Hello from the Wheat Law Library — and Happy Spring!
The days are getting longer, the flowers are starting to bloom and the Law Library is buzzing with fresh energy. In this spring edition of our newsletter, we’ve got updates, tips and a few surprises to help you finish the semester strong. Whether you’re gearing up for finals, polishing off a paper or just looking for a sunny spot to study, we’re here for you.
A Year of Change
This past year has seen many changes. In May of 2024, we began the process of revising our collection with the goal of moving the School of Social Welfare to the third floor. This was a summer-long process that began with identifying books that could be removed from our collection. To help us identify those items in our collection we could part with, an outside consultant, University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Jane O’Connell, Associate Dean for Legal Information and Technology, was hired. With access to our catalog, she was able to identify items that we could eliminate while still maintaining our collection’s core value of supporting the University of Kansas School of Law’s research needs.
With Prof. O’Connell’s final report, we were able to go through our entire collection, marking items for deselection. This took the efforts of not only the Wheat Law Librarians, Melissa and Didem, but also the librarians from across KU’s campus: Kent Miller and Jeromy Horkman who helped us line up the talent, Miloche Kottman who helped us with the cataloging and numerous student workers who spent hours combing through our collection.
Once the collection was labeled, our new collection was loaded onto
portable shelves and stored in the firstfloor commons until their new homes were assembled on the first and fifth floors. During this time, we got to know quite well Annie Handshy, the Project Managing Architect, who guided our every move. Paul and Brandon Wilson from Total Transition Management handled the physical part of our move, including loading books onto carts at the beginning of the summer and reshelving our collection a mere 24 hours before our students’ return.
Settled into a newish space, we began looking for two new librarians to join our ranks. In August of 2024, Trenton Keim became our Circulation & Collections Manager and on April 14, Neal Axton joined us as our new Research & Reference Librarian. Please join us in helping both feel welcome.
In some sad news, Chris Steadham has moved on to other opportunities. Chris Steadham graduated from KU Law in 2004 and Emporia State University School of Library & Information Management in 2007. He started with the Wheat Law Library in 2004 as a Research & Reference Services Attorney, moved up through the ranks and was made Director of the Wheat Law Library in 2016. During his tenure he taught the Kansas Supreme Court Research Practicum, Advanced Legal Research and Topics
in Advanced Legal Research. We wish him well in his future endeavors!
As the school year winds to a close, please do not hesitate to reach out — your librarians are just a question away.
Here’s to a bright and productive spring!
Blake Wilson
Wheat Law Library Interim Director
Meeting the Tides of Change with “Pick and Scan”
Didem Blum Technical Services Assistant
A quick glance at the history of library cataloging makes one appreciate the conveniences of our time. At least those of us who work in library technical services should be grateful that the days when library catalogs were chiseled into clay tablets are long gone. Yet, the search for faster and more efficient ways to ensure our patrons’ access to our collections is ever present.
“The need for e ciency is most acutely felt during times of major change.”
The need for efficiency is most acutely felt during times of major change. The summer of 2024 was such a time here at the law library. Major renovations
taking place at Green Hall meant that a large number of items in our collection were taken off the shelves, to be temporarily housed on a different floor in the building until the end of the construction, before making the journey to their final destination at the library. Ultimately, the changes in the physical world had to be mirrored in our databases. Fortunately, our Integrated Library System Voyager’s “Pick and Scan” feature enabled us to do this with the efficiency required by such a massive undertaking.
“Pick and Scan” is a tool that allows libraries to perform bulk updates on item records as well as their associated holdings and bibliographic records. Using this tool, we can select items by scanning their item barcodes
individually or by uploading batches of record IDs, and then process batch updates to item location, status, copy number, item type and other relevant data. We relied on this feature’s time-saving qualities in updating the location information on thousands of records once the physical relocation of the items was completed. This is especially true for some of our special collections, which, after years of being shelved on the third floor, were moved to the fourth floor as part of the new spatial layout. The technical guidelines provided by the main library proved beneficial throughout the process. Overall, “Pick and Scan” is a useful tool which assisted us in helping our patrons have access to up-to-date information about our collections in a timely manner.
