Amy Emerson, Assistant Professor of Law & Director of the Law Library

Room 151 | (610) 519-7023 | email

Amy became the Director of the Law Library and Assistant Professor of Law in the summer of 2018.  She manages law library operations and strategic planning, oversees the legal research curriculum, and teaches Legal Research, Analysis, Writing, and Communication in the first year legal writing program. Professor Emerson’s areas of expertise include law library administration, emerging law library service models and technologies, alternative research platforms, and experiential legal research pedagogy.

Prior to joining Villanova, and following nine years in private practice, Professor Emerson served as Associate Director for Library Administration and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Law at Cornell Law School.  While at Cornell, she created the Legal Research Clinic and became its Director, building the first generalist legal clinic of its kind.

Professor Emerson received her B.A. with honors from Wells College, and dual J.D. and M.L.S. degrees with honors from Syracuse University.

Benjamin Carlson - Emerging Technologies Librarian and Legal Research Instructor

Room 160 | (610) 519-6256 | email

Ben joined the Villanova law library as the Emerging Technologies Librarian in the Fall of 2012.  His responsibilities include maintenance and improvement of the online presence of the law school and assistance with using technology in the course of legal research.  Ben also teaches basic legal research to the first-year students.  Before coming to Villanova, he worked as a librarian at Northern Illinois University College of Law and the School of Law at Drexel University. He received his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 2006, and his Masters in Library Science from the iSchool at Drexel University in 2009.

Mary Cornelius - Circulation Coordinator and Reference Librarian

Room 162 | (610) 519-7189 | email

Mary is the coordinator of the Circulation Department and the Circulation/Reserve Desk, which includes hiring and managing the Circulation/Reserve Assistants who work at this Desk.  She fulfills inter-library loan requests, shares Reference responsibilities and is one of the faculty liaisons. Prior to joining Villanova’s Law Library, Mary was a Reference Librarian at American University Law School Library and a Librarian for a medium size law firm in Washington, DC.  She holds a Masters in Library Science from The Catholic University of America and has completed substantial coursework towards a JD at The Washington College of Law, American University Law School.

Lori Strickler Corso - Electronic Services Librarian
and Legal Research Instructor

Room 159 | (610) 519-7235 | email

Lori currently serves as the Electronic Services Librarian, managing our law databases and the law library’s website. Lori teaches legal research to first-year law students and guest lectures in the Advanced Legal Research class and in various seminar courses. Lori joined the Villanova Law Library in 2010, after working as the firm librarian for a large law firm based in Los Angeles. She holds a JD from Northeastern University School of Law and a Masters in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University.

Steve Elkins - Associate Director for Collection Management

Room 164 | (610) 519-7780 | email

Steve supervises law library activities managing the book collection and  resource procurement, including acquisitions,  cataloging and shelving.  He also coordinates the Millennium library system and database.   Steve joined the library in 1989 after working as a cataloger at the University of Virginia law library.   He holds a masters degree in library science from the University of Maryland and a masters in English literature from the University of Virginia.

Mary Jo Heacock, Catalog Librarian

Room L30 | (610) 519-7896 | email

Mary Jo serves as the Catalog Librarian in Collection Management.  She is responsible for the upkeep of the library's catalog and processing of new materials for use and gathering data for the monthly acquisitions list and statistical reports.  Mary Jo joined the Villanova Law Library in 2004.  She holds a Masters in Library and Information Sciences from Drexel University and a Bachelor's Degree in Education from Kutztown University.

Robert Hegadorn, Reference Librarian and Legal Research Instructor

Room 163 | (610) 519-7021 | email

Robert earned his B.A. from Columbia College in Columbia, Missouri, his J.D. from the MU (University of Missouri-Columbia) School of Law, and his M.A., Information Science and Learning Technology, from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Information Science and Learning Technology. Before joining the library staff at Villanova School of Law, Robert practiced law in Missouri and later was a Reference Librarian at the MU School of Law Library. Along with service as one of the Villanova Law Library’s Reference Librarians, he currently teaches the Advanced Legal Research course.

Regina Kozul - Circulation Assistant

Room 164 | (610) 519-6258 | email

Regina assists the Circulation Librarian and currently handles Patron Records, Overdue Notices, Class Reserves and New Acquisitions Requests. She has a degree from Immaculata University and a Paralegal certificate from Widener University.  Regina is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Liberal Studies here at Villanova University.  She came to the Villanova School of Law Library from the Haverford Township Library where she worked in Children’s Books.

Matthew McGovern - Director of Experiential Learning and Legal Research Instructor

Room 158 | (610) 519-3893 | email

Matt currently manages the Law School’s Externship Program. He also teaches Legal Research in the first-year Reseach and Writing course as well as the Advanced Legal Research elective. Matt joined the Law School in 2007 as a librarian and legal research instructor.  He was appointed Director of Experiential Learning in 2015. Before pursuing a career at Villanova, Matt was a staff pharmacist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He also practiced law with the Maryland Attorney General’s Office where he represented the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Matt holds a J.D. from the University of Maryland and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Drexel University.

Amy Spare, Associate Director for Research and Instructional Services

Room 161 | (610) 519-7188 | email

Amy coordinates library services to faculty and teaches legal research in the first-year curriculum and beyond.  In addition to teaching legal research to first-year law students, she guest lectures in upper-level classes on a variety of topics including administrative decisions, regulations, trademark and copyright, government documents, and fact finding.  Before coming to Villanova Law in 2005, Amy provided research services in a major law firm in Houston, Texas and headed the Government Publications Department at Rice University, a patent and trademark depository library.   As a practicing attorney, she worked for the Alaska Public Defender’s Offices in Bethel and Anchorage and for Central Pennsylvania Legal Services.  Amy holds a JD from Northeastern University College of Law and an MLIS from the University of Texas at Austin.