Topical Legal Research Courses at The Boston College Law School

Joan ShearLegal Information Librarian and Lecturer in LawPresented at AALL 2005 Annual MeetingSan Antonio, Texas

Topics Today

Topics Today

AdvantagesHow To Get ApprovedGoalsTeachingExpansion Plan

Advantages

Advantages

You can’t teach everythingNot enough time in the first yearNot everyone needs to know

everythingNot everyone wants to know

everything Target information to interests

Getting Approved

Getting Approved

Get Champions

– Faculty allies Start with known allies

– Guest research lectures Interview faculty

– Find more allies and more ideas

Goals

Goals

Use exclusively examples from this subject Reinforce basic concepts

Use more sophisticated searching techniques Introduce tools and sources not covered in

first year Legislative history Administrative law

Introduce specialty materials

What to Include/Exclude

What to Include/Exclude

Make what you do count Get ideas from others Activities teach better than lectures

Don’t feel bad about repetition Adult learners need to hear something six

times Let them know that that is more out there

They can discover it for themselves if they ever need it

Expansion Plan

Expansion Plan

Continuing courses Immigration Legal Research International Legal Research Environmental Legal Research

This spring we’re adding IP Legal Research Tax Law Research

Other courses faculty want us to add Health Law Research Federal Legislative History – Bankruptcy