SabbaticalNew

The Design Features for Law Libraries web site originated as a sabbatical project conducted by Robert Genovese, Head of Technical Services at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law Library. The primary goal of this project was to gather a diversity of design alternatives to assist in planning for a new law library facility. To accomplish this, law libraries across the country were visited and digital photographs taken of their facilities. This project was carried out during the summers of 2001 and 2002. During the summer of 2001, sixteen libraries located in the western United States were visited on three separate trips. These trips took a total of thirty-five days to cover more than 9,500 miles in eleven states. During the summer of 2002, seven libraries were visited in the eastern United States. Maps showing these trips appear below.
Sabbatical Trip 2001	Sabbatical Trip 2002

Each site visit generally lasted from two to three hours and consisted of a meeting with a library representative, a short library tour, and the taking of a series of digital photographs. The creation of this web site provided a means by which the hundreds of digital photographs taken could be organized and presented in a meaningful way, and as a method for making the information garnered available to a wider audience. Two articles giving accounts of some of the experiences that took place on these trips and a personal view on the meaning of a sabbatical appeared in Law Library Journal: "Highways, Buildings, and Mountains: Driving My Way Through a Sabbatical", v. 94, no. 2 (Spring 2002); and "Taking Care of Business: Further Along the Sabbatical Trail", v. 95, no. 3 (Summer 2003). Beside libraries, the sabbatical trips took in many of the most beautiful and scenic spots in the country. If you are interested in a very small sampling of personal pictures from these trips, click here. Return to Design Home Page