Library Information

Spring 2019 RSW Registration is Open

Registration is open for this semester’s Research Skills Workshops (RSW):

  • EELR II (1/15 – 2/7)
  • Introduction to Administrative & Regulatory Research (2/11 – 2/24)
  • Citators:  Is All your Research Up to Date? (2/25 – 3/7)


Please Note:

  • Legal Practice Students must attend all three RSW.
  • Other members of the community are welcome to attend the Introduction to Administrative & Regulatory Research and the Citators:  Is All your Research Up to Date? RSW.
  • Advance Registration is required for all three RSW.
  • To register please go to the library homepage or click on link:  https://libguides.nyls.edu/rsw

 

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO NYLS LIBRARY LABS

Important changes have been made to the Library lab PCs. Most students use these labs, and so should pay careful attention to the following:

Network Login: All lab PCs have been reconfigured to login automatically to a generic account named “Lab User”. You will no longer login with your personal username and password. Rather, the PC you’re using will have a desktop that gives you access to internet browsers and applications – Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat – logged in as Lab User.

Password? Your lab PC shouldn’t be asking you for a password, but if it does, just restart the PC.

My Network Account? You won’t be able to login to your own network account when you’re working at a lab PC. If you want to save a file you have several choices: 1) Save it to your OneDrive; 2) Email it to yourself; 3) Save it to a thumb drive.

Name Your Documents before Printing!!! When you send a document to print, it will appear in the queue as coming from “Lab User”, a generic name. To make sure you can identify your own document in the queue, you must give it a name you can recognize! If your document is named “Document1” you won’t be able to distinguish it from other users’ documents. Save it with a unique name before you send it to the printer!

The Library staff stands ready to help you adjust to these changes. Just visit the Reference Desk, or call us at ext. 2332.

All U.S. Case Law Now Freely Available Online

All published U.S. court decisions from 1658 to June 2018 are now freely accessible online, thanks to the Caselaw Access Project (CAP), a partnership between Harvard Law School’s Library Innovation Lab and Ravel Law, acquired by LexisNexis.  CAP’s goal is to “make all published U.S. court decisions freely available to the public online, in a consistent digitized format.”  To create this massive collection, law librarians at Harvard digitized roughly 40 million pages of decisions contained in roughly 40,000 bound reporter volumes .

Users can access the data via an open-source API (application programming interface). CAP provides a Beginner’s introduction to API along with usage examples that explain how to retrieve cases by ID or through simple full-text searches.

For more information, see Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites blog post and the CAP website.

The Haunted Halloween Info Hunt Returns!

Happy soon-to-be-Halloween from the Mendik Library!

As an early Halloween treat, here’s your opportunity to WIN great study aids, law dictionaries, faculty books, pre-loaded OneCards, NYLS swag, and who knows what else!  Just answer the 6 Haunted Halloween Info Hunt questions. Your answers don’t need to be perfect—just close!

Click here to access the questions.  Each slide includes just one question, along with step-by-step instructions that will get you to the answer.

Print this answer sheet (or pick up a copy at the Reference Desk) and drop it the Raffle Drum on the Reference Desk by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, October 31, and then join us outside the library at 5:45 p.m. for some sweet treats and the drawing.

Need A Quick Boost?

Does your phone or laptop need a charge? Stop by the Library’s Circulation Desk and the juice is on us; no charge to charge – it’s free! Charging is limited to 30 minutes if another student needs the charger too. Otherwise, you can fill ‘er up.

Win… and Learn!

Have you submitted your Legally Clueless Info Hunt entry? The drawing take place on Thursday August 23 at 5:45 pm, just outside the Library. We plan to award lots of prizes, including OneCards (with pre-loaded cash values), First Year course study aids, books, NYLS swag, and who knows what else!

The lime colored entry form is in the blue folder you received and worked on during your First Week Finding the Law class. If you need another copy, you can pick one up at the Reference Desk. Spend a few minutes learning more about research and the library’s resources. You don’t even need to get the right answers, and you should always feel free to ask one of the reference librarians for help.

Good luck to all!

Welcome from the Library Director

On behalf of the Mendik Library, I want to extend my welcome to the Class of 2021-22.  We are all looking forward to meeting you as you embark on this challenging and exciting journey.

We have worked hard to make your library a comfortable study and learning environment.  The Mendik Library is a vibrant and dynamic information and research center.  You can be assured that you are getting the benefit of an outstanding collection of information and technology resources, an extensive offering of services, and an excellent and dedicated library staff.

We describe our resources and services in great detail on our web pages and handouts. What you might not realize from these publications is the outstanding quality of the Mendik Library Staff and why that is important to you.  Our staff includes ten professionals with master’s degrees, six of whom also have J.D. degrees from law schools around the country.  They have been where you are going.  Your librarians have many years of experience working in law libraries and teaching legal research.  Many also have years of legal practice experience.  They can help you with your library and research needs, of course, but their value to you goes far beyond that.  Do not hesitate to ask us questions about the law school, particular courses, or any of the extracurricular activities available.  We can help you, or we will direct you to the best person to give you the help you need.

Law school is a new experience for each of you, and we are committed to making that experience a rewarding one.  We welcome the opportunity to work with you throughout your law school career and thereafter as alumni.

Welcome!  We hope the library will quickly become your second home.

Sincerely,

 

 

Professor Camille Broussard

Library Director & Associate Dean

Supreme Court Watch

On Monday, July 9, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Brett M. Kavanaugh of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court. This nomination has given President Trump his second nomination in his first two years in office. Many legal observers opine that this might be one of the most crucial nominations to the Court and could portend a fundamental shift in the court. The resources below will help you learn more about Judge Kavanaugh and the Senate confirmation process.

Law Library of Congress: Resources: Brett M. Kavanaugh
Summary: Articles, books, congressional materials, and web resources by and about the Supreme Court nominee.

SCOTUSblog: Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh
Summary: SCOTUSblog provides comprehensive Supreme Court coverage and commentary.

SCOTUS Watch
Excerpt: SCOTUS Watch tracks the public statements made by United States senators about how they plan to vote on the Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, and tallies them into a likely vote count.