Research-a-thons An opportunity to collaborate and face real world challenges Alex Burdett - Learning and Research Librarian, Law, UVic Alisa Lazear - Former Law Librarian Intern, UVic Vancouver Island Library Staff Conference - 27 April 2018

We acknowledge with respect the Lkwungen-speaking peoples on whose traditional territory the university stands and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

What is a Research-a-thon? “A researchathon is a collective marathon that seeks either to answer a research question or to build a research resource. This is accomplished by bringing together a group of researchers, librarians, technologists, and students in one room for a full day of collaborative work toward a specific goal.” http://cesairelegacies.cdrs.columbia.edu/researchathon/ What is a Research-a-thon? http://cesairelegacies.cdrs.columbia.edu/researchathon/

Legacies of Césaire Research-a-thon Columbia University By Jean Baptiste Devaux [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Gateways to the First World War Research-a-thon Portsmouth Museum (UK) By State Archives of North Carolina [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

Toolkits for Change Research-a-thon Simmons College (Progressive Librarians Guild - Student Chapter) By Daderot [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

Nationwide Research-a-thon #Research4Refugees 2017 Nationwide Research-a-thon https://issuu.com/uviclawalumni/docs/vistasspring2017 p33 http://www.slaw.ca/2017/02/10/research4refugees-a-cross-canada-law-student-effort/ https://www.saanichnews.com/news/uvic-law-students-battle-travel-ban/ https://www.facebook.com/events/1442795092399403/

The Enviro Law Research-a-Thon 2018 Mining Law in BC - Digging up a Dirty History

Why they are Important Creating social change Experiential learning Student-initiated learning Generating knowledge Building community Why they are Important “This type of event shows the way students are willing to engage when they are given the chance to learn with a purpose.” Andhra Azevedo, ELC Club President Creating Social Change - students motivated/empowered to be an agent of change in their communities, using their skills to do something meaningful. Experiential and student-initiated learning - Students can see how important legislative history can be in legal practice. It’s a skill that needs requires practice. extensive practice in the experiential context reinforces the learning of novel skills as students work towards a larger purpose, facing real problems to solve, obstacles to hurdle and paths to navigate Allows students to take control over their own learning Generating Knowledge - creating a tool future researchers can build upon, shared knowledge base Building community - foster student community, librarians interacting with students, students interacting with leaders in profession/lawyers Applies to Uvic and research-a-thons in general

Lessons Learned & Tips for Hosting Your Own Before More time is better than less time Maximize connections During Engage and facilitate After It’s not over until it’s over “There are good ships and there are bad ships, but the best ships are partnerships.” Before More prep time is better than less - but being flexible is important Prepare resources (print and digital) consult with students (what do you need and how can we support you) Explain room restrictions Promotion - get the word out (social media) - talking to communications - students handled photo permissions Organize shifts among librarians - plan out the day/ always have a librarian on hand Maximize connections. Reaching out (requesting access to additional resources from other librarians, vendors for special access and funding, sponsorship) During Engage with students and facilitate their legal research learning Have somebody on hand to take pictures during event - document event After Return print resources It’s not over until it's over - clean-up research, still work to be done afterwards - quality control Document what happened - successes and challenges Continue the conversation - maintain momentum - following-up with students - keep relationship alive Next steps - We are looking at how to establish student-initiated research-a-thons as a regular event and learning opportunity at the UVic law library

Questions? Comments? Alex Burdett Email: burdetta@uvic.ca Alisa Lazear Email: alisalazear@gmail.com