The McDaniel Law and Literature Fund began in 1993 to assist and enhance instruction in the subject area "law and literature" through the purchase of books and other materials, as well as for the provision of supplementary funds for expenses related to its teaching. The course has been taught by various visiting and Golden Gate University faculty as schedules and time permits. In 1996, Mrs. D. Jamison McDaniel gave a supplementary gift to the law school for the purchase of books, materials, and equipment for the teaching of a Law & Film course, and gave yet another supplemental gift in 2005.
The law library will actively collect books, videos and DVDs to support the Law & Literature and Law & Film courses in pursuit of (a) the best literary works that portray the practice and substance of the legal profession, (b) the body of law that enjoys literary status due to its importance in history and/or its outstanding contribution to legal literature, and (c) the classics of legal literature. The broad emphasis of selection will be on Anglo-American law and legal literature, but some foreign or international materials may be considered if a comparative analysis will be considered useful by the course instructor(s). The selections should be in English or English-language translations.
The McDaniel Fund supports the "Law & Literature" and "Law & Film" courses. Selectors should meet with the current professors of these courses for input on purchases. The Law & Literature aspects will focus primarily on literary monographs, with supplemental scholarly literary criticism and history. Popular fiction and treatment should for the most part be avoided, unless there is a consensus among the selectors that such an item is indeed "literary" -- writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest. The Law & Film collection will contain monographs appropriate to the study of the law and film, as well as videos and other materials deemed suitable by the selectors in consultation with the instructor.
The materials purchased with these funds will be made available first and foremost to those students enrolled in Law & Literature and Law & Film courses. Access by other university students will be allowed only after the course needs are met.