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Karen Wallace
Reference Librarian
Professor of Law Librarianship
Expertise: Reference, Circulation, Public Services
Education
MA, University of Iowa, Beta Phi Mu
BA, University of Iowa, with highest distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, Order of Omega, Phi Eta Sigma
Experience
- Reference/Circulation Librarian, Drake Law Library since 2000
- Head of Community Services, Des Plaines Public Library
- Outreach Librarian, Park Ridge Public Library
Selected Publications
- Iowa Legal Research (co-author) (3d ed., Carolina Academic Press, 2022).
- Assessing HeinOnline as a Source of Scholarly Impact Metrics (co-author), 114 Law Library Journal 395 (2022).
- Measuring Scholarly Impact in Law (co-author), 28 Widener Law Review 145 (2022).
- Legal Analysis and Writing: An Active-Learning Approach (co-author) (Wolters Kluwer, 2020).
- Does the Past Predict the Future?: An Empirical Analysis of Recent Iowa Supreme Court Use of Legislative History as a Window into Statutory Construction in Iowa, 63 Drake Law Review 239 (2015) (cited twice by the Iowa Supreme Court).
Significant Accomplishments
- Friend of the Journal, Drake Journal of Agricultural Law, 2025
- Service Award, Mid-America Association of Law Libraries, 2024
- Annual Meeting Responsibilities Task Force Chair, Mid-America Association of Law Libraries (2023-24)
- Immediate Past President (2019-2020), President (2018-19), Vice-President (2017-18), Mid-America Association of Law Libraries
- Executive Board Member-At-Large (2007-09), Annual Meeting Local Arrangements Committee Co-Chair (2004), Nominations Committee Chair (2001-02, 2008-09, 2019-2020), Membership Committee Chair (2009-14), Education Committee Chair (2017-18), Mid-America Association of Law Libraries
- Access to Electronic Legal Information Committee member, American Association of Law Libraries (2005-07)
Biography
Driven by a passion for helping others harness the power of information to improve their lives and communities, Karen Wallace has devoted more than three decades to the library profession. Before joining Drake Law School in 2000, she worked in public libraries in the Chicago area. Both experiences have deepened her commitment to core library values, such as intellectual freedom, equitable access, inclusion, confidentiality, and lifelong learning.
At Drake Law, Wallace especially enjoys working with students—watching them grow from novice legal researchers in their first year to confident attorneys after graduation. She also appreciates the collaborative spirit of librarianship and has been an active member of the Mid-America Association of Law Libraries, where she has served in multiple leadership roles, including President.
Her research interests include Iowa legal research, Iowa legislative history and statutory interpretation, and scholarly citation analysis.
