International Journal of Library Science;

Volume 08; Issue No. 2; Year 2013;

ISSN 0975-7546; Int. j. lib. sci.
Copyright © 2013 by IJLS, CESER PUBLICATIONS

Legal Education: an orientation with RMLNLU

students/users

Maneesh Kumar Bajpai

Assistant Librarian & Librarian (I/c),
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University,
Lucknow – 226 012, U.P.,
E-mail: manish.nlu@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

In the horizon of the information explosion and information evaluation age, information literacy
programs are playing a vital role in making the optimum use of information and resources.
Libraries are one of very important pillar to achieve the goals of their parental organization.
Libraries are not only facilitating resources and services to its users but they are also involved
in making them life long learners. To develop any society, it is a fundamental requirement to
make people aware of knowledge and information savvy. In university system, Libraries are
very much engaged in such practices through various Library orientation programs to make life
long learners. The Dr. Madhu Limaye Library of the RMLNLU is also adhering to practice of
making its users to become information savvy along with computer and internet technology.
Efforts have been made to highlight some of the features of RMLNLU Law Library Orientation
Program.

Keywords: Library Orientation Program, LOP, User Education, Information Literacy

Library of Congress Classification Number: ZA3150-3159

1. INTRODUCTION

The information literacy is an indispensable skill of the 21st centaury users. Library Orientation
Programs are one of the very important tools to achieve the goals of information literacy. Sometimes
Information literacy, user education and Library Orientation programs are same more or less by their
features and goals. The motives of all is to promote healthy research skills among the users which
may be remain with them life long.

The legal education and legal resources are bit complex in their existence and management. The
experiment and innovative practices have been started by establishing a National Law University
Library at Bangalore way back in 1986. It was purely a new idea to promote and give a new shape to
the legal education in the country by developing a Law University. I am very sure that the visionaries
thought that the quality legal education can play a vital role in helping the judicial system of the
country. Most of the Libraries of the NLUs’ are first concentrated on print resources development and
then electronic resources from CD-ROM database to online database.

Dr. Madhu Limaye Library of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow is
developed with ultra modern infrastructure and a rich collection (Print and electronic). In a very sort
span of time, library is providing extensive modern cliental based services to its users.

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 International Journal of Library Science

1.1 Services
The major Information Services offered by the RMLNLU Library to its users are as under:-
x Current Awareness Service (CAS)
x Selective Dissemination Service (SDI)
x Document Delivery Service (DDS)
x Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)
x Reference Service
x Library Internship Program (LIP)
x Online Search Service (OSS)

Most of the aforesaid mentioned services are provided through the customized library automation
software and WEB-OPAC to its users. These services are accessible from any corner of the university
round the clock throughout the year.

2.0 WHY LIBRARY ORIENTATION PROGRAM (LOP) FOR LAW STUDENTS?

Any student who opts the stream of Law, finds himself ab-initoo. We have to ignite their minds as they
are the future of legal think tank of our country. If they will be well acquainted with the advance legal
research skills, they will be able to better support to legal decision making system of the country. The
new entrants of the Law Universities are not having much exposure of the Legal resources and
research skills. The Library Orientation Program helps to new entrants to explore the new world of
multi faceted avenues of legal resources and legal research skills.

3.0 OBJECTIVES OF LOP

In order to make the LOP credible, the Madhu Limaye Library is keeping with the standards that have
been upheld by the international agencies such as UNESCO. The UNESCO is celebrating the United
Nations Literacy Decade 2003-12 and promoting Information for all programs (IFAP). Keeping in view
the UNESCO mission, The RMLNLU library has framed it’s LOP objectives:-

x To formalize users with the Library resources, facilities and services

x To understand the level of information competency skills among the users.
x To develop expertise in finding the appropriate information.
x To inform about academic integrity and ethical/legal use of resources.
x To promote the communication between the Library and users.
x To increase the optimum use of Library resources and services.

4.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Libraries are deemed to serve not only as repository of information and place for quiet contemplation
but should be a dynamic gateway to information (Andey). They should provide active laboratory for
students and faculty to explore, investigate and retrieve information whenever it may be found: locally
or virtually. Similarly, Venter (2003) also opined that Library Orientation Program is helping libraries to
create better tomorrow.

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As of now Library orientation program is to communicate with the freshman/new user of the library
and to inform him about and what the library has for him/her (SLA Libraries). In the mission of
UNESCO which concentrated on National Information Literacy Awareness Month (2009), President
Obama issued a presidential proclamation declaring October, National Information Literacy
Awareness Month, calling upon all Americans to recognize that “the ability to seek, find, and decipher
information can be applied to countless life decisions, whether financial, medical, educational, or
technical…An informed and educated citizenry is essential to the functioning of our modern
democratic society.” McCulley (2009) report outcome combines different assessment methods with
different strengths and weaknesses, in order to plan and monitor her library instruction and analyze
the effectiveness of that instruction on student outcomes of information literacy learning concepts.
ALA (2010) elaborates that recognizing when information is needed and having the ability to locate,
evaluate and use effectively this needed information.
Manish Kumar (2011) has stated that the special libraries have to provide information literacy services
to sources to users by discharging its prime function of service oriented knowledge centre.

