Delaware Campus Library Blogs

Due to inclement weather the Widener- Delaware Campus Law Library will be Closing at 9pm this evening, Tuesday, January, 21st. We apologize for an inconvenience.

The following links have  information about President Obama’s nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court:

Georgetown Law Library Supreme Court Nomination Guide:
http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/guides/supreme_court_nominations.cfm

Library of Congress Legal Resources:
http://www.loc.gov/law/find/kagan.php#

Univ. of Michigan Law Library:
http://www.law.umich.edu/library/info/kagan/Pages/default.aspx

SCOTUS Blog:
http://www.scotusblog.com/2010/05/nomination-round-up/

All Delaware Campus classes with a start time after 4pm are cancelled on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 and all classes on Wednesday, February 10th are cancelled. The law library will remain open until 11pm on Tuesday and.plans to be open on Wednesday, 2/10/10 from 9am to 10pm.

Please call the library (302)477-2244 before traveling to the campus 2/9 and 2/10/10.

The Delaware Campus library will be open at 9am on Saturday, February 6th and regular hours (10am opening) on Sunday, February 7th.  To confirm please call (302)477-2244 before traveling to the law school.

Three new websites have recently come online that may be of interest to legal researchers.

Government Information- GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) has recently opened access to public beta testing. The Government Printing Office created this website as a central repository and archive of information from all three branches of the Federal Government.  The site may be accessed here. FDsys will expand and replace the information currently available at gpoaccess.gov in mid-2009.

Economic Stimulus Plan- The Obama administration has posted www.recovery.gov as a way for the public to track the money authorized in the new economic stimulus plan authorized by congress and signed in to legislation by the president. Read the full text of the legislation, track the money and view a timeline of future milestones.

Criminal and Environmental Law (Asbestos)- The University of Montana School of Law in conjunction with their School of Journalism has created the blog Grace Case to track the criminal prosecution in the case U.S. v. W.R. Grace. According to the press release by the site creators’ this case is, “the most extensive environmental criminal trial in U.S. history.” The blog will contain daily updates from the trial as well as background on the legal issues presented in the case.

For the first time (at the request of the SBA) the Delaware Campus library will extend our hours until 2AM on many nights during exams.

Delaware Campus Library Exam hours are:

Saturday, December 6: 8 AM to 1 AM Sunday, December 7: 10 AM to 2 AM

The Library is a resource we all share and we hope and expect that the individuals who use it will use common courtesy in the way they conduct themselves. Like anything else in a facility that many people share, it is a matter of courtesy to others to remember where you are and to keep the noise down.

Cell phones use in the Library has been controversial. Some  would like to see cell phones banned from the library altogether, others have a need to be reachable to family, work or friends.  The Library response has been to try and isolate cell phone conversations to a designated area in the lounge between the Avin’s Special Collections room and the group study rooms. People should keep their voices down when using cell phones in this area- long conversations should be taken outside the library.

We understand that the Law Library is much more than a study area, it has many uses. Classes are held on the third floor and in the Special Collections Room, students are given research assignments that anticipate they will work in groups, librarians and others lead groups and instruct students in the use of research tools. Students and researchers make use of copiers and printers.

These activities are vital parts of student education and the research work that is critically important to the work of the Law School. Most of us realize this work should be conducted with low voices wherever possible. If someone is being too loud you should bring this to their attention or to the attention of the Library staff.

As a shared use space, courtesy requires the use of common sense in how one conducts his or herself when using the Law Library. We sincerely hope these reminders will help folks recognize what is appropriate and what is inappropriate behavior and in a sense of community everyone will do what is right.

A recent New York Times article hightlights the concern of the American Association of Law Libraries’ (AALL) and other groups that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is shirking its responsibility by declining to harvest federal agency Web sites at the end of this administration. The article goes on to say that as more and more government information is produced in a digital format many agencies lack a clear understanding or approach to preserving digital information.

Study Aids such as Hornbooks, Nutshells and Sum & Substance Audio CDs now circulate for three days on the Delaware Campus (previously, you could only check them out for 4 hours at a time.) We hope the longer borrowing time will allow you to make greater use of these helpful resources. You can find the library’s collection of study aids in the Study Aids Room behind the Reference Desk. Study Aids are shelved to your right as you enter the room.

Stately red robes viewed through the doors of the Special Collections Room in the Library. One hand rests on the podium, the other steadies a book – he seems to be lecturing. Is it the ghost of John Jay, co-author of the Federalist Papers and first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court?

…. Or is it just an optical illusion reflecting the portrait of John Jay hung across the hall. Stop by the library and see for yourself. The illusion is most prominent at night and when the Special Collections room is dark.

The Law Library is pleased to welcome Michael J. Slinger,  Associate Dean for Information Services and Technology, Director of the Legal Information Center and Professor of Law. Mr. Slinger comes most recently from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in Ohio.  He replaces former Legal Information Center Director Eileen Cooper, who retired in 2005, and Mary K. Marzolla, who has served as acting director since. More information can be found here.

The library is beginning a small renovation project to the area behind the Reference Desk on the Delaware Campus.  Previously, this room (then known as the Open Reserve Room) housed the newest issues of all law journals as well as legal newpapers. These materials have been moved to the area between the reference desk and the student lounge.  We have also moved some other materials into the stacks or reference area. The study aids (Hornbooks, Nutshells, Sum & Substance CDs, etc.) will continue to reside in this room. Please see a reference librarian if you have any trouble locating material that has moved.