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MAALL 2020 Schedule and Program Descriptions

Please click here to view select videos of the educational programs listed below.

Please click here to view the complete schedule as a PDF.

Please click here for the schedule and details on virtual vendor demonstrations.

Thursday, October 15

Thursday, Oct. 15, 10:00 a.m. -- 10:45 a.m. CDT

You're in Charge: How to Avoid Wrong Turns When Setting the Pace

Program Materials

Miriam Murphy
Director & Senior Lecturer in Law
Ruth Lilly Law Library
Indiana University McKinney School of Law
Indianapolis, Indiana

When setting the pace as a department head or director in a law library, it is important to be sure you stay on track. Everyone needs skills when dealing with others. This program will explain the three key components for being a good boss, including (1) communication strategies, (2) managing issues, and (3) providing leadership. Tips and recommendations will be given on what to do and what not to when faced with a variety of situations, including clarifying staff expectations, handling difficult situations, and mentoring various types of personnel. 

Thursday, Oct. 15, 11:00 a.m. -- 11:45 a.m. CDT

Work in the Time of COVID-19: Shift Happens

Program Materials

Sandy Placzek
Associate Director and Professor of Law Library
Marvin & Virginia Schmid Law Library
University of Nebraska College of Law
Lincoln, Nebraska

Karen Wallace
Circulation/Reference Librarian and Professor of Law Librarianship
Drake University Law School
Des Moines, Iowa

Allison Reeve Davis
Library Manager
Littler Mendelson P.C.
Kansas City, Missouri

Sarah Kammer
Head of Public, Faculty & Student Services
McKusick Law Library
University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law
Vermillion, South Dakota

The unprecedented shutdowns mandated by COVID-19 dramatically changed the way we worked. How did we cope? What adjustments did we make to ensure our libraries functioned and our users' needs were met? What have we learned about our libraries and our library users' needs as a result of this shift? How can we use what we've learned going forward to plan for future? What impact will our experiences working remotely have when we return "to normal" – and what will "normal" be? Join us as we explore these topics, discuss our experiences, and we share our "take-aways" from the COVID-19 shutdown.

Thursday, Oct. 15, 1:00 p.m. -- 1:45 p.m. CDT

Assembling a Pit Crew: How to Create a Research Assistant Program at Your Library

Stefanie S. Pearlman
Professor of Law Library & Reference Librarian
Marvin & Virginia Schmid Law Library
University of Nebraska College of Law
Lincoln, Nebraska

Cindy Shearrer
Associate Law Librarian for Patron Services
University of Missouri School of Law
Columbia, Missouri

Research assistant programs can add value to your law library. This presentation will discuss how two law librarians established successful research assistant programs at their law libraries. After discussing their specific programs, the presenters will explain how law librarians can develop their own research assistant programs, including funding possibilities, selecting students, organizing research projects, time-management, and publicity.

Thursday, Oct. 15, 2:00 p.m. -- 2:45 p.m. CDT

Library Access and Where to Find It: Removing Barriers

Matthew Tuegel
Head of Access Services and Outreach
Assistant Professor of Legal Research
Vincent C. Immel Law Library
Saint Louis University School of Law
St. Louis, Missouri

What do librarians mean when we talk about “access”? How should concerns for access fare when found in competition with other library values or with the needs of the library? This presentation will use the efforts of the Saint Louis University Vincent C. Immel Law Library over the last several years to make changes to its collection, space, and services with the goal of removing barriers to access as an entry point into a discussion of such questions concerning access with the aim of providing a fuller understanding of access and its role as a value within library practice.

Friday, October 16

Friday, Oct. 16, 10:00 a.m. -- 10:45 a.m. CDT

Match the Pace: Applying Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies Framework for Responding to Inner and Outer Expectations to Professional Interactions

Program Materials

Cynthia Bassett
Electronic Services Librarian
University of Missouri School of Law
Columbia, Missouri

Cindy Shearrer
Associate Law Librarian for Patron Services
University of Missouri School of Law
Columbia, Missouri

If you’ve ever made a resolution and then failed to keep it after January 2nd or assigned an employee a task that they refused to complete, you’ve known the frustration of unmet expectations. In her book, The Four Tendencies, Gretchen Rubin examines our reactions to inner and outer expectations. Instead of trying to change our own inner nature, Rubin advocates working with our basic nature to fulfill expectations in a way that works for our tendency. This salon will explain that framework and apply it to professional internal and external expectations.

