Law Librarianship Commons^™

The Diy Digital Exhibition Experience At Tarrant County College, Ayyoub Ajmi

Faculty Works

The Northeast Campus Library of Tarrant County College District in Texas used a Title III Grant to support an innovative project consisting of repurposing old laptops as digital exhibition platforms available to students, faculty and staff. A small number of the frames are used for library promotion displaying FAQs, new acquisitions, and events. The rest of the digital frames are used for exhibition purposes. The project’s mission is to promote student success by increasing library attendance, promote the use of library services by building dynamic and long-term partnerships with other departments, and provide exposure and recognition to students, faculty and …

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 …

Not Just For Scouting Anymore: Digital Badges For Legal Research Skills, Alcasid Hannah, Susan David Demaine, Catherine A. Lemmer, Benjamin J. Keele

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

W&L Law Fall Scholarship Celebration 2013, Nora V. Demleitner

Library Events

On November 14, 2013, the Washington and Lee Law Library hosted a first-of-its-kind Fall Scholarship Celebration. The event took place in the Law Library's main reading room from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

On display were dozens of scholarly articles, books, chapters, and amicus briefs authored by the W&L Law faculty and student body during 2012 and 2013, with hundreds of additional works accessible online through the Scholarly Commons institutional repository.

Faculty, librarians, staff, and administrators mingled with law students over hors d'oeuvres and wine to peruse the formidable scholarly output of the W&L Law community. Spouses, alumni, faculty from …

The Tools Of Our Trade, Richard Leiter

Marvin and Virginia Schmid Law Library: Faculty Publications

During the past 30 years, computers and other digital tools have evolved from scientific curiosities that promised to make our lives easy and paperless and threatened to make libraries go away to ubiquitous means of communication, research, entertainment, news, and much, much more. Access to technology for librarians today is as critical as having access to leather-bound books once was for the earliest librarians. In order to communicate with peers, patrons, and colleagues and to conduct legal research and create scholarship, today we need a device that lets us “see” the communication or information. This article explores the changing role …

What Users Want: A Contextual Overview Of Open Access Legal Resources In The United States, Brian T. Detweiler

Law Librarian Other Scholarship

Paper presented at the Law via the Internet Conference, Jersey, Channel Islands, September 26-27, 2013.

Thinking About Technology - Lawyers Can’T Be Luddites Anymore: Do Law Librarians Have A Role In Helping Lawyers Adjust To The New Ethics Rules Involving Technology, Darla Jackson

Other Faculty Publications

It is understood and well documented that technology affects almost every aspect of the practice of law. In August 2012 the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates, recognizing the influence of technology, voted to amend the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Legal professionals have begun to comment on how such changes may affect lawyers in every area and size of practice. Although many lawyers have expressed the sentiment that they did not become lawyers to learn about technology, the changes to the standards of professional conduct will necessitate that attorneys have some basic technological competence. Those attorneys desiring …

Copyright In Libraries: 21st Century Challenges...And Opportunities, James S. Heller

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Crossing The Line?: Copyright For Libraries, Frederick W. Dingledy

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Forensic Bibliography: Reconstructing The Library Of George Wythe, Linda K. Tesar

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

A Brief Guide To Finding International Treaties, Jennifer Sekula

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Much Ado About Authentication, Richard Leiter

Marvin and Virginia Schmid Law Library: Faculty Publications

Much can be said about how libraries are adapting and new ways that we can continue to adapt to the rise in importance of digital resources and services. But there is a unique challenge that law libraries face that this article will attempt to address: the problem of authenticating digital legal materials. This necessity of authenticating legal materials has been articulated many times. However, there may actually be no need for authentication at all.

The question of authentication is a very important one to answer because law libraries have the responsibility of providing accurate versions of primary legal materials. It …

Memorial: Colleen Kristl Pauwels (1947-2013), Linda K. Fariss

Articles by Maurer Faculty

A memorial of Colleen Pauwels, Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Law Library at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Experiences With Digitization Of Customary Court Cases In South Western Nigeria, Yemisi Dina

Articles & Book Chapters

This article describes my experiences on the digitization project of customary court cases in South Western Nigeria. I made a presentation to the African Section of the FCIL-SIS at the 106th Annual Meeting of the AALL on July 15, 2013.

Customary law is based on the tradition, customs and values of the people, and it varies in different ways. The terminology “customary law”, according to Park, is just a blanket description, as there are so many ethnic groups. Customary law covers various legal systems depicting each tribe’s customs and values. These are the two forms of customary law that are …

Forensic Bibliography: Reconstructing The Library Of George Wythe, Linda K. Tesar

Library Staff Publications

The Wolf Law Library at the College of William and Mary initiated a project to re-create the library of George Wythe, the founding father of American legal education. A relatively small number of Wythe’s books are still extant today; for some volumes, there is strong documentary evidence to prove conclusively he owned specific editions of particular titles. Additionally, four bibliographies with varying levels of substantiating information provide insight into the contents of Wythe’s library. Examination of these sources launched an excursion into bibliographic history and rare book collecting that illuminates the difficulties in attempting to establish the exact editions contained …

Issues And Trends In Collection Development For East Asia Legal Materials, Jootaek Lee, Alex Zhang, Keiko Okuhara, Evelyn Ma

Faculty Scholarship

The authors delineate the general policy and guidelines for developing foreign and transnational law collections in U.S. law libraries, and they analyze factors that shape East Asian collections, such as law libraries’ preservation and digitization efforts and their related cost-efficiency, and the availability and quality of English translations. The authors then discuss the main sources for Korean, Japanese, and Chinese law.

