Attention!  Attention!  There’s a new legislative information Web site in town and its name is Congress.gov!  THOMAS.gov, the Library of Congress’s longstanding Web site for congressional and legislative research for nearly 20 years, will now automatically redirect users to Congress.gov.  (THOMAS.gov will remain accessible from the Congress.gov homepage through late 2014 before it is retired.)

Congress.gov is intended to make legislative research easier and more convenient.  The site’s design adapts to tablet or smartphone screens and features an easy-to-locate, front-and-center search field.  As the site continues to be refined to improve functionality, public feedback is strongly encouraged!

Due to last week’s storm, the Mendik Library’s Valentine’s Day Info Hunt prize drawing–originally scheduled for February 13–was postponed. We are happy to announce that the new date for the prize drawing will be THIS THURSDAY, February 20 at 5:45pm outside of the Library entrance. Participants need not be present to win, but an additional entry form will be added for each student who does attend!

As a reminder, here are some of the great prizes up for grabs:  1,000 Lexis points, 1,000 Westlaw points, NYLS Guest Cards (good for food purchases as well as printing and copying), and valuable study aids and texts (see a sampling of titles below).

If you have not yet entered, don’t worry; there’s still time! Entries will be accepted until 5pm on the day of the drawing.

Click here to access the Valentine’s Day Info Hunt – Questions from Cupid (use Internet Explorer for best results).  Each slide includes one question (there are only 6) and easy, step-by-step instructions. Press enter to reveal each step.

Click here to access an answer sheet or pick up a copy at the Reference Desk. Either submit your completed answer sheet at the Reference Desk or e-mail it to reference@nyls.edu.

Thank you to all who have already entered and GOOD LUCK!

 

Among the titles the winners will choose from are:

Acing Criminal Procedure

Administrative Law: Examples and Explanations

Black Letter Outlines: Administrative Law

Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court

Legal Ethics

Legal Reasoning, Writing, and Other Lawyering Skills

Origins of the Dred Scott Case: Jacksonian Jurisprudence and the Supreme Court, 1837-1857

Plain English for Drafting Statutes and Rules

Principles of Constitutional Law

Principles of Business Organizations

Regulation of the Legal Profession

The Lawyer’s Practice

Wills, Trusts, and Estates: Questions and Answers

 

Due to inclement weather, the Library will have a delayed opening time of 11am today, Friday, February 14. We will close at our regular time. Please check www.nyls.edu for up-to-date school closing information.

Stay warm and travel safely.

Due to inclement weather, the Library will be operating on a modified schedule today, Thursday, February 13. The Library will be open from 10am to 8pm, with the rest of the school building remaining open later for studying.  We expect to return to our regular schedule tomorrow, Friday, February 14.

In addition, the Mendik Library’s Valentine’s Day Info Hunt Raffle–previously scheduled for today– has been postponed. We will announce a new raffle date early next week.

Stay warm and travel safely!

Celebrating Black History Month has always taken on special significance at NYLS, particularly when you consider how closely entwined our community is with African American heritage. Consider, for example, our connection to the historical publication of Freedom’s Journal.

Freedom’s Journal, founded in 1827 to provide a voice against racism and intolerance, was the first newspaper published in the United States by and for African Americans. A number of sources place its home at 236 Church Street, which is today encompassed by NYLS’s 57 Worth Street building. This neighborhood was home to a large number of free northern blacks who, at that time, constituted a small minority in the city.

Freedom’s Journal denounced slavery and lynchings and advocated for black suffrage. It also published articles on how the U.S. legal and political systems helped to perpetuate slavery. But the publication itself was not long-lived. Founding editor John Brown Russwurm published the last issue in 1829, shortly before emigrating to Liberia.

To learn more about Freedom’s Journal, seek out a copy of the Fall/Winter 2010 issue of New York Law School Magazine, which contains a more in-depth article regarding NYLS’s connection to the newspaper.  You can also access a copy of the article here.

 

An early Happy Valentine’s Day from the Mendik Library! As a Valentine’s treat, here’s an opportunity to be entered into a drawing to WIN more great prizes, such as:  1,000 Lexis points, 1,000 Westlaw points, NYLS Guest Cards (good for food purchases as well as printing and copying), or valuable study aids and texts (see a sampling of titles below).

Click here to access the Valentine’s Day Info Hunt – Questions from Cupid (use Internet Explorer for best results).  Each slide includes one question (there are only 6) and easy, step-by-step instructions. Press enter to reveal each step.

Click here to access an answer sheet or pick up a copy at the Reference Desk. Either submit your completed answer sheet at the Reference Desk or e-mail it to reference@nyls.edu by 5:00 PM on Thursday, February 13. The drawing will take place outside the library entrance on February 13 at 5:45 PM. You need not be present to win, but an additional entry form will be added for each student who does attend!

 

Among the titles the winners will choose from are:

Acing Criminal Procedure

Administrative Law: Examples and Explanations

Black Letter Outlines: Administrative Law

Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court

Legal Ethics

Legal Reasoning, Writing, and Other Lawyering Skills

Origins of the Dred Scott Case: Jacksonian Jurisprudence and the Supreme Court, 1837-1857

Plain English for Drafting Statutes and Rules

Principles of Constitutional Law

Principles of Business Organizations

Regulation of the Legal Profession

The Lawyer’s Practice

Wills, Trusts, and Estates: Questions and Answers

Beginning on Sunday, February 2, the Library will have extended late hours to accommodate members of our community who are studying for the February bar exam.  On Sunday through Thursday – the most popular nights for bar studiers – the Library will remain open until 1 am.  The extended hours will be in effect through Tuesday, February 25.

During extended hours, security guards will patrol the Library.  There will be no Library staff to assist you.  The Circulation Desk and the Reserve area will close, and all Circulation transactions must be complete by the regular times – 10 pm on Sundays, 11 pm on other days.