[Baynet] Infopeople's online course "Law on the 'Net"

Wed Sep 24 14:14:10 PDT 2008

Since some people who may be interested in participating might not receive
this notice directly, we would appreciate it if you would print and post or
route this announcement to staff and colleagues. Thanks!

Title:  Law on the ‘Net: A Workshop for Non-Law Librarians  (online learning
course)

Dates:  November 4, 2008 – December 8, 2008

This class will take a Thanksgiving break from November 24, to November 30,
2008. During that period students are free to work on the class but the
Instructor will not be available. 

To register for this workshop:  Use the online registration form at

http://infopeople.org/workshop/409

Fee: $75 for those in the California library community and $150 for those
out-of-state.

Few people get through their lives without encountering the law in one form
or another. Libraries are often people’s fist stop as they attempt to
navigate the murky waters of the legal system. If you have ever felt you
lack expertise in answering users’ legal reference questions, this course is
for you! You’ll come away with practical tips on answering common reference
requests such as: 

·         Finding good sources for legal information on fighting speeding
tickets 

·         Where to go to find good resources on divorce law 

·         Helping users find reliable legal information regarding conflicts
with landlords or neighbors 

This online course will help you gain confidence when confronted with legal
reference questions. By understanding more about “the law” you’ll know the
right questions to ask during the reference interview, the best web sites to
show your users, and the pitfalls of legal research on the ‘net. You’ll also
be able to develop web pages and guides for answering common legal reference
questions. Best of all, you’ll have a strategy for facing even the most
daunting legal questions. 

Workshop Description: This four-week online learning course will provide you
with an understanding of what the law is and where to find it on the web.
We’ll discuss user – and librarian - perceptions about the law, why it’s not
as scary – or as easy – as some people think, and how to effectively provide
legal reference service. Weekly exercises will give you the opportunity to
experience the helpfulness – or lack thereof – of legal web sites. You will
also participate in online discussion forums where you and fellow students
can share successes and challenges in handling legal questions. 

Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet
connection, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and
complete the following learning modules: 

*	Module One: Legal Reference Boot Camp 

*	Debunking legal myths 
*	Cases, statutes, regulations, ordinances: what they are, why they
are important. 
*	Initial questions for your user 
*	Where to begin when you don’t know where to begin 

*	Module Two: California and Federal Law 

*	What is readily available and useable on the web 
*	No, you cannot throw away those self-help books yet 

*	Module Three: Forms! Forms! Forms! 

*	Why what seems so easy isn’t 

*	Module Four: “Referral” Is Not a Four-Letter Word 

*	Finding and evaluating attorneys 
*	Law libraries want your business! 
*	Strategizing for legal reference success 

Instructor:  Laura Cadra.  Laura has answered many legal reference questions
in her 16 years as a law librarian. She has worked as a reference librarian
at U.S.C. and U.C.L.A. Law School libraries as well as at the Los Angeles
County Law Library, one of the largest public law libraries in the United
States. Currently she is Head of Reference Services/Foreign & International
Law Librarian at Loyola Law Library in Los Angeles, where she teaches
classes in beginning and advanced legal research.

Pre-workshop assignment: Please gather legal questions that you or your
colleagues have encountered to use as illustrations throughout the course. 

Online Learning Details: 
This four-week course will be taught online using the web. When you
register, you will receive a registration confirmation, which will include
the URL to get to the course, as well as a username and password. 

Every student proceeds through the online learning modules at his or her own
pace. Students should expect to commit to spending a minimum of 3 to 3½
hours per week on this course in order to be successful. You can work on
each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, you
will be expected to log in to the course each week to do that week's
assignment. We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of the
course to begin the course work. 

Your instructor will be available for limited consultation support for two
weeks after the official end date of a course, and the course material will
stay up for an additional two weeks after that, to give those who have
fallen behind time to work independently on the course. However, you will be
expected to accomplish the majority of the course in synchronization with
your peers during the first four weeks. 

Who Should Take This Course: Anyone from the library community who staffs a
reference desk where legal questions may pop up. It is also appropriate for
webmasters developing legal web pages and those responsible for collection
development. No prior knowledge of legal materials is needed. 

Prerequisites:
This course is taught over the web. You must: 

*	Be able to save Microsoft Word .doc or Adobe .pdf files to your
computer and print them out. (For .doc files, a free Word Viewer is
available at  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en.
Search for "Word Viewer."  For .pdf files, a free Adobe Acrobat Reader is
available at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html). 
*	Be comfortable navigating on the web and navigating back and forward
on a website that uses frames. 
*	To be most successful in this course you should be willing to share
information with your colleagues and be willing to spend time reading and
participating in the weekly discussion boards. 

System Requirements: The online learning product that Infopeople uses is
called Angel. The following are minimum system requirements for using Angel.
You will need access to a computer that has at least these specifications to
participate in an online course: 

*	Windows: 

*	Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows Vista 
*	Internet Explorer 7.0 and above, Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and above 
*	Phishing Filter disabled (IE 7) 

*	Macintosh: 

*	OS X and above (OS 9 will NOT work with our online learning product)

*	Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and above, Safari 2.0 and above 

*	General 

*	High speed Internet connection (dial up not recommended) 
*	Java enabled 
*	Pop-up blockers disabled 

If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking
this course with a colleague who does meet these requirements.

If you would like to subscribe via RSS and be notified whenever new
Infopeople training events are available, you can use these links:
**For new on-ground or online workshops: http://infopeople.org/workshop/rss
**For new podcasts: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InfopeoplePodcasts

To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information
about Infopeople Training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople Workshops
page at http://infopeople.org/workshop

If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please
contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at
<mailto:assist at infopeople.org> assist at infopeople.org or by phone at
650-578-9685.

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