From Oxford To Williamsburg, Ruth Bird, James S. Heller

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Access For All: A Review Of “Law Libraries, Government Transparency, And The Internet,” A Presentation By Daniel Schuman Of The Sunlight Foundation At The All-Sis Meeting, July 22, 2012, Susan David Demaine

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Attendees at the ALL-SIS Breakfast and Business Meeting at the AALL Annual Meeting had the pleasure of hearing from Daniel Schuman of the Sunlight Foundation speak on “Law Libraries, Government Transparency, and the Internet.” The Sunlight Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase access to federal government information resources through advocacy and the development of information technology tools.

Universal Citation In Sixty Seconds, Anne Burnett

Presentations

A large format infographic describing the system for citation which permits reference to legal or law-related information in any medium without requiring reference to proprietary products. Includes a timeline of the Universal Citation Guide from 1993 to 2012, citation elements, a list of states and territories that adopted the practice and an interactive QR code for accessing AALL's page on this citation format. The poster also encouraged viewers to advocate for adopting Universal citation with judges, attorneys and legislators.

How Librarians Can Help Improve Law Journal Publishing, Benjamin J. Keele, Michelle Pearse

Library Staff Publications

Librarians are well positioned to improve law journal publishing and help it evolve in the ever-changing digital environment. They can provide student editors with advice on a variety of issues such as copyright, data preservation, and version control. Librarians can also help journals adopt technical standards and improve the discoverability and usability of journal content. While few libraries will be able to adopt all these suggestions, a checklist of ideas is provided to help librarians select those that are most suitable to their libraries and journals.

Book Review Of Copyright For Teachers & Librarians In The 21st Century, Benjamin J. Keele

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

From Oxford To Williamsburg: The Evolution Of Legal Education And Law Libraries Across The Pond, James S. Heller

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Hunger Games, James S. Heller

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Keeping And Deleting Patron Records In Law Libraries, Benjamin J. Keele

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Will An Institutional Repository Hurt My Ssrn Ranking? Calming The Faculty Fear, James M. Donovan, Carol A. Watson

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Faculty members should not view the institutional repository as a drain on their SSRN rankings. While SSRN excels at delivering their work to the cadre of legal specialists, IRs typically do a better job of presenting it to a broader readership. This expanded exposure should be judged a

positive benefit of participation in the IR, helping to mitigate criticisms of law faculty as sequestered, insular, and writing only for themselves. Anyone interested in giving their ideas the widest possible hearing should deposit their intellectual work in as many venues as possible. For law professors, this means they should have both …

Advising Faculty On Law Journal Publication Agreements, Benjamin J. Keele

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Law Via The Internet: Report On The Conference, Yemisi Dina

Articles & Book Chapters

Cornell University, located in Ithaca, New York hosted the LVI (Law via the Internet) 2012. The conference also marked the twentieth anniversary of the LIIs (Legal Information Institutes) of the world, which have grown exponentially. The anniversary was not a cake-eating celebration but a two-day deliberation with members of an open access society who have been striving to make legal information freely available on the Internet. Many of the speakers at the sessions shared their experiences from the different projects they have been working on over the past twenty years or more, and the LIIs continue to improve. It was …

The Librarian’S Copyright Companion, James S. Heller, Paul Hellyer, Benjamin J. Keele

Library Staff Publications

The transition from print to digital continues. The Copyright Act has changed a little, but not for the better. This book begins with the premise that copyright exists to promote the dissemination of information, and while creators have certain rights, so do users. This new edition updates every chapter and adds a new chapter on the library as a publisher. Also included is information on recent developments such as Creative Common licenses and the use of digital video (e.g. YouTube) in the classroom.

Issues Facing Academic Law Libraries - New Challenges, New Opportunities, Linda K. Fariss

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Law libraries are facing new challenges, including evolving methods of legal research, and space and budget constraints. This article explores those challenges, and looks at the opportunities that accompany changes.

Splitting Hairs: What Subtle Distinctions Teach Us About Authority, Benjamin J. Keele

Library Staff Publications

Legal researchers constantly deal with issues of authority. Did the police have authority to search the car? Is this court of appeals decision binding authority on my case? What statutes are authoritative in my jurisdiction? These questions are important, and librarians often help find answers. The question of authority that librarians are best equipped to answer, however, is “How authoritative is this source?”