This year, I took a closer look at the BYU Law Library’s Foreign, Comparative, and International Law (FCIL) collection to better understand its shape—where it’s strongest and where it could grow.re it could grow.
A quick look at the heat map makes the pattern easy to spot. Our strongest coverage clusters around Europe and “Global/General” materials, especially in human rights, constitutional law, and international law. By contrast, parts of Africa and Asia show lighter coverage across several subject areas. Seeing the collection mapped out like this helped pinpoint where it’s robust—and where we could build depth.
To spot smart areas for growth, I used GenAI (ChatGPT Pro) as a research assistant. I loaded it with the BYU Law Library collection policy, faculty interests, course syllabi, and past purchasing data. I wasn’t asking it to pick books for me, but to help me identify jurisdictions and subject areas where I could purchase books to add depth. After refining the results and carefully reviewing every suggested title, I focused new purchases on underrepresented regions, especially in East Asia and Africa.
Before buying any book GenAI suggested, I made sure that it fit our collection policy, supported the law school curriculum, complemented what we already own, and came from a reputable publisher and qualified author—only then did it make the shortlist. This chart also highlights how these purchases helped us strengthen thinner areas of the collection, adding depth in jurisdictions where our holdings had previously been limited.
Another comparison reveals a broader trend: where 40.8% of our FCIL orders came from outside the UK and EU before 2020, that share has jumped to 61.4% for 2025–26. In other words, a majority of our recent acquisitions now come from jurisdictions beyond our traditional core.
What does this mean for students and faculty? It means the BYU Law Library is investing in a more geographically diverse and globally relevant collection. If you’re researching human rights litigation, migration frameworks, treaty interpretation, or legal developments in specific regions, you should see stronger jurisdictional depth behind those topics. The stacks—and our research guides—are increasingly ready to meet you where your questions lead.