Striving to be better.

Because I am still a relatively new librarian and teacher, it is very important to me to continue to learn and improve wherever possible. In a few weeks I’ll be attending the Teaching the Teachers Conference in Philadelphia, that “will focus on evidence-based instructional strategies and instructional design.” I’m very much looking forward to not only expanding my knowledge of best teaching strategies, but also getting to meet my fellow academic librarians, many of whom I already interact with online, both through committee work and contributing to this blog.

In addition to my teaching and reference responsibilities, last Spring I took over responsibility for supervising our Library Research Assistants. In that role, I interviewed, hired, supervised, and coordinated four rising 2L law students over the course of the summer. Because of construction at the law school, we were entirely remote. One tool I used to stay connected to each RA individually was to have a regularly scheduled weekly Zoom session, so that I could ensure that we maintained good communication, that I got to know each of them as individuals, that they felt they had good support, and so that I could address any concerns. The conversations varied wildly! Some days we would discuss an ongoing project, and any difficulties that the RA had encountered. Other days, we might discuss a court hearing that they had observed as a judicial extern. Sometimes we would talk about a newly released movie. Supervising the RAs was very rewarding, and I am incredibly proud of their accomplishments and their bright futures.

This summer I will be supervising seven rising 2L students who will be working, mostly remotely, as Research Assistants. I want to make sure that I am supervising them to the best of my abilities.  So, I started taking a look at what the internet has to offer as to the best principles or practices to being an effective supervisor.  While there were many takes on this subject, one that I thought was helpful is this “Strategies for Helping Supervisors Succeed with Student Employees” from the University of Colorado at Boulder, which includes ten strategies, a few of which resonated the most with me:

• “Be Flexible. Understand that student employees are students first and employees second. Though it is important to have high standards on the job, it is also important to be flexible to accommodate academic obligations.” Most of the RAs have other responsibilities this summer, and will be back in classes in the Fall. They will be interviewing with law firms in July and thereafter. They all have family obligations. While being an RA is important, it must take a back seat when important conflicts arise.
• “Be a Team Player. As a team leader, develop and nurture the unique contributions of each team member. Take a global perspective.” During interviews, I always ask if the prospective RA has any particular area of interest. Moreover, each of the RAs has an interesting background with experience in different areas. Trying to match an RA with the best assignments for them just makes sense!
• “Give Recognition. When you see a student ‘going the extra mile’ or ‘persevering through difficult situations,’ acknowledge this . . . People need to feel appreciated.” This is something it is too easy to forget – we all thrive on praise, appreciation and acknowledgements.
• “Be an Educator. To the degree that we each contribute to the lives of others, we are all educators. How can you contribute to the education of your student employees?” As a long-time attorney, and a newer law librarian, I like to convey any insights I may have to both my students and the RAs I work with.

Are there other things that will help me be an effective supervisor? No doubt, but I feel like this is a good start and a good approach to another successful summer.

Reference:

Student Employment, University of California at Boulder, Strategies for Helping Supervisors Succeed with Student Employees, https://www.colorado.edu/studentemployment/sites/default/files/attached-files/strategies_for_supervisors.pdf

Slow Librarianship in the Age of Generative AI

I recently re-read Julia Glassman’s 2017 essay The Innovation Fetish and Slow Librarianship: What Librarians can Learn from the Juicero in which Glassman analogizes the Juicero startup blunder with the race to innovate in libraries and academia. Juicero is often cited as an example of Silicon Valley startup absurdity that exposed a negative feature of capitalist culture – namely the focus on innovation for innovation’s sake. In short, Juicero raised $120 million in startup funding by selling the “innovative” idea of an internet-connected machine that would make fresh juices from packets of pre-chopped fruits and vegetables. The $700 Juicero Press machines would squeeze Juicero’s proprietary packets and make juice. The machines were wifi enabled and there was an accompanying app. Investors jumped at the opportunity to invest in a new wi-fi enabled technology during the internet-of-things (IoT) hype. Ultimately the technology was a solution to a non-problem – the packets could easily be squeezed by hand to make juice faster than the Juicero Press – and Juicero went out of business.

