SEAALL 2018: Friday, April 13

8:10 – 9:10 am
TEDDY Talks
(15-20 minutes each)

Parthenon D

Building a Digital Index for South Carolina Court Forms, Eve Ross, University of South Carolina; Aaron Glenn, University of South Carolina
Our public patrons representing themselves in life-altering court proceedings often struggle to navigate the official site containing SC court forms, sccourts.org. We can't redesign a site that isn't ours, but we can create our own, user-friendly digital index as a guide to the primary source.

Sources in Veterans Law, Allison Fentress, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
A quick introductory look at the sources most commonly used in the growing field of veterans law, focusing on the decisions of the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Now It’s Time for an ILS Change, Nothing Stays the Same, Carol Collins, University of Tennessee
The talk will outline steps and considerations in selecting an ILS with a review of findings from our recent investigation of selected systems. Traditional and open source options will be covered.

Using Upper Level Legal Research Labs to Develop Marketable Students, Katie Hanschke, North Carolina Central University; Lance Burke, North Carolina Central University
Based off of two years of experience teaching legal research labs, speakers will discuss how they implemented the program, their experiences with the program and how students have benefited from it.  Speakers also will discuss the potential pitfalls in course creation, grading and satisfying ABA requirements. (Parthenon D)

Bottom Up Goal-Setting: Creating Actionable, Assessable, and Achievable Goals for Your Library, Rachel Purcell, University of Florida; Sarah Lewis, University of Florida; Gail Mathapo, University of Florida
The importance of goal setting grows as law libraries are increasingly scrutinized and evaluated by their parent organization based on whether they contribute to the organization’s goals or mission. This process is usually decided by the top library management and announced to the rest of the organization. However, input from librarians and staff can provide valuable information in defining those goals. Obtaining buy-in from these stakeholders as well as support from upper management is essential in accomplishing your library’s goals and ensuring they are aligned with the organization’s mission and vision. This session will teach you the basics of strategic planning applicable in any type of law library and transferring those goals from a piece of paper into action. (Crescent Room)

The Changing Landscape of Digitization and Preservation, Sharon Bradley, University of Georgia
Digitization and the preservation of digitized materials presents many complex legal questions, like ownership, copyright, and conflicting laws. Digital materials may be subject to many levels of legal restrictions like copying, storage, access, and modification of content. The speaker will probably confuse things even more by talking about some issues that are coming over the hill including legally enforceable duties of stewardship, loss of academic scholarship and legal authority, and arguments against strict enforcement of copyright law. It’s also time to move from collaborations, because they’re good idea, to legally established partnerships, because they have teeth. (Parthenon E)

[DEEP DIVE – 10:20-noon] Diverse Interactions: Race and Implicit Bias in the Legal Research Classroom, Shamika Dalton, University of Florida; Phebe Huderson-Poydras, Southern University; Tiffany Camp, Moderator, University of North Carolina
Presented on behalf of the SEAALL Diversity & Inclusion Committee and the Black Caucus of AALL
If possible, please bring a laptop or tablet to the session.
Persons of color are acutely enduring unfair treatment through police brutality, racial gerrymandering, and the threat of deportation. In this context, the continued use in legal research instruction of race-neutral "Jack and Jill" client names and traditional, non-controversial dog-bite hypotheticals misses an important opportunity to address these topics. The first part of the program will explore ways to incorporate race into our legal research hypotheticals, address any fears that librarians may have with discussing sensitive issues in the classroom, and provide techniques to facilitate the classroom conversation regarding sensitive issues.
Furthermore, literature shows that implicit biases based on race and other minority statuses play a role in student perceptions, behavior and teacher evaluation outcomes. However, there is no manual to detail how managers should handle these unique issues. The second part of the program will provide a forum for librarians and managers to have an open dialogue about how they can support the needs of minority teaching librarians. (Crescent Room)

