LISP Newsletter

Volume 2000, Number 1
February, 2000
 
 

In this issue:

• From the Chair
• Minneapolis 2001 - Programs Needed
• Philadelphia 2000 - Programs Accepted
• Philadelphia 2000 - Program of Interest
• SCALL's Approach to Legal Research Workshops
• SWALL's Non-Librarian Program
• Legal Research for the Non-Law Librarian
• Spectrum Profile Coming
• Book Review
• Book Review
• Membership Brochure
• LISP Officers & Committees

Greetings, LISP members, and welcome to another newsletter!  As the calendar flipped over to 2000, it became time to set our sights on the Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, and you'll see several related announcements about that in this issue.  Before we forget entirely about 1999, however, there's one SIS event from that year that I'd like to share with you in this message.

In October, the chairs of each SIS got together for a 2 day, leadership development retreat in Chicago.  This inaugural retreat was the brainchild of current AALL President Margie Axtmann, who hopes to make these a regular thing.  Among the specific objectives of the retreat was developing an agreed upon vision for the SIS's, including a Statement of Impact & Statement of Purpose.  In the Statement of Impact, SIS's were characterized as organizations wherein "[E]nergized and committed members benefit from creating and participating in a strong, multi-faceted, vibrant community that is the core of their professional lives."  The agreed on purpose of SIS's centered on the idea of the SIS as a "self-selecting group of members with a common interest, which serves as a forum, contributes educational value, serves as a resource for expertise, advocates and provides leadership growth opportunities."  This is certainly a wonderful vision for all SIS's, and I invite you, as LISP members, to help make this vision a reality for our own SIS!
 

The retreat also gave chairs a chance to discuss some of the more day-to-day SIS matters, and in general provided a real boost of energy for those in attendance.  A big message from the retreat that I'd like to pass on to all of you is that AALL values heavily the contributions made by SIS members, and is quite interested in, and committed to, our ongoing development. To all LISP members, I say thanks for making us such a viable group, and full speed ahead!
 

I hope you enjoy the articles in this issue, and take time to consider volunteering for one or another opportunity presented in the various announcements.  Thanks once again to the the Newsletter Committee for generating another great issue, and special thanks to David McFadden for collecting the majority of articles found herein.
 
 

It's not too early to start thinking of what programs you'd like to see at the Annual Meeting in 2001 - and proposing them!

One of the biggest roles the SIS's play is in educational programming for the annual meetings. Our SIS has never been lacking in good ideas, but the the Annual Meeting Program Selection Committee's deadline for proposals can easily sneak up on us. Generally, proposals need to be submitted by about the third or forth week following the Annual Meeting.

AALL makes proposal "how to" guides and forms available at www.aallnet.org each year, around the time of the Annual Meeting. These materials are also available at the Annual Meeting and upon request to AALL Headquarters.

For now, I'd like to encourage folks to start thinking of program or workshop topics, prospective speakers, length and format, so we can be ready when the proposal submission deadline rolls around. Our listserv would be a great place to get help from each other in fleshing out ideas.

Folks can also call me for more information about how to propose a program.

I'm hoping to have an Educational Committee in place for LISP by the Annual Meeting, to help collect and refine proposals as needed. Any persons interested in being on this committee should please contact me at 541-346-1673 or anesbit@law.uoregon.edu.
 
 

LISP is a co-sponsor for three programs that have been accepted for the 2000 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia:

Gateway to Legal Information: Building Partnerships with Public Libraries
(submitted by Kathy Carlson of SCCLL, and co-sponsored by LISP)

In our continuing quest to provide the general public with better access to legal information, one ally is often underutilized - the public library.  At times, resources needed by persons asking legal questions are on the shelves of the public library or accessible on a library computer from reliable Internet sources.  However, public librarians are not always comfortable using legal materials or are concerned about stepping over the line between legal reference and legal advice.  A public librarian will offer insights into some of these concerns and a law librarian who has conducted workshops for public librarians will respond with suggestions on types of training and partnerships that have proven beneficial in overcoming these concerns.  A law librarian who has been very innovative and successful in placing programs in her local public library will share her experiences overcoming some of the political and institutional reluctance that may hinder the development of cooperative arrangements.  Level: Intermediate
 

Greeting Our Lay Patrons at the Gateway: Who Are They and How Can We Help Them?
(submitted by Kelly Browne of RIPS, and co-sponsored by LISP)

