Happy Thanksgiving!

Even before the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth in 1621, Thanksgiving had been celebrated in the U.S. in various ways, on various dates. For example, Spanish explorers held a Thanksgiving feast in Texas in 1541. During the 1700s, many colonies observed the day with prayer and fasting. After the Revolutionary War, a number of Presidents issued proclamations declaring various Thanksgiving Days. A war-weary President Lincoln issued one such proclamation in 1863. After some decades of confusion over exactly when in November the nation would observe the holiday, in 1941 Congress finally set it as the fourth Thursday.

While closed Thanksgiving Day, the Mendik Library will be open the following Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.



Halloween Treats (and Tricks)

REMINDER:   The Haunted Halloween Info Hunt drawing is almost here!  Winners can earn 1,000 Westlaw points, in addition to many other prizes, including study aids, OneCard Guest Cards (good for food purchases as well as printing and copying) and Barnes and Noble gift cards.

The drawing will be outside the library entrance at 5:45 pm this Thursday, October 31.  And what’s Halloween without candy?  Stop by and fill up your bag with Halloween treats . . . and maybe a few (research) tricks.

Submit completed entries by 5 pm.  For more information, click here.


‘Appy Constitution Day

To celebrate Constitution Day (September 17th), the Library of Congress has released a free app containing the official, annotated version of the United States Constitution.  This is a mobile version of its U.S. Constitution: Analysis and Interpretation work, a comprehensive analytical treatise prepared by attorneys of the Congressional Research Service.  “We the People . . .” can preamble over to the App Store to download it.  The Android version is apparently still under development.


Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May), and we hope you all found at least some time to celebrate and enjoy the day amidst all the hard-core studying.

Often mistaken for a celebration of Mexican independence, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s victory in the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War.  On May 5, 1862, General Lorencez and 6,000 French troops marched towards Puebla, Mexico.  Greatly outnumbered, the Mexicans fought and improbably defeated the French army at Puebla.

Now, Cinco de Mayo is widely celebrated in the United States as a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage.  Even Congress has officially recognized the holiday, passing a number of resolutions entitled “Recognizing the historical significance of the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo.”  For example, S. Res. 128, 111th Cong. (2009),  H. Res. 230, 111th Cong. (2009), and H. Res. 347, 110th Cong. (2007).  And this year, President Obama issued a formal statement that read, in part, “[o]n Cinco de Mayo we celebrate the contributions and heritage of Mexican Americans and we recognize the strong cultural, familial, and economic ties that bind the United States and Mexico.”  Interestingly, Cinco de Mayo is not considered a public holiday in Mexico and is not widely celebrated in Mexico.

Check out these links from the Law Library of Congress for more information.


NYLS Commencement Through the Centuries

An early congratulations to the graduating class of 2013!  May 19th will mark New York Law School’s 121st Commencement Exercises.  This year’s ceremony will be held at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.  Did you know that in 1899 the graduation ceremony was held at Carnegie Hall?

Commencement ceremonies give us time to celebrate our new graduates and time to honor all the Law School’s previous graduates.  It’s always fun to view this slice of our history by looking back at our Commencement Exercises Programs. The Library has created two exhibits of NYLS Commencement Programs spanning three centuries!  We invite you to take a quick break and visit both if you can!

  • In the Library’s Rare Book Room display case (L302) you’ll find programs from 1894, 1900, 1904, 1912, 1950, 1961 and more . . . .
  • In the display case outside the Matasar Commons on W2 (on the way to the Event Center) you’ll find programs from 1899, 1913, 1975, 1991 and more . . . .

 

Enjoy the Law School’s rich history!


Monday April 22 is Earth Day

Continuing with its A Billion Acts of Green® movement, a “people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy . . .” that began in 2011, the folks at the Earth Day Network are now looking to reach 2 Billion Acts of Green. The total reported as of the morning of April 19, 2013 was 1,019,860,805 (and counting).

One easy Act of Green you could pledge would be to turn off the library study table lamps and carrel lights whenever you leave.  Or, you could use the stairs instead of the elevators between floors.  We will thank you and so will the Earth.

Another suggestion:  By drinking your coffee, tea, or other beverage from a spill-proof, reusable mug, you can transform a single Act of Green into an ongoing one, helping continually to reduce the volume of plastic, Styrofoam, and paper cups piling up in landfills or requiring energy for recycling.  At the same time, you’ll be complying with the Library’s food and drink policy and earning our thanks!

If you don’t have a spill-proof mug, pick one up at the Circulation Desk for $3.00.  Although we already sell these mugs at a loss, for every one purchased through the end of this semester’s exam period librarians will contribute $.50 to Earth Day Network (www.earthday.org/), which works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement.

For complete information about Earth Day, visit Earth Day Network.



Congrats to Our Winners!

We wanted to congratulate all of the winners in this year’s Halloween Info Hunt!  Even Hurricane Sandy couldn’t scare off these (or the many other) intrepid researchers.  We also wanted to thank ALL participants for joining in what we hope you all found to be a fun learning experience!  At our November 8, 2012 drawing, we drew 13 winners from our famous Raffle Drum and offered them their choice of prizes.  Hearty congratulations to:

Lola Ajifowobaje
Alena Bohacova
Vanessa Caicedo
Christopher Carrion
Gloria Chacon
Jordann  Connaboy
Tenzin Dharlo
Aisha Elston-Wesley
Lansburg Jean-Pierre
Jamin Koo
Jonathan Reinstein
Kelly Rutkowski
Greg Sun

 If your heart is already throbbing for the Mendik Library’s next Info Hunt, you’ll find satisfaction (and perhaps love) in early February when we announce our annual Valentine’s Day Find Love in the Library Info Hunt.  Stay tuned!!


Celebrate Pro Bono Week

October 21 through 27, 2012 is Celebrate Pro Bono Week.  Lawyers have a long tradition of providing pro bono services to Americans in need of legal assistance.  Pro bono has been a part of our legal culture for a long time. Yet, despite our efforts, many of the civil legal needs of the poor are not being met and we must continue to expand our efforts in this area.  Since 2009, the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service has sponsored Celebrate Pro Bono Week and does so again this week.   The Celebration is a coordinated national effort to meet the ever-growing needs of this country’s most vulnerable citizens by encouraging and supporting local efforts to expand the delivery of pro bono legal services, and by showcasing the great difference that pro bono lawyers make to the nation, its system of justice, its communities and, most of all, to the clients they serve.  More information is available on the ABA’s  website:  http://www.probono.net/celebrateprobono/

 

 “A legal system isn’t just or fair if it is not accessible to the most vulnerable in society,” William Robinson, former ABA President.