Media & the Law Seminar May 8-9, 2025
Hooding Ceremony May 17, 2025
University Commencement May 18, 2025
Recent Developments in the Law CLE May 22, 2025
What the Librarians are Reading
Melissa Doebele Technical Services Manager
I have just started reading “Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’” by Warren Zanes. The book was a birthday gift from my brother this year. One of my favorite memories is going to a Springsteen concert with my brother in Kansas City. I have often described that show as “three hours of mind-blowing awesomeness.” Zanes’ book describes the circumstances that led Springsteen to make the 1982 album that’s often referred to as “dark” and “surprising.” Springsteen recorded the songs alone, the title track is about Charles Starkweather’s 1958 killing spree, and the artist isn’t even pictured on the album cover. Zanes interviews those involved with the making of Nebraska as well as musicians who were influenced by it. He also lists resources that inspired Springsteen while he made the album, like the 1973 film Badlands and the works of author Flannery O’Connor.
Blake Wilson is reading “How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” by Jenny Odell. He chose the book — the author’s first — because he is trying to be “more purposeful with how I spend my time.” Blake likes the book because Odell doesn’t take an anti-technology viewpoint but provides a plan to help people achieve balance. Blake believes that the book is a must-read and went on to say, “I would encourage everyone to explore their relationship with technology. How do you balance staying connected and informed with being present in your life?”
Trenton Keim is perusing an impressive five books on a variety of topics. The first is “Extinction Events: Stories” by Liz Breazeale. Calling Breazeale an “amazing and talented writer,” Trenton chose it because it made him consider the fragility of life. The second book is “Lies Sleeping” by Ben Aaronovitch. The novel is a part of the “Rivers of London” series that follows a constable and apprentice wizard as he solves crimes. Calling it a “fun read” Trenton is interested in the author’s theories about magic. The third book is “Private Government: How Employers Rule our Lives (and Why We Don’t Talk about It)” by Elizabeth Anderson. Trenton said he’s reading it
because of its subject matter — the rights of workers and “profits over people” in business. Trenton is also looking at “Queer as Folklore: The Hidden Queer History of Myths and Monsters.” The author, Sacha Coward, designs escape rooms for museums. Trenton chose the book for its discussion of history, folklore and literary criticism. Also, he thought the cover was cool. The final book Trenton is reading is “Revealing the Universal in the Specific in A Different World: An Interpretive Approach to a Television Depiction of African-American Culture and Communication Patterns” by Venita Ann Kelley. A Different World is one of Trenton’s favorite shows, which is why this 1995 dissertation by KU alum Kelley caught his eye. “I’m really enjoying learning more about the use and analysis of language through a lens I’m not familiar with.”
Didem Blum is reading “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig. She commented that this book has been recommended to her more than once since she started her library job. The books in the “Midnight Library” of the title represent alternate universes. When the main character picks a book, she is transported into her “self” from that universe to see how her life may have changed if she had made different choices. Didem
mentioned that she enjoys books where characters get to live several lives, creating a story within a story. She also appreciated that the main character is guided by a librarian, and liked that librarians are compared to “soul-enhanced search engines.” Referring to the book as an “augmented stocktaking exercise,” Didem has liked what she’s read so far and is interested in the story’s ultimate outcome.
Neal Axton is reading “The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred” by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein. Neal decided to pick up the book after attending the author’s presentation at the Hall Center for the Humanities. While this work starts with sub-atomic particles, it expands to include the role of dark matter in the creation of the Universe and the movement of galaxies. Returning to life on Earth, the book illustrates how hierarchies and cultural blinders can limit the ability of scientists to shift paradigms — to accept novel information. Challenging topics like quantum mechanics and cosmology are made more accessible with allusions to works as disparate as Moby Dick, Star Trek and hip-hop culture.
The Spring of 2024 Brought a Different Kind of Weeding
Blake Wilson Wheat Law Library Interim Director
As I mentioned in this issue’s Director’s Corner, we did a lot of weeding in 2024. But what exactly is weeding and how is it done?
