The Well-Furnished Business Law Library

Abstract

"Publish or Perish!" While this time-worn phrase rings equally loud and clear for most business law faculty, the opportunity to successfully publish is many times limited for some faculty members by their lack of access to adequate research material. For those teaching at large universities with well-stocked libraries, the choices of research sources are many and varied. However, for those teaching at small universities or community colleges, the choices may be quite limited indeed. Additionally, the smaller schools may be located at too great a distance from law schools or large universities to make travel to and from those libraries a practical solution. Often, at the smaller schools, business law teachers may be given a very limited budget and allowed to order only a few books a year. The question arises, then, for the business law faculty at smaller schools: "What are the most important research sources to have in the university or college libraries?" If a priority list could be drawn up, those business law faculties at smaller schools would be able to use the little library money they do have in a more beneficial way. This article will analyze which library materials business law teachers have selected as necessary resource tools, and the priority in which they should be acquired. The information supporting this article will be acquired by a survey of randomly selected teachers of business law in AACSB-accredited schools.