By: Ellie Kaverman, Office of the Bicentennial Graduate Assistant
When Betty LeBus came to Indiana University in 1950 as the newly hired law librarian and instructor in law, she inherited a library that was in its infancy. In the years to come, LeBus would help build the library from the ground up.
During her 28-year tenure LeBus contributed to much of the law library’s astronomical growth, more than tripling its physical size. The library staffing grew from two to ten full-time employees. She developed plans for a new law school building and served as project manager throughout its construction.
In 1977, near the end of her tenure, computerized legal research with the Lexis software system was implemented at the law library, one of the first law libraries in the country to do so. Finally, Betty LeBus was the first woman in the law school to receive tenure and hold professorial rank.
LeBus’ contributions are set against the historical backdrop of a national movement to develop law libraries across the country, as world events caused the law discipline to expand in subject matter. LeBus’ time as law librarian exemplifies how the mid-20th century law library was rapidly expanding and evolving.
Today’s Jerome Hall Law Library at the Maurer School of Law is indebted to the hard work of many individuals who helped better the school, including Betty LeBus.
Early Life and Education
Betty Virginia LeBus was born in Bremerton, WA in 1923. She attended the University of Washington and earned her B.S. in 1947 and her LLB. in 1948.[1] As a law student in 1948, she began work as an assistant librarian in the University of Washington Law Library.
After completing her law degree, LeBus decided to continue her education and enrolled in the law librarianship program at her alma mater. In 1949, she graduated with her B.A. in law librarianship. LeBus was the sole member of her graduating class, as well as the first graduate under Marian Gould Gallagher, whom the University of Washington Law Library would come to be named after in 1981.[2] The law librarianship program at the University of Washington is noted as a prestigious program.[3]
After earning her three degrees, LeBus spent the next year at the University of Washington, continuing in her role as an assistant librarian. In 1950, LeBus received an offer to become the law librarian at the Indiana University School of Law.[4]
In 1937, just 12 years before LeBus earned her law librarianship degree, the Association of American Law Schools established a requirement for all member schools to employ “a qualified librarian, whose principal activities are devoted to the development and maintenance of an effective library service.”[5]
While many law schools already had law librarians, including Rowena Compton who was hired as the first law librarian for the Indiana University School of Law in 1925, it was not yet a requirement for accreditation.[6]
As William Roalfe, a law librarian and former President of the American Association of Law Librarians, put it at the time, many law schools were employing “an untrained but deserving widow of some professor, a broken down lawyer or teacher who has not made good, a clerk, or perhaps a regular faculty member who is more or less fully occupied with teaching and other duties.”[7]
Roalfe proposed that the law librarian should have academic training in library science, understanding of the law, and experience with law libraries; Betty LeBus checked all three boxes and was on her way to Indiana.
Coming to Indiana University
When LeBus arrived in Bloomington in 1950, she was tasked with library administration and basic instruction for students, such as legal bibliography. LeBus was the only woman on the law school faculty at the time of her hiring and for the next several years.
The law library that Lebus inherited in 1950 held just over 57,000 pieces.[8] By the end of LeBus’ tenure as law librarian in 1978, the law library held approximately 194,000 pieces, ranging from volumes and pamphlets, to U.S. Supreme Court briefs, a collection of U.S. government documents, and law publications from foreign countries.[9]
This explosion of materials was on par with national law library trends. The 20th century saw an enormous ascendance of new specializations and subjects as law became more interdisciplinary.[10]
The World Wars gave rise to international legal inquiries and, at the same time, social movements gave rise to a new field of publishing. The legal world was changing and Betty LeBus made sure law students at Indiana University had opportunities to learn about those changes. LeBus reflected on these changes in 1969:
“Just in the last two or three years, the tremendous new interest in areas of natural resources, conservation, water and air pollution, poverty law, and juvenile problems has added significantly to the list of legal publications. In addition, there’s a whole new look at criminal law…It’s almost impossible to keep up in these areas where the law is changing so rapidly and at so many different levels…You simply can’t work in these areas without the specialized reference materials.”[11]
As law librarian, Lebus facilitated the growth of the library operations, too. In 1950, the staff included LeBus, with one cataloger and a part-time student assistant. In 1969, the staff included LeBus and four full-time employees.[12] By 1978, the staff swelled to include LeBus, nine full-time employees, and over 30 student assistants.[13]
The Indiana University Law School, particularly the Law Library, was growing rapidly along with the social, political, and economic changes going on outside its walls. Located in Maxwell Hall since 1908, law school administrators, alongside LeBus, sought to find a new home for the school as it rapidly outgrew the building.
By 1955, a new Law School building was under construction, under the project management of Betty LeBus. The building was completed in 1956 and the school officially migrated into the new building in September 1956.[14] After the department settled into the building, LeBus penned a publication called “A Law Building for Indiana University,” where she reflected:
“It has become clear that adequate space, light, and air, plus pleasant surroundings and adequate study facilities, have contributed to everyone’s enthusiasm for library research. The individual study tables are very popular and are in constant use. Library attendance and circulation has increased at least thirty percent.”[15]
In 1957, a year after the transition to the new building, LeBus was granted tenure. Twenty years later, in 1977, LeBus was promoted to professor of law, making her the first woman in the law school to have received both tenure and to hold professorial rank.[16]
LeBus did not stop with the tripling of materials, an enormous staffing increase, or the construction of a new law building; she also helped ensure the modernization of the library. In 1977, the Law Library began pioneering the use of computers and Lexis software for legal research, one of the first Law Libraries in the country to do so.[17]
Lexis use by individual students was restricted to two-hour time blocks and was entirely unavailable for student use between 2pm and 5pm, because it was “peak period” for Lexis commercial users and students using the system would slow it down.[18]
In more ways than one, Betty LeBus was the bridge between the old-school law library and the modern law library of today.
