Self-Represented Litigation Network
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Academic Libraries

Academic law libraries are different than other libraries for many reasons, including their environments, constituencies served and collections. They are typically part of the law schools they serve and not the university library system. Unlike other types of libraries, the position of law school librarian now typically requires both a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science and a Juris Doctor degree. American Association of Law Libraries, Careers in Law Librarianship, available at http://www.lawlibrarycareers.org/education_lawdegree.html.

Academic law librarians tend to work more closely with law school faculty and students than they do with members of the public. Academic law librarians teach legal research, assist with faculty research and scholarship and support the research and scholarship needs of students.

The Academic Law Librarians Special Interest Section (ALL – SIS) is the largest section of the American Association of Law Librarians (AALL).  See also, The Unique Role of Academic Law Libraries (intended as a Marketing Toolkit for academic law libraries) and the RIPS Law Librarian Blog, published by the Research, Instruction, and Patron Services Special Interest Section (RIPS-SIS) of the American Association of Law Libraries. 

Survey: SRLN Library Working Group National Self-Help in Libraries Survey (SRLN 2019)

SRLN Report (March 2021) Evaluating Library Services to Self-Represented Litigants: A Story of Two Surveys

Report: Law Libraries and Access to Justice. A Special Report of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Access to Justice Special Committee (AALL 2014)

This white paper is the work of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL’s) 2013-2014 Access to Justice Special Committee, chaired by Sara Galligan, and explores how all types of law libraries - including private; state, court and county; a

SRLN Brief: Academic Law Library - Public Library Partnerships (SRLN 2015)

As noted in the American Association of Law Libraries Access to Justice White Paper, legal research instruction has always been core to academic librarianship.

Reports: The Challenges Facing Academic Law Libraries (Various 2014)

There has been a good deal of coverage about the perceived crisis in legal education. To understand the challenges faced by academic law libraries, two recent articles present contrasting views: