Law Library Publication Wins Prestigious Award

The Law Library is pleased to announce that it has received the 2024 Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award from the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) for its publication, Jewels of the Collection: Treasures of the Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center (University of Minnesota Law Library, 2023). The Andrews Award recognizes significant textual contributions to legal bibliographical literature and is one of the most prestigious awards presented by AALL. The award criteria evaluate works for originality and creativity, and honor publications in legal bibliography, legal research, and those that advance the field of law librarianship.

Jewels of the Collection is a catalog of one hundred selected treasures from the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center's collections. Its aim is to introduce rare and unique legal materials that explore a global legal heritage. The catalog's selected items are accompanied by detailed descriptions that explain their significance and place them in historical context. Included in the publication are many books, pamphlets, letters, and other documents that represent important contributions to law and history, or are landmark 'firsts' of legal literature. Other items are notable for associations with famous authors and owners, such as Clarence Darrow, whose preeminent collection of letters is held at the Riesenfeld Center, or because they stand as unique artifacts and works of art. The volume trains a spotlight on familiar and lesser-known works that provide important insights into the historical development, and progress, of diverse traditions of law.

Jewels of the Collection was co-authored by Ryan Greenwood, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections, and Patrick Graybill, the former Library Digital Initiatives Technologist, with editorial support from law librarians Michael Hannon, Connie Lenz, and Sarah Yates. Publications authored or edited by the University of Minnesota Law librarians have now won the Joseph L. Andrews Award five times, a remarkable achievement.

   - Ryan Greenwood, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections

New Law Library Digital Resource: Historical Foundations of First-Year Law School Cases

The University of Minnesota Law Library is pleased to announce the release of an exciting new digital resource, Classic Cases: Historical Foundations of First-Year Law School Cases.  It is also available through the link here, as part of the Law Library's growing digital collections.

Early in their legal education, law school students are introduced to foundational cases that highlight key doctrines of historical and current law, including classics such as Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad (1924), Hadley v. Baxendale (1854), and the complex rule against perpetuities from The Duke of Norfolk’s Case (1682). The reasoning and authorities relied on in these cases, drawn from the pages of first-year casebooks, offer valuable insight into the ways that lawyers have argued and judges have decided cases for centuries.

 

Classic Cases: Historical Foundations of First-Year Law School Cases features summaries of cases in five areas of law: constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, property, and torts. Following these summaries are discussions of selected historical precedents and authorities which contextualize the rulings and their contemporary frameworks.

 

The classic cases and their selected citations include the corresponding case reports and links to relevant volumes in the Law Library’s collections. The site also features further bibliography, images, and links to additional information. A timeline for the classic cases furnishes visual and chronological context. Researchers and students are encouraged to use the site to learn more about the development of the common law tradition. Of particular note, this site provides access to scans from selected volumes from the Library’s rich Arthur C. Pulling Rare Books Collection. These showcase the depth of the historical legal resources found in the Law Library’s Stefan A. Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center.  

 

Classic Cases: Historical Foundations of First-Year Law School Cases was supervised by Michael Hannon '98, Associate Director for Access Services & Digital Initiatives, and Ryan Greenwood, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections, with the invaluable assistance of law students Rachel Canoun ‘24, Mason Medeiros ‘22, Loren Olson ‘26, and Alec Shaw ‘19, who wrote and edited the case summaries. Law Library colleagues Joy Brown, Digital Technologist, designed and built the digital site, and Sophia Charbonneau, Special Collections Assistant, assembled the materials featured on it, as well as provided editing and proofreading.

  

For more information about the digital site, please contact Ryan Greenwood (612-625-7323; rgreenwo@umn.edu).