Glassman compares the Juicero Silicon Valley startup blunder to the race to innovate in libraries and academia, where the actual needs of users may be lost in the constant drive to innovate. This drive may be motivated by a variety of things including institutional culture; personal motivations; and promotion/merit structures that incentivize bigger, more impressive (but not necessarily better) accomplishments every review cycle. Innovation for the sake of innovation may take the form of “flashy projects that take more time, resources, and money to do what we could have done with something much simpler.” Glassman promotes slow librarianship as a means of countering the negative aspects of the continual drive to innovate and produce more. Rather than support the constant development of new ideas that may be solutions to non-problems, slow librarianship prioritizes “reflective and responsive practices” that help create “services that are deeper, more lasting, and more human.” Meredith Farkas has developed the slow librarianship concept further and highlights that it is a “values-driven practice.”

It was interesting to revisit Glassman’s 2017 essay in 2024 when there is so much focus on using new advanced generative AI tools to innovate all aspects of our work. The current rapid pace of technology developments makes it feel like we must innovate or get left behind. It’s easy to feel pressure to use or create new tools using advanced technologies before we’ve even identified the problem the tools might fix. In doing so we might fall into the Juicero trap of creating a solution to a non-problem or, even worse, we might create new problems. This is a time when we should slow down, be more reflective about our work, rather than reactive, and ensure we’re doing things that will actually benefit users.

Pausing and asking a few simple questions can help us slow down.

Identify the Why:  

• Am I doing this because there is an identified need?
• Is this the best solution for an identified need?
• Do I feel pressured to implement a project or new technology even though there isn’t an identified need?

Identify Who Benefits:

• Who will benefit from this project or new technology?
• Does this project or new technology primarily benefit users?

Be Realistic:

• How much time will it take to effectively implement this project or new technology?
• Will users use the project’s deliverables or new technology?
• How much will it cost (in both time and money) to effectively implement this project or new technology?
• Are there existing or simpler solutions?

Be Prepared to Assess:

• How will the effectiveness of the project or new technology be measured?
• If the project or new technology isn’t effective, are there opportunities to alter or change course? 

Navigating Legal Reference Questions Without a Legal Background

In the days leading up to my first day working at the Thurgood Marshall State Law Library (TMSLL), I was most worried about understanding and answering questions from legal professionals. They went to law school and are coming to ME for legal research help?? I have no legal background and felt an overwhelming bout of imposter syndrome.

TMSLL gets a lot of email reference questions, so we often correspond through our reference request management system called RefTracker. Once we draft a response to patrons, it goes through a second review before being sent to the patron.

If you’re new to Law Library Land, don’t fret! I started at 0 and am learning every day. The biggest lessons I’ve learned are to be patient, pursue learning opportunities, and never be afraid to ask for help.

How to Ask for Help with Confidence

While you can read all the textbooks in the world and take hours of trainings, nothing is more valuable than learning on the job. If a question comes up and a voice in your head says, “That question is way too hard; let’s find an easier one!” it may be the perfect opportunity to try it out if you are feeling up for it. I am lucky that my colleagues are willing to help me when I encounter challenging reference questions.

I try to always be transparent and clear when asking for help. I’ll say something along the lines of: “I’ve never encountered a question like this one. I’d like to try to answer it, but I may need some help – is it okay if I ask for your feedback as I work through it?” or “I feel stuck, how would you approach this question?”

Depending on what system your library uses for reference questions, I find a lot of value in what I affectionately refer to as the “graveyard,” which is comprised of past messages the library has received with our replies. The graveyard is searchable and is a great source when I am having trouble starting a draft.

Be Resourceful

Resources are your best friend. Depending on how you learn best, publications can be helpful to provide something beside you as you conduct legal research. If you are an auditory/visual learner, you may wish to seek out webinars or in-person training opportunities.