Lay patrons are a fact of life in any public law library.  Although they are not our "primary patrons," they often need substantial reference assistance and want law librarians to tell them "what the law is."  Three panelists and the "Ready for the Reference Desk Players" will discuss and use skits to illustrate the different types of lay patrons, the types of information they typically are searching for, what services law libraries have traditionally provided for them, the limitations placed on law librarians by unauthorized practice of law statutes, the positive duty to assist them imposed upon depository librarians, and how technology has changed the ways in which we can assist them.  Level: Basic
 

Taking the Lead in Pro Bono Work
(submitted by Camille Broussard and Karen Westwood of SR, and co-sponsored by LISP)

The tremendous need for free or low cost legal services in the U.S. challenges law librarians to fully participate in pro bono work.  It is not just legal research on the "big" cases that count, but the myriad efforts from sharing pocket parts and pathfinders to opening a firm library's collection to a nonprofit partner.  Librarians will share with each other, and with representatives from local non-profit organizations, the many practical ways librarians have been providing pro bono services for years, and will gain an understanding of both the need for such services and the many opportunities to help fill the need.  Level: Basic
 
 

Law librarians interested in increasing access to legal information to the public might be interested in attending Program D8 (Monday, July 17, 2000--10:15-11:45) at the 2000 AALL Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.  Entitled " Widening the Gateway to Legal Information for Non-Lawyer Researchers : Working with Public Library Reference Departments", the program will focus on developing partnerships with public libraries and on offering basic legal reference training to public reference departments in order to match people with the legal materials they need as early and easily as possible.

Public library reference departments receive a high number of legal reference questions. Some are asked for merely informational or educational purposes while others are asked by actual pro se litigants.  Many of the basic resources needed by persons asking these questions are on  the shelves of the public library or are now available from reliable internet sources accessible from library computers.   However, public librarians who may be concerned about stepping over the line between legal reference and providing legal advice or who are unfamiliar with legal resources will often refer a client to the nearest law library rather than use resources available at hand. This referral usually results in some inconvenience for the client since public libraries usually have more user friendly hours and convenient locations than law libraries.

Rich Lindberg, a public librarian from the Philadelphia area, has been recruited to offer some insights into some of the concerns felt in a general reference setting and to offer some suggestions as to what assistance law librarians can provide to public reference departments.

Often when law librarians discuss the issue of providing assistance to or creating partnerships with public libraries to increase public access to legal information, they forget to ask the public librarians what assistance they really require and what kind of training they would really like to have.  Lee Warthen, Assistant Director and Head of Collections, Building and Maintenance at the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney Law Library, will follow with information about training programs that have been offered to empower public librarians to handle basic legal reference in Utah. Several years ago, Lee, a past president of LISP, helped develop the LISP pamphlet "How to Research a Legal Problem : A Guide for Non-Lawyers" [published by AALL].

To round out the discussion, Mary Ann Archer, Reference Services Manager for the Law Library at William Mitchell College of Law (until recently Director of the Dakota County Law Library, Hastings, Minnesota) will offer insight into the some of the innovative programs she succeeded in placing in the Dakota County public libraries. She will share some of her experiences in overcoming political and institutional reluctance that can hinder the development of cooperative arrangements.
 
 

Every few years since the 1980's the Southern California Association of Law Libraries Public Access to Legal Information Committee (PALI) has been asked to put on a workshop on legal materials for non-law librarians. The workshop always contains the factual material, an overview on federal and California law. If the workshop is a full day program then sometimes a hands-on component is added.

The bulk of the sessions are rather traditional covering an overview of legal research then more specific talks on federal and California materials. Over the years, this has varied but always covers sources that public librarians should know about even if they don't have them in their own libraries. This involves a description of basic federal and state case law and statutory materials plus basic finding aids like digests. Many public librarians in California are very familiar with Nolo Press, now Nolo.com, books but they always are good to cover anyway. Now, of course, Internet sites are included but always with the caveat that not everything is on the Internet. At least, things aren't always free!

