Instructional services provided by law librarians are designed to support the law curriculum. A law librarian is embedded in each upper-level law class with a research component. Guest lectures or training sessions on specialized topics and research methodologies, research guides, and tutorials are only some of the services the Law Library can provide to support your course.
Providing the resources needed to support the curriculum. This includes providing reliable access to comprehensive and specialized legal research sources, both print and electronic. Faculty are encouraged to recommend new titles for inclusion in the Collection. The Law Library can also assist with making items available to your students through Course Reserves.
Providing expert instruction in the use of legal resources and legal research methodologies. The Law Library plays an integral role in legal research instruction in the LARW program and assists in preparing students for effective, ethical and responsible participation in the practice of law by leading efforts to increase research competency. Librarians are embedded into every upper-level course with a research component and can provide or coordinate guest lectures or trainings on specialized research topics or methodologies, create online tutorials and library research guides, and offer insights on how to leverage legal technology in the classroom.
Providing support for scholarship and research. In addition to providing traditional research support, the Law Library supports scholarship by assisting faculty in maximizing and tracking citation impact. Librarians also provide research fellows with an orientation to library services, including individualized research training in your area of law or research interest.
Providing education and training on emerging legal research technologies. The Law Library actively seeks to keep faculty informed on the latest developments in legal technology impacting both the program of legal education and the practice of law.
The Law Library facilitates in-class trainings with major vendors like Westlaw and Lexis, and provides specialized in-class training on other resources. Law librarians conduct a majority of first-year legal research instruction, familiarizing 1Ls with a wide variety of traditional and emerging research tools.
Trainings and lectures in upper-level and clinical courses often focus on advanced research techniques and practice resources like sample forms, drafting assistants, and local law. The Law Library is also the best source for training on legal technologies such as artificial intelligence and alternative legal databases. As these tools become more relevant--even essential--to practitioners, the Law Library can partner with law faculty to ensure that Regent Law students are practice ready.
