Teaching Legal Research in a Government Library

ABSTRACT

Law libraries that serve the public have diverse clientele, types of reference and research requirements, and opportunities for contact that firm and academic law libraries seldom experience. This article explores these opportunities, which the authors take advantage of for providing a “teachable moment.” opportunity to teach something. The specific subjects are diverse: the legislative process, summary dissolution, arbitration rules, or how to use a keyboard's mouse. Our constant goal is to teach or show that libraries and librarians are still an integral part of today's commercial and legal arenas, and to demonstrate that a government agency can actually be a beneficial tax-supported institution.     

Teaching Legal Research in American Law Schools:

Teaching legal research in the Law School setting has become a timely topic - forty percent of the journal articles that have been written about it have appeared within the last ten years and at least twenty-seven law schools have developed advanced legal research courses in addition to the basic course. We have attempted to compile an exhaustive bibliography of journal articles that in some way contribute to the pedagogical literature of legal research. We do not include articles which describe research techniques and sources, nor do we include articles devoted solely to the teaching of legal writing or advocacy.     

Teaching Specialized Legal Research: Administrative Law

In an effort to provide more attention to the legislative and administrative law processes than typical first year legal research instruction can provide, the author created a specialized legal research course on legislation and administrative practice and procedure. Set forth within this article is a very brief background on the substantive law an instructor for a course on this topic would need to know. Also included is an overview of the resources taught, assignments given, and evaluation tools used.     

图书馆法的法律属性及价值取向

厘清图书馆法的法律属性有利于促进图书馆法治建设.图书馆法不宜归属社会法,分析图书馆法的调整对象和调整方法可以得出图书馆法属行政法范畴,其法律属性应当是公法,价值取向应重在公益、秩序和效率等社会价值上.     

Joining the Conversation: Law Library Research Assistant Programs and Current Criticisms of Legal Education

Law libraries should play a greater role in addressing the current crisis in legal education. Proponents for educational reform often view libraries as a vehicle for cost savings, while overlooking the ability of libraries to train students in the skills and competencies that are essential for the practice of law. Libraries’ research assistant programs can be particularly effective in imparting workplace values and lawyering skills beyond the traditional law school curriculum. This article encourages libraries to build on the strengths of their research assistant programs as a substantive way to equip law students with essential skills for today's legal marketplace.     

Teaching Legal Research

ABSTRACT

Questions about the importance and viability of legal research and writing as a part of the law school curriculum are not novel. Confronting these questions head-on, however, is a responsibility that should be handled by law librarians. This article addresses the issue of teaching legal research in an academic law library setting. The reasons why the author has pursued an aggressive approach when dealing with legal research instruction are explored. The methods employed to carry out that legal research instruction mandate are examined. creased as legal research and writing are more and more frequently combined and taught by writing faculty.¹ At the same time, the research skills of law students are on a downward spiral. Howland and Lewis document this plunge in an informative survey.² Law librarian Donald Dunn substantiates this decline and attributes it, in part, to “the increased emphasis in law schools on legal writing,”³ in consequence of which, while “legal writing entered the expressway; legal research took the off-ramp.”⁴ Further, law librarians and legal research have even been pummeled by one of America's most popular authors.⁵ In this environment, it may seem unwise to continue to advance the argument that academic law librarians should teach legal research. Notwithstanding the obstacles that face such instruction, law librarians have an obligation to press forward in this important work.⁶ Legal writing instructors have not demonstrated that they have the expertise to provide this instruc-tion.⁷ Likewise, law faculty have demonstrated that they do not have the interest in tackling the task.⁸ Say two authorities on the subject: “Regular faculty members generally do not teach a research course, and when they do decide to teach one, the results are invariably disastrous. Most law faculty members cannot teach legal research because they do not understand it themselves. If compelled to teach the course, they rebel.”⁹ Perhaps it is time for law schools to cede the stewardship for legal research instruction to those information professionals who have been trained and are qualified to teach legal research instruction -law librarians.¹⁰ And it is time for any reticent law librarians to accept the obligation to take a more proactive approach toward teaching legal research.¹¹     

公共图书馆法对读者权利的法律保护

读者权利就是自由、平等、合法地利用图书馆。从读者利用图书馆权利保护的立法价值导向角度看,《公共图书馆法》立法对读者权利的保护,应从应然权利角度界定读者权利的范围和种类,从法定权利角度规范依法保障读者权益的种种方法和途径,从实然权利角度预测并完成读者权利的实现和救济,凡发生危害读者权利、侵犯读者权益事件时,应依法救济。可见,《公共图书馆法》立法是实现读者权利法律保护的根本价值追求。     

图书馆法调整对象研究

对于图书馆法的调整对象，学术界历来存在不同的认识。本文在评析不同学者认识的基础上，提出了图书馆法调整对象的必要条件、法律特征和具体内容。     

《公共图书馆法》呈缴本制度的立法研究

我国呈缴本制度存在两个法规体系,即出版法规和公共图书馆法规呈缴物制度。从构成要素分析,我国呈缴本制度存在的主要问题有：呈缴本制度的不统一性、呈缴受体的众多性、呈缴者权利和义务的不一致性、呈缴物的复杂和多样性,以及呈缴方法的单一性。《公共图书馆法》应调整呈缴制度管理者、呈缴受体和呈缴者之间的法律关系,呈缴受体之间的关系,以及保障版本的完整收藏保存与保护呈缴者权益之间的关系。应当建立全国统一的呈缴本制度,建立公共图书馆呈缴本收藏体系和呈缴者单一呈缴的制度,以及建立以＂免费呈缴＂为主的多种呈缴方式和鼓励呈缴的制度。参考文献3。     

