Chapman University’s Hugh and Hazel Darling Law Library added an LGBTQ+ Rights Social Justice Suite to its databases this year. HeinOnline, a database of over 2,600 law and law-related journals, unveiled the Social Justice Suite advocating LGBTQ+ civil rights in June 2022. The university’s Fowler School of Law has enabled all Chapman students, faculty and staff access to this newfound resource.

The Social Justice Suite is a collection of databases to “help foster knowledge, facilitate civil discourse, and encourage action for the betterment of our nation,” according to their website. Through HeinOnline, Chapman libraries provide students and staff with a collection of resources highlighting underrepresented populations and voices. 

The current Social Justice Suites on HeinOnline include information about civil rights, social justice, gun regulation and legislation and more.

Leatherby Libraries Dean Kevin Ross is a proponent of the knowledge and empowerment these Social Justice Suites bring to the Chapman community.

“(The Social Justice Suites) helps us to create a just and equitable environment conducive to teaching and learning and a climate that strives for inclusive excellence … (that) represents a worldview that respects the dignity of every person,” Ross said. 

The LGBTQ+ Rights Suite specifically tracks the gay rights movement, as well as the LGBTQ+ movement, in the U.S., showcasing the civil rights codified into law over the last century and providing interactive timelines, scholarly articles, primary sources like pamphlets and subject-coded court cases.

Kristin Laughtin-Dunker, the coordinator of scholarly communications & electronic resources at Chapman’s Systems & Technology Division, touched on what the LGBTQ+ Rights addition brings to campus in an interview with The Panther.

“The LGBTQ+ Rights database is an extremely useful resource for anyone studying the history and evolution of the LGBTQ+ Rights movement (continuing into the present day), and (it) has broad applicability for students and faculty beyond the LGBTQ Studies program, such as those researching history, political science, sociology, health and medicine, women’s studies, business and more,” Laughtin-Dunker said.

She emphasized the university's fortune of having access to these resources at Chapman.

“I’m very happy for more students and researchers at Chapman University to know about the existence of the LGBTQ+ Rights database, as well as the other great resources we have available through HeinOnline’s Social Justice Suite, as they are tremendously valuable to a large number of students at Chapman across many programs, majors and minors,” Laughtin-Dunker said.