Congressional Research Reports on DADT

From the December 22, 2010 Law Librarian Blog:

With President Obama signing the legislation repealing the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, it's noted that there are two recent Congressional Research Service reports on DADT. The first is "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": The Law and Military Policy on Same-Sex Behavior by David F. Burrelli (October 14, 2010 R40782). The report combines a history of the policy with statistical information on such things as discharge rates, among others. The second report is "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": A Legal Analysis by Jody Feder (September 30, 2010 R40795). The report details a legal history of the policy and its implementation.

What type of e-reader do you use?

Associate Justice Scalia uses his iPad and Associate Justice Kagan uses her Kindle to read the briefs submitted to the US Supreme Court. http://http//lsi.typepad.com/lsi/2010/12/supreme-court-justices-are-now-doing-work-on-ipads-and-kindles-when-will-law-students.html.
More and more lawyers use e-readers when they travel and read documents. Technological trends to assist us as lawyers. What type of e-reader do you use?

Legal blogs worthy of your consideration

Interested in setting up a law practice? Interested in what lawyers are writing about their area of law? Check out the ABA Journal's list of 100 favorite blawgs, http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/the_2010_aba_journal_blawg_100! Some are serious and some revel in pop culture.

Of Laptops, Long Hours, and Sustenance...

Twas the last day of classes and all through the library
the tensions were mounting as tempers got flarey

My laptop I left on the carrel, I fear,
And when I returned, OH NO, it's not HERE!

The work of four months, all those notes, all those clues
How could I have done it? Class rank now I'll lose!

When what to my wondering ears did I hear?
My alarm clock ringing, 'twas a nightmare, Oh Cheer!

Prevent this nightmare from happening to you right before finals by not leaving your laptop, outlines, or other exam prep material where it can be lifted!

********

Beginning on Wednesday, December 8, and continuing through December 21, the law library will be open extended hours--until 2 a.m.

Once again, the law library staff will provide law students with coffee, tea, cookies and assorted treats between December 8 and 17. Please stop by upstairs (in the mornings) and downstairs (during the afternoons) for some coffee or tea and a treat.

Exam Advice

As final exams loom large, the law library will become a second home to many students. Whether you use the library as a quiet study area, the source for reading up on tips for test taking, or as a place for group study, the librarians are here (as always) to help you be successful.

Here are some useful tips:

Try to stay calm. Panic is not your friend.

The library has a lot of sources that can help you:

On-line and hard copy exams that are useful for becoming familiar with what law school exams look like:

http://lawlibrary.hamline.edu/content.php?pid=60281&sid=447196#1373960

Books about successful exam-taking:

http://lawlibrary.hamline.edu/content.php?pid=48287&sid=436781

Study aides for first-year courses:

http://lawlibrary.hamline.edu/content.php?pid=48287&sid=417908

Study aides for 2d and 3d year courses: Ask at Reserve Desk

Here is a list of blog articles with advice for studying for and writing law school exams:

Law School Exam-Taking Tips http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2007/02/examtaking_tips.html

Closed Book Law School Exam Preparation Tips

http://lawyerist.com/closed-book-law-school-exam-preparation-tips/

Preparing for Exams

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/profiles/glesnerfines/bgf-ed5.htm

Finally, you can check out www.cali.org to search for exam-taking tips and podcasts.

Good luck on your final exams!

Thanksgiving Break Information

The law library's hours during Thanksgiving Break will be:

Wednesday, November 24........................................07:30 a.m. - 06:00 p.m.
Thursday & Friday, November 25 & 26...........................................CLOSED
Saturday, November 27............................................09:00 a.m. - 08:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 28...............................................09:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.

There will be no regularly scheduled reference service on November 24. Reference will resume on November 27. Enjoy your break!

Do you Blekko?

Among search engines, Blekko is the promising new kid on the block. Blekko encourages you to “slash the web” by limiting search results to your field of interest through strategic use of slash tags in your search query. Launched November 1, Blekko has yet to prove its worth in extended testing but does show potential to deliver more efficient, focused search results. Additionally, Blekko provides information about the sites appearing in a results list and offers tools for fighting “spam” sites. For more information, watch Blekko’s short video demo or read an early review.

The Library catalog - more than "just books"!

Did you know that the Hamline Law Library includes many of the items within Westlaw, Lexis and HeinOnline (among others) in our catalog? Instead of having to guess where that treatise might be, hoping it's online somewhere, you can start with our catalog and directly find what you need.

For Westlaw, you will find treatises, statutes, restatements, directories and model & uniform laws, forms, encyclopedias and dictionaries. For Lexis, we have included the treatise collection. For HeinOnline, you will find all journals and the Legal Classics collection. Soon you will also find the items within the World Trials database.

Here's an example of how this works...

1. Search CLICnet by title or keyword:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Determine which title you're looking for and click on the name:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. In the record, click on the "Connect to" link. In this case, it's a title in Westlaw so you will have to login once you click through. Once logged in, you will be able to search the book or locate a specific section.
   
   
   
   

Plagiarism, NEVER a good idea!

