Sources of American Law - An Introduction to Legal Research: Adopting an eLangdell Book as a Coursebook

Law librarians from UNT Dallas College of Law and Georgia State University College of Law will discuss their experience developing the first-year research curriculum and a similar class for an LLM in American law program using Beau Steenken and Tina Brooks’ textbook, along with its generous creative commons license, Sources of American Law - An Introduction to Legal Research. The book is a CALI eLangdell Press publication now in its third edition. It is freely available in several downloadable formats for various platforms as well as an affordable print-and-bind-on-demand service. They will discuss factors that led to the book’s adoption and their takeaways transitioning away from a more traditional legal research text. For example, one benefit is the ability to take advantage of the creative commons license to rewrite exercises for their jurisdiction. Also important is the interplay between the contents of the book and the promotion of related CALI Lessons. In addition to their feedback, presenters will share commentary from current and former students.

This program is for law librarians and professors who are interested in teaching using eLangdell publications and how these materials can be adapted to different teaching methods.