Boston University School of Law

Raquel M. Ortiz

Education

Harvard College
B.A., 1988
Major in Psychology.

Simmons College, Graduate School of Library & Information Science
M.S., Library Science, 1991

Suffolk University Law School
J.D., cum laude, 1998
Member of the Massachusetts Bar since 1998, currently on retired status.

Professional Library Experience

Boston University, Pappas Law Library

Associate Director (March 2008 to present)
Manage and supervise the day-to-day operation of the law library including faculty services, reference and research services, instructional and training programs, circulation, reserve, document delivery, interlibrary loan, and library information via the library website, blogs, library guides, research publications, etc. Supervise a staff of twelve, including professional librarians, paraprofessionals and support staff. Assist with the overall administration, planning, management, and supervision of the law library; including establishing and implementing policies, procedures and priorities; short and long-range planning; identifying new services and technologies for the library; staff hiring, training and development; marketing and communication; purchasing and procurement; and space planning.

Head of Reference Services/Acting Head of Public Services (June 2002 to February 2008)
Develop and coordinate reference and research services. Supervise and train four reference librarians. Supervise and train department research assistants and library school interns, when hired. Provide reference, research services, and legal research instruction for the Boston University community and outside researchers. Participate in the development of and updates to the library website. Supervise the development and execution of training programs and teaching materials, with special emphasis on electronic instruction. Participate in the development of public services policies.

Senior Reference & Electronic Services Librarian (November 1999 to May 2002)
Provided reference and research assistance to students, faculty, and other researchers. Assisted faculty with online research advised them of new electronic research training resources in their disciplines and organized presentations to demonstrate and teach new products and enhancements. Organized all online research training programs for first year law students. Provided advanced training for upper-class students, journal members, and research assistants. Developed and taught online research instructional programs. Created electronic research resources for students, faculty, and other researchers.

Harvard Law School Library

Information Access Librarian (September 1996 to October 1999)
Supervised document delivery staff comprised of 2 staff members, 4 library school interns, and 8-10 student assistants. Responsible for hiring, training, and evaluating same staff. Managed interlibrary loan, faculty document delivery, and intra-campus document delivery services. Served as the primary source of information on document delivery practices and procedures. Designed and maintained information resources relating to document delivery including web pages, handouts, and staff orientation. Responsible for all document delivery vendor contact, including setting up accounts and training sessions.

Other Library Experience

Harvard Law School Library
Various circulation and access services positions with increasing responsibilities (April 1992-August 1996)

Harvard University Libraries
Various collection development, reference and public services positions (June 1988-May 1992).

Teaching, Presentations, and Training Experience

Teaching Experience

Boston University School of Law

  • Lecturer (Spring 2007 to present): Advanced Legal Research JD879, with Marlene Alderman.

Simmons College GSLIS

  • Adjunct Faculty Member (June 2005-present): Teach Legal Information Sources course.
  • Continuing Education Instructor (June 2006-present): Team-taught one day Introduction to Legal Research course (June 2005). Team-taught two day workshop on Legal Research: An Expanded Introduction (June 2006).

Library Instructional Specialties

  • Electronic legal research: Internet, LexisNexis and Westlaw, Interdisciplinary databases
  • Intellectual Property research
  • Legislative History research
  • Administrative Law research
  • Social Sciences research
  • Bluebook training
  • Web 2.0: Blogs, RSS Feeds, Wikis
  • Courseware: Blackboard 8, Courseinfo

Presentations & Training

Attorneys and Judges

  • Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE): “Massachusetts Case Law and Citators”, in Mary Ann Neary (Program Coordinator), Conducting Massachusetts Legal Research, February 6, 2001; August 1, 2002; December 15, 2002; June 8, 2004.  “Massachusetts Case Law and Citators”, in Mary Ann Neary (Program Coordinator), Unlocking Massachusetts Legal Research, June 7, 2005; June 13, 2006; June 7, 2007. “Case Law Research”, in Brian Harkins (Program Coordinator), Accessing Electronic Sources, January 21, 2003.
  • Massachusetts Bar Association: Casemaker training, January 2003-July 2008. Panelist, 300 Ways to Use Your Law Degree: Career Options In and Out of the Law, May 16, 2003; October 21, 2004.
  • Social Law Library: Fastcase training for the Flaschner Judicial Institute meeting, June 16, 2005.

Law Librarians

  • Association of New Hampshire Law Librarians, Hands-on Internet Exploration, June 22, 2001.

Publications

The CS-SIS Web 2.0 Challenge: A Participant’s Perspective, LLNE News, v.28 n.1, at 5 (2008), available at http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/llne/LLNENews/PDF/2008v28n1.pdf.

