The Maryland State Law Library is pleased to welcome James G. Durham as the Library’s first Deputy Director.  Before recently moving to Baltimore, James was Head of Public Services for the Gould Law Library of Touro Law Center in Central Islip, NY.  In that capacity, he had overall responsibility for the supervision and management  of the staff and services of both the reference and circulation departments.  He provided additional assistance to the Touro Law Center community by serving on various faculty and administrative committees and as the program administrator for the school’s summer study abroad programs in India and Israel.

From 1998 to 2005, James served as Publications and Reference Librarian at the Fred Parks Law Library of South Texas College of Law in Houston, where he developed significant expertise in web publishing.  During the course of his career, he has become an accomplished educator, possessing experience in library-based research instruction and as an adjunct professor of graduate and law school courses, including legal bibliography, various aspects of foreign and international law, and sexual orientation law.

He also has a noteworthy record of professional involvement in the law community.  James received his J.D. in 1997, from Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law.  While in law school, he interned one memorable summer at DNA – People’s Legal Services in Window Rock, AZ, assisting with the legal needs of members of the Navajo and Hopi Nations.

Prior to entering the legal profession, James worked for the Columbus (OH) Metropolitan Library system, where he was the assistant manager of two branch libraries. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Library and Information Science degrees from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.  He began his new position on October 5th.