INFO - Seattle University Law Library Newsletter

"New Orleans Spring 2007" Exhibit

This fall, the law library unveiled the "New Orleans Spring 2007" exhibit. Located on the library's second floor, this collection of photos depicts the experiences of 25 Seattle University law students who assisted with the post-Katrina effort during spring 2007. Working through the Student Hurricane Network (SHN), students were placed with a variety of organizations – the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, the Neighborhoods Planning Network, the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice, and the People's Organizing Committee. Most of the Seattle University law students spent the majority of their time on a SHN organized Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailer survey project. Groups of students were assigned to different neighborhoods and surveyed FEMA trailer residents in those neighborhoods to help identify legal issues that the residents might be facing, connect the residents with resources and attorneys that could assist them, and collect data on how many trailers were left in each neighborhood. The exhibit includes quotes from the students describing the scenes and a map of where each photo was taken. Seattle University Law Library would like to thank law student Ty Rogers who not only took these photos, but also matted and framed the selected photos. Additional thanks to reference librarians Tina Ching and Stephanie Wilson for designing and implementing the exhibit layout.

As a part of the SU Law School’s 35th Anniversary celebration, the law library is leading a project that will help secure the school’s historical legacy for the future. This two-pronged effort includes the development of a records management plan that will be implemented across the law school and ensure that important documents in any format are saved for the future. A secondary task will focus on efforts to recover and preserve the law school’s Tacoma history through the texts, photographs and memorabilia surviving from the school’s early days.

To accomplish both objectives, Kristin Cheney, Associate Dean for Library and Educational Technology, convened a committee consisting of Stephanie Wilson, Bob Menanteaux and Sheila Underwood. The committee drafted a proposed plan for creating both a records management program and a law school archive. The cornerstone of the plan is to hire a consultant to design a records management plan and guide the creation of a law school archive.

In June, the committee submitted the proposal to Dean Testy. After meeting with the committee, the Dean approved the proposal. The committee was expanded to include Stephanie Zimmerman and Heidi Mair. The committee drafted and posted an RFP to hire a consultant.

We are also implementing a plan to collect retrospective historical materials. Bob Menanteaux is leading this effort, and has prepared a chronology of the school's history with a research plan for obtaining materials. This plan involves contacting selected current and former faculty members, staff and alumni. Another aspect of the plan is to review the holdings of archives which may have material about the early years of the law school.

The library would appreciate your assistance in either returning or checking out library materials in your offices. We are currently working on reviewing and replacing missing books in the collection so we need our records to accurately reflect our inventory. If you have a number of items that you would like to have retrieved or renewed, please call the circulation desk (extension 4220).

The law library enjoyed the opportunity to join our colleagues from Lemieux Library for an informal gathering at the law school this summer. On July 31, librarians and library staff met to share information about projects each library is involved in and plans for future projects. Lemieux Library personnel discussed their participation in AJCU virtual reference, upcoming laptop checkout, digital photo project, and the remodel of the Lemieux library and construction of the McGoldrick Learning Commons. Law library personnel shared information about the Asynchronous Advanced Legal Research class taught by Kerry FitzGerald and Barbara Swatt Engstrom, involvement in the CLE "How Lawyers Can Use the Internet More Effectively,” our collaborative learning workshop series, the library orientation for law school staff, and an ongoing archive project related to the 35th anniversary. To facilitate further communication between the libraries, regular staff meetings will be attended by a delegate from the other library.

If you’ve ever had to interlibrary loan a book then you’ve been helped by Susan Kezele. Susan is the supervisor of the Circulation Department and DDC.

What does your job entail?
“I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the circulation desk, the DDC, and the interlibrary loan department. Each semester I hire and train as many as 35 student assistants. Working with them is the best part of my job. Public services relies heavily on the dedication of our student workers. Interlibrary loan provides me the opportunity to interact with librarians all over the country. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to track down an obscure book or foreign language periodical for a patron. I am the person to see if you have a complaint about services, policies or facilities. I attempt to provide answers and explanations that satisfy the needs of law library patrons. I enjoy the challenge of acquiring new skills or techniques through workshops and seminars that prepare me for the changing expectations of public services.”

How long have you been at SU?
“I have been with the university since 1979. I worked for one year at the original law school location on South Tacoma Way before moving to downtown Tacoma and finally to Seattle University.”

On an average day what types of people do you interact with in the library?
“The circulation desk is the primary service point for the library. It is the first stop for students, faculty, alumni and visitors to the library so I interact with a variety of patrons throughout the day. I check-out books and explain overdue policies to anxious law students, discuss course reserve and syllabus requirements with law faculty, direct visiting attorneys and alumni members to various areas of the collection, show visiting dignitaries to the Alaska reading room, train undergraduate students on the use of the library catalog, and deal with a variety of main campus and law school staff.”

What are your favorite things to do when you are not working?
“I love movies. I frequent the Grand Cinema in Tacoma, the Blue Mouse Theater in my neighborhood, and I subscribe to Netflix. I am attracted to all things ‘food.’ While I don’t actually cook, I do collect cookbooks, devour food blogs, faithfully read Dining Out in the New York Times, and won’t miss Top Chef. I enjoy the company of friends and my daughter who turned 21 in October. Not to encourage the librarian stereotype, but I am an avid reader and visit my local public library every Friday.”

You’ve seen the law library go through many changes in the transition from the Tacoma campus to Seattle. The Tacoma law school was in a building that was formerly a department store. What is the thing you remember most about the library in the Tacoma days?
“The escalator, the mezzanine, the loading dock open to the alley, Bob [Menanteaux]’s office cave, Lei Seeger, the makeshift computers, a closed reserve area that was actually closed, high ceilings, ‘kardex,’ Anita Steele, wordstar, a card catalog with cards, the ancient freight elevator to the dirt basement, the ‘annex,’ and the faculty library.”

Lavender Law
Reference Librarian Stephanie Wilson co-presented a workshop about GLBT research at the National Lesbian and Gay Law Foundation Lavender Law Conference in Chicago. The workshop, entitled “Law Librarians Speak Out: Conducting LGBT Specific Legal Research,” described subject specific publications, blawgs, and social science research. The other panelists were law librarians Stephanie Davidson, Head of Public Services and Assistant Professor of Library Administration at the University of Illinois College of Law, and James G. Durham, Head of Public Services at the Gould Law Library of Touro Law Center.

NW ILL
Susan Kezele attended the 2007 Northwest Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing Conference in Portland on September 20-21. The theme of the conference was “ILL 2.0: Tools to Meet the Demands.” Discussions involved the participatory nature of interlibrary loan, communication within the ILL community, article distribution, and licensing of electronic resources. As interlibrary loan becomes less about moving books and more about resource availability and distribution, 2.0 technologies provide innovative alternatives for reaching patrons. Participants shared experiences with 2.0 technologies in the ILL environment. There were opportunities for vendor demonstrations and software interest group discussions.

LLOPS
On October 25, Kerry Fitz-Gerald co-presented a session at the Law Librarians of Puget Sound (LLOPS) first annual Fall Professional Development Workshop (“Talking the Talk: Communicating Knowledge and Value”). Kerry’s session, entitled “How to Train Without Having to Show Up: Tools & Tips for Taking Your Training Virtual,” explained how law libraries are using Adobe® Captivate® to create online tutorials. She discussed how she is using Captivate® and what future plans she has for using the software.