Academic Law Librarianship
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Ashley Ames Ahlbrand
Working in an academic law library, the primary patrons are the law school’s faculty and students. However, these may not be the exclusive patronage of the law library. Particularly in the case of a public law school library, the law librarian is likely to serve patrons outside of the law school as well. These patrons come from a diversity of backgrounds, with a range of legal research needs. Working with non-law school patrons can present a number of challenges but also many opportunities for the law library. This chapter will discuss these challenges, offer possible solutions, and highlight unique opportunities when working with non-law school patrons.
- Non- law school patrons experience legal research access restrictions not felt by law school faculty and students.
- Strategic collection development decisions can facilitate the needs of non-law school patrons.
- Despite (and because of) the challenges they pose, working with non-law school patrons helps the law library better understand and address the community’s legal needs.
Non-Law School Patrons
But first, what do we mean by non-law school patron? In short, this includes any patrons beyond the law school faculty, staff, and students. This chapter will primarily discuss four main categories of non-law school patrons: self-represented litigants, non-law school students and scholars, attorneys and judges, and law school alumni.
Self-Represented (Pro Se) Litigants
Parties who engage in court proceedings without the assistance of legal counsel are known as self-represented or pro se litigants. They frequently seek legal research assistance at their local libraries, and their resource needs include the same types of practice-oriented materials, such as legal forms, that attorneys often seek when preparing a case. However, as these parties typically lack any formal legal training, their needs are also far greater because they may need additional assistance understanding the legal issues involved in their case and how to proceed. Self-represented litigants may seek out assistance in county law libraries or the academic law libraries of public law schools.
Scholars & Students
Scholars and non-law students may require occasional legal research assistance, depending on their research focus. It is not uncommon for university courses to have a natural legal cross-over; for example, faculty and students in the journalism department may study the first amendment and defamation law; and those in the business school may be interested in corporate law. Similar to self-represented litigants, these non-law scholars often lack a legal background and may require both introductory and advanced resources to understand their research topic.
Members of the Local Bench & Bar
Because they have a legal background, attorneys and judges may seem much more similar to law school faculty and students than the non-law patron groups mentioned in the two previous sections. H