annual Report 2022-2023, The Law Library At Washington And Lee University School Of Law

Law Library Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Lisp – An Historical Reminiscence, Heather Simmons

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

Reflections on the history of the Legal Information Services to the Public group of the American Association of Law Libraries.

How Academic Law Librarian Fellowship Programs Benefit Participants & Sponsoring Institutions, Aamir S. Abdullah, Cody B. James

Publications

No abstract provided.

Applying Universal Design In The Legal Academy, Matthew L. Timko

College of Law Faculty Publications

Too often barriers to access in the form of physical, technological, and cognitive environments play a large role in keeping many people out of law school. While federal and state laws address these barriers, universal design provides the clearest policy change for law schools to remedy these issues.

Bolstering The Asian American Law Library Collection: A Collection Development Guide, Mari Cheney, Mandy Lee, Anna Lawless-Collins

Faculty Scholarship

An increase in Asian American hate crimes has compelled law librarians to consider their collection development decisions due to a gap in Asian American law library collections. Guidance for increasing Asian American–related materials, however, is sparse. This article aims to fill this gap by discussing the importance of representation, tips on how to perform a diversity audit, and suggestions for Asian American law-related titles.

Making The Case For Law Tech, Janet Kearney

Staff Publications

As the concept of a “practice-ready” attorney continues to grow in both law firms and law schools, law school libraries are meeting this need by offering programming related to legal technology. In this article, a law librarian from the United States discusses their successes and failures in creating and maintaining legal technology programming, a first step in a larger conversation on practice-ready law graduates. This article is based on a June 2021 presentation given at the annual conference of the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians.

An Ecological And Holistic Analysis Of The Epistemic Value Of Law Libraries, Paul D. Callister, Dana Neacsu

Faculty Works

We examine the libraries' roles within the "epistemic foundation of society.” Our analysis is in response to the omission of Yale Law Dean Gerken of the role of libraries in her recent article about legal education's new focus and to remarks by AALS President Vicki Jackson that suggest an uncertain role for libraries. We have adapted holistic ecological media theory, as developed by Ronald Deibert, to reject a technologically deterministic view of libraries as having no future. We have considered the role of law libraries in the social epistemology or cognitive authority of the legal community, the role of law …

A Novel Response: How Law Libraries Adapted To The Pandemic, Aamir S. Abdullah

Publications

No abstract provided.

Cultivating A Culture Of Mindfulness In The Law Library And Beyond, Heather Simmons

Presentations

In this presentation Heather J.E. Simmons, Associate Director for Instruction and Access Services, University of Georgia School of Law, Alexander Campbell King Law Library shared her experiences in creating a more mindful environment for students, including methods and resources she has used in her current and past positions.

On Being A New Voice, A New Everything, Geraldine R. Kalim

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

In this thoughtful post, member Geraldine Kalim reflects on being a new librarian, a new University of Georgia employee, a new/returning resident of the state of Georgia, and a new mother.

AALL's New Voices is for members to share insights on any aspect of law librarianship. Pieces in this series also appear on the Members Open Forum in addition to being published as part of the AALL monthly eNewsletter. Topics in the series include: starting a new role, insights on professional development, recommending a favorite resource, providing an overview of an AALL webinar, or your take on an article …

Academic Law Libraries And Scholarship: Communication, Publishing, And Ranking, Dana Neacsu, James Donovan

Law Faculty Publications

We argue that the increasing role of scholarly impact in determining a school’s status will provide a new opportunity for libraries to assume a critical institutional role behind its traditional support of scholarship and teaching. In practice, this increased role can evolve in a multitude of ways. Based on the data used here, a strong argument can be made in favor of each library taking charge of both their faculty scholarly impact and publication of its school’s journals. Based on the success story of Perma.cc, a good argument can be made in favor of creating a consortium supporting both these …

Maximizing Your Faculty's Scholarly Impact: Techniques To Increase Findability, Caroline L. Osborne, Carol A. Watson, Thomas J. Striepe

Caroline L. Osborne

W&L Law Library Annual Report 2017-2018, The Law Library At Washington And Lee University School Of Law

Law Library Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

What A Technical Services Librarian Wants Their Library Director To Know, Georgia Briscoe

Publications

Promoting the value of technical services librarians in the digital age.

Leaky Boundaries And The Decline Of The Autonomous Law School Library, James G. Milles

James G. Milles

Academic law librarians have long insisted on the value of autonomy from the university library system, usually basing their arguments on strict adherence to ABA standards. However, law librarians have failed to construct an explicit and consistent definition of autonomy. Lacking such a definition, they have tended to rely on an outmoded Langdellian view of the law as a closed system. This view has long been discredited, as approaches such as law and economics and sociolegal research have become mainstream, and courts increasingly resort to nonlegal sources of information. Blind attachment to autonomy as a goal rather than a means …

Legal Education In Crisis, And Why Law Libraries Are Doomed, James G. Milles

James G. Milles

The dual crises facing legal education - the economic crisis affecting both the job market and the pool of law school applicants, and the crisis of confidence in the ability of law schools and the ABA accreditation process to meet the needs of lawyers or society at large - have undermined the case for not only the autonomy, but the very existence, of law school libraries as we have known them. Legal education in the United States is about to undergo a long-term contraction, and law libraries will be among the first to go. A few law schools may abandon …

The Quintessential Law Library And Librarian In A Digital Era, Femi Cadmus

Femi Cadmus

Libraries, like most institutions and industries today, are faced with disruptive technologies that challenge their relevancy in a digital era. As a result, erstwhile notions and nostalgia associated with the quintessential library and librarian are changing rapidly. This is a compelling era to reimagine the library, retaining essential traditions alongside the new technologies, which facilitate the preservation, discoverability, accessibility, and delivery of information. It is also an opportunity for libraries to respond creatively and innovatively to change. The quintessential law library and librarian cannot only survive but can also thrive in the digital era by continuing to demonstrate value through …

The Quintessential Law Library And Librarian In A Digital Era, Femi Cadmus

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Libraries, like most institutions and industries today, are faced with disruptive technologies that challenge their relevancy in a digital era. As a result, erstwhile notions and nostalgia associated with the quintessential library and librarian are changing rapidly.

