UK Law Librarians Offer Programming to Enhance Research Skills

May 13, 2015

Faculty, Students, Beau Steenken, Franklin L Runge, Ryan A Valentin, Tina M Brooks

As UK Law students leave the classroom and enter the workforce for summer employment opportunities, the Law Librarians want to make sure they are well equipped with the knowledge needed to excel in their positions.

This effort gave birth to the Clerk/Associate Research Insights Bootcamp (C.R.I.B). Five instructional sessions focusing on different areas of research were offered to help students sharpen their skills. Takeaways from the program included:

How to use print resources and when using print resources in combination with computers can increase research efficiency.
A review of techniques, such as search operators, that increase online research efficiency.
An introduction to court-specific resources such as dockets and court rules.
How to find administrative law materials beyond just regulations.
Kentucky-specific resources the law librarians see attorneys come to the law library often to use.

Beau Steeken, one of the librarian instructors of the program, explained the usefulness of the program, saying that it “prepares students to hit the ground running during their summer clerkships by providing a refresher of useful techniques learned during legal reading and writing class as well as by introducing in more depth specific sources often used by practicing lawyers.” The CRIB program is another example of UK Law faculty working hard to make sure our students are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the workplace.