We wind up the half-day program or the morning session of a full-day workshop with several skits that Jan Goldsmith and Linda Maisner have developed to describe how NOT to give legal advice when answering reference questions. The attempt is to try to make the skits as humorous as possible, mainly to keep people's attention at the end of the day, since we were usually last. First there is a brief introduction about how not to give legal advice, and then an example by comparing it to being a medical librarian, with a person describing all their symptoms: we explain that we'd never say to the person, oh, it looks like you have cancer! In each skit, we give the "wrong" way to deal with the question, then give the "correct" way; we also urge the person in each skit to seek real legal advice. We have had varying reactions: sometimes we get a lot of laughs, and even a person telling us once we should get our SAG cards! Other times we get barely a snicker; it depends on the audience.

If the workshop is a day long, then the afternoon often will consist of an opportunity for the public librarians to try their hands at working through exercises similar to those in a library school or law school legal research class. Usually the problems have a public orientation, e.g. social security, discrimination, crimes, etc. Also, one common problem involves references to sections of popular named acts and converting them to the U.S. Code citation. The purpose is to alter more theoretical problems to more pragmatic ones that the public librarians may experience. In recent years the hands-on component has not been included. Partially this is for logistical reasons. It is hard enough to drag sample volumes to a public library for show and tell but to have enough volumes to properly perform the exercises really requires access to a law library. We have had the workshops at universities with law schools such as the University of San Diego. Another possibility that we haven't really explored is finding a public library near a county law main library or branch. In any case, the workshops seem to be successful with and without the hands-on sessions.

Often the workshops are done in cooperation with a public library system. In this way, the promotion, local arrangements, food for breaks/lunch and registration are done by others and the SCALL members merely come in and present the workshop. Although fees are usually charged, SCALL has not gotten money from the workshops. They have been done as a public service. SCALL PALI members will get reimbursed, however, for expenses and maybe get a free lunch. Now that California is beginning to form multi-type library networks, SCALL and other law library groups may be able to work with them as well in training non-law librarians.

Another aspect of the workshops is that once they have been created it is fairly easy to adapt them to specialized uses. We have taken the workshops "on the road" to various types of locations over the years beyond a public library audience. David McFadden sometimes alone and at other times with other PALI members has gone to prison. Workshops similar to those done for public librarians have been done for prison librarians at California Youth Authority facilities as well as for inmate library assistants and regular inmates at a federal prison. Another adaptation has been the work with a SCALL subgroup a few years ago to train paraprofessionals from law firms and elsewhere. Although SANDALL has formed as a separate AALL chapter there are still San Diegans that are active members of SCALL. Nonetheless, SANDALL members have put on their own classes for public librarians. This is another way that the SCALL workshops have flourished.

SCALL has been successful with the workshops over the years and does them as requested. Usually there is an informal, unplanned rotation where the committee will take off a year or two from doing the workshops and then do them again. This way enough demand is built up to justify another wave of workshops. All in all the workshops are good way to train non-law librarians and share are knowledge with others.
 
 

The Southwestern Association of Law Libraries' Legal Information Services to the Public Committee sponsors "Legal Research for the Non-Law Librarian the morning before SWALL's annual meeting which traditionally begins with the opening luncheon on Thursday. In approximately three hours, the SWALL members serving as speakers provide basic information on answering legal reference questions from the general public, using the statutes and reporters of the state where the meeting is held, locating legal information on-line and deciphering legal citations. Attendees frequently state that they would like more in-depth coverage and coverage of additional topics, but in the time allotted it is difficult to cover just the basics.

Brochures describing the program are included in members' registration packets. Copies are mailed to the public, academic, and selected special libraries in the metropolitan area of the host city. The number of copies in the mailing depends on the size of the library. The number of attendees is set by the size of the room. SWALL subsidizes the program but a minimal registration fee is charged to help obtain a more accurate head count. Late and on-site registrations always occur, but so far even though space has been tight, we've never turned anyone away.

Light refreshments of juice, coffee, and danish are served during the registration period and during the short break mid-morning. Different speakers are used each year and they are encouraged to prepare handouts.

Last year's speakers all used PowerPoint, and the evaluations uniformly requested that the speakers distribute copies of the PowerPoint screens. Attendees also receive a copy of LISP SIS brochure and one of the LISP SIS bookmarks. Attendees are asked to complete an evaluation form at the conclusion of the program, and the response rate has been exceptional, not to mention very positive. Based on the comments on the evaluations, it is clear that there is a definite need for this type of program. Those attending are so grateful for information that law librarians take for granted. Their gratitude compensates for all the times that we have perhaps felt under appreciated by our own institutions.
 