高校图书馆关于开展法律信息服务的探索研究

高校图书馆虽然具备开展法律信息服务的一些天然优势,但仍需就法律信息服务构成体系进行深入的分析研究,其中包括现代法学理论认知、法律信息服务能力建设和法律信息服务路径选择等.法律信息服务模式是整个体系研究的重点和难点,需要在图书馆的服务实践中不断拓展和完善.     

Reference Services in Law Firm Environments

SUMMARY

Law firm libraries have undergone drastic changes in recent years. This chapter chronicles the evolution in the size of the law firm library and its collection, the changing expectations of law firm library users, and the inventive ways that law firm librarians are fulfilling the needs of the law firm library users with technology and other means. This chapter also explores how law firm libraries can improve service and overall efficiency through limited outsourcing of reference services.     

数字图书馆多重法律地位及版权法律重构

数字图书馆具有多重法律地位,可以作为最终用户、普通ICP、数字传播媒体、作品传播者,也由此对版权法提出了挑战。文章提出基于豁免权的版权法律重构,给予数字图书馆特殊合理使用权和特殊豁免权。     

图书馆法法律部门现状与规划

图书馆法是目前国内图书馆界学术研究的一个热点,研究成果颇多,达成诸多共识.但研究的焦点大都集中在建立一部健全的<中华人民共和国图书馆法>,鲜有对图书馆法法律部门的论述.作者对我国图书馆法法律部门进行了立法回顾和现状分析,论述了加强图书馆法立法的紧迫性和必要性,并就图书馆法法律部门的规划提出了自己的见解.     

Teaching Legal Research to Non-Lawyers

Two law librarians from Duke University have been teaching a course on legal research for non-lawyers since 1986 as part of the Duke Continuing Education program. The course is designed to help the general public understand how the legal system works and how to use legal materials to find the law. This article explores the purpose and organization of the course, and the benefits derived from teaching it.     

从民法学的角度论我国图书馆的法律主体地位

从民法的角度,详细地论证了我国图书馆的法律主体地位,明确了不同类型图书馆在民法中的主体地位,并指出确定图书馆的法律主体地位的意义。     

我国地方图书馆法规比较研究

对我国内地八部地方图书馆法规(北京、上海、深圳、河南、广西、内蒙、浙江和湖北)从内容和形式上进行比较研究,肯定了八部法规的三点成绩并提出了四点不足。     

Self-Help Legal Materials in the Law Library: Going a Step Further for the Public Patron

ABSTRACT

Service to pro se patrons continues to be one of the core issues facing law librarians. The current downturn in the economy makes this issue more critical than ever. This article provides one way to better meet the needs of this growing class of law library patrons.     

美国地方性图书馆法研究——以《新泽西州图书馆法》为例

[目的/意义] 通过对美国《新泽西州图书馆法》进行分析和研究,总结出其对我国图书馆立法建设的启示。[方法/过程] 从图书馆的建立和管理、图书馆网络、图书馆经费、图书馆职员、信息资源建设和其他相关规定6个方面对《新泽西州图书馆法》进行全面分析,对比国内6部地方性图书馆法规,发现国内图书馆法规的不足。[结果/结论] 我国图书馆立法建设应注意以下方面的内容:保障图书馆经费,促进图书馆可持续发展;建立委员会管理体制,实行有效的管理;重视图书馆网络建设,促进资源的共建共享;维护读者权益,提升图书馆服务;规范馆员入职要求,提升馆员素质;完善呈缴本制度,促进政府信息公开;科学制定法律内容,增强法律的可操作性;建立绩效评估制度,促进图书馆的发展。     

May It Please the Court: Law Students and Legal Research Instruction in Prison Law Libraries

According to the administrative office of the U.S. Courts, a significant part of the present docket of federal district courts consists of prisoner litigation. This category of litigation, composed largely of habeas corpus petitions, civil rights suits, and suits related to prison conditions, is often pressed by prisoners whose only legal assistance is the resources and materials available in their prison law library. Although prisoner litigation is an essential means of ensuring that our prisons and criminal justice systems operate within the confines of the U.S. Constitution, these often poorly researched and poorly written lawsuits also present special challenges to the federal courts tasked with processing them. This article explores how establishing programs that involve law students in teaching legal research in prison law libraries could help to both ameliorate the burdens that prisoner litigation places on the federal court system and improve prison law libraries’ ability to provide prisoners with meaningful access to the courts. The article begins by discussing the history of prisoner litigation in federal courts and describes four models of legal research instruction and assistance that have been employed in prisons. Based on the lessons learned from these efforts, the article presents a proposal for a prison legal research clinic that could be established by interested law schools and their librarians, and discusses the benefits to law students, prisoners, and the courts that such a program has the potential to deliver.