The workshop provides an opportunity to develop professional skills, share knowledge and practices, discuss practical issues, and increase regional capacity and leadership amongst law librarians. More specifically, the workshop aims to:

  1. Increase opportunities to access legal information at a regional level through collaboration, open access, databases, repositories, digital publications etc.
  2. Encourage the development of national and regional legal information and collection development policies.
  3. Promote educational and professional opportunities for legal information professionals.
  4. Develop legal research skills.
  5. Encourage public access to legal information

These goals will be achieved through five thematic presentations:

Open Access

Provide an overview of open access to legal sources worldwide and the practical skills required to benefit from them. Present and discuss the potential and limitations of open access of legal sources in legal research.

Legal Research Skills

Provide practical tools to improve legal research skills such as the gathering of facts, identification of legal issues, and consultation of print and electronic sources.

Collection Development

Provide practical information on collection development, both print and electronic, such as policy, selection, evaluation, and promotion. Discuss challenges (policy and budget), digitization initiatives, institutional approaches, and benefits of sharing and collaboration. 

Public Access to Legal Information

Demonstrate the importance of public access to legal information and its challenges. Introduce the concept of legal capability, and provide an awareness of major public legal education and information initiatives and their impact.

 

Professional Development and Networking

Provide information on professional development opportunities for law librarians through hosting exchanges, conferences, collaboration with foreign institutions, and law library associations.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

There is no registration fee, but participants must cover their own costs for transport, food and accommodation.
Selected applicants are expected to attend all sessions on both days of the workshop and make a 5-minute presentation on a topic relating to law or law librarianship during the workshop. More information will be provided to selected applicants. 

The number of participants will be limited to 50 and priority will be given to individuals working in law libraries or with law-related information and materials. The organizing committee reserves the right to select applicants with regard to representing different regions or types of libraries and by their potential contribution to the goals of the workshop. Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee participation at the workshop. All applicants will be notified by November 8th if they were selected or not to participate at the workshop and those that will be selected will be asked to confirm attendance.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday, November 4th,  2019. Apply here

 

ORGANIZING COMMITEE

Dr. Raj Kumar Bhardwaj (St. Stephen’s College, India)

Heather Casey (Georgetown University, USA)

Mark Engsberg (Emory University, USA)

Joseph Hinger (LLMC, USA)

Sonia Poulin (Justice Education Society, Canada)