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.