THE NECESSITY FOR ON-LINE RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE FOR LEGAL RESEARCHERS AND LAW LIBRARIANS

Abstract

Research is the heart of any academic engagement and in this digital age, online research is primary. The law library is the laboratory where legal academics carry experiments and conduct research. The shelf and archives are our research tools and specimen for the research we do. Thus, the librarians are therefore important in the achievement of quality research and documentation. In the 21st century, we have seen that research has progressed rapidly from the realm of archival, virtual and traditional mode to online and the use of internet. It is so complex and dynamic such that no training, seminar or workshop can exhaust all that is required to know because new things keep happening, new challenges keep coming up that a continuous and adaptive attitude is the solution. Research is now carried out offline and online and in most cases more of online than offline. This is because it is assumed that any information seeker on the internet will always desire to have easy and timely access to relevant and reliable information