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Dismantling the Separate but Equal Paradigm: Integrating Legal Research and Writing into the Law School Curriculum

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It has been exactly one month since Penn State Dickinson Law hosted a One-Day Legal Writing Institute (LWI) Workshop.  This Workshop, which was held on December 6, 2019, brought together esteemed legal writing faculty and law librarians for an engaging, day-long discussion revolving around the integration of legal research and writing into the law school curriculum.

Presenters shared not only ideas for how to integrate legal research and writing across all areas of the law school curriculum, but also their personal experiences (and sometimes struggles) with implementing those ideas.  What emerged as the day progressed was a sense of camaraderie among those in attendance.  This was particularly noticeable during the last presentation of the day by Sara L. Ochs, from the Elon University School of Law, who spoke about the prevalence of imposter syndrome among academics and her study specifically on imposter syndrome among legal writing faculty.  These types of candid discussions are necessary for us to advance as professionals.  Feel free to keep the conversation going at #LRWintegrate.

For more information about Penn State Dickinson Law’s One-Day LWI Workshop, including presenter materials, please visit:  https://ideas.dickinsonlaw.psu.edu/events/lwi2019/

New Semester, New Law Library Website!

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Welcome to all new and returning Dickinson Law community members!

The Fall semester has arrived, and with it comes the Law Library’s opportunity to roll out our new website!  Our URL hasn’t changed, but take a look at what we offer through our guides, databases, and Law Library services for all of your research needs.

The new Law Library website features Research Resources, including information on finding articles, course reserves, and using interlibrary loan; User Guidelines; access to the new CAT search (which will be highlighted and discussed in a future blog post); Ask A Law Librarian, which provides contact info for our Law Librarians, with a Submit a Question form if you would like to set up an appointment with one of them to discuss your research needs in depth; Technology resources available in the Law Library; Library Maps, with detailed floor plans coming soon; and much more…

The Law Library’s repository, Dickinson Law IDEAS, is the flagship digital resource that provides access to Dickinson Law’s scholarly works, publications, and archived history.  Keeping it Brief! is the Law Library’s nationally-recognized blog that focuses on law school history, legal research tips, database updates, awareness days and event education, new acquisitions, and circulation-related information.  To subscribe, find the “Subscribe by Email” section of the blog on the right side column.

As always, if you need to contact the Law Library for any reason, our general email is DickinsonLawLib@psu.edu, or call us at 717-240-5267.

Dickinson Law Review

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This month marks the anniversary of the very first issue of the Dickinson Law Review.  The Forum, as it was known then, was first published in January, 1897.

[The Forum] comes not to revolutionize the periodicals of collegiate circles, nor to dim the light of any journal which may be shining in the legal world.  The purpose of The Forum is both general and specific – general in the sense that through its medium well established principles of law will be adduced and treated in the reports of moot court cases, and specific in that primarily it will be devoted to the Dickinson School of Law.  From time to time also, there will be discussions of legal questions and contributions by well-known writers.  1 FORUM 1 (1897).

Although the early editors of The Forum did not intend to be revolutionaries with the publication of their journal, they nonetheless were.  Julia Radle, Class of 1899 and the first female graduate from the Dickinson School of Law, served as one of The Forum’s editors from 1898-1899.  It is believed that Ms. Radle may have been the first female in the United States to serve as a law review editor.  In addition, only four other law schools have law reviews that predate the publication of The Forum:  the University of Pennsylvania (1852), Harvard (1887), Yale (1891), and West Virginia (1894).  Laurel Terry, Foreword:  Why “Tradition, Innovation, and New Beginnings:  Celebrating the History of the Dickinson Law Review” Is an Appropriate Title for Volume 122(1), 122 Dick. L. Rev. 5, 6 (2017).

In 1908, The Forum became known as the Dickinson Law Review.  In 1997, the Dickinson School of Law began its merger with the Pennsylvania State University, and in 2003, the Dickinson Law Review became known as the Penn State Law Review.  In 2016, the two Penn State law school campuses split into two separately accredited law schools.  Thereafter, the law review at the Carlisle location again became known as the Dickinson Law Review, while University Park assumed publication of the Penn State Law Review.

