Michelle Rigual
Law Library Director and Associate Professor of Law
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Professor Michelle Rigual joined the faculty of Texas Wesleyan University School of Law as an Associate Professor in 2009 and serves as Director of the Dee J. Kelly Law Library.  This is her first directorship; however, she came to Texas Wesleyan with nine years of professional law library experience gained at University of New Mexico, Arizona State University, and Capital University.  At University of New Mexico Professor Rigual worked her way through every facet of library operations, holding the positions of Reference Librarian; Co-Interim Director; Head of Technical Services; Assistant Director for Technical Services, Electronic Resources, and Collections; and finally Associate Director and Associate Professor.  Before turning to law librarianship she worked in the area of environmental policy and regulatory enforcement for the Army Corps of Engineers in the U.S., Italy, and Turkey.

Professor Rigual has taught Advanced Legal Research, Specialized Legal Research in Indian Law, and Critical Thinking.  Her scholarship is related to her managerial and teaching role in law libraries and in that capacity, she has developed a scholarship agenda that seeks to move law libraries toward new and innovative practices in order to adapt to the changing environment of legal information resources. 

Professor Rigual earned her B.A. in government from the University of Texas at Austin, and her J.D. and M.S. from University of Illinois. Professor Rigual is a member of both the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and the Southwestern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries (SWALL). Her participation in these professional organizations has included holding several elected offices and serving on committees and she is SWALL's current Vice President/President-Elect.

Selected Publications and Presentations

New Mexico Legal Research (Carolina Academic Press, forthcoming 2009).

“Teaching a New Dog the Same Old Trick,” in The Law School Librarian's Role as an Educator: Leading Librarians on Adapting to New Technologies, Maximizing Research Skills, and Helping Students Transition from Law School to Law Firm. (Aspatore Books, 2008).

"OCLC WorldCat Collection Analysis Service and the Desert States Law Library Consortium," 32(2) Technical Services Law Librarian 2007.

Speaker, "The Law of Cruise Ships" at the Southwestern Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting (April 2008).

Speaker, "Find it Free and Fast on the Net: Advanced Internet Strategies for the New Mexico Legal Professional," Continuing Legal Education for Attorneys (annually 2004-2008).

Speaker, "The Open Access Movement and Institutional Repositories" at the Southwestern Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting (April 2006).