LEGAL RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY INSTRUCTION LIBRARIAN - Law School

Position Summary

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law invites applications for a Legal Research & Technology Instruction Librarian at the Barco Law Library. This is a faculty librarian position for an early-to mid-career professional who approaches librarianship as a teaching profession and is eager to build a meaningful role at a research-intensive law school.

About the Role

The successful candidate will be a core member of the library’s public service team, with primary responsibilities in legal research instruction, student engagement, reference services, and faculty support. The position carries significant instructional weight: the new librarian will teach Foundations of Legal Research, the required first-year course, and will have genuine ownership over the development of additional instruction in legal research, technology, and related areas over time.

Responsibilities

• Teach Foundations of Legal Research, with responsibility for a section of the incoming 1L class.
• Develop and teach advanced or specialized instruction over time, which may include upper-level legal research, AI-focused research methods, or research modules integrated into doctrinal and clinical courses.
• Integrate instruction on AI-assisted legal research tools into core and advanced research courses as these tools become standard components of legal practice.
• Prepare and maintain instructional materials including research guides, course resources, and tutorials.
• Participate in guest instruction in doctrinal, clinical, and skills courses at faculty invitation.
• Serve as a visible, accessible resource for students seeking research assistance and guidance on substantive writing projects, including law review, moot court, and seminar papers.
• Design and lead workshops and informal learning opportunities throughout the academic year, including programming on legal technology and AI tools, and assisting other departments with programming for students preparing for summer positions, clerkships, and bar examination.
• Contribute to library programming during orientation and academic success initiatives.
• Build relationships with student organizations and clinical programs to expand the library’s presence and relevance in students’ academic lives.
• Participate in the reference desk rotation, providing research assistance to students, faculty, staff, and library patrons.
• Serve as liaison librarian to an assigned area of the faculty, providing research consultations, collection input, and instructional support.
• Support faculty and students in evaluating and integrating AI tools into legal research, writing, and course design.
• Aid in faculty research activities including source verification, citation checking, and bibliography compilation.
• Serve as vendor liaison and facilitate access to databases and LibGuides.
• Library Technology & AI (Developing Area of Responsibility)
• Develop familiarity with AI-assisted legal research platforms (e.g., Westlaw AI, Lexis+ AI, CoCounsel); deliver at least one workshop or instructional module on AI tools for legal research; begin identifying opportunities to integrate technology content into existing instruction.
• Ongoing development: Develop and deliver instruction AI research tools, legal technology platforms, and emerging practice technologies; support faculty and students in evaluating and integrating AI tools into legal research and writing; contribute to law school-wide conversations and initiatives on AI in legal education and practice.
• Institutional support: The library will provide dedicated professional development funding, conference support, and protected time for the successful candidate to build capacity in this area.

Qualifications

• J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school.
• M.L.I.S. or equivalent graduate degree in library or information science from an ALA-accredited program.
• Demonstrable interest in law librarianship and a commitment to earning M.L.I.S. in a specific timeframe will be accepted as a substitute for the degree at the time of hiring.
• Commitment to legal research instruction as a core professional responsibility.
• Strong grounding in legal research methods, sources, and tools across primary and secondary materials.
• Willingness to develop and maintain expertise in emerging legal technologies, including AI-assisted research tools, with institutional support.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; ability to work effectively with faculty, students, and colleagues in a demanding academic environment.