Sandra B. Placzek

Associate Director of the Schmid Law Library and Marvin & Virginia Schmid Foundation Professor of Law Library

logo-twitter-bird(logos)

Twitter

folder-2(folders)

Digital Commons

Professor Sandy Placzek

Biography

Professor Placzek joined the Schmid Law Library faculty in October 1998 as an Assistant Professor and Reference Librarian. She received her B.A. in Art History from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1986, her J.D. from Creighton University School of Law in 1993, and a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Texas-Austin in 1995. Before coming to Nebraska, Professor Placzek worked as the Acquisitions/Reference Librarian at the Drake Law Library.

During the first half of 2000, Professor Placzek served as the Interim Director of the law library; in October 2000 she was promoted to the Head of Public Services. In December 2003, she was promoted to Associate Professor of Law Library. In 2007, she was promoted to Professor of Law Library. In July 2010 she was appointed Associate Director.

In addition to her reference duties, Professor Placzek co-teaches the legal research component of First Year Legal Research and Writing, supervises the reference librarians and public services staff, and is responsible for the law library acquisitions.

Professor Placzek is a member of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), the Mid-American Association of Law Libraries (MAALL), the American Library Associate (ALA), the Nebraska State Bar Association (NSBA) and the American Bar Association (ABA). She has served as the co-editor and then editor of MAALL Markings (newsletter of the Mid-American Association of Law Libraries).

