B8: State Constitutions: Current, Historical, and How They Change
Using the U.S. Constitution as an example, it is easy to think of constitutions as being stable and unchanging. State constitutions, however, are frequently amended and revised. This program will guide participants through finding state constitutions, examining the methods of constitutional revision and amendment, and following the historical path of a constitution. Speakers will begin by outlining the resources available for finding the text of current and historical constitutions and for conducting historical research; they will then discuss the revision process and the documents generated. Lastly, speakers will introduce a resource for comparative state constitutional research
Takeaway 1: Participants will be able to locate the text of state constitutions, current and historical.
Takeaway 2: Participants will be able to distinguish the four different methods of amending or revising state constitutions in order to devise a plan for researching state constitutional history.
Takeaway 3: Participant will be able to identify the best resources for comparative, or 50-state, research on state constitutions.
Who should attend: Librarians who are interested in researching state constitutions, state documents, and state historical research
This independently produced SIS program is sponsored by the GD-SIS.
Track(s): Reference, Research and Client Services
Jennifer is the Documents Librarian at Indiana University Maurer School of Law. She is responsible for providing specialized reference service in the use of U.S. government documents and directs the Law Library's U.S. government depository program. Jennifer teaches legal research in the Legal Research and Writing Program, and provides guest lectures on specialized legal research in other law school classes. She is also an affiliated faculty member at both Indiana University's School of Library and Information Science and the University of Washington's Information School.
Michelle Cosby joined the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) School of Law Library staff as the Faculty Services Librarian in May 2010. She became the Senior Reference Librarian in January 2012.
Previously, Ms. Cosby was the Information Services Librarian at the University of Miami, where she taught a variety of bibliographic instruction courses. In November 2007, she joined the staff of the University of Kentucky College of Law Library as a Reference Librarian, where she provided reference services to patrons.
Ms. Cosby received her J.D. and her M.L.S. from Indiana University – Bloomington in 2006 and is a member of the Indiana State Bar.
Ashley is the Educational Technology Librarian at Indiana University Maurer School of Law. In addition to traditional reference duties, her work includes technology-related projects for the library as well as assisting faculty members with curricular-related technology projects. Ashley's research focuses on the use of social media and emerging technologies in libraries and legal education.
