Chat Reference Now Available

This week Brooklyn Law School’s Library instituted a new chat reference service.  The service is accessible through the Library’s

BLSConnect page, and is available for Brooklyn Law School’s students, faculty, and staff.

Librarians are available to chat during regularly scheduled reference hours.   Reference librarians attempt to respond to instant message questions as quickly as possible.  If you do not get a response back, please leave your email address or phone number, and someone will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

The service is best suited for short, fact-based questions and general questions on finding the relevant resources for a given topic.   If you have a more detailed question, we may encourage you to arrange a meeting with a reference librarian, or to stop by the reference desk during our normal reference hours.

Reference Hours

Monday	9:00am-8:00pm
Tuesday-Thursday	9:00am-9:00pm
Friday	9:00am-6:00pm
Saturday	9:00am-5:00pm

Recent SCOTUS Opinions

This week the United States Supreme Court issued several important rulings on same-sex marriage, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and affirmative action.  To read about these decisions and their potential impact, visit some of the legal news sites linked below.

BNA United States Law Week
(For off-campus access need to implement the proxy instructions.)

Jurist.org

Law360
(For off-campus access need to implement the proxy instructions.)

Law.com
(Ask a reference librarian for log on credentials.)

Exam Time Courtesy

The Library Staff wants to remind you to be considerate of your colleagues during the exam period. Please remember to hold quiet conversations in the vestibules and hallways, and to keep it to a minimum. Group study rooms are available for discussions.  You can reserve group study rooms using the library’s online reservation system.   Also, please do not bring food into the library. The smells are distracting to many students. Thank you and good luck on your finals.
*The image, which appears in this post, is courtesy of Binghamton University Libraries

New Loan Rules and Circulation Procedures

Recently, the Library changed its circulation rules for students and staff, and instituted a new recall procedure.  Students and staff are now able to charge out regularly circulating materials for the entire semester.  Items will be due at the end of the current semester.  Items will no longer have a 30 day due date. 

To accommodate another patron’s need for information, the library has instituted a new procedure for recalling items on loan.  If a title is checked out, another patron can ask that the title be recalled.  The library will email the user who has the title and explain that it is recalled.  Recalled items must be returned to the library within 14 days of the notice.  The recall notice will include the new due date.  Items not returned by the new due date will be considered overdue, and fines will be assessed.  When the book is returned, the library will notify the requesting patron by email and hold the book for 10 days.   Circulating materials not requested by another borrower may be renewed for another semester.  Requests to recall or renew a checked-out item can be made in person, at the circulation desk, or by emailing or calling the circulation desk ((718)780-7973; circdesk@brooklaw.edu). 

*These new rules and procedures do not apply to material on reserve in the library.

**The photograph, which appears in this post, is courtesy of Providence Public Library’s Flickr Stream.

Seminar Paper Workshop Tomorrow, January 31, 2013

If you are one of the many students who are writing a law note or seminar paper this semester, you may feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment.  Several questions maybe running through your head such as:  how do I identify a “good” topic; where do I begin researching; when should I stop researching; or how do I organize my paper. Well, there is no need to fear.  Tomorrow, January 31, 2013, Professor Elizabeth Fajans and Librarian Kathy Darvil will host a workshop on researching and writing your seminar paper.  The workshop will be held from 4 pm-6 pm in Room  605.

Listed below are several resources available from the BLS library that can help you research and write your law note or seminar paper. General Resources for Legal Research and Writing
•    ELIZABETH FAJANS & MARY FALK, SCHOLARLY WRITING FOR LAW STUDENTS: SEMINAR PAPERS, LAW REVIEW NOTES AND LAW REVIEW COMPETITION PAPERS (4th ed. 2011).
•    EUGENE VOLOKH, ACADEMIC LEGAL WRITING: LAW REVIEW ARTICLES, STUDENT NOTES, SEMINAR PAPERS, AND GETTING ON LAW REVIEW (4th ed. 2010).
•    JEAN DAVIS, PAPER TOPIC DEVELOPMENT: INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE: A RESEARCH GUIDE (2012), http://guides.brooklaw.edu/developing
•    JEAN DAVIS, PAPER TOPIC SELECTION: INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE: A RESEARCH GUIDE (2012), http://guides.brooklaw.edu/selecting
•    KATHLEEN DARVIL, SELECTING AND DEVELOPING YOUR SEMINAR PAPER TOPIC: A RESEARCH GUIDE (2012), http://guides.brooklaw.edu/seminarpaper
Legal Writing: Style & Grammer
•    BRYAN A. GARNER, LEGAL WRITING IN PLAIN ENGLISH: A TEXT WITH EXERCISES (2001).
•    BRYAN A. GARNER, THE ELEMENTS OF LEGAL STYLE (2nd ed. 2002).

Hurricane Sandy and Library Fines

Because the Law School was closed for much of this week and mass transit remains disrupted, the Library will forgive all overdue fines accrued from October 28th-November 5th, 2012.   The Library will waive fees for material checked out prior to the hurricane’s arrival, not for material checked out from November 1st-5th.

We hope that all our students, faculty, and staff made it through the storm safely. If you should have any questions about this policy, please contact the Access Services Librarian, Kathleen Darvil at kathleen.darvil@brooklaw.edu

Seminar Paper Workshop: September 13, 2012

If you are one of the many students who are writing a law note or seminar paper this semester, you may feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment.  Several questions maybe running through your head such as:  how do I identify a “good” topic; where do I begin researching; when should I stop researching; how do I organize my paper. Well, there is no need to fear.  On September 13, 2012, Professor  Elizabeth Fajans and Librarian Kathy Darvil will host a workshop on researching and writing your seminar paper.  The workshop will be held from 4 pm-6 pm in Room  501.

