TESTBANKSELLER.COM
THE LAW LIBRARY Because legal research and writing is a “hands on” experience, students spend a good deal of time working on written assignments at a law library for most research and writing classes. The assistance and support of the law library is critical to the success of any legal research and writing course. Law Library Tour Most students benefit from a brief tour of or orientation to the law library before assignments begin in earnest. Ask the law librarian at the law library that most students will be using if tours are given. If the law library itself does not offer tours, ask if you can conduct one for your students. Most law libraries are quite accommodating and are happy to provide or allow tours so long as the group is not so large as to be a distraction to those using the law library to work and study. You may be able to schedule a law library orientation on the Saturday before classes begin. The law library is usually quiet at that time, allowing for a leisurely pace and a thorough question period. The only disadvantage to giving the tour before classes begin is that announcements such as “these are the Decennial Digests,” or “West’s Southeastern Reporter is located here” are largely meaningless to new students. On the other hand, simply gaining familiarity with the law library, its reserve room, reference area, and printers is useful.
TESTBANKSELLER.COM Alternatively, you may wish to wait until after the first few class sessions for the orientation. By this time, students may have done a bit of exploring in connection with other classes and may be a bit more familiar with the sets of books they will be shown. If a law library tour is not practical or is not permitted, try to obtain pamphlets from the law library regarding its collection, policies, and hours. Many pamphlets include diagrams or floor plans of the library, which will be useful in pointing out the location of the various materials and sources. If a pamphlet is not available, consider preparing a one-page diagram of the law library layout and include the hours and telephone number of the library. Most law libraries now offer detailed floor plans and virtual tours of their collections and layouts on their websites. If your law library offers one of these virtual tours, require your students to take the tour and perhaps answer a question or two about its arrangement and collections (for example, you could require students to identify where the Pacific Reporter or Black’s Law Dictionary are located). The online card catalog may usually be accessed by students from home, allowing them to plan their research strategies before leaving home. Some law libraries have meeting rooms or conference rooms, and students may be able to use these rooms to meet and confer on projects or assignments.
32
TESTBANKSELLER.COM #1 TEST BANKS WHOLESALER
