Competency: Reference, Research and Patron Services

Target Audience: Librarians who are interested in learning about Abraham Lincoln’s place in American legal history, or the creation and maintenance of scholarly reference works and major special collections

Learning Outcomes:

1) Participants will be able to explain the significance of Abraham Lincoln’s career as a lawyer and president by examining copies of his original manuscripts and legal documents.

2) Participants will be able to describe the processes involved in creating and maintaining scholarly reference works and major special collections, and developing effective access tools for them.

Celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth by exploring his connection to modern libraries. The panel of speakers for this program will present an in-depth look at several important resources for Lincoln’s original documents and papers. First, the panel will examine a traditional resource for historical research, the archival collection, with a behind-the-scenes look at the Lincoln Manuscripts at the Library of Congress. Next, they will describe the Lincoln Legal Papers Project, which has produced two seminal reference works providing contemporary researchers with both print and electronic access to Lincoln’s legal materials. Finally, the speakers will share their expertise and insight into the complex processes involved in developing and maintaining their collections of historical documents and ensuring access to the materials in various formats. This program will provide librarians with a unique perspective on the Lincoln legacy and its role in their profession.