Christopher O'Byrne

Research Librarian

Office: 2309 Biolchini Hall
Phone: 574-631-5664
Fax: 574-631-6371
Email: cobyrne@nd.edu

Christopher S. O'Byrne joined the faculty of the Kresge Law Library as a research librarian in 2006. He earned his B.A. in Classics from Reed College, an M.A. in Teaching, Latin and Classical Humanities from the University of Massachusetts, a J.D. from the University of Washington, and he completed his M.L.I.S. with a Certificate in Law Librarianship from the University of Washington in 2006. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, O'Byrne completed a residency at Washington University in St. Louis as a Law Library Fellow. O'Byrne has also worked in the Reference, Technical Services, and Circulation departments of the Seattle University Law Library and the Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library at the University of Washington. At Notre Dame, he has supervised multiple library internships for graduate and undergraduate students from Indiana and other states. As Chair of the library's communications team, O'Byrne is the lead coordinator for the library's electronic bulletin board, social media, and other patron oriented promotional initiatives. A member of multiple academic honor societies, he is also the former editor of the "AALL Excellence in Marketing" award winning Law Library News and a recipient of the FCIL "Spirit of the FCIL-SIS Award." O'Byrne is a member of three American Association of Law Libraries Special Interest Sections: Academic Law Libraries, Foreign Comparative and International Law, and Legal History and Rare Books. His professional interests include copyright, disability law, and Roman law. However, he is eager to work with Law School faculty and students in any area of legal, or non-legal, research and has served as a faculty supervisor for law students' summer externships and directed readings for a wide range of placements and topics.

Courses Taught

LAW60703, Legal Research LAW70210, Advanced Legal Research: State, County & Municipal

Scholarship

Articles Christopher S. O'Byrne, Respondent, Member to Member: If Money Were No Object, What Are Two Features You Would Seek in Your New/Remodeled Dream Library, 13 AALL Spectrum 39 (May 2009). Book Review, 14.3 LH&RB Newsl. 26 (2008) (Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antonius (James Moore & Michael Silverthorne eds., Francis Hutcheson & James Moor trans., Liberty Fund 2008) (1742)). Introducing Law Students to Nonlegal Databases, 17 Trends L. Libr. Mgmt. & Tech. 27 (2007).
Law Library Newsletter Off the Shelf (death-match edition): Bloomberg Law v. Lexis Nexis v. WestlawNext, 4.4 Law Lib. News 3 (January – February 2013). Distraught Over These Departures or the End of Break?, 3.6 LAW LIB. NEWS 1 (March - April 2012). ROC National Diners Guide 2012: A New Way to Decide Where to Eat Off Campus, 3.5 LAW LIB. NEWS 9 (Jan. - Feb. 2012). Off the Shelf: Catching Up on Legal News with JURIST and U.S. Law Week, 3.5 LAW LIB. NEWS 9 (Jan. - Feb. 2012). NDSurplus: File Cabinets, and Furniture, and Electronics! Oh My!, 3.5 LAW LIB. NEWS 9 (Jan. - Feb. 2012). Did Wikipedia's Blackout Leave You in the Dark?, 3.5 LAW LIB. NEWS 9 (Jan. - Feb. 2012). Off the Shelf: Dodd-Frank Act Resources, 3.4 LAW LIB. NEWS 5 (Nov. - Dec. 2011). Popular Magazines Now Available in the Reading Room!, 3.3 LAW LIB. NEWS 5 (Sept. - Oct. 2011). Off the -Shelf- Shelves: A Review of Past Columns!, 3.1 LAW LIB. NEWS 5 (May - June 2011). Summer Research Assistance!, 3.1 LAW LIB. NEWS 4 (May - June 2011). It Came From -Outer Space- OLRC!, 2.6 LAW LIB. NEWS 8 (Mar. - Apr. 2011). Judicial Trivia: Judge Richard A. Posner on the Bluebook, 2.6 LAW LIB. NEWS 7 (Mar. - Apr. 2011). Don't Have Time to Read Fr. Hesburgh's Autobiography? See the DVD!, 2.5 LAW LIB. NEWS 8 (Jan. - Feb. 2011). Don't Have Time to Read The Nine? Check Out the Audiobook!, 2.4 LAW LIB. NEWS 6 (Nov. - Dec. 2010). Finding Study Aids and Making Outlines, 2.4 LAW LIB. NEWS 4 (Nov. - Dec. 2010). Planning on Practicing in New York?, 2.3 LAW LIB. NEWS 5 (Sept. - Oct. 2010). Have Visitors or Would-be Visitors?, 2.3 LAW LIB. NEWS 8 (Sept. - Oct. 2010). Is Fear of © Infringement Preventing You from Using Film Clips in Class?, 2.3 LAW LIB. NEWS 8 (Sept. - Oct. 2010). (Heart)Breaking News: 19th ed. of Bluebook Now Available, 2.2 LAW LIB. NEWS 8 (July - Aug. 2010). Research Assistant Resource Recap, 2.2 LAW LIB. NEWS 5 (July - Aug. 2010). Off the Shelf: Top Clerkship Research Resources, 2.2 LAW LIB. NEWS 4 (July - Aug. 2010). Off the Shelf: C-SPAN Video Library, 2.1 LAW LIB. NEWS 6 (May - June 2010). Proximity Searching on HeinOnline, 1.6 LAW LIB. NEWS 3 (Mar. - Apr. 2010). Off the Shelf: Develop Awareness of Current Legal Issues with United States Law Week, 1.6 LAW LIB. NEWS 4 (Mar. - Apr. 2010). From Google Scholar to Google SLOJ!, 1.5 LAW LIB. NEWS 3 (Jan. - Feb. 2010). Off the Shelf: Catching up on Legal News with JURIST (and Other Resources)!, 1.5 LAW LIB. NEWS 4 (Jan. - Feb. 2010). Off the Shelf: Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports, 1.4 LAW LIB. NEWS 5 (Nov. - Dec. 2009). Off the Shelf: Encyclopedic Alternatives to Wikipedia, 1.3 LAW LIB. NEWS 4 (Sept. - Oct. 2009). Movies Available for Free 3-Day Checkout!, 1.3 LAW LIB. NEWS 5 (Sept. - Oct. 2009). Resources for Research Assistants, 1.2 LAW LIB. NEWS 4 (July - Aug. 2009). Off the Shelf: Supreme Court Nomination and Confirmation Resources, 1.2 LAW LIB. NEWS 7 (July - Aug. 2009). Cost-Awareness, No-Cost, and Low-Cost Legal Research, 1.1 LAW LIB. NEWS 4 (May - June 2009). Off the Shelf: Introducing LexisNexis Congressional, the Sure Cure for Microfiche Melancholia!, 1.1 LAW LIB. NEWS 7 (May - June 2009).

Areas of Expertise

• Legal Research