Delaware Campus Library Blogs

Now you can use WorldCat to search for books, journals, DVDs and other materials at the Widener Law Library plus 10,000 other libraries worldwide.

Just go to www.worldcat.org and type author, title, or subject in the search box.  Enter your zip code and WorldCat will show you the libraries nearest you (including Widener) that have the item.  If none of the Widener libraries has the item you want you can order it from interlibrary loan.  If you are on campus WorldCat will display a link to ILLiad, our interlibrary loan service, automatically.  If you are off-campus, go to the Widener Law Library web page to submit your interlibrary loan request.

WorldCat also offers some handy browser toolbars for Internet Explorer and Firefox.  When you install one of these toolbars WorldCat is always available for a quick search.

I’ve been using WorldCat to help with law review cite checking and it saves me a lot of time by letting me start my search in one place and showing me where I can find the book I’m looking for at Widener or another library.

The next meeting of the library book club has been changed to Tuesday, December 12th in the Barrister’s Club. For more information see the previous post.

Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton. Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. HV6432.7 .K43 2006

From the publisher:  In the words of the commission’s co-chairmen, this is the compelling inside story of how the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States-more commonly known as the 9/11 Commission-managed to succeed against all odds in producing a report that made clear what went wrong and why. The mandate of the 9/11 Commission was daunting and all-encompassing. In its investigation of the events leading up to and including September 11, 2001, the commission had to examine U.S. diplomacy, military policy, intelligence agencies, law enforcement, border and aviation security, and congressional oversight, as well as the immediate response to the terrorist attacks, while also investigating the lethal enemy al Qaeda. Here for the first time is the story of how the commission came together to produce its landmark document.

Fred R. Shapiro. The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2006. Reference PN6081 .Y35 2006

From the publisher: This reader-friendly volume contains more than 12,000 famous quotations, arranged alphabetically by author. It is unique in its focus on American quotations and its inclusion of items not only from literary and historical sources but also from popular culture, sports, computers, science, politics, law, and the social sciences. Anonymously authored items appear in sections devoted to folk songs, advertising slogans, television catchphrases, proverbs, and others.

For each quotation, a source and first date of use is cited. In many cases, new research for this book has uncovered an earlier date or a different author than had previously been understood. (It was Beatrice Kaufman, not Sophie Tucker, who exclaimed, “I’ve been poor and I’ve been rich. Rich is better!” William Tecumseh Sherman wasn’t the originator of “War is hell!” It was Napoleon.) Numerous entries are enhanced with annotations to clarify meaning or context for the reader. These interesting annotations, along with extensive cross-references that identify related quotations and a large keyword index, will satisfy both the reader who seeks specific information and the curious browser who appreciates an amble through entertaining pages.

Postponed due to illness – we will post when it is rescheduled!

The “Ad Hocs” present INHERT THE WIND by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee.

A Play about the courtroom battle between evolution and creationism.

THURSDAY, November 9, 2006

A staged reading of the courtroom scene featuring:

Professor Nathaniel Nichols

Professor Andrew Strauss

Professor Jean Eggan

Discussion follows- led by:Professor Alan Garfield

Mark Herrman. The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law. Chicago, Ill. : American Bar Association, c2006. KF300 .H47 2006

From the publisher:  “The Curmudgeon” has been practicing law for just a little too long, and he may be too jaded for his own good. Beneath his crusty exterior, however, lies a fount of wisdom. The Curmudgeon knows everything about the legal profession, and he’s willing to share his keen observations from the corner office. He offers practical and honest, if blunt, advice for surviving and thriving in a law firm. He tells you what you need to know about billing, managing your assistant, drafting internal memos, dealing with clients and building your law practice. Read the Curmudgeon and find out what drives law partners crazy, what will impress them and what ten mistakes you should avoid. Concise, humorous and full of valuable (but curmudgeonly) insight, this is a must-read for every lawyer and law student.

  Hope you can join us at the next meeting of the library brown bag book
club.  We will be in the Barrister’s Club, Tuesday,
Dec. 12th from noon to 1 p.m.

The book we will be reading is STRAIGHT MAN by RICHARD RUSSO.

Summary from Library Journal:

Hank Devereaux Jr. is the kind of guy who turns anything serious
into a joke. Pushing 50, he’s the interim chair of a squabbling English
department at a small rural college. Big budget cuts are rumored. Each
department chair has been told to provide a list of those who will lose
their jobs. His department believes that Hank has prepared such a list,
but he hasn’t and won’t. Instead, he goes on television and
spontaneously jokes that he will kill the campus geese until the
administration gives him his budget. When a goose really is killed,
Hank becomes the prime suspect. In his earlier novels (e.g., Nobody’s
Fool, LJ 4/15/93), Russo captured with compassion and humor the lives
of the people in small backwater towns; now he does the same for those
who inhabit the groves of academe. This novel is filled with laughter
but also much seriousness. Give it a straight A.

