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The Lawyering Toolkit: a supportive tool to close the legal literacy gap between learners and practice professionals – a proof-of-concept report

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2023

Susan Boyle ,
Virginia Conrick ,
Pattie Punch  and
Ann O'Sullivan
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Abstract

Three academic and one law firm librarian, Susan Boyle, Virginia Conrick, Pattie Punch, and Ann O'Sullivan collaborated to create a ‘Lawyering Toolkit’. It was devised to support learners on the legal lifecycle from higher education to the corporate sphere and beyond. Arranged by skills level, it was imagineered via the online BIALL Irish Group meetings during the Covid pandemic. Learning steps were visually scaffolded in LibGuides to build a quick reference platform. This article describes how the Toolkit proof-of-concept developed through experiential reflection and shared discussion. It tracks the construction of a prototype to presentation at BIALL Conference 2022 and incorporates feedback from the conference and the BIALL Irish Group. It is envisaged that the Lawyering Toolkit will ensure a more collaborative and consistent approach to legal information literacy in the Republic of Ireland.

Keywords

information literacydigital literacylegal researchlaw librarianshigher educationlawyersCovid-19reflective learningacademic law librarianslaw firm librarianslegal educationIreland
Type
Main Features
Information
Legal Information Management , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , June 2023 , pp. 81 - 89
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by British and Irish Association of Law Librarians

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