 

In November, 1999, Coral Henning (Sacramento County Law Library) and Jean Willis (San Diego County Public Law Library) presented a seminar entitled "Legal Research: the Internet Challenge" at the California Library Association (CLA) Annual Conference in Palm Springs, CA. The seminar was requested by the Academic Librarians section of CLA, and over thirty librarians from academic and general public libraries attended. As we discovered, developing a training program on how to do legal reference and research for non-law librarians, who may or may not have had any legal research exposure, can be problematic. Adding the element of legal research on the Internet presented an even greater level of challenge.
 

Coral has made numerous presentations on legal research for the non-law librarian, and she has discovered that a major consideration is to keep it simple and do what makes sense in the time allotted. For example, Jean has assisted in day-long seminars, where a depth and breadth of focus can be achieved, and attendees may even be given simple practice assignments that help them to understand the topics under discussion. At the CLA conference, however, we were given the typical ninety minutes to deliver our message in as meaningful a way as possible. Coral was interested in keeping it practically focused, so that these non-law librarians could return to their libraries with some meaningful tips, tricks and a foundation understanding of what encompasses legal research.
 

In a ninety minute seminar, it is best to narrow the focus as much as possible. We warned attendees at the beginning of the session that this would cover the basics only, and we encouraged them to contact their local county law libraries for assistance with more complex issues. We clearly stated that they should not feel responsible for attempting to answer complex legal questions. We also gave a quick review of unauthorized practice of law (UPL) to stress the point that even well-seasoned law librarians do not attempt to answer all questions that come our way.
 

Just prior to the seminar, the Council of California County Law Librarians had sponsored a poster session about the California County Law Library system. It was helpful to have that PR in advance of the seminar. This made the attendees feel that they had additional resources, and they felt more relaxed about not learning everything in ninety minutes. Our advice, then, is to consider the length of time available and discuss "up front" just how much the audience can expect from the session.
 

The audience will not appreciate a warp speed pace and an overall sense of being rushed to cover everything. Instead cut down on the topics covered. For example, in a short time frame do not attempt to cover both state and federal materials. In our presentation, we gave a brief overview of the federal and state systems with references to how they relate to one another. Then Coral focused on state information only.
 

Use several real life examples; most of us can draw on experiences from the reference desk. Personalize it to the group being taught. For example, if the program is oriented to bio-medical librarians, use health care examples. General public librarians often get questions from the lay public about landlord/tenant issues, neighbor law, dog law, bankruptcy, traffic fines, small claims, etc. Avoid controversial topics, such as abortion or even family law. The hypothetical example could end up being a "hot button" for some attendees, and there is the risk of alienating the audience. Coral recommends avoiding family and child law because too many people have their own experiences, whether good or bad, with family law matters. Because it is often an emotional issue, the audience may want to express their own opinions and provide personal examples, which both uses up valuable time (while not really improving the learning experience) and distracts everyone from the main issue of how to do accomplish legal research.
 

Coral provided excellent handouts, many of which were photocopies of the actual pages from legal codes and treatises. For example, Coral worked extensively with the California Codes and made copies of examples from the code books and advance sheets. She posed a hypothetical situation and showed the audience the different ways in which they might begin looking for some type of information to provide their library patrons. Since most general public and academic libraries will own their own state codes, rules and regulations, this is something that can be examined - even if cursorily - in a seminar of this type. Don't be afraid to bring the books, too. There's nothing like some "show and tell" to get people involved.
 

CLA was unable to provide us with a live connection to the Internet, so we also used screen prints from free State government sites providing similar information to what is available in the state codes. Even using screen prints, the audience was quickly able to see how much more difficult it can be to research certain types of information on the Internet rather than accessing materials from the printed codes. Coral also reviewed issues concerning updates, pocket parts, the importance of currency, etc.
 

Have fun with it! Pop quizzes are Coral's personal favorite, and she likes to toss out a piece of candy as a prize for correct answers. A popular quiz is: Name all seven current California supreme court justices. After a resounding silence, ask if anyone knows five names, four names, and so on until a lucky guess wins the candy. Get participation whenever possible. Another useful approach is to brainstorm alternate search terms when showing attendees how indexes work.
 