The eminent library professionals and thinkers has emphasized on information evaluation and their
optimum use. The Libraries are quite skilled to spread awareness among the users about the
research skills in logical manner. The RMLNLU Library is also organizing Library Orientation Program
targeting all kind of users to increase the usage of the resources and make them life long learners by
developing a systematic legal research skill on them.

5.0 LIBRARY ORIENTATION PROGRAM (LOP) AT RMLNLU

The LOP has been started by the Library from its very beginning. The LOP is being organized at
RMLNLU for specific users like:

5.1 LOP for Beginner’s Level

5.2 LOP for Expert Level
5.3 LOP on Demand

5.1 LOP for Beginner’s Level

The LOP for Beginner’s level is organized for the new entrants of the University. The LOP program is
divided into two phases:

In first phase, the students are being trained about the print law library resources in association of the
one faculty member from each of the department of legal studies and department of humanities and
other studies. The idea to involve faculty members (subject experts) in the LOP primary session is to
make users informed about the content of the resources and their use in true sense. We think that the
new minds must experience real world rather the virtual. During the session, students are being
provided information on legal resources like-Bare Acts, commentaries, Committee reports,
Commission Reports, Case Law reporters, Head notes, Law Review and Legal Journals, Legislative
Intent, Parliamentary Debates and various other resources. LOP team tries to explain the usefulness
of the resources and how to and where to use them also.

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The second phase of the program is taken by the Librarian/Library professionals itself. During this
phase the live presentation on Web-OPAC, online databases subscribed by the library and open
access databases are given to the students. The Librarian only highlights the basic search techniques
including Boolean search tools and fundamental features of the online databases.

Web-OPAC is the Bibliographic details of the holdings of the Library and providing the link to
electronic resources (commercial and open access), article indexing, back year question papers etc
from a single window. Library professionals attempt to elaborate all the features of electronic
database subscribed by the Library like Manupatra online, WestLaw India, LexisNexis Academic
Universe, Hein Online, Taxmann Online, SCC online, JSTOR, Oxford Scholarship online (e-books),
AIR CD-ROM, JILI, ASIL, SEBI Online, Patent and Trade Marks Cases CD-ROM etc. They are
providing the live demonstration that how to access a judgment or act provision on particular topic of a
particular country or state from the electronic database (online and CD-ROM). They also focused on
the access of OPEN ACCESS documents which are very authentic and valuable for the law students
and fraternity like JUDIS, DOAJ, India Code, Indiankanoon etc.

Figure 1: WEB-OPAC

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5.1.1 Technical Session

The electronic documents are available on various complex formats and some of the formats are not
known to the new users. Data/information mining is an art and every information seeker must know
this art and at the same time new users don’t understand difference between .doc and .docx etc.
Therefore, the technical aspects are being taught to the students on following issues:-
x How to download documents via the Internet.
x How to share information on Local Area Network.
x To aware about different electronic file formats.

5.1.2 Legal/ethical issues

In the legal/ethical issues segment, innocent users are being enlightened on the Copyright Law, the
Intellectual Property Law (IPR Law) and the Information Technology Law (IT Law). They are educated
that how and when and from where they can reprint the document of other’s intellectual work. They
are also explained that how they are violating the copyright law, IPR law etc. During the session they
are also informed about various citation systems like Blue Book, APA Reference system, Oxford
citation system etc. They can use any document during their research by citing the other’s work in any
of the prescribed citation system. The understanding of the legal aspects of usage of information
helps to appreciate and motivate the fair use of information.

5.2 LOP for Expert Level

Library Orientation Program for expert level is being organized by focusing the advance search tools
of the databases. It is the live demonstration on ‘Online databases’ subscribed by the library by the
experts from the concerned online database service provides. This is organized once in a year and it
remains open house session. During this presentation any of the library user may participate. The
experts make an effort to explore all the features of the particular database and they used to
represent it comprehensively. To encourage the students’ participation to LOP expert level, a quiz is
also being organized based on the understanding of the database at the end of the session. The
winners are getting a token of appreciation from the organization.

5.3 LOP on Demand

The ‘LOP on Demand’ is provided quarterly to the library users as per their requirement and need.
This LOP programme is organized on the response of their random queries related to the traditional
research tools alongwith the latest federated search tools in finding the appropriate information from
print and electronic resources (Online and CD-ROM). This level of LOP is very useful to them who
have skipped both the earlier level of Library Orientation Program due to any of the reason or to clear
their confusions. LOP on Demand gives freedom to the users to fulfill their quench of information need.

5.4 LOP Flow chart

Flow Chart is the diagrammatic representation can give a step-by-step solution to a given problem.
LOP Flow Chart represents how continuous and planned Library Orientation Programme may be

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organized in any institution to achieve the real motto of the information literacy i.e. to transform a fresh
man to a lifelong learner.

Figure 2: Flow chart of RMLNLU LOP

6.0 CONCLUSION

The comprehensive LOP program is very helpful and effective in making the optimum use of available
resources. The Library of RMLNLU is trying to make the investment meaningful and justified on the
development of the collection of legal resources. The Libraries are real contributors and active
partners for generating life long learners. The LOP’s objective is not only to make aware the users but
also to convert users in life long learners. By making the users life long learners, the informed society
concepts may be achieved what the RMLNLU Library is trying.

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