Start with a Framework: Teaching Students How to Evaluate New Technology, Katherine Van Hest, Casetext; Roger Skalbeck, University of Richmond.
The explosion of new companies and products within the legal technology space has made it is imperative for law schools to teach tomorrow’s attorneys not just how to use current tools, but also how to evaluate new ones. This program will present a framework that teaches students a concrete and systematic way to think about and evaluate new technology. Program will discuss instructor’s experience teaching the framework. (Parthenon D)

Changing the Tune for Special Collections, Linda K. Tesar, College of William & Mary; James Heller, College of William & Mary; Stephen N. Blaiklock, College of William & Mary
Staff at the Wolf Law Library spent years researching and recreating the library of America's first law professor, George Wythe. Wanting to share their research and show off the collection electronically, they chose MediaWiki as a platform to create the online encyclopedia, "Wythepedia." This program will give highlights of the project, addressing the process and benefits of using and customizing MediaWiki to promote a special collection. Other topics to be covered include decisions regarding digitization, how to represent the collection, and selecting content to enhance the user's experience and to promote legal history scholarship. (Parthenon E)

[DEEP DIVE – 10:20-noon] Diverse Interactions: Race and Implicit Bias in the Legal Research Classroom, Shamika Dalton, University of Florida; Phebe Huderson-Poydras, Southern University; Tiffany Camp, Moderator, University of North Carolina
Presented on behalf of the SEAALL Diversity & Inclusion Committee and the Black Caucus of AALL
If possible, please bring a laptop or tablet to the session.
Persons of color are acutely enduring unfair treatment through police brutality, racial gerrymandering, and the threat of deportation. In this context, the continued use in legal research instruction of race-neutral "Jack and Jill" client names and traditional, non-controversial dog-bite hypotheticals misses an important opportunity to address these topics. The first part of the program will explore ways to incorporate race into our legal research hypotheticals, address any fears that librarians may have with discussing sensitive issues in the classroom, and provide techniques to facilitate the classroom conversation regarding sensitive issues.
Furthermore, literature shows that implicit biases based on race and other minority statuses play a role in student perceptions, behavior and teacher evaluation outcomes. However, there is no manual to detail how managers should handle these unique issues. The second part of the program will provide a forum for librarians and managers to have an open dialogue about how they can support the needs of minority teaching librarians. (Crescent Room)

The Experience of Hurricane Maria in the University of Puerto Rico Law School Library: Dealing with Disaster, Samuel Serrano-Medina, University of Puerto Rico; Lizette Lopez-Gracia, University of Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. As a result of this impact, our island was transformed immediately in all dimensions.  Our surroundings, our personal and professional lives were heavily impacted with the destruction Maria left behind. This conference will offer information about our experience before and after the hurricane; how the University of Puerto Rico, the Law School Library and its staff dealt with this problem; how help was received and what had to be done to keep things running; from damage valuation and insurance claims to personnel management. Our experience can help others to be prepared when a disaster hits. (Parthenon D)

Oral Histories: Unlocking Our Community's Voice, Franklin L. Runge, University of Kentucky
What is the role of oral histories in a law library setting? Why should you collect oral histories? What are the best practices for conducting an oral history? How much are the start-up costs? What software makes sense for this project? This program will focus on the basics of an oral history project. My discussion will center on a small collection of alumni oral histories completed at the University of Kentucky. I want to encourage librarians to capture their community’s history in audio files. Getting people to talk is step one. The real work comes once you have the oral history recorded. Making the data available to researchers in a responsible manner is the journey. (Parthenon E)

[DEEP DIVE: Fake News] Fake News, Post-Truth & Information Literacy, Carol Watson, University of Georgia; Caroline Osborne, Washington & Lee University; Kristina L. Niedringhaus, Georgia State University
What is fake news? How did it arise? Why does recognizing fake news matter? How do we create information literate consumers in the legal community? This program will discuss the intersection of fake news and information literacy theory. We’ll provide an overview of the rise and proliferation of fake news including highlights of historical instances; a discussion of the impact of failing to detect fake news; and strategies for creating successful information literacy programming. (Parthenon E)

