Law Librarianship in Academic Libraries: Best Practices

118 Pages·2015·1.9 MB·English

by  Yemisi Dina

Law Librarianship in Academic Libraries
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Law Librarianship
in Academic Libraries
Best Practices
Yemisi Dina
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Notices
Knowledgeandbestpracticeinthisfieldareconstantlychanging.Asnewresearchand
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to:
the memory of my parents who made my education
possible even when they were not around;
to my husband Adekunle Dina who made law librarianship
possible with his support and advice;
to my children Demi, Dami and Dasola who continue
to endure the journey with me;
to All who believed in me
and helped make things happen.
List of figures and tables
Figure7.1 OrganizationalChart:AutonomousSystem 76
Figure7.2 OrganizationalChart:CentralizedSystem 76
Figure7.3 Modernstudyspace 80
Figure7.4 AdjustableandEfficientShelving 81
Table1.1 Examplesofadministrativestructureinacademiclawlibraries 8
Table4.1 Legalcitationstyles 53
Table5.1 ElizabethMoysclassificationschemeforlegalmaterials 57
Table5.2 KFclassificationschememodifiedforuseinlawlibrariesinCanada 59
Table5.3 SwissInstituteclassificationscheme 63
Table6.1 Academiclawlibrariesandsocialmedia 71
Table6.2 Bloggingplatforms 72
About the author
Yemisi Dina is a law librarian with extensive experience working in academic law
libraries. She is currently an Associate Librarian/Head of Public Services at the
Osgoode Hall Law School Library, York University, Toronto, Canada. As an active
member ofprofessional law library associations she has participated at their confer-
ences, meetings and professional development activities. She is a recipient of the
Janine Miller Fellowship of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries and the
CanadianLegalInformationInstitute.
Acknowledgement
Theauthorwillliketoacknowledgethefollowingindividualsandorganizations:
1. AmericanAssociationofLawLibraries
2. British&IrishAssociationofLawLibraries
3. CanadianAssociationofLawLibraries
4. CharteredInstituteofLibrariesandInformationProfessionals
5. Mr.TomArban(TomArbanPhotography,Toronto,Canada)
6. Mr. F. Tim Knight (Associate Librarian/Head of Technical Services, Osgoode Hall Law
School,Toronto,Canada)
7. Ms Janice Modeste (Law Librarian, Hugh Wooding Law School Library, Trinidad &
Tobago)
8. Mr. Sadri Saieb (Head Librarian, Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, Lausanne,
Switzerland)
9. Ms Virginia Corner (Manager, Communications, Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto,
Canada)
Prologue
Thefivelawsoflibraryscience
Booksareforuse
Everyreaderhis[orher]book
Everybookitsreader
Savethereadertime
Thelibraryisagrowingorganism
S.R.Ranganathan
Libraries are reservoirs of strength, grace and wit, reminders of order, calm, and
continuity, lakes of mental energy, neither warm nor cold, light nor dark in any
libraryintheworld,Iamathome,unselfconscious,stillandabsorbed.
GermaineGreer
Introduction
Law librarianship is an area of specialization in librarianship. While training to
become a librarian, courses are taught within a short period on legal information
resources but not much is said about the practices and what to expect. This book is
a guide for librarians who want to pursue a career in academic law libraries. It
provides basic information on the best practices in academic law libraries and
serves as a guide for library school students by detailing what they can expect if
theychoosetoworkinalawlibrary.