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Lyonette Louis-Jacques
A Local Librarian....Connected to the World

When your research path leads you to the laws of Germany or other Western European countries, you will likely find what you need at the University of Chicago’s D’Angelo Law Library – a library renowned for its collection of German and West European legal materials. Working to maintain this notable reputation is Lyonette (‘Lyo’) Louis-Jacques, D’Angelo’s Foreign and International Law Librarian, who is primarily responsible for building the library’s collection of foreign and international legal materials, especially those which complement the strength of the library’s collection in German and West European resources.

Lyonette Louis-Jacques is a well-known specialist in the area of foreign and international law research. Lyo studied French as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, and then received her MLS degree from the University of Michigan before returning to Chicago to obtain her J.D. in 1986. While she is obviously well-suited for her current profession, being a foreign and international legal reference librarian was not something Lyo planned for in her career.

In 1986, the University of Minnesota was hiring two reference librarians, and Lyo’s foreign language experience made her a perfect candidate for the foreign and international position. Since then, she has strengthened her knowledge in the field to the point where she is regarded as an expert in this area of law. However, Lyo does not like keeping things to herself; rather, she enjoys sharing the information she collects with others through her various networks, channels and contacts.

Networking is an integral component to every law librarian’s daily work, and is especially important in the area of foreign and international law research. Lyo has a broad network of people with whom she works to share and receive information, including librarians whom she has met at conventions, workshops and conferences. In addition, Lyo has developed an electronic network of acquaintances through email messages; visitors to her website (www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/forintlaw.html); and, others whom she has ‘bumped into’ on the Web. Lyo’s most extensive resources are the various law librarian discussion groups, (or ‘ListServes’), to which she belongs.

The first law librarian discussion group (LAW-LIB) was started in the early 1990s and enabled librarians to share information, ideas and support. This group was so well-received by the librarian community, that Lyo and a colleague -- Mila Rush -- initiated a similar discussion group (INT-LAW) dedicated to foreign and international law librarians. While the group still exists today, Lyo feels that their purpose has evolved as technology and Internet access has grown. She suggests that ListServes today can be used to develop ‘electronic relationships’ with other librarians from around the world, which can help immensely in solving complicated research issues.

While convenient electronic connections such as email and ListServes streamline the research process and facilitate the exchange of ideas, Lyo is wary of people relying too heavily on these connections to answer research questions without first using local resources to find the answers. Lyo’s advice when one is confronted with a challenging question involving foreign and international law: ‘Start local, then go global’. In other words, first delve into the resources in your immediate vicinity to see what sources and leads you uncover. For example, Lyo suggests that students from foreign countries who are lawyers are an untapped resource for those seeking information from other countries. And, modern technology makes ‘visiting’ other libraries’ card catalogs an effortless process by allowing you to link to the online public access catalogs (OPACs) from libraries around the world right from your own computer. Once you’ve exhausted your local resources and done some investigating on your own, then reach out to your electronic contacts from other areas of the world, via ListServe groups, email contacts, or Internet search results.

Since her librarian career began in 1986, Lyo has witnessed significant changes in the way legal research is conducted and information is transmitted. Back in 1986, there was a limited amount of foreign law available online to people in the U.S. and electronic research was mainly done on devices like UBIQ terminals, provided by LexisNexis to law libraries that subscribed to their services. GOPHER, the predecessor to today’s World Wide Web, was a rudimentary method of obtaining information electronically, but it did not have the widespread ease-of-use that we see in today’s Web.

The Internet has changed the way people find information and increased communication among individuals. Lyo observes that, ‘People worked harder to find information with much less technology' in the past, and that there seems to be less specialization in the librarian profession today. In addition, the Internet has connected people around the globe in a way that was unimaginable even just a decade ago. As a result, information that was once difficult to find is free, accessible and prevalent. The challenge today, from Lyo’s viewpoint, is finding unique and interesting information to share with others.

Lyo’s personal interests go beyond the field of legal research but still reflect her international ties and connections. Her hobbies include sports, (watching everyone from Scottie Pippen to Juan Francisco (Paco) Palencia); listening to music, (Latin Jazz, Anton Webern, and doowop); and, reading, (especially Georgette Heyer romance and mystery novels). When she’s not reading or cheering on one of her favorite athletes, you might find her watching a Korean soap opera, (Who’s My Love? was a personal favorite), or a Mexican telenovela. While she relies on the subtitles in the Korean TV shows, her foreign language experience makes following Spanish language television “no problema”. Lyo is also a member of AALL (American Association of Law Libraries), and IALL (International Association of Law Libraries). Lyo’s favorite refreshment in the midst of her busy day: an ice cold Diet Coke.

And so, in the spirit of a global community, connected by our computers, reach for your nearest soft drink and raise a toast to a truly international law librarian – Lyonette Louis-Jacques.

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