As faculty retire and staff move on, decades of valuable institutional memory risk being lost—tucked away in forgotten filing cabinets, buried on personal network drives, or discarded during office cleanouts. While departments like Admissions, Career Services, and Student Affairs are focused on the present and near future, their publications, reports, and internal communications are vital to documenting the full story of the law school.

This program will explore how law libraries can play a leading role in identifying, preserving, and making accessible the often-overlooked materials that define the institution’s day-to-day operations and long-term evolution. Attendees will learn how to build relationships with administrative offices, develop simple workflows for capturing at-risk content, and launch a "Save Our Now" initiative to ensure that today’s activities are not tomorrow’s mysteries.

The moderator will use mini case studies from the presenters to encourage the audience to share their “Has this happened at your institution?” stories. We will also walkthrough a toolkit with a sample workflow, email script, and intake form. Attendees will be encouraged to suggest changes.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Law librarians involved in: archives and special collections, technical services or digital initiatives, faculty or institutional support, and outreach and engagement. Library administrators and managers looking to develop preservation policies, build campus partnerships, and align library efforts with institutional priorities. Anyone in a law library interested in preserving institutional history, capturing born-digital content, and preventing loss of ephemeral or "invisible" records.

TAKEAWAYS:

1. Participants will be able to identify the types of ephemeral and at-risk materials generated by non-library departments (e.g., Admissions, Career Services) that contribute to the institution’s historical record.
2. Participants will be able to evaluate the risks associated with decentralized recordkeeping practices and staff turnover, and articulate the role law libraries can play in preserving institutional memory. 
3. Participants will develop actionable strategies to initiate a "Save Our Now" campaign, including outreach methods, collaboration techniques, and workflows for capturing, preserving, and providing access to born-digital and print materials.

SPEAKERS:

• Benjamin Carlson, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Biddle Law Library
• Chris Spraker, Harvard Law School Library

MODERATOR/COORDINATOR:

• Sharon Bradley, University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law

AALL BODY OF KNOWLEDGE DOMAINS: Information Management, Marketing + Outreach

CANCELLATION AND OTHER POLICIES:

No refunds will be given for any purchased AALL conference recording. This applies to non-AALL members only as the recordings are free for AALL members.

The opinions shared during this program represent the views of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). Recording, capturing, or using AI tools to duplicate, transcribe, or otherwise reproduce an AALL program in any form is strictly prohibited without prior written consent from AALL. This includes, but is not limited to audio, video, or any other content shared. By accessing an AALL recording, you agree to adhere to this policy.