Articles
  • Treasures Lost/Treasures Found. Law Librarian's ambitious, loving project: indexing the Nebraska Transcript  51 Nebraska Transcript, no. 2, Fall 2018 at 15.
  • “The Mentoring Family Tree: How intergenerational concepts can inform and improve our mentoring relationships,”  AALL Spectrum, July 2015, at 25 (with Michelle Hook Dewey and Candle Wester)
  • “The Importance of Relationships: Our relationships with various constituents define what we do and who we are,”  AALL Spectrum, July 2013, at 28
  • CALI (Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction) exercise on Nebraska Secondary Resources (with Matt Novak And Stefanie Pearlman)  Spring 2015
  • CALI (Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction) exercise on Nebraska Primary Resources: Legislative and Judicial  Spring 2008
  • "Top Four Insights."  Legal Information ALERT, Volume 27, no. 4, April 2008 at 8
  • "Review, Revise, Rewrite."  Legal Information ALERT, Volume 27, no. 3, March 2008 at 6
  • "Bells and Whistles."  Legal Information ALERT, Volume 27, no. 1, January 2008 at 8
  • "CALI Diary."  Legal Information ALERT, Volume 26, no. 8, September 2007 at 8
  • "Diary of a CALI Exercise."  Legal Information ALERT, Volume 26, no. 4, April 2007 at 8
  • "Diary of a CALI Exercise."  Legal Information ALERT, Volume 26, no. 2, February 2007 at 9.
  • All in a Day's Work: What's a Reference Librarian to Do?,  19 Legal Reference Services Quarterly 41 (2001)
Book Chapters
  • Nebraska Prestatehood Legal Materials, chapter 28, volume 2 in Prestatehood Legal Materials: a Fifty-State Research Guide (Michael Chiorazzi & Marguerite Most, eds., Haworth Information Press, 2006).
  • All in a Day's Work: What's a Referece Librarian Do?, in Emerging Solutions in Reference Services: Implications for Libraries in the New Millenium (John D. Edwards ed., Haworth Information Press 2001).
Presentations
  • “The Future is Now: Teaching ALR during a 5-week Summer Session.” Mid-America Association of Law Libraries (MAALL) annual conference. Des Moines, IA. October 2023
  • "Work in the Time of COVID-19: Shift Happens." Mid-America Association of Law Libraries (MAALL) Virtual Conference. Presentation with Karen Wallace, Allison Reeve Davis, & Sarah Kammer. October 2020
  • "COVID-19 Response: Adjusting to Online Instruction." Panelist. University of Nebraska Council of Libraries (UNCL) Practicing Pedagogies Summit (Virtual). June 2020
  • "Totally Amazing Ideas to Completely Rip Off from Other Libraries . . . Well, Mostly Libraries, but Other Departments as well . . . To Make Your Own, Show Your Value, and Market Your Library." Mid-America Association of Law Libraries (MAALL) annual conference. St. Louis, MO. October 2019
  • "Indexing the Nebraska Transcript: Who, What, Where, Why and How: or how you might approach indexing a publication unique to your institution." Mid-America Association of Law Libraries (MAALL) annual conference. Memphis, TN. October 2018
  • "Developing a Winning Strategy for Library Facilities Management in Three Easy Steps . . . Well, more than three, but who's counting?" Mid-America Association of Law Libraries (MAALL) annual conference. With Candle Wester. Memphis, TN. October 2018
  • "Library Facilities Management: The Physical, The Theoretical, and The Practical . . . or Who Moved These Chairs?" Southeaster Chapter American Association of Law Libraries (SEAALL) conference. With Candle Wester. Nashville, TN. April 2018
  • "Mentoring: How Giving Back Moves Your Career Forward," joint Southeastern Chapter American Association of Law Libraries/Southwestern Association of Law Libraries (SEAALL/SWALL) conference. With Candle Wester and Michelle Hook Dewey. Dallas, TX. April 2016.
  • "Thinking While Searching: Incorporating Legal Analysis into Legal Research Class," American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) annual conference. With Teresa Conaway and Stefanie Pearlman. Milwaukee, WI. October 2015.
  • Strateic Integration of E-books and Digital Content in Law Libraries, American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) annual meeting. With Darla Jackson and Bess Reynolds. Philadelphia, PA. July 2015.
  • We Are Family – I Got All My Mentees and Me, Mid-America Association of Law Libraries (MAALL) annual meeting. With Candle Wester and Michelle Hook Dewey. Chicago, IL. October 2014.
  • We Are Family – I Got All My Mentors and Mentees with Me: The Family Tree of Mentoring, SEAALL Institute, component of Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries (SEAALL) annual meeting. Knoxville, TN April 2014.
  • Annual Reports – not just dry statistics, Mid-American Association of Law Libraries (MAALL) convention presentation. St. Louis, MO. October 2012.
  • Nebraska Online Legal Self-Help Center (PLTS), NLA (Nebraska Library Association)/NEMA (Nebraska Educational Media Association) Annual Conference. October 6, 2011 with Debora Brownyard and Janet Bancroft
  • Annual Reports – Why You Should Consider Creating One, NLA/NEMA Annual Conference. October 6, 2011
  • Say What???!! – Professional Librarians without a JD at the Reference Desk, Joint Annual Meeting of MAALL and SWALL. Lawrence, Kansas. November 3, 2011 with Brian Striman and Marcia Dority Baker
  • You have learned well, Grasshopper’ – Mentoring and Preparing Students Interested in Careers in Law Librarianship, Joint Annual Meeting of MAALL and SWALL. Lawrence, Kansas. November 3, 2011 with Candle Wester-Mittan, Douglas Lind, and Cindy Shearrer
  • Web Technology: Making it Work for You, Estate and Business Planning Continuing Education Program, May 2007. University of Nebraska College of Law and School of Accountancy In Cooperation with Nebraska Continuing Legal Education, Inc. With Stefanie Pearlman
  • Blogs, blawgs, bloggers, and blogging, Estate and Business Planning Continuing Education Program, May 2005 (University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law and School of Accountancy in cooperation with Nebraska Continuing Legal Education, Inc.) with Stefanie Pearlman
  • Basic Legal Reference for Non-law-librarians Librarians: An Outreach Program, coordinator and presenter with Richard Leiter (co-presenter) and Stefanie Pearlman (moderator) at the American Association of Law Libraries 98th Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX, July 2005
  • From 0 to 60 . . . In 60 Minutes, Estate and Business Planning, May 2004. University of Nebraska College of Law and School of Accountancy in cooperation with Nebraska Continuing Legal Education, Inc. With Stefanie Pearlman
  • Basic Legal Reference & Collection Development for Non-Law Librarians, Continuing Education Program in co-operation with the Nebraska Library Commission. July 1 & August 1, 2003. With Richard Leiter
  • Internet Tax Research – Beyond Proposed Legislation, Estate and Business Planning, May 2003. University of Nebraska College of Law and School of Accountancy in cooperation with Nebraska Continuing Legal Education, Inc. With Richard Leiter
  • I'll Worry About Proposed Legislation If It Ever Becomes Law? Not Acceptable After EGTRRA!, Estate and Business Planning, May 2002. University of Nebraska College of Law and School of Accountancy in cooperation with Nebraska Continuing Legal Education, Inc. With Richard Leiter
Other
  • Date: 

    Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Media
  • Schmid LibGuides  Research assistance, subject guides, and useful resources compiled by your friendly librarians. Know what we know - find it in LibGuides
  • CALI Lessons  
Other
  • Book Review: Who Decides? States as Laboratories of Constitutional Experimentation  by Jeffrey S. Sutton, 114 Law Library Journal 225 (2022).
  • Book Review: Keeping Up With New Legal Titles: The Second Creation: Fixing the American Constitution in the Founding Era  by Jonathan Gienapp, 111 Law Library Journal 255, 263 (2019).
  • Book Review: Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World  by Linda Hirshman, 108 Law Library Journal 4 (2016).

Education

  • M.L.I.S., University of Texas-Austin, 1995
  • J.D., Creighton University School of Law, 1993
  • B.A., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1986

Areas of Expertise

Appointments

  • Professor of Law Library, 2007
  • Associate Professor of Law Library, 2004
  • Assistant Professor of Law Library, 1998