The problem of the "pro se" patrons (people who are representing themselves in a legal dispute or transaction) has received significant attention in the legal information literature, and many excellent suggestions have been offered to aid law librarians in dealing with this population group. However, these suggestions can be usefully applied in…

Use of the physical collections and services of academic libraries continues to plummet, with some exceptions, while use of electronic networked resources skyrockets. This article frames the extent of this decline with a focus on circulation and reference among ARL University, Medical, and Law Libraries, the Ivy League, other associations,…

Provides background on the establishment of the Congressional Research Service, focusing on the growth of reference services and special librarianship during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The contributions of Melvil Dewey and Charles McCarthy, as well as legislative reference work in the Library of Congress, are discussed. (10…

Genie Tyburski did not set out to be a law librarian. When asked at Drexel's library school what kind of librarian she wanted to be, she was surprised that "a good one" was not one of the options. But six weeks into the semester, she landed a part-time cataloging job at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia; six months later she was…

The first part of this article reviews developments in Canadian legislative libraries since the 1960s, with emphasis on reference and research services. The second part is an annotated bibliography of looseleaf and newsletter services available from legislation, regulations, and legislative activities. (12 references) (MES)

Describes the experiences of a librarian who assists with prison law library outreach for the Minneapolis State Law Library. Topics addressed include the importance of good reference interviews; legal reference versus legal advice; confidentiality; and the rewards of public service. (LRW)

Discusses the diverse client base served by the Wayne State University Law Library (Michigan) which includes secondary school students, undergraduates, paralegals, law students, attorneys, faculty, the general public, court reporters, legal secretaries, and librarians. An information service center and research guides developed to serve patron…

Discusses the availability and uses of online retrieval systems within the environment of a state legislature, identifies relevant databases, and reports the results of a survey of online retrieval system use by state legislatures. Examples of searches relevant to legislative concerns and a 23-item reference list are included. (Author/JL)

Discussion of the use of interactive television highlights a program by the Minnesota State Law Library that provides reference services to prison inmates. Time, cost, and quality of reference services are considered versus on-site visits; technical difficulties are discussed; and a sidebar describes two other library experiments with interactive…

The population of state and federal prisons quadrupled between 1971 and 1991, increasing demand for library resources. Outlines the history of prison libraries (1700s-1990s); discusses prison libraries and librarians, law collections, reference services, literacy programs, and funding; and provides a bibliography of prison librarianship covering…

Guest columnist Paul D. Healey discusses World Wide Web as an Internet reference tool for librarians in adult reference services. Discussion highlights include an examination of Web uses in retrieving hypertext documents, a review of Web uses in law libraries, an analysis of quality control problems, and challenges faced by users. (JMV)

The role of the legal bibliography and the many resources available in contemporary law libraries are discussed and evaluated in 15 articles. The articles have been placed into categories describing efforts of the past, practices of the present, and goals for the future. (CLB)

Reviews the decision of the law library at Southern Illinois University to integrate government publications into the general library collection. Aspects of managing an integrated collection are described, including technical processing of paper and microfiche documents, collection development and maintenance, and reference services. (CLB)