Listed below are several resources available from the BLS library that can help you research and write your law note or seminar paper.
General Resources for Legal Research and Writing
•    ELIZABETH FAJANS & MARY FALK, SCHOLARLY WRITING FOR LAW STUDENTS: SEMINAR PAPERS, LAW REVIEW NOTES AND LAW REVIEW COMPETITION PAPERS (4th ed. 2011).
•    EUGENE VOLOKH, ACADEMIC LEGAL WRITING: LAW REVIEW ARTICLES, STUDENT NOTES, SEMINAR PAPERS, AND GETTING ON LAW REVIEW (4th ed. 2010).
•    JEAN DAVIS, PAPER TOPIC DEVELOPMENT: INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE: A RESEARCH GUIDE (2012), http://guides.brooklaw.edu/developing
•    JEAN DAVIS, PAPER TOPIC SELECTION: INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE: A RESEARCH GUIDE (2012), http://guides.brooklaw.edu/selecting
•    KATHLEEN DARVIL, SELECTING AND DEVELOPING YOUR SEMINAR PAPER TOPIC: A RESEARCH GUIDE (2012), http://guides.brooklaw.edu/seminarpaper
Legal Writing: Style & Grammer
•    BRYAN A. GARNER, LEGAL WRITING IN PLAIN ENGLISH: A TEXT WITH EXERCISES (2001).
•    BRYAN A. GARNER, THE ELEMENTS OF LEGAL STYLE (2nd ed. 2002).

A New Tool to Identify Legislative Histories: Proquest: Legislative Insight

Wally Gobetz, Washington DC: Capitol Hill: United States Capital, Flickr Photostream (June 6, 2009), http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/3777337913/lightbox/

Whether you are tracing a statute’s history for your summer internship or for a paper you are writing, you will want to use a new tool the library recently acquired, Proquest’s Legislative Insight.  Often researching legislative histories can be cumbersome and time consuming.   Legislative Insight promises to streamline the process by digitizing and by publishing online the majority of full text publications associated with a legislative history.  These documents include all versions of enacted and related bills, Congressional Record excerpts, and committee hearings, reports, and documents.  Legislative Insight also includes other related material such as committee prints, CRS reports and Presidential signing statements. Furthermore, Legislative Insight offers a research citation page that not only links to the full text of the associated primary source publications, but allows the user to do a Search Within from that very page that searches the full text of all the associated publications with one-click.

To access Legislative Insight from off-campus, you first need to implement the proxy instructions.

DOMA and the Same Sex Marriage Debate

This past Thursday the 1^st Circuit held that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional on equal protection grounds.  If you want to learn more about the debate surrounding DOMA and same sex marriage, the library owns several resources that discuss the issues.  Listed below are a few of the more current sources on the topic.

Alison M. Smith, Cong. Research Serv., RL 31994, Same Sex Marriages: Legal Issues (2012)

Summary: The recognition of same-sex marriages generates debate on both the federal and state levels. Currently, federal law does not recognize same-sex marriages. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), P.L. 104-199, prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows individual states to refuse to recognize such marriages performed in other states. This report discusses DOMA and legal challenges to it. It reviews legal principles applied to determine the validity of a marriage contracted in another state and surveys the various approaches employed by states to enable or to prevent same-sex marriage. This report also examines House and Senate resolutions introduced in previous Congresses proposing a constitutional amendment and limiting federal courts’ jurisdiction to hear or determine any question pertaining to the interpretation of DOMA.

Jaye Cee Whitehead, The Nuptial Deal: Same-Sex Marriage and Neo Liberal Governance (2012)

Summary from University of Chicago Press Books:  Since the 1990s, gay and lesbian civil rights organizations have increasingly focused on the right of same-sex couples to marry, which represents a major change from earlier activists’ rejection of the institution. Centering on the everyday struggles, feelings, and thought of marriage equality activists, The Nuptial Deal explores this shift and its connections to the transformation of the United States from a welfare state to a neo-liberal one in which families carry the burden of facing social problems.

Caroline Sorgjerd, Reconstructing Marriage: The Legal Status of Relationships in a Changing Society (2012)

Summary from Intersentia Press: In Reconstructing Marriage – The Legal Status of Relationships in a Changing Society Caroline Sörgjerd explores the essence of the institution of marriage: what is the meaning of marriage today, how has marriage been influenced by the legal recognition of new cohabitation models and what should be the role of the institution of marriage in the future?

The Respect for Marriage Act: Assessing the Impact of DOMA on American Families: Hearing on S. 598 Before the S. Comm. on the Judiciary, 112th Cong. 1 (2011)(written testimony of the Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law).

Summary: Discussion and statistical analysis of the effects of the Defense of Marriage Act on same-sex couples in the United States.

Need to Print in a Hurry: Computer Added to the Library’s First Floor

Recently, a third computer station was added to the first floor of the Library.  The computer is located across the room from the reference desk, alongside two other computers. Students should use this computer to send print jobs to the first floor printer release station.  We ask that students be considerate of their peers and not use the computer for email or web browsing when another student is waiting to send a print job to the release station.