This is a compelling era to reimagine the library, retaining essential traditions alongside the new technologies, which facilitate the preservation, discoverability, accessibility, and delivery of information. It is also an opportunity for libraries to respond creatively and innovatively to change. The quintessential law library and librarian cannot only survive but can also thrive in the digital era by continuing to demonstrate value through …

Finding The Middle Ground In Collection Development: How Academic Law Libraries Can Shape Their Collections In Response To The Call For More Practice-Oriented Legal Education, Leslie A. Street, Amanda M. Runyon

Leslie Street

To examine how academic law libraries can respond to the call for more practice-oriented legal education, the authors compared trends in collection management decisions regarding secondary sources at academic and law firm libraries along with law firm librarians’ perceptions of law school legal research training of new associates.

Hitting The Mark? Aall Legal Research Competencies: From Classroom To Practice, Gail A. Partin, Sally H. Wise

Faculty Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Leveraging Narratives: Communicating Value With Qualitative Content, Roger V. Skalbeck

Law Faculty Publications

The contemporary law library is embodied by its information resources, physical space, technology infrastructure, and the people who make it all happen. Each of these elements can change dramatically with new information tools, shifting organizational demands and emerging service models.

Law School Institutional Repositories: A Survey, Kincaid C. Brown

Law Librarian Scholarship

There has been a dramatic rise in the number of law libraries managing institutional repositories for their law schools. In 2011, there were some 30 law schools with such repositories; now, 80 of the top 100 law schools have their own or participate in a university-wide repository wherein the law school has an identifiable, school-specific collection or community. This article discusses a survey of the of the top 101 law schools, in hopes of facilitating an understanding of the breadth of material to be found in law school institutional repositories.

Remembering Harry Bitner: Law Librarian, Professor, And Wonderful Colleague, Claire M. Germain

Claire Germain

Professor Harry Bitner was an outstanding law librarian who shaped many of our best libraries, who was a mentor to many younger law librarians, and who provided leadership to the law library profession and to legal education generally.

Libraries And Legal Education, Jonathan Franklin

Librarians' Chapters in Books

Academic law libraries are in the midst of radical change, probably more so than at any time in the past 100 years. Two factors are converging that make business as usual no longer viable for academic law libraries: transition of legal resources from print to digital formats and economic changes in legal education.

Best Practices for Legal Education did not address the role of law libraries in the delivery of legal education. The changes facing law schools suggest now is the time to articulate how libraries can best contribute to the endeavor. How can best practices for law libraries be …

Library Director As Educator: Analysis Two, Case Analysis And Commentary, Sally H. Wise

Books and Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Implementing Effective Education In Specific Contexts, Ruth Anne Robbins, Amy E. Sloan, Kristen Konrad Robbins-Tiscione

All Faculty Scholarship

This chapter of Building on Best Practices: Transforming Legal Education in a Changing World includes contributions from many authors:

• Section A, The Socratic Method, is by Elizabeth G. Porter
• Section B, Analysis, Research, and Communication in Skills-Focused Courses, is by Ruth Anne Robbins, Amy Sloan & Kristen K. Tiscione
• Section C, Use of Technology in Teaching, is by Michele Pistone and Warren Binford
• Section D, Law Libraries and Legal Education, is by Jonathan Franklin
• Section E, Cross-Border Teaching and Collaboration, is by Kimberly D. Ambrose, William H. D. Fernholz, Catherine F. Klein, Dana Raigrodski, Stephen A. Rosenbaum & Leah Wortham …

Law Libraries And Laboratories: The Legacies Of Langdell And His Metaphor, Richard A. Danner

Faculty Scholarship

Law Librarians and others have often referred to Harvard Law School Dean C.C. Langdell’s statements that the law library is the lawyer’s laboratory. Professor Danner examines the context of what Langdell through his other writings, the educational environment at Harvard in the late nineteenth century, and the changing perceptions of university libraries generally. He then considers how the “laboratory metaphor” has been applied by librarians and legal scholars during the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. The article closes with thoughts on Langdell’s legacy for law librarians and the usefulness of the laboratory metaphor.

Legal Education In Crisis, And Why Law Libraries Are Doomed, James G. Milles

Journal Articles

The dual crises facing legal education - the economic crisis affecting both the job market and the pool of law school applicants, and the crisis of confidence in the ability of law schools and the ABA accreditation process to meet the needs of lawyers or society at large - have undermined the case for not only the autonomy, but the very existence, of law school libraries as we have known them. Legal education in the United States is about to undergo a long-term contraction, and law libraries will be among the first to go. A few law schools may abandon …

Alumni Services: Strategies For Keeping The Law Library's Doors Open After Graduation, Michelle M. Trumbo

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Almost, But Not Quite, Entirely Unlike Libraries: Academic Law Librarians Enter The World Of Archives, Stacy Etheredge

Articles

No abstract provided.