Current volumes of the Dickinson Law Review can be found in our digital repository, Dickinson Law IDEAS.  Volumes of the Dickinson Law Review dating all the way back to the very first issue of The Forum can be found on HeinOnline.

Dickinson Law: A History of the Law Library

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In 1833, Judge John Reed approached the Trustees of Dickinson College with the idea of operating a law school out of his home.  The Law School, commonly referred to as Judge Reed’s Law School, opened on April 1, 1834, but suspended operations sometime after Judge Reed’s death.  A letter from Judge Reed indicates that he had “an extensive law library” planned for his Law School.  However, it is unclear what happened to the Law Library’s collection after his death.

Law Library at Emory Hall (1897)

In 1890, the Law School was incorporated, and reopened as The Dickinson School of Law.[1]  The Law School’s home was Emory Hall, which was leased from Dickinson College.  William Trickett, the Dean of the Law School, provided books from his own private collection for the Law Library.  In 1892, Issa Tanimura, a student from Japan, organized a carnival to benefit the Law Library.  The proceeds were used to expand the Library’s collection by over 800 volumes.

Law Library in Trickett Hall (1959)

In 1918, the Law School moved to its present location at the corner of South and College Streets, in Carlisle.  The new building was dedicated, and named Trickett Hall, in Dean Trickett’s honor.  The Law Library occupied a 54 by 60-foot room on the second floor of Trickett Hall and was described in the 1918 Law School catalog as containing around 6,000 volumes.  On June 8, 1940, the Board of Trustees of the Law School authorized the employment of a full-time librarian.  William Dodd, who also served as a professor, was the first one appointed to this position.

Library Research Center (1964)

On November 27, 1962, ground was broken for the addition of a Library/Research Center to Trickett Hall.  The new Library/Research Center was dedicated on May 2, 1964, and in a ceremony on October 14, 1972, was named the Sheely-Lee Library, after Judge W. Clarence Sheely and Dr. Harry Lee, who had served as Presidents of the Law School, from 1940 to 1959 and 1959 to 1962, respectively.

In 1977, ground was broken for the construction of a new Library/Advocacy Center.  This construction increased stack space and student study space, allowing the Law Library to hold up to 120,000 volumes.  The Law Library at the time had over 100,000 volumes in its collection.  The expansion allowed the Law Library to become a United States Government Documents Depository.  The expansion also allowed for the addition of two audiovisual rooms and a Lexis terminal for legal research.  The addition of a Center for Advanced Legal Education to the Law School in 1985 added additional space to the Law Library.

In 1997, The Dickinson School of Law began its merger with the Pennsylvania State University.  This merger was completed in 2000.  On January 23, 2008, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for what would be an extensive makeover of the Law School’s Carlisle location.[2]  During construction, the Law School and Library were moved to a temporary location in Carlisle.  The additions that had been made to Trickett Hall over the years were demolished and replaced with a new building, named Lewis Katz Hall, in honor of Lewis Katz, a philanthropist, businessman and alum, who donated $15 million dollars to the Law School.  The exterior of Trickett Hall was restored and the interior received a complete makeover.

The Law Library was moved into Trickett Hall and renamed the H. Laddie Montague, Jr. Law Library in honor of H. Laddie Montague, Jr., Class of 1963, who donated $4 million dollars to the Law School.  Faculty and staff moved into the new space on December 21, 2009, and students resumed classes there on January 11, 2010.  The Library occupies space on all three levels of Trickett Hall, with a variety of options for students to study either individually or in groups.  Individuals seeking quiet study may choose to do so at reading tables on the second floor, carrels on the bottom level, or at a variety of soft seating locations throughout the Library.  Students who wish to study in groups may reserve time in one of the Library’s group study rooms, which are equipped with Mersive Solstice pods for wireless display connectivity and collaboration.  The Law Library is particularly excited about the recent launch of its digital repository, Dickinson Law IDEAS.

[1] While many believe that the Law School was part of Dickinson College, the two were in fact separate institutions.
[2] Meanwhile, ground had broken on January 18, 2007 for the construction of a law school building at University Park.  While that building was under construction, students attended classes elsewhere on the University Park campus.  Classes resumed in the new building on January 9, 2009.  This building, which houses Penn State Law, is named after Lewis Katz, and the Law Library is named after H. Laddie Montague, Jr.

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