Boston University Pappas Law Library Facebook page: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Boston-MA/Boston-University-Pappas-Law-Library/24016812122?ref=ts (2008).

Training for Law Journal Students, with David Bachman and Stephanie Burke, in Gail A. Partin, comp. and ed., Twelfth National Legal Research Teach-In Training Resource Kit 55 (2004).

Becoming More Assertive: A Review of “Envisioning a Bolder Tomorrow: Getting to Yes by Saying No More Often”, LLNE News, v.23 n.3, at 1 (2003), available at http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/llne/LLNENews/PDF/2003v23n3.pdf 

Increase Your PRQ! PR Committee Web Site Can Help with Promotion Strategies, AALL Spectrum, May 2003 at 8, available at http://www.aallnet.org/committee/pr/prcolumn/2003-05.htm

Summer Research Assistant Orientation & Training, with Stephanie Burke, in Eleventh National Legal Research Teach-In Training Resource Kit, at 71 (2003).

LLNE Volunteers at the Prison Book Program, LLNE News, v.23 n.1, at 16 (2003), available at http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/llne/LLNENews/PDF/2003v23n1.pdf

Intellectual Property Research Guide, http://www.bu.edu/lawlibrary/research/ip/

Massachusetts Legal Research, http://www.bu.edu/lawlibrary/research/mass/

It's All In Your Imagination: How to Create a Public Relations Display, AALL Spectrum, November 2002, at 24, available at http://www.aallnet.org/committee/pr/prcolumn/2002-02.htm

Marketing Here, Marketing There, Marketing EVERYWHERE, AALL Spectrum, May 2002, at 28, available at http://www.aallnet.org/committee/pr/prcolumn/2002-05.htm

Research Road Map: How to Prepare Your Note, Cert. or Seminar Paper, with Stephanie Burke and Rebecca Hewitt, in Tenth Annual National Legal Research Teach-in Training Kit, at 15 (2002).

Researching Caselaw in Massachusetts, in Massachusetts Legal Research: Maximizing New and Old Tools for Effective Searching (MCLE 2001).

Legal Education, Past & Future, 20 n.4 LLNE News at 10 (2000).

Book Review, Licensing Desk Book, Legal Information Alert, November/December 2000, at 12.

Book Review, Trademark Law: Protection, Enforcement and Licensing, Legal Information Alert, April 2000, at 10.

Online Source Review, Trademark WEB, Legal Information Alert, November/December 1998, at 12.

Book Review, Information Law Alert, Bimonthly Rev. L. Books, July-Aug. 1997, at 4.

Professional Activities

National Activities: American Association of Law Libraries

Academic Law Libraries SIS, Student Services Committee, 2008-present

  • Co-developed guidelines for services to law journals.

Latino Law Librarians Caucus, July 2005-present. (Chair 2005-2006)

  • Coordinated the development of the caucus bylaws. Manage website and discussion forum.

AALLNET Coordinator, September 2005-September 2008

  • Three year term appointment.
  • Serve as content coordinator for the website of the association. Advise on the design and site architecture.

Latino Law Librarians Caucus, July 2005-present. (Chair 2005-2006)

  • Coordinated the development of the caucus bylaws.  Manage website and discussion forum.

Academic Law Libraries SIS, Faculty Services Committee, 2004-2006. (Co-chair 2004-2005)

  • Coordinated the development and administration of a comprehensive survey on faculty services.

AALLNET Advisory Committee, 2003-2005. (Chair 2004-2005)

  • Coordinated AALLNET Webmasters Workshop for 2004 AALL Annual Meeting & Conference.
  • Assisted in the development of information sources for webmasters and discussion list owners.
  • Communicated committee activities via discussion forums and AALL Spectrum.
  • Developed the committee website, http://www.aallnet.org/committee/aac/.

Local Advisory Committee, 2003-2004

Public Relations Committee, 2001-2003.

Local Activities: Law Librarians of New England

Executive Committee, 2003-2006

  • President, 2004-2005: Led the effort to incorporate, apply for tax-exempt status, and revise bylaws to reflect current practices of the association.
  • Past President, 2005-2006; Vice-President/President-Elect, 2003-2004

Communications Committee, 2002-present, (Chair 2002-2004, 2005-present)

  • Coordinate the activities of the Public Relations, Newsletter and Internet subcommittees.
  • Developed online meetings for the committee and support all activities of the subcommittees.

Internet Subcommittee, 1993-present

Awards

  • American Association of Law Librarians Annual Meeting grant, 1994. 
  • George A. Strait Minority Stipend / John Johnson LEXIS-NEXIS Memorial Scholarship for law librarians pursuing a law or library school degree, awarded by the American Association of Law Libraries, 1995.
  • Law Librarians of New England Annual Meeting scholarship, 1995.