Our Law Library team welcomes you back for another term! Read on for the latest library news and updates impacting your legal scholarship and teaching.
Animal Law Exhibit
Our library is proud to host the new exhibition presented by the Museum of Human Predation: Necessary Cruelty: The Legal Technology of Domestic Predation.
This exhibition "examines and materializes the 'Zone of Necessity,' a legal artifact used in the human predatory Age to create realms of lawlessness within the law."
Collaborating with the Museum of Human Predation (led by M.H. Tse), the law library entrance was transformed into a site of critical engagement. The exhibition’s immersive design guides visitors through a sensory experience as they cross in and out of reflective zones within the space.
Coinciding with the September 12th launch of the Jackman Law’s Animal Law Program, the exhibition will run until November 21, 2025.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation book display
In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we have put together a book display to honour Indigenous voices and perspectives. This collection invites anyone passing through the library to reflect on residential schools, the ongoing impact of colonial legal systems, and the path toward justice and reconciliation.
For further reading, explore the Indigenous Perspectives Collection page on our new website.
Legal Scholarship Guide
Visit the guideOur team of librarians are excited to introduce a new research guide Imprimatur: Your Guide to Legal Scholarly Publishing. This new resource offers practical tools and insights to help students who are interested in engaging more deeply with the world of legal academia, writing, and publishing.
Thanks to Assistant Dean Emily Orchard for her invaluable feedback during the guide’s development.
On-Demand RAs
Faculty members seeking support for short-term research projects can access a pool of law student research assistants throughout the academic year. Working closely with faculty and guided by our Research & Reference Librarian, RAs help define project scope, conduct research, and communicate results. The RAs are paid from the individual faculty member’s research funds.
If you would like to hire a Research Assistant, please contact alexia.loumankis@utoronto.ca
Departures
See you later, Julie!
Our User Services Generalist, Julie Boon, is leaving the Bora Laskin Law Law Library as she embarks on an exciting new chapter at the U of T Libraries' Scholarly Communications and Copyright Office. Julie provided support in many different areas such as InfoEXPRESS, Syllabus Services, and collections maintenance. We all wish her the best in her new position!
Happy retirement, Gian!
At the end of August, our Chief Librarian, Gian Medves, retired after 36 years of dedicated service at Bora Laskin Law Library.
Gian has made a lasting impact on the Faculty of Law through his visionary leadership, dedication to curriculum innovation, and development of transformative scholarly resources. Widely respected for his expertise and commitment to equity, he has been a passionate advocate for inclusion, especially in support of Indigenous communities.
Gian recently co-authored a two-part article published on CanLII titled, "Trends in Canadian Academic Law Libraries: Report on the Reinvigorating Academic Law Library Standards Survey". Part One and Part 2.
Congratulations Gian on a distinguished career and we all wish you the best!
Digital Services Dispatch
Welcome to our round-up of the latest e-Resources updates at the Law Library. Read on to learn about new AI-features in Westlaw Edge Canada, the refreshed U of T Library catalogue and website, and more!
Westlaw’s AI-Assisted Research roll-out & monthly training
Faculty users may already have received access to the AI-Assisted Research functionality of CoCounsel in Westlaw Edge Canada. We are awaiting details from Thomson Reuters about this new feature rolling out to Canadian academic users.
In the meantime, faculty users can register for the next monthly AI-Assisted Research training hosted by Thomson Reuters on October 28 from 2-2:30PM.
Additional Westlaw live training sessions are available through their Legal Learning Hub (sign-in required).
New year, new U… of T library website and catalogue!
On the first day of the Fall term, the main U of T Library launched their new website and new library catalogue search interface. Launched in “beta” mode, the central library web team is seeking user feedback to improve the new site. If you have suggestions or comments to share, you can submit a feedback survey embedded at the top of their site or email Alexandra Kwan, Digital Services Librarian.
By the end of October 2025, the new website will become the default U of T Libraries’ landing page.
New Law Library website!
Along with the Jackman Faculty of Law school site, our Bora Laskin Law Library website got a refresh too! However, you can still find our list of faculty services and past issues of InfoEXPRESS Extra on the new site. If you have questions about our new law library website, please contact Alexandra Kwan, Digital Services Librarian.
Wrap up
If you have questions or comments about our library’s e-Resources and databases, please email our Digital Services Librarian at alexandra.kwan@utoronto.ca.