Boost confidence: the law should not be intimidating. When posing a hypothetical situation, avoid using legal terms and concepts first. Remember that most non-law librarians are like the lay public; this terminology is unfamiliar to them. Try the obvious, instead. A sample hypothetical can be about a patron complaining about a neighbor's tree that overhangs their property. They want to know what their legal rights are in terms of getting the tree limb cut back and/or getting paid for cleaning up the leaves in Fall. The first search term, in this case, would simply be "tree."
 

Especially in a short program, it is useful to recommend that the attending librarians create their own legal referral list and keep it up to date. Invite them to include local, county and state bar association lawyer referral telephone numbers, as well as any specialized low cost legal programs in their areas, such as law student legal clinics, tenants unions, pro bono programs, etc. If possible, recommend that they also visit and form a relationship with their local public/court/state law library.
 

This is a quick overview of a quick seminar. Hopefully, it provides some useful tips on how to provide a training session of this type. Our seminar was very well received because it was practical, to the point and covered just the right amount of information. We did have some time for some questions at the end. Most of the questions were concerned with how far they, as non-law librarians, should pursue a legally oriented question. The time available to clarify these issues rounded off a dynamic session. Our recommendation is to allow enough time to prepare such a session; consider hypothetical questions well; and determine the best examples to use as hand-outs. Explaining how to do legal research on a give hypothetical both in print and on the Internet becomes easier once the presenter determines how she or he would do it themselves at their Reference Desk. Final tip: enjoy yourself!
 
 

For the next several months, AALL's Spectrum magazine will be including in its SIS News section a profile of one SIS per month.  LISP will be profiled for the June 2000 issue, which means we must submit the profile by April 25.  The profile should be about 250-300 words.  Content might include:  how our SIS began, how it's changed over the years, the biggest challenges facing our members now and in the next 5 years, what's cutting edge in our areas of interest, ethical or value questions facing our constituency, what we would like prospective LISP members to know about us, etc.  -  any (but not all) of the above.  Think about what you would ask someone about an SIS you aren't a member of and answer the questions you would have.

Although I'd be happy to write the profile for our SIS, I would like to open this opportunity to another member(s).  This is a great opportunity for us to showcase ourselves and what we care about!  If you are interested in doing this, or if you have suggestions for the profile's content, please let me know.
 
 

Any librarian who has ever provided legal information services to the public knows how easy it is to brush up against that line separating what we do from what is done by licensed attorneys. As the literature on this subject makes clear, where that line falls is open to debate, not just among ourselves, but in the courts as well. I am pretty comfortable with my understanding of our work, but not everyone would agree with me. What happens if someone needs a formalized standard?
 

In addition to adding to the discussion on what is, or is not, unauthorized practice of law (UPL), Arant and Carpenter provide two sample disclaimers prepared by the staff at Texas A&M University Sterling C. Evans Library College Station. As the authors point out, having a published disclaimer may not solve all of the problems that arise when dealing with legal questions, but it can provide some guidance and support.
 

Whether or not you agree with the limits imposed by the policies/disclaimers is up to you. For another take on librarians and UPL, Arant and Carpenter point to an article by Madison Mosley Jr., "The Authorized Practice of Legal Reference Service," 87 Law Libr. J. 203-209 (1995). Mosley seems to require more of us when he states: "pointing to sources of information or showing a person how a source is used and walking away is not reference work" (p. 203).
 

On the surface, this seems to be what I, for one, do all day. The question is, when, exactly, do you walk away? Is it enough to point to the material, in essence providing only directional assistance? Probably not. If I choose to go further by showing how the resource is used, have I crossed the line into law practice? Hardly. If I do as Mosley suggests and "work with users in navigating the tool until cases, statutes, or other materials that appear to the user [emphasis mine] to satisfy the inquiry are located" (p. 209) am I pushing it?  I hope not, because this is, in fact, how I work. As a librarian, I will evaluate, purchase, classify, locate, and teach an information resource, but I will not interpret its subject matter. Having something similar to the Evans Library disclaimer around might serve to explain why.
 
 

LISP needs an updated membership brochure.  I'm looking for a creatively minded member to design us a new one!  AALL will pay for the design costs, and LISP will pay making copies of the brochure.  We need to have the final design by sometime *next* December, so it would be nice to have a mock-up to discuss at the Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

If any member would like to undertake this project, or if you have suggestions for content/design, please let me know.  Thanks!
 
 

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