Friday, Oct. 16, 11:00 a.m. -- 11:45 a.m. CDT

Setting the Pace: Cultural Competence in the Legal Research Classroom

Program Materials

Clanitra Stewart Nejdl
Research Services Librarian and Lecturer in Law
Alyne Queener Massey Law Library
Vanderbilt University Law School
Nashville, Tennessee

Lawyers must professionally interact with and represent a variety of individuals. Many of these individuals will be of different races, ethnicities, or cultural backgrounds. Legal skills classes such as legal research can play an important role in preparing law students for the practice of law by building their cultural competence. In this session, the presenter will discuss the importance of cultural competence as a key objective in the legal research classroom. The presenter will explain why cultural competence should be addressed in legal research and how to meaningfully do so while also achieving the other objectives of the course.

Friday, Oct. 16, 1:00 p.m. -- 1:45 p.m. CDT

Acquisitions and Collection Development in the Age of COVID-19

Breakout Room Discussion Form

Marcia Hannon
Assistant Director
Kansas Supreme Court Law Library
Topeka, Kansas

Barbara Ginzburg
Head of Access Services
Washburn University School of Law
Topeka, Kansas

Creighton Miller
Research and Bibliographic Instruction Librarian
Washburn University School of Law
Topeka, Kansas

This roundtable will bring government, court, and academic librarians together to have an open, informative discussion about traditional library practices in acquisitions and collection development. Where was your collection and budget focused? In addition, we will delve into your library’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Did your focus and/or budget change and in what direction? What types of ongoing shifts, cancellations, and changes do you foresee in your collections and budget? The last part of the roundtable will include a discussion on other general topics and an opportunity to share your ideas and concerns with your colleagues.

Wednesday, October 21

Virtual Vendor Demonstrations: click here for details

9:00 a.m. -- 9:45 a.m. CDT: ProQuest

Using the Archival Collections in ProQuest History Vault for Legal Studies research

10:00 a.m. -- 10:30 a.m. CDT: PowerNotes

A new way to teach legal research and writing: An overview of PowerNotes’ research and writing features

10:45 a.m. -- 11:30 a.m. CDT: Procertas

The Myth of the Digital Native is REAL!

11:45 a.m. -- 12:15 p.m. CDT: HeinOnline

What’s New in HeinOnline

1:00 p.m. -- 1:45 p.m. CDT: ProQuest

Insight Products Working Together

2:00 p.m. -- 2:30 p.m. CDT: PowerNotes

A new way to teach legal research and collaborate online: An overview of PowerNotes’ collaboration and feedback features

2:45 p.m. -- 3:15 p.m. CDT: LexisNexis Digital Library

LexisNexis Digital Library—Always connected, on-demand access to your library eBook collection


Thursday, October 22

Thursday, Oct. 22, 10:00 a.m. -- 10:45 a.m. CDT 

Citation Managers: Organizing Your Research When Everything is a Source

Anne Robbins
Electronic Services Librarian
Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Memorial Law Library
University of Illinois College of Law
Champaign, Illinois

Pia M. Hunter
Access Librarian and Online Learning Consultant
Teaching Assistant Professor
Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Memorial Law Library
University of Illinois College of Law
Champaign, Illinois

Keeping research projects organized is a tough task for academics and students alike. In this session, we will discuss the differences among citation management systems and why some platforms are better suited for certain disciplines. The program will demonstrate two of the most popular citation managers and show how they can keep your project on pace, keep your citations organized, and allow teachers to easily evaluate student sources while offering opportunities to share research with colleagues and the academy. 

Thursday, Oct. 22, 11:00 a.m. -- 11:45 a.m. CDT 

Embrace the Suck: Pandemic Style!