Research Conferences: Creating Responsive and Motivational Experiences, Franklin Runge, University of Kentucky; Alyson Drake, Texas Tech University
Conferences are a tool regularly used by writing professors to provide individualized feedback to law students, but by the time these conferences take place, many students are already frustrated in their attempts to undertake the analytical process inherent to the legal research process.  Holding research conferences prior to writing conferences helps students to navigate this analysis and provides many other benefits to students, faculty, and the law school.  This program will describe those benefits of holding research conferences with students; give recommendations for how to set the timing, tone, and agenda for research conferences; and present interactive ideas for activities to make these conferences successful experiences for both students and instructors. (Parthenon D)

[DEEP DIVE: Fake News] Legal Information in the Era of Fake News: Introducing Students to Evaluating Sources, Ellie Campbell, University of Mississippi; Bette Bradley, University of Mississippi
In an era of "fake news," how do we introduce students to the basics of evaluating legal information presented in news sources and social media? Law librarians from the University of Mississippi will discuss the successes and failures of their "Law in the News" assignment from the 1L legal research class, including how we have adapted the project to better address the current media landscape. (Parthenon E)

Justice For All: Courts and the Community: A Civic Education Initiative of the Federal Courts of the Second Circuit, Adriana Mark, U.S. Court of Appeals Library; Nattawan Junboonta, U.S. Court of Appeals Library
Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit launched the Justice For All: Courts and the Community Initiative in 2014. The Initiative aims to increase public understanding of the role and operations of the courts and bring courts closer to the communities we serve. This program will highlight the Justice For All Initiative as a cutting-edge example of a library-centric civic education strategy. The program will show how law libraries can leverage their skills and resources to power the success of vital civic education initiatives undertaken by libraries in their communities. (Parthenon D)

Building a Class that Flies: Creating an Experiential Research Class Out of Donated Parts, Thin Air, and Teamwork, Jane Bahnson, Duke University; Wick Shreve, Duke University
We designed an administrative law research class that met ABA experiential learning criteria. For the curriculum committee, we detailed the topics and materials, the work students would produce, and the hours students would spend outside the classroom. We created a law firm, issued law firm electronics, assigned billing software, and taught for two hours once a week. We planned to use half the class for teaching research, the other half for individual student project work. We will explore resources to mine, obstacles that arose, and how to stimulate student engagement when creating a new advanced research class from whole cloth. (Parthenon E)

Mental Health - Stigma, Stereotype, and Safe Spaces in the Workplace, Victoria Capatosto, Howard University
Stigma and stereotyping often prevent those who live with mental health issues from seeking help, and everyone else from understanding them.  Law librarians, our colleagues, and our patrons who reveal their depression, anxiety, or other brain disorders struggle with pervasive scrutiny regarding competence, ethical considerations, or inequities of power.  This presentation identifies best practices for creating safe spaces in the legal profession where open dialogues about mental health concerns and suicide prevention can take place. (Parthenon D)

4:10 – 5:10 pm
TEDDY Talks

(15-20 minutes each)

Parthenon D

The Blind Leading the Blind, Susan deMaine, Indiana University; Rena Stoeber, Indiana University
Teaching a 1L who is totally blind has been both frustrating and inspiring. We will relate our experience teaching and adapting our 1L one-credit legal research class for this student. Our story will include what we have learned about the accessibility of Lexis Advance and Westlaw, how screenreaders work, dealing with campus assistive technology offices, countering doubters, and other challenges. 

"My Tuition, My Library": Helping Law Students to Share Public Spaces, Tarica LaBossiere, Nova Southeastern University
Many academic law libraries are not exclusive to law school students, but are also open to members of the general public. This invites students from other studies (undergraduates, medical students, etc.) to utilize the law library facilities. Academic law librarians in public access law libraries generally receive many complaints in regards to prioritizing tuition-paying law students over members of other schools and the general public. This talk will discuss ways in which to approach these complaints, both verbally and by policy, to satisfy the needs of the law school body, as well as patrons seeking to access available public resources.