CROSS DISCIPLINARY CONGA

1. CROSS DISCIPLINARY CONGA Notes for a Panel Discussion at the CALL/ACBD Conference Edmonton AB May 9, 2006 Anne Crocker Gerard V. La Forest Law Library University of New Brunswick

2. Non Law User Groups • UNB - Graduate students • UNB - Undergraduates • STU - Undergraduates • Community college, business schools, high school

3. Elements • Collection • Reference • Bibliographic Instruction

4. Gerard V. La Forest Law Library Law Library Instruction – Participants

5. Bibliographic Instruction • Most ‘resource hungry’ element • Professional librarian • Preparation time • Contact time • Promotion strategy • Delivers most value to user group

6. Our Approach • Pro-active • Course Specific • Flexible

7. Pro-active • We use “push” technology to contact potential users, when possible • We use direct email to contact previous users of the service • We make sure we are included in University initiatives such as faculty institutes, information labs and new faculty orientation programs where appropriate

8. Course Specific • Based on professor’s/teacher’s course syllabus and assignments

9. Flexible • Time – choice of professor, usually but not always regular class time – adjustable hours of work are necessary • Place – Our place or yours • Note: We really try to persuade them to come to us because we have the instructional technology in situ and it is more valuable for the student in terms of gaining a certain comfort level…but we are flexible on this.

10. Methodology - Materials • Handouts • General – law library policies, law library layout and organization, and legal terminology (eg: act, regulation, judicial decision, commentary), general legal reference resources, simplified research strategies. • Course Specific – identifies particular resources supportive of course content and assignments, print and electronic, screen prints of sample searches, sample pages of print indexes, etc.

11. Methodology - Location • Arrange to have available the most comfortable and appropriate teaching space possible with reliable IT • Walkabout – helpful in reinforcing information in general handout, but not always possible

12. Methodology - Content • Introduce Law Library web site • Organization • Navigation • Demonstrate use of relevant online resources (sample search) and relate to course specific handout • Show sample volumes of relevant print sources and relate to handouts

13. Hints & Tips • Make extra copies of all handouts and have available at Reference Desk • Use examples from recent media coverage, if appropriate, to pique interest • Relate what your are teaching to student’s personal circumstances (eg: Can’t always get to the library? (No babysitter, snowstorm, etc. here’s what you can do online…) • Maintain your sense of humour even if you are not the funniest lecturer in the world. This helps students feel at ease. Using a law library and legal materials may be different from what they are accustomed to, but we are not talking “higher mathematics”.

14. Outcomes - Payoff • Improved quality of student assignments (we know this because….) • Informed collection development decisions • Enhanced understanding and appreciation of law library staff and resources by non-law users • Continuing self-improvement for librarians in preparing instruction in unfamiliar fields of study • Reduced stress levels in law library information and reference staff • Reduced redundant workload