The Massachusetts Library System is pleased to announce that we have contracted with ALA to provide our members with access to their live webinars.  These webinars are free to MLS members who register through our calendar.  Please do not register directly with ALA. Members who register directly with ALA are responsible for paying their registration fee. 

Please help us keep MLS sponsored training free for all members. If you are unable to attend the live webinar, please cancel your registration. A cancellation link can be found in your confirmation email, or you may contact Sarah Donnelly at sdonnelly@masslibsystem.org to cancel. 

Description

Legal research is not just for law librarians—most librarians will need to answer legal reference questions and assist patrons with legal research during their career.

In this webinar, law librarian Ellyssa Kroski will teach the process of legal research from a beginner’s perspective. Participants will learn the fundamental elements of finding legal materials, including primary sources like constitutions; statutes; court opinions and case law; regulations; and administrative decisions. Kroski will also cover secondary and scholarly sources which may be cited as persuasive authority such as treatises, law reviews, specialized periodicals, annotations, and restatements, as well as legal encyclopedias. This webinar is applicable to libraries in a wide variety of environments and will cover both free and commercial sources.

Learning Outcomes

After participating in this event, learners will:

• Understand how to track down a legal citation
• Be able to distinguish between statute and case law citations
• Know sources for locating both Federal and State statutes
• Understand where to find both Federal and State court opinions
• Know how to look for specialized legal materials such as regulations, dockets, forms, and reporters
• Understand the basics of checking the validity of a case before citing it

Presenter

Ellyssa Valenti Kroski is the Director of Innovation & Engagement at the New York Law Institute as well as an award-winning editor and author of 75 books. She is a librarian, an adjunct faculty member at San Jose State University, and an international conference speaker. She can be found at: https://www.amazon.com/author/ellyssa.

Accessibility Information

If you have questions or requests regarding accessibility, contact ce@ala.org or at 312-280-5100.