LeBus’ Regional and National Influence
LeBus was not only active in the Law School but also held prestigious positions outside of the university on the regional and national levels.
On the regional level, LeBus was active in the Indiana Library Association (ILA), serving as president of the organization in 1961. She was the chairperson for two committees within the organization, the Library Planning Committee and the Constitution and By-Laws Committee.[19] LeBus represented the ILA as Conference Chairman when the organization coordinated events with other regional organizations, such as the Kentucky Library Association.[20] In 1964, she was honored as Librarian of the Year by the Indiana Library Trustee Association.[21] In 1995, LeBus was named an honorary life member of the Washington Bar Association.
On the national level, LeBus was involved in the American Association of Law Libraries for over 30 years. She served on several committees for the organization and served a term on its Executive Board.[22] LeBus also served in an inspection capacity for both the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) and the American Bar Association (ABA). As a member of inspection teams for these organizations, she traveled to new and existing law schools and evaluated the schools for accreditation.[23]
LeBus’ Legacy
In 1978, after 28 years at Indiana University, LeBus handed in her resignation. She said that she had only planned “to stay for five years, then move on” from Indiana, however “A few weeks later they announced the construction of this building, and you can’t just build a building and then leave. You have to stay around a few years and enjoy it!”[24]
LeBus returned to Seattle to take care of her elderly mother and to take time off from work. “I’m tired. Before my vacation last year, I hadn’t had a vacation in ten years. I’m going home to rest for a while…”[25]
After staying in Seattle, LeBus moved to become the law librarian at the University of Wyoming and then at the University of Miami. When LeBus retired in 1984, she returned to Bloomington, where she resided for the remainder of her life.
LeBus’ original intention to stay five years in Indiana turned into 28 years as law librarian and instructor, and then nearly 20 more years as a law librarian after her “retirement.” In her nearly 50 years in Bloomington, her career saw the modern law library take shape and form the modern day Maurer School of Law in Bloomington.
Bibliography
- “Betty Virginia LeBus” (1923). Former Faculty. 64. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/formerfaculty/64
- Goldsmith, Laura. “History of the University, of Washington Law Librarianship Program*” Pages 252-255. October 2017.
- “Prof. LeBus Tenders Resignation.” Vol. 2, No. 1 (September 14, 1978) (1978). Exordium. Paper 3. http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/exordium/3
- Handbook of the Association of American Law Schools, p.370 (1937)
- Roalfe, William. “The Essentials of an Effective Law School Library Service.” November 1938. Law Library Journal. https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5738&context=faculty_scholarship
- Tice, Beatrice. “The Academic Law Library in the 21st Century: Still the Heart of the Law School.” UC Irvine Law Review. Page 168. https://www.law.uci.edu/lawreview/Vol1No1Articles/Tice.pdf
- “Law Library Reflects Growth of School and Legal Problems.” Vol. 1, No. 2; March 1969 (1969). Bill of Particulars. Paper 3. http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/bop/3
- Lebus, Betty Virginia. “A Law Building for Indiana University.” (50 Law Library Journal 213 (1957))
- “Lexis Provides Alternative Research Method.” Vol. 2, No. 4 (April 12, 1979) (1979). Exordium. Paper 6.http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/exordium/6
- “Obituary for Betty Virginia LeBus.” Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana). August 26, 2003. Accessed through the Monroe County Public Library.
- “Best Law Librarianship Programs,” 2017. Best Grad Schools U.S. News & World Report Rankings. https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-library-information-science-programs/law-librarianship-rankings
- Fariss & Buckley, Indiana University Maurer School of Law: The First 175 Years. November 1, 2019.
Notes
[1] “Betty Virginia LeBus”
[2] Goldsmith, Laura.
[3] “Best Law Librarianship Programs.”
[4] “Prof. LeBus Tenders Resignation.”
[5] Handbook of the Association of American Law Schools, p.370 (1937)
[6] Fariss & Buckley, Indiana University Maurer School of Law: The First 175 Years. November 1, 2019.
[7]Roalfe, William.
[8]“Betty Virginia LeBus”
[9] “Betty Virginia LeBus”
[10] Tice, Beatrice.
[11] “Law Library Reflects Growth of School and Legal Problems.”
[12] “Law Library Reflects Growth of School and Legal Problems.”
[13] “Betty Virginia LeBus”
[14]Lebus, Betty Virginia.
[15] Lebus, Betty Virginia.
[16] Lebus, Betty Virginia.
[17] Lebus, Betty Virginia.
[18] “Lexis Provides Alternative Research Method.”
[19] “Betty Virginia LeBus”
[20] “Betty Virginia LeBus”
[21] “Obituary for Betty Virginia LeBus.”
[22] “Prof. LeBus Tenders Resignation.”
[23] “Prof. LeBus Tenders Resignation.”
[24] “Prof. LeBus Tenders Resignation.”
[25] “Prof. LeBus Tenders Resignation.”