Helpful Publications/Websites:

• Research Guides – Thurgood Marshall State Law Library (TMSLL)
• Maryland Public Library Toolkit – TMSLL
• Legal Research Guides – University of Maryland
• Research Guides – Library of Congress
• American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Member Libraries – AALL

Helpful Trainings:

• Law on the Frontlines: Legal Reference for Public Libraries – TMSLL
• Civil Legal Justice: The Crucial Role of Libraries – Webjunction
• Libraries Prepare to Answer Civil Legal Questions in Times of Crisis – Webjunction
• Understanding Eviction and How Libraries Can Help – Webjunction
• U.S. Law Webinars – Library of Congress

In addition, be sure to keep in mind local organizations that specialize in assisting the public with legal issues.

Take Care of You

As librarians, we are often the ones the public turns to when they’ve exhausted their options. We see people at their worst with little to no understanding of the law and/or court procedures.

If you feel like you’ve used your entire brain after a day of law “librarian-ing,” be sure to take some time to take care of yourself to recharge. Get some fresh air, stare into the void, do anything/everything that makes you feel happy.

We can do it!

The “Why” of Learning Legal Research

Why?  Any parent cringes at that word – all those tries to explain to a toddler the “why” then be met only by another “why”….over and over.  Try explaining to a stubborn tween “why” they need to wear a bike helmet or go to bed at a decent hour.  But maybe these kids are onto something with all the “why.”  Just look at education theory.

Why did I start thinking about this topic?  I am currently designing an International and Foreign Legal Research course for fall 2024 which I will teach for the first time.  Going through the process of getting my course organized got me thinking about the “Why” of legal research.   How can I tie the research skills I will cover to what students need in law school and beyond?

I could not help but think back to what a student in my Advanced Legal Research class last year told me – a friend commented to her – Why are you taking ALR?  You won’t have to do research as a lawyer.  Ugh.  How do you combat this attitude?  And demonstrate the value of learning research to law students?

After doing a bit of research on the topic, I saw that many experts in education theory point out that learning happens when you show why that learning is important.  For example, when the instructor can show the students the personal relevance of the material they are teaching.  (See Making Learning Personally Meaningful: A New Framework for Relevance Research).

Additionally, this Gen X instructor found the section of OK, Zoomer: Teaching Legal Research to Gen Z, (at page 293) particularly relevant: “Explain How Each Skill, Topic or Resource will be Used in Legal Practice.”

So, I saw that I need to tie the legal research skills and topics I am teaching to the students’ personal goals, to their success in legal practice.  While technology is always changing, and Large Language Models (LLMs) are now entering into legal research, robust and efficient legal research skills remain vital in legal practice.

Now that I have (hopefully) shown you the value of “Why” when teaching, what are some ideas to get there?

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Here are some tactics I have tried:

• Experience: Talk about the students’ experience with legal research on the job so far: What was useful? Did they encounter any difficulties or challenges?  In my Advanced Legal Research course, I typically distribute a survey about student research experience as pre-work for the first class meeting.  As a follow up, we have an in-class discussion about students’ successes and challenges.  Reflecting on their own experience with legal research and hearing from their peers helps tie ALR’s content to real legal practice.
• Cost: I always talk about the cost of legal research, as well as the value of the students’ time when they become a billing attorney.  Even if the research resource is free, an attorney’s time is not.  Students need to be efficient with their time as well as with any database charges.  Students sometimes think that if a database is not charged back, it does not matter how long they are searching.  But it does. I try to impress the value of learning efficient and effective legal research strategies that work across platforms and legal practice areas.  In the case of legal practice, time really is money.
• Employers: Let the hiring partners speak.  I use some charts from legal industry reports to demonstrate that the materials or topics we cover in class are important in practice, according to actual lawyers at law firms.  I like to show infographics from the Bloomberg Law School Preparedness Report  2022 (see page 4) to illustrate use of various legal research sources by attorneys in practice such as administrative sources, practice guides and general search engines.  Show the students that lawyers do use legal research tools in practice.
• The Real World: I talk about my experience working with summer and new associates, and that they do in fact conduct quite a bit of research. Drawing on my experience as a law librarian at a large law firm, I explain how you can leverage the law library and librarians at the firm.  Consider asking law firm librarians you know to weigh in and maybe even make a class visit.  According to the Bloomberg Law School Preparedness Survey 2023 (at page 8), over half of law students have never consulted a law librarian.  I emphasize to the students to get in the habit in law school of leveraging this free resource which can help them be more efficient with their time.  When they enter practice, their law firm librarians know a lot about the firm’s practice areas and even about each partner’s preferred legal research resources.  If you leverage law librarians as a resource, you are already ahead of the majority of your peers.  At law school as well as in practice, it only makes sense to contact the librarian experts.
• Engage: This great article Engaging Students on the First Day and Every Day by Michael Roberto gives more tips on how to engage students in the classroom.  Tip #3 ties into explaining the “why,” which the author refers to as the “so what”: Articulating the “so what?” before you hand out an assignment—and including compelling examples that reinforce the subject’s relevance—motivates students to do the work well, not just for the grade.