Program Materials (Slides) / Program Materials (Selected Resources)

Susan Boland
Associate Director
Robert S. Marx Law Library
University of Cincinnati College of Law
Cincinnati, Ohio

In our previous Embrace the Suck program, we talked about how not everything in life is easy and how certain techniques can help you change your mindset and enable you to move forward during challenging times. This program will review these concepts in light of COVID-19. We'll look at how libraries and librarians embraced the suck and continue embracing it in these unforeseen and challenging circumstances.

Thursday, Oct. 22, 1:00 p.m. -- 1:45 p.m. CDT

Setting the Pace: Best Practices for Online Teaching

Program Materials

John Edwards
Associate Dean for Information Resources and Technology, Director of the Law Library, and
Professor of Law
Drake University Law School
Des Moines, Iowa

Dorie Knight
Reference and Instruction Librarian
Assistant Professor of Law Librarianship
Drake University Law School
Des Moines, Iowa

Joseph Custer
Director of the Law Library
Associate Professor of Law
Ben C. Green Law Library
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Cleveland, Ohio

Richard Leiter
Director of the Law Library and Professor of Law
Marvin & Virginia Schmid Law Library
University of Nebraska College of Law
Lincoln, Nebraska

Teaching online became the unexpected standard practice for all law schools in Spring 2020 thanks to COVID-19. Many commentators predict there will be no turning back and opportunities for online teaching will only increase after that experience. In this session, the best practices for online instruction will be explored with the lens of how these tools and techniques could be most effectively utilized by librarians in various teaching settings.

Thursday, Oct. 22, 2:15 p.m. -- 3:15 p.m. CDT

MAALL Business Meeting 2020

Recognition of first-time attendees and retiring/retired members; Executive Board member reports; Committee reports; Transition to the 2020-21 Executive Board.


Friday, October 23

Friday, Oct. 23, 10:00 a.m. -- 10:45 a.m. CDT

How MAALL States Deal with Legislative History

Program Materials (PPT) / Program Materials (PDF)

Benjamin Keele
Research and Instructional Librarian & Lecturer in Law
Ruth Lilly Law Library
Indiana University McKinney School of Law
Indianapolis, Indiana

Lee Little
Research and Instructional Librarian & Adjunct Lecturer in Law
Ruth Lilly Law Library
Indiana University McKinney School of Law
Indianapolis, Indiana

When one thinks of legislative history, they are likely to think first of the U.S. Congress. However, state legislatures vary widely in the legislative documentation they produce, and state judiciaries have different views on how that history should be used when interpreting statutes. This session will review the availability of legislative history materials and judicial use of those materials for each MAALL member state.

Friday, Oct. 23, 11:00 a.m. -- 11:45 a.m. CDT

Technology Course Creation 101

Program Materials

Ted Potter
Reference Librarian and Adjunct Lecturer in Law
University of Iowa College of Law
Iowa City, Iowa

Jeannette Mazur
Head of Technology Initiatives
Ben C. Green Law Library
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Cleveland, Ohio

Kenton Brice
Director of Technology Innovation
Donald E. Pray Law Library
University of Oklahoma College of Law
Norman, Oklahoma

Librarians are being asked to create courses to help students increase their technology knowledge and skill as they make their transition to law practice. What do librarians and other teachers in this field include in their courses? How do instructors get courses approved? So many questions - we'll explore the answers!

Friday, Oct. 23, 1:00 p.m. -- 2:00 p.m. CDT

Book to Action: Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America

Gail Wechsler
Library Director
Law Library Association of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri

Cynthia Bassett
Electronic Services Librarian
University of Missouri School of Law
Columbia, Missouri

Participants will discuss Paul Tough’s book, Whatever It Takes, about educator Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem Children's Zone. Canada's premise is that if you want poor kids to compete with their middle-class peers, you need to change everything in their lives. This is the 6th year of the Book to Action program at the MAALL Annual/Virtual Meeting. The goal is to help an organization in need in the host city and to select and discuss a book with a poverty-focused theme. This year participants will donate to Project Home Indy

Located in Indianapolis, Project Home Indy serves teen mothers and their children on the path to self-sufficiency. The program aims to break the cycle of poverty by providing support to young mothers and helping them develop the skills they need to live independently. Its mission is to provide holistic, trauma-informed services to teen mothers to create successful futures for themselves and their children.

MAALL on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MAALLibraries
Conference hashtag: #MAALL20


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