Have a question? Email a reference librarian at askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu.


Meet the Librarians

Brittany Persson, Director of the Library and Assistant Professor of Law

B.S., Tennessee Technological University; J.D., Brooklyn Law School; M.L.S., St. John’s University

Professor Persson teaches advanced legal research and legal research within the 1L Legal Writing program.

Before joining the Brooklyn Law School faculty, Professor Persson was a librarian and associate professor who taught advanced legal research at Seton Hall University School of Law.

Her most recent scholarship includes State Practice Materials: Annotated Bibliographies: New Jersey, W.S. Hein (2021).

Professor Persson is an active member of the American Association of Law Libraries and the New Jersey Law Librarians Association at both the committee and special interest section levels. At the national level, she serves as the treasurer of Black Law Librarians’ Special Interest Section, and chair of the Academic Law Libraries’ awards committee. A graduate of Brooklyn Law School, Professor Persson was a Prince Scholar and the associate managing editor of the Brooklyn Journal of International Law. While obtaining an M.L.S. from St. John’s University, she was an Institute of Museum and Library Services Scholar.

Dacia Cocariu, Reference Librarian
B.A., University of Michigan; J.D., NYU School of Law; M.S.L.I.S., Pratt Institute

Ms. Cocariu joined the law library in the summer of 2023. In addition to serving on the reference team, she teaches legal research within the 1L Legal Writing program and serves as library liaison to several faculty members and the Moot Court Honor Society. Prior to joining Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Cocariu was a Senior Counsel in the Commercial and Real Estate Division of the New York City Law Department and was previously a litigation associate at Sills Cummis & Gross P.C. and Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.
Judy Baptiste-Joseph, Collection Management & Access Services Librarian
B.A., Medgar Evers College, CUNY; M.L.S., University at Buffalo

Ms. Baptiste-Joseph joined Brooklyn Law School in August 2005 and became the Cataloging Librarian in September 2014. She is responsible for original and copy cataloging of monographs, serials, visual and sound materials, and CD-ROMs. Prior to joining Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Baptiste-Joseph worked in the Columbia University Law Library Serials Department.
Kathy Darvil, Associate Librarian for Public Services and Adjunct Professor of Law
A.B., University of Michigan; M.S.I., University of Michigan; J.D., Fordham University

Ms. Darvil joined the law library staff in November 2007, serving as the Access Services and Reference Librarian. Ms. Darvil is responsible for managing and coordinating the Library’s Public Service Department. In addition, she teaches both Introduction to Legal Research and Advanced Legal Resource courses. Prior to joining Brooklyn Law School, she litigated child welfare proceedings both for the Legal Aid Society and for New York City’s Administration for Children's Services.
Hannah Freeman, Technology and Reference Librarian
B.F.A., University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, M.L.I.S., Pratt Institute (candidate)

Ms. Freeman is joining us as a Technology and Reference Librarian. She is no stranger to Brooklyn Law School, because she was a library fellow here during the Spring 2023 semester, where she worked at the circulation desk. As part of her fellowship, Hannah oversaw the reorganization of our archives and completed a digitization project of over 100 years of Brooklyn Law School yearbooks. Prior to becoming a Librarian, Hannah spent nearly seven years in hospitality and restaurant management, where she led several diverse front-of-house teams and developed a strong service philosophy that grounds her work as a librarian. Hannah will receive her M.L.I.S. from Pratt Institute in December and received her B.F.A. from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Jean J. Davis, Associate Librarian for International Law
B.A., Duke University; J.D., Boston College Law School; M.S.L.I.S., Pratt Institute

Ms. Davis has been a Reference Librarian at Brooklyn Law School since 1993. She serves as the Library’s liaison to fourteen faculty members, the Brooklyn Law Journal of International Law, the Jessup moot court team, and the Vis Arbitration Moot team. View Ms. Davis's international and foreign law guides on the Library Research Guides page.
Jeff Gabel, Acquisitions Librarian
B.F.A., Kansas State University; M.F.A., Pratt Institute; M.L.I.S., Palmer School of Long Island University

Mr. Gabel began work as the Library’s Acquisitions Librarian in October 2016. As supervisor of the Serials/Acquisitions Department, his principal areas of responsibility include ordering new books and databases for the library, as well as maintaining subscriptions and managing the Law School's e-resources. Mr. Gabel joined the Brooklyn Law School Library in July 2006 as Cataloging Librarian, and later served as the Catalog and E-Resources Manager. He has presented several times on the BLS Library’s transition to its Koha (open-source) catalog and the integration of the catalog with the EBSCO “OneSearch” discovery product. Prior to joining Brooklyn Law School, Mr. Gabel served as Cataloging Librarian at Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus from 1999–2006 with the rank of Assistant Professor.
Loreen Peritz, Head of Research Instruction Librarian
B.A., State University of New York at Stony Brook; J.D., American University - Washington College of Law; M.S.L.I.S., Syracuse University

Ms. Peritz joined the law library in the spring of 2014. She teaches Advanced Legal Research courses and serves on the reference team. Ms. Peritz also serves as library liaison to the Brooklyn Law Review and to a number of faculty members. Prior to coming to Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Peritz worked for over 20 years as a practicing attorney. Over the course of her career, Ms. Peritz worked for a number of law firms and in-house legal departments, specializing in corporate finance, healthcare law, and insurance law.
Sue Silverman, Reference Librarian and Adjunct Professor of Law
B.A., New York University; J.D., NYU School of Law; M.L.I.S., Queens College

Ms. Silverman joined the law library in the fall of 2018. In addition to serving on the reference team, she teaches Introduction to Legal Research for the accelerated J.D. program, and serves as library liaison to several faculty members and the Journal of Law & Policy. Prior to coming to Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Silverman was a litigation associate, specializing in business and insurance law and she worked as a legal editor for several bar review companies.
Eric Yap, Reference Librarian & Adjunct Professor of Law
A.B. Cornell University; J.D., Stanford Law School; M.I.M., Portland State University; M.L.I.S., San Jose State University

Mr. Yap joined Brooklyn Law School in the spring of 2017. He teaches Advanced Legal Research courses and is a member of the reference team. Mr. Yap serves as the Library’s liaison to several faculty members, the Moot Court Honor Society, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Honor Society. He also manages the Library’s social media presence. Before coming to Brooklyn Law School, Mr. Yap worked for law firms in the San Francisco Bay Area and Tokyo, Japan. He has previously taught at Lincoln Law School in San Jose, California and at Missouri State University’s branch campus in Dalian, China.

Departments

Access Services:
(718) 780-0670 | judy.joseph@brooklaw.edu

Acquisitions:
(718) 780-7978 | jeff.gabel@brooklaw.edu

Cataloging:
(718) 780-0670 | judy.joseph@brooklaw.edu

Circulation Department:
(718) 780-7973 | circdesk@brooklaw.edu

Director’s office:
(718) 780-0361 | brittany.persson@brooklaw.edu

Government Documents:
(718) 780-7526 | tamika.curtle@brooklaw.edu

Interlibrary Loan:
(718) 780-7973 | tamika.curtle@brooklaw.edu

Reference:
askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu | Chat with us

Support Staff

Tamika Curtle, Circulation Manager
Phyllis Green, Technical Services Assistant
Diane Lewis-Ade, Technical Services Assistant
Gustavo Martinez-Flores, Public Services Assistant
Carol Ragab, Administrative Assistant
Alain Ruiz, Public Services Assistant
Sunil Sam, Computer Technician
Terri Thompson, Technical Services Assistant
Yves Volney, Senior Computer Technician