The radio station WDEL will be hosting a series of early morning
political debates for Delaware candidates in the Ruby Vale Moot
Courtroom in the coming weeks. All are invited to attend.
Tuesday, Oct. 24th, 8:00AM – Delaware Attorney General
Wednesday, Oct. 25th, 8:00AM- US Senate
Wednesday, Nov. 1st, 8:00AM- US Representative

This is a wonderful opportunity to see the candidates debate the issues
in person, during this election season. More information can be found here.

John C. Dernbach. Writing Essay Exams to Succeed (Not Just to Survive). New York, Aspen Publishers, 2007. KF283 .D47 2007

Professor Dernbach teaches at Widener’s Harrisburg campus.

From the publisher: Essay exams don’t have to be a mystery. With
its wealth of visual aids, examples, and practical advice, Professor
Dernbach’s concise guide enables pre-law and law school students to
develop the strong essay-writing skills they need to succeed and feel
confident taking essay exams.

Carolyn N. Long. Mapp v. Ohio: Guarding Against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures. Lawrence, KS, University Press of Kansas, 2006. KF224.M213 L66 2006

From the publisher:  Although she came to be known as merely “that girl with the dirty
books,” Dollree Mapp was a poor but proud black woman who defied a
predominantly white police force by challenging the legality of its
search-and-seizure methods. Her case, which went all the way to the
Supreme Court, remains hotly debated and highly controversial today.

The library has just purchased a collection of audio CD study aids
called Sum & Substance. The display cases for these CDs are located on
the Study Aid shelf in the Open Reserve Room in the Library. They may
be borrowed from the library for 24 hours. Just bring the empty CD case
to the Circulation Desk to retrieve the CD. Each title covers a
different area of law including : Bankruptcy, Corporations,  and
Federal Income Tax. Click here for a full list of available titles.

The Delaware campus will be participating in the Guantanamo Bay Teach-In being organized by Seton Hall Law School. This full day seminar will be webcast to participating institutions on Thursday, October 5th.

Hear lawyers, doctors and others describe the issues surrounding the detention of enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay. The webcast will be shown in Polishook Hall Room 201 from 10am to 7pm. Visit
www.guantanamoteachin.com for more information including a list of speakers and topics to be covered. Thank you to Professors Daly and Ritter for setting this up.

At the next meeting of the Brown Bag Book Club, we are going to try a
book circle.  This is where each person briefly discusses a book
they have recently read and which they would like to share with the
group.  If we have time, we might go around a second time. 
The book titles and brief descriptions will be compiled into a list and
be sent to the participants.

The next meeting of the Brown Bag Book Club will be Tuesday, October
24th at noon.  Please note:  We will be meeting in the
Faculty dining room in the Barristers’ Club. So come with your lunch
and a title or two that you would like to share.

Steven Lubet. Lawyer’s Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006. KF300.Z9 L83 2006.

From the publisher: Great poker players are master tacticians. Not only do they calculate odds with lightning speed and astonishing precision, but they also cunningly anticipate and manipulate the actions of their adversaries. In short, they boast skills that every lawyer can envy. This highly entertaining work might best be summed up as “better lawyering through poker.” Steven Lubet shows exactly how the tactics of the poker table can be adapted to litigation, negotiation, and virtually every aspect of law practice. In a series of engaging and informative lessons, Lubet describes concepts like “betting for value,” “slow playing,” and “reverse bluffing,” and explains how they can be used by lawyers to win their cases. The best card players, like the best lawyers, have a knack for getting their adversaries to react exactly as they want, and that talent separates the winners from the losers. Lawyers’ Poker is an irresistible guide to successful lawyering and an enjoyable read for anyone with an interest in law. No poker knowledge required.

For the first time, the United States Supreme Court will make
transcripts of oral arguments available the same day as the case is
heard by the court. The transcripts will be posted on the Supreme Court website. Previously, it would take almost two weeks for these transcripts to appear.

According to Jill Duffy, Supreme Court of the United States Research
Librarian, “In the past, oral arguments had been transcribed off-site
from audio recordings. The Court’s current contract reporting service,
Alderson Reporting Company, will now utilize the services of a court
reporter in the Courtroom and high-speed technology to transcribe the
oral arguments more quickly.

Transcripts can be located by clicking on the “Oral Arguments” prompt
on the home page of the Court’s Web site and selecting “Argument
Transcripts.”

Transcripts will be listed by case name and the date of oral argument.
Transcripts are permanently archived beginning with the 2000 Term on
the Court’s Web site. Transcripts prior to the 2000 Term are maintained
in the Court’s Library.”