All law students are aware that plagiarism is a bad thing, and a violation of the law student code of conduct. The idea that plagiarism can get you into trouble extends beyond law school. Brett Clark recently wrote a piece on plagiarism in the JDs Rising Blog. You can read it here.

New Books in the Library!

New Books of Interest

These books and other new additions to our collection can be found on the main floor of the law library in the New Books section. All books in this section can be checked out at the Circulation Desk.

· Abbott, E.B., & Hetzel, O.J. (2010). Homeland security and emergency management: a legal guide for state and local governments. Chicago, IL.: American Bar Association, Section of State and Local Government Law.

· Barrett, D. , & Kipper, G. (2010). Virtualization and forensics: a digital forensic investigator’s guide to virtual environments. New York: Elsevier.

· Brudholm, T., & Cushman, T. (2009). The religious in responses to mass atrocity: interdisciplinary perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press.

· Brotman, E. (2010). Careers in criminal law. Chicago: American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section.

· Gerhart, P.M. (2010). Tort law and social morality. New York: Cambridge University Press.

· Law, A.O. (2010). The immigration battle in American Courts. New York: Cambridge University Press.

· Mezzullo, L.A. (2010). An estate planner’s guide to family business entities: family limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and more. Chicago: American Bar Association, Section of Real Property , Trust and Estate Law.

Featured Book

· Levitt, C.A., & Rosch, M.E. (2010). Google for lawyers: essential search tips and productivity tools. Chicago: American Bar Assocation, Law Practice Management Section.

Publishers Info: Designed to help lawyers learn how they can put all of Google’s power to work in their practices. This book shows lawyers how they can use free and low-cost tools available from Google to compete with large firms and their large research and technology budgets. This guide unleashes the full power of google as a search engine and as a provider of lesser-known resources such as Google Voice, Google Wave, and Google Translate, as well as the better-known office applications such as Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar that can make more productive attorneys.

This book must be used in the library and can be obtained at the Circulation Desk.

Suggest a Purchase

We are interested in receiving suggestions from the faculty, staff and students. We will consider purchasing any item suggested to us, if it fits within our collection policy and available budget. Access the ready made form at the library’s home page.

Submitted by Susan Vossberg, Catalog Librarian

Procrastination and Law Students

When you think about it, you have to wonder whether people learn to procrastinate while they are in law school or whether they come to law school with those skills already mastered. Of course, being lawyers and law students, we can safely argue that everyone does it, and not have to hear that voice of our mother's in our head saying "If everyone walked off a cliff would you do it too?" (At least, that is what my mother's programmed response was to me every time I said it!)

There are many reasons lawyers procrastinate, and it is not surprising that law students do it too; law students are so busy with reading and briefing cases, participating in extracurricular activities that will build their networks and their careers, not to mention the daily demands of living in the 21st Century! There are a lot of articles out there about procrastination, and how to change our ways. Here's one from Law Crossing.

Procrastinating printing your papers and other assignments that have to be turned in during a class can lead to some disastrous results. Twice this year, just at the moment students have had to print documents so they could submit them on time, the printers in the law library have had technical problems. Students should know that while law library staff will do their best to help out in these situations, there is no guarantee that they will be successful. If the breakdown occurs on a weekend, IT technicians are generally not available. So, if you have to print something for a class, plan ahead, and print it before the last minute! Your anxiety level will go down a lot.

Fall Break Information

We're all ready for a Fall Break, right? Well deserved, too!

The law library's hours during break will be:

Thursday and Friday, October 21 and 22, 7:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 23, 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 24, 8:00 a.m. until Midnight

There will be no evening reference service October 21 and 22, and no reference service on Saturday, October 23. A reference librarian will be on duty on Sunday, October 24 from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Secondary Sources and Cheeseburgers

A post in the Law Librarian Blog looks into the subject of legal research....how to go about it and how not to. Westlaw and Lexis are wonderful finding tools, sure, but they do little to help us understand the law. For understanding, we need to consult secondary sources. Read why secondary sources are like cheeseburgers here.

Hat tip to Law Librarian Blog!

How Do You Like Your......

Dear 1Ls,

Do you remember that green half sheet in your Orientation packets? The one that asked you to tell us your preferences regarding how you like to get your information (books, electronic format, etc.)?
Well, we want to tally the results and found that only about 35 of you filled out the form. So, we are giving you another chance (librarians are nice that way...)

If you still have the form, you can fill it out and put it in the box on the Circulation Desk in the law library. If you don't have the form, or can't find it, here's a link so you can fill out the survey online:
http://lawlibrary.hamline.edu/content.php?pid=146687

Oh, and if you missed one of the required library tours, we are giving two make-up tours. Sunday September 12 at 11:15 a.m. and Monday September 13 at Noon.

Your Librarians

Law Student Guide to Free Legal Research on the Internet

There is an alternative to using LexisNexis and Westlaw to do online legal research. A new guide has been published by the law librarians at Valparaiso University Law School and is sponsored by the Legal Information Institute and Justia. The Guide is hosted by CALI.