Weeding, or deselection, is the process of removing materials from a library collection to ensure it remains accurate, useful and relevant to users. Like pruning a garden, effective weeding helps a collection thrive by clearing out outdated or unused items and making space for new resources. While specific criteria may vary based on the type of library, the following considerations were used in the weeding decisions at the Wheat Law Library:
1. Content Accuracy
Materials that contained outdated or incorrect information were candidates for weeding. Superseded editions were removed when more current versions were available, unless the older edition held special significance.
2. Usage
Low circulation is a strong indicator
for removal. Items that hadn’t been checked out in five to 10 years were deselected, unless they were unique or in high demand. Duplicate copies were also weeded.
3. Relevance to the Collection
Books that no longer support the library’s mission, curriculum or community interests were removed. If a subject is no longer taught or a topic has fallen out of favor, its materials were phased out, unless it held some type of special significance.
4. Availability Elsewhere
Many items were removed that were easily obtainable through interlibrary loan or that exist in more accessible digital formats such as Westlaw, Lexis and HeinOnline. We also evaluated how widely available items were through shared collections or consortia.
5. Special Considerations
A significant number of materials were retained despite meeting other weeding criteria. Local history
resources, works by faculty, rare titles and historically significant publications warranted preservation.
6. Condition
While not included in the list of items to weed, there were books that were physically damaged — such as those with torn pages or broken bindings — that were removed, when replacement copies were available. Also, outdated formats like VHS tapes or floppy disks were pulled unless they had archival or historical value.
Guided by collection development policies and frameworks like the CREW Method (Continuous Review, Evaluation and Weeding), librarians approach deselection with care and intention. Thoughtful weeding helps maintain a vibrant, user-centered collection that reflects current needs while preserving essential resources for future use.
18. What’s your biggest regret? Not being born into generational wealth in late capitalism.
19. Would you want to travel to Mars? No, all my stuff is here.
20. What is your usual coffee order? Americano, hot or iced.
21. If you could rain on someone’s parade, whose would it be? I hate parades so I would rain on them all.
22. What do you wish you knew at age 16? You’re still a minor, go have some fun and commit some petty crimes.* Work will always be there but your access to free time and the whimsies of youth will not. Permanent records in high school are siloed at best and only exist within the confines of that school. Learn as much as you can, read widely, travel, exercise.
23. Where was the last place you vacationed? Tahoe.
24. What’s one city you’ve always dreamed of travelling to? Sunnydale, California.
25. Favorite food? Legumes in most forms.
26. Favorite dessert? Dark chocolate cookie with walnuts topped with fleur de sel.
27. What are your four favorite movies? Empire Records, Last Holiday, The Fifth Element and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
28. What’s the one talent you wish you had? Telekinesis.
29. What do you usually eat for breakfast? Sad dad oatmeal or Greek yogurt with berries and pistachios.
30. What’s one thing you had to learn the hard way? Dental work is expensive.
31. What unpopular candy opinion do you have? Salmiak licorice is delicious.
32. What is something that you think more people should know? There is nothing patriotic about the Patriot Act.
33. What is your go to karaoke song? “From a Balance Beam” by Bright Eyes.
*Trenton is not advocating that an individual commits any crimes, this is purely hypothetical in nature.
Returning to Wheat Law Library
Please join us in welcoming Neal Axton, L’98, as a Reference & Research Librarian. As a 3L, Axton staffed the Wheat Law Library reference desk on evenings and weekends, which inspired him to obtain his master’s degree in Library and Information Science from UCLA in 2006. In 2017, he became the Government Information Librarian at KU’s Anschutz Library. Prior to that, Axton spent a decade working at several law libraries in the Twin Cities and served as president of the Minnesota Association of Law Libraries. Axton’s research interests include administrative law, public health law, disaster law and firearms law. Axton recently co-authored an article on “red flag” laws with three sociologists. “‘I Know It When I See it’: Public Opinion on Removing Guns from Compromised Owners” (2024) (DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2024.100698). Axton is married to Sarah Deer, L’99.