For most law librarians, explaining the “why” of learning legal research is not too tough.  As a group, we believe in the value of the legal research skills we teach.  So, let’s share the “why.”  What have you tried to help students see the “why” of learning legal research?

Lessons from Student Feedback

Law students are preparing to storm the law school exits and rush off to their exciting jobs and externships all over the world. Before they go, some students take the time to fill out the online “Student Ratings” forms about our teaching. I look forward to reviewing those ratings after every semester, but I have been surprised both by negative and even positive comments that seemingly has come out of the blue. I have also been disappointed by the lack of constructive feedback from students. Here are my thoughts on student feedback and tips on eliciting constructive comments from students.

Over the years, I have learned the following from student feedback:

1. Expect different feedback styles from international students versus U.S. students. International students tend to be more respectful and less specific in their comments. This results in feedback that is positive but not helpful for improving teaching. U.S. students tend to be more blunt and specific but not always realistic in their expectations for a course.
2. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Between my Canvas page, informational slides at the beginning and end of each class session, and emails I send out to students, I think I do a good job of keeping my classes informed. But no matter how many times I tell students something, someone has missed the information. Students appreciate almost tedious levels of communication, and it reflects well on feedback forms.
3. Manage student expectations by overplaying the difficulty of assignments and grading. Once I made the mistake of telling students that the final exam was straight-forward, and they could all do well on the exam if they studied the material from the slides and the review sessions. The students did well, and I had a typical exam curve. Later, at least two students commented in the ratings that I mislead them about the level of detail expected on the exam and the grading was too hard. I was surprised—this is law school after all, and the exam instructions state that highest points are given for the most complete answers. I now tell students that my exam requires detailed answers, and I will be very picky with my grading. The following year I had the exact same exam grade results but no negative comments on the ratings. I had managed student expectations much better.  
4. Be real.  Students respond positively when I share both my career highs and lows with them. They appreciate seeing teachers who have made mistakes but still find themselves happy in their careers. That honest sharing has reflected favorably in reviews.

Here are my tips for eliciting constructive feedback:

1. Don’t rely solely on end-of-semester feedback forms. In my experience, these forms elicit only very general feedback, making them of limited usefulness.
2. Include feedback questions on assignments, quizzes, and exams. I started including questions about specific assignments and learning activities on exams and quizzes a couple years ago, giving students easy points for a thoughtful response. Students have been open with me about what has been helpful or not helpful and why. I have gotten useful feedback from both U.S. and international students this way.
3. Give students the opportunity to assess their progress along the way. I give students several chances throughout the year to share how confident they feel in their research skills, what they want to improve, and what they still have questions about. This can be done anonymously or not.
4. Administer pre-tests and post-tests. I give a similar assignment at the beginning of the school year and again right before summer. This method allows students and me to see their growth objectively. The results are always rewarding.