June 22, 2023
In July, our Orientation to Law Library Collections webinar will feature a special appearance by the staff of the Virginia State Law Library as part of our state law libraries outreach project. The purpose of the state law libraries outreach project is to strengthen the ties between the Law Library of Congress and state law libraries by sharing information about our collections, products, and services with one another and with the public. Presenting from the Virginia State Law Library will be Gail Warren, state law librarian; and Ashley Vavra, librarian-archivist. The Virginia State Law Library presenters note that:
Although a law library designated to serve the Supreme Court of Virginia had been in operation since the early nineteenth century, the Virginia State Law Library was not officially established by the legislature until 1902. Since then, the staff of the library have worked to provide the highest quality library service to support the mission of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, the judicial branch, and Virginia’s legal community. Although we cannot perform research for members of the public, we do respond to all telephone calls and emails from the public with suggestions for how and where they might perform their own legal research. Our print collection includes Virginia’s primary law (including all superseded code volumes and annual supplementation), a range of Virginia-specific and national treatises, and a small collection of rare volumes. The library also houses an archive for the Supreme Court of Virginia and various other judicial entities.
During this presentation, we will highlight information about our print collection and online sources of Virginia legal information, including the Virginia Judicial System Court Self-Help website, which the library maintains on behalf of the Virginia Access to Justice Commission, and the resources we preserve and make available within the Legal Information Archive website. We will also highlight the information and exhibits within our Judicial Learning Center and the Virginia Appellate Court History website.
In addition to this webinar, we will also conduct one of our legal research orientation webinars, focused on federal legislative history in July.
Orientation to Legal Research Webinar: Federal Legislative History
Date: Thursday, July 13, 2023, 1:00 p.m. EDT – 2:00 p.m. EDT
Content: This webinar will discuss how to find debates, hearings, reports, and other documents that may reflect a bill’s legislative intent as it moves through Congress. The presentation will focus largely on how to find these documents through online government resources, including Congress.gov, govinfo.gov, and Law.gov, and quickly touch on subscription databases that can be accessed at one’s local public law or academic library.
Instructor: Anna Price – legal reference librarian. Anna holds a B.S. in communications from Ithaca College, a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, and an M.L.I.S. from the University of Washington iSchool.
Register here.
Orientation to Law Library Collections Webinar
Date: Thursday, July 20, 2023, 1:00 p.m. EDT – 2:00 p.m. EDT
Content: This webinar is designed for patrons who are familiar with legal research, and would instead prefer an introduction to the collections and services specific to the Law Library of Congress. Some of the resources attendees will learn about include the Law Library’s research guides, digital collections, and the Guide to Law Online, among others. This Orientation to Law Library Collections webinar will feature a special appearance by Gail Warren, Virginia state law librarian; and Ashley Vavra, librarian-archivist, as part of the state law libraries outreach project.
Instructor: Anna Price – legal reference librarian. Anna holds a B.S. in communications from Ithaca College, a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, and an M.L.I.S. from the University of Washington iSchool.
Register here.
