A Firm Perspective is written by Martha Goldman, a retired Big Law firm library manager who then returned to the Mendik Library where her career began…

When you need to research aspects of setting up, running and terminating businesses in New York State, White on New York Business Entities is your essential treatise.  This nine-volume set dives into all aspects of corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and not-for-profit organizations.  It includes forms for each type of entity, and information about tax implications of the use of corporate entities, their operation and termination.  Relevant state and federal cases, New York and federal statutes are also covered.  Updated twice per year, it is well-indexed.   New York Business Entities is available via the LexisNexis Digital Library (NYLS sign-on required) for members of the NYLS community, as well as via Lexis (username and password required).  Happy Researching!

Hearty congratulations to Associate Dean and Director of the Mendik Library Camille Broussard on being named the American Association of Law Libraries’ Diversity and Inclusion Librarian of the Month!  The program highlights “librarians . . . whose work advances the cause of diversity, equity and inclusion.” Dean Broussard was recognized for her “decades of work and contributions within the profession, along with her involvement in creating the Social Responsibilities SIS Standing Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” in 1985. Dean Broussard noted that from its inception, the Committee “worked to create an educational space for discussion on issues of concern to the lesbian and gay community and to raise awareness of law-related problems of gay men and lesbians within the law librarian profession, their patron groups, and the society at large.” Over the years, the Committee expanded from LGBTQ+ to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Dean Broussard remarked that after 36 years, “it is amazing to see how far we have come—how many new members we have welcomed, mentored, and given a place to call home.”

A Firm Perspective is written by Martha Goldman, a retired Big Law firm library manager who then returned to the Mendik Library where her career began…

New York State contract law is one of the more elusive topics to research because there is only one title devoted to the subject.  This two-volume treatise is “New York Contract Law” by Glen Banks, and is part of the West New York Practice Series.  Law librarians and practitioners rejoiced when it was released in 2006.   It is available on Westlaw or in print (call number KFN 5215.B35 2017).  Updated annually online and in print, the topics include contract terms and clauses as well as strategies for creating contract and protecting client interests.  It also covers case law and statutes, and issues that arise in almost any commercial transaction in this state.  Happy Researching!

This Saturday, June 19, 2021, is Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the day in 1865 that Union soldiers reached Texas and the African Americans living there, who only then learned that President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, declaring freedom for the more than three million slaves living in the Confederate states.  When the soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with the news of freedom the former slaves began to celebrate immediately.

The next year, on June 19, 1866, official celebrations took place in Texas.  In 1980, Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Texas.  New York recognized Juneteenth as an official holiday in 2020 as has Massachusetts, Virginia, and Oregon.  The majority of other states make it a day of recognition or a day of observance.  Just this week, the United States Senate passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing June 19 as a legal public holiday.

Visit the National Archives newsletter (National Archives News) to read about Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and former NYLS faculty member Annette Gordon-Reed’s June 2^nd talk at the National Archives about her new book, On Juneteenth.  The National Archives also launched an online exhibit regarding Juneteenth, which is available here.