Librarian Director as Manager of Union Employees

Over the past 5 years, directors of law libraries have been retiring at a rapid rate and this pace is only increasing. As a result, many new law library directors may have relatively little exposure to a director’s responsibilities before assuming the role. Academic Law Library Director Perspectives: Cases and Insights is a valuable guide and learning tool for any prospective or new law library director looking to learn the ins and outs of the position. Each chapter starts with a case study to provide a realistic context in which to examine the subject, followed by analysis and commentary by experienced directors. This case study focuses on the academic law library director’s role as a manager of union employees at the support staff level. It explores the ways in which union rules and the collective bargaining agreement control the contours of almost every aspect of the union employees’ work life, while explaining some ways in which directors may exercise discretion or use the terms of the collective bargaining agreement to benefit and protect union workers. The case study emphasizes the importance of clear communication, creative thinking, and a detailed record supporting and reflecting managerial decisionmaking

The Evolution of the Reference Interview

While the reference interview remains the vehicle whereby librarians are able to understand the information needs of users in order to assist them, the ways in which the reference interview is conducted have changed with time and technology. This chapter provides a brief history of the evolution of the reference interview, from the face-to-face transaction to the current trends of e-mail and chat software mediated reference interviews, and examines application of these current trends in virtual reference services. While the methods of conducting the reference interview have certainly changed, the ultimate goal of meeting the information needs of the user remains constant. Reprinted by permission of the publisher

Getting Law Students into the Law Library: The University of Michigan succeeds with a plan

The goal of the University of Michigan Law Library\u27s Awareness Campaign was to raise the consciousness of law students about the many ways in which librarians here can help them succeed as students now and as lawyers later. We sought to increase the number of students using the library. We wanted to get them physically into the library, and, once here, we wanted to increase students\u27 use of the library\u27s services: reference and circulation services, research consultations; our multitude of web-based resources, including our online research guides, book sts, and tutorials; group study rooms, etc. Not onl did we strive to create and promote a campaign throughout 2011 that raised students\u27 awareness but we also un -erstood and purposefly set ot t create tools that we cou co n tinue to use over many years

Getting Law Students into the Law Library: The University of Michigan succeeds with a plan

The goal of the University of Michigan Law Library\u27s Awareness Campaign was to raise the consciousness of law students about the many ways in which librarians here can help them succeed as students now and as lawyers later. We sought to increase the number of students using the library. We wanted to get them physically into the library, and, once here, we wanted to increase students\u27 use of the library\u27s services: reference and circulation services, research consultations; our multitude of web-based resources, including our online research guides, book sts, and tutorials; group study rooms, etc. Not onl did we strive to create and promote a campaign throughout 2011 that raised students\u27 awareness but we also un -erstood and purposefly set ot t create tools that we cou co n tinue to use over many years

A Guide to Searching Cyberspace Law Online

Cyberspace law is an umbrella term that touches on and encompasses many different areas of the law, including Internet, intellectual property, cybercrime, e-commerce, and privacy, among others. Cyberspace law includes aspects of United States law, in addition to foreign, comparative, and international law.1 Today, legal researchers in cyberspace law can enhance their search capabilities with web-based resources, including primary and secondary materials. Many of the resources discussed here are available freely on the Internet. For those resources that are licensed and networked, researchers may access them only at subscribing law libraries, and not remotely.

A Guide to International and Foreign Legal Research Online

Today, legal researchers in foreign and international law can enhance their search capabilities with web-based resources. However, a few caveats about doing foreign and international legal research on the web include: 1) not all material is available through the web, and the web is not always the fastest way to obtain materials; and 2) the web can be a good source of current and recent information, however, often older legal materials are not found on the web

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION ACCORDING TO THE COUNCIL OF TRENT

On April 8, 1546, the Council of Trent in its Fourth Session on Scripture and Tradition decreed, “This truth and rule [of the Gospel] are contained in written books and [et] in unwritten traditions.” With this dogmatic statement, Trent affirmed that the Gospel (i.e. revelation) is contained in both Scripture and Tradition, in contradistinction to the Protestant claim that it is contained in Scripture alone (i.e.sola scriptura). Yet, the decree remained rather ambiguous on exactly how revelation is contained in both of them, begging the question of what the Council affirmed, if anything, about the nature of the relationship between Scripture and Tradition. As a result of this ambiguity, this topic has become a focal point of theological debate among Catholic scholars. The debate reached its climax in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Interestingly, the original draft of the decree, presented on March 22, 1546, was more explicit on this matter by stating, “This truth [of the Gospel] is contained partly [partim] in written books, partly [partim] in unwritten traditions. For reasons unknown, however, the Council Fathers changed the partim-partim formulation to a simple et in the final decree. Much ink has been spilled trying to explain this change. In fact, in many regards, the change has become the principal issue of the debate over the relationship between Scripture and Tradition, since understanding the intention behind the change sheds significant light on how to correctly interpret the definitive decree. As will be shown below, different understandings of the change have led to rather drastically different interpretations of the Tridentine decree, resulting in Catholic theologians coming to theologically incompatible conclusions regarding the relationship between Scripture and Tradition

The Evolution of the Reference Interview

While the reference interview remains the vehicle whereby librarians are able to understand the information needs of users in order to assist them, the ways in which the reference interview is conducted have changed with time and technology. This chapter provides a brief history of the evolution of the reference interview, from the face-to-face transaction to the current trends of e-mail and chat software mediated reference interviews, and examines application of these current trends in virtual reference services. While the methods of conducting the reference interview have certainly changed, the ultimate goal of meeting the information needs of the user remains constant. Reprinted by permission of the publisher

A Guide to U.S. Intellectual Property Searching Online

The disadvantage to searching intellectual property online, patents in particular, is that the available online databases do not encompass the array and extent of tools needed to conduct a comprehensive search.7 Essentially, you can search patents on the web, but you cannot do a true patent search. A complete patentability search must include not only U.S. patents, but foreign patents and all relevant non-patent literature also (all resources together are referred to as ‘‘prior art’’ for an invention).8 These additional resources can be researched at the Patent Office Library in Washington D.C., and, on a more limited basis, at a local PTDL. The fact that an online search of your invention did not produce any relevant patents, therefore, does not mean that your invention is patentable.