Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Librarians' Articles

Series

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year

Articles 1 - 30 of 60

Full-Text Articles in Law

Tuesday Morning Detective Work, Mary Whisner Jan 2019

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2018

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 Jan 2017

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 Jan 2017

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 Jan 2016

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 Jan 2016

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 Jan 2015

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 Jan 2014

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.


There Oughta Be A Law—A Model Law, Mary Whisner Jan 2014

There Oughta Be A Law—A Model Law, Mary Whisner

Librarians' Articles

Uniform and model laws are frequently proposed to standardize “what the law is or should be” for specific jurisdictions. These model acts can come from national or international drafting organizations, such as the Uniform Law Commission, or from interest groups or associations that want to promote specific policies. Ms. Whisner provides an overview of the various types of model laws that researchers should know about.


Getting To Know Fastcase, Mary Whisner Jan 2014

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.


Race And The Reference Librarian, Mary Whisner Jan 2014

Race And The Reference Librarian, Mary Whisner

Librarians' Articles

Ms. Whisner examines how race arises in the day-to-day work of law librarians, and discusses how law librarians can foster cultural competence and create more welcoming environments in diverse institutions.


Other Uses Of Legislative History, Mary Whisner Jan 2013

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.


Introduction: Indigenous Rights In The Pacific Rim, Jonathan A. Franklin Jan 2013

Introduction: Indigenous Rights In The Pacific Rim, Jonathan A. Franklin

Librarians' Articles

The four articles in this issue all contribute to the dialogue surrounding the intersection of indigenous people's rights within international law and domestic actions that conflict with those rights. While the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other international law instruments are explicit about how states should act towards indigenous populations, in many cases these nternational instruments conflict with domestic law. There are several reasons for this discrepancy, including states' self-interest, paternalism, and lack of resources needed to address both national concerns and the rights of indigenous peoples.


Bitten By The Reading Bug, Mary Whisner Jan 2013

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.


Some Guidance About Federal Agencies And Guidance, Mary Whisner Jan 2013

Some Guidance About Federal Agencies And Guidance, Mary Whisner

Librarians' Articles

The federal administrative system is complex and contains ambiguities about what counts as an “agency,” and there is an amorphous border between regulations and guidance. The body of guidance documents (or nonlegislative rules) is growing, both in volume and in importance, and legal researchers should be aware of this important source of authority, as well as its unclear status.


Books On My Desk, Mary Whisner Jan 2012

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 Jan 2012

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.


"That Most Congenial Lawyer/Bibliographer", Mary Whisner Jan 2012

"That Most Congenial Lawyer/Bibliographer", Mary Whisner

Librarians' Articles

Ms. Whisner delves into Morris L. Cohen's Bibliography of Early American Law, demonstrating how much information it contains that will be interesting and useful for law librarians.


Everday Research, Mary Whisner Jan 2011

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 Jan 2011

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 Jan 2011

Looking For Waldo, Mary Whisner

Librarians' Articles

No abstract provided.


Change And Continuity (Rip Van Winkle's Reference Office), Mary Whisner Jan 2010

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 Jan 2010

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 Jan 2010

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 Jan 2010

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 Jan 2009

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 Jan 2009

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 Jan 2008

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.