Here are the Mendik Library’s hours of operation from Wednesday, January 19 through Monday, January 31, 2022.

Below are Mendik Library’s revised hours of operation from Thursday, December 23, 2021 through the end of Intersession, Tuesday, January 18, 2022.

Exam period is here and your easygoing nature probably is diminishing quickly. Little things that you ignored last week are a big deal today. So, if it bugs you, say something.

Tell us about the light bulb over your favorite study spot that is out or the outlet that doesn’t work. Or the person with the malodorous lunch or dinner. Or the guy in the stairwell talking on his cell phone at full volume.

If you see, hear, or smell something, say something. It’s your library and you are here to study without distractions. Let us help do that. Contact the Reference Desk at 212.431.2332, the Circulation Desk at 212.431.2333, or email us at reference@nyls.edu

With finals approaching, your thoughts may be turning to study aids. If you’re interested in digital versions, you’re in luck. Our LexisNexis Digital Library, a collection of eBooks that you can check out and read on your computer, includes dozens of study aids and treatises.

You can access all of them from the Library’s home page. Click on Electronic Resources and then on LexisNexis Digital Library. (From off campus you’ll need to enter your NYLS network credentials.) If you have any questions, just contact a Reference Librarian.

Does your phone or laptop need a charge? Stop by the Library’s Circulation Desk and the juice is on us; no charge to charge – it’s free! Charging is limited to 30 minutes if another student needs the charger too. Otherwise, you can fill ‘er up.

As exam season approaches, please help keep the library quiet. We want you all to be able to study with as few distractions as possible.

If there’s noise or conversations that don’t belong, please email us at reference@nyls.edu or call us at 212.431.2332.  We’ll be happy to do some shushing!

Good luck on your exams!

Four important Library resources to keep in mind as you prepare for upcoming exams.

First: The Library’s Exam Preparation Resources web page offers a host of materials containing practical advice and strategies designed to help you navigate the exam process.

Second: One of the best ways to prepare for a professor’s exam is to see what they have done in the past!  It’s a great way to understand how your professor thinks.

The Library maintains an archive of previous years’ exams for most courses. They are found in the Exam Archive (Choose “Exams, Grades, and Registration” under the Student Resources tab) on the NYLS Portal. You can access these exams by course or professor name.

Third:  Want to find a study aid?  Check out our collection on Lexis Digital.  You can search by subject, title or author to find what you’re looking for.  You can also search our catalog to see what we have in print.

Fourth:  CALI offers a variety of lessons and podcasts with helpful tips and advice from faculty on preparing for and taking exams. To access these materials, log in to CALI; under CALI Topics, click Legal Concepts and Skills and scroll down to one or more of these lessons:

Exam Taking Skills, Outlines, and Advice for Law Students (Panel 1 PodCast)

Exam Taking Skills, Outlines, and Advice for Law Students (Panel 2 PodCast)

Exam Taking Skills, Outlines, and Advice for Law Students (Panel 3 PodCast)

Tips for Multiple Choice Exams in Law School (Podcast)

Top 10 Tips for Successfully Writing a Law School Essay (Podcast)

Below are the revised schedules for the Mendik Library’s hours of operation from Wednesday, November 24, 2021 through the end of exams, Wednesday, December 22, 2021.

As you’re finishing your Legal Practice memos, remember that citation is a very important step in legal writing.  Your reader – the professor, the judge, opposing counsel – needs to know what authority you are citing to support your argument, along with the date of the source and where they can find it.  The reference librarians are happy to help you navigate the Bluebook or answer questions about legal citation. Make an appointment with a librarian or stop by the Reference Desk. We’re also happy to arrange a Teams or Zoom session. Email us at reference@nyls.edu.

Here are a few important steps to remember:

• Determine the legal authority you’re citing to: case, statute, etc.
• Use the Bluebook’s inside covers, index or table of contents to identify the relevant rule.
• Make sure you have all of the information about the source you will need.
• Review the rule and the examples, cross check the Bluebook tables: Table T1 for preferred citation sources and Table T6 for the proper abbreviations.
• Make sure your source is updated and still good law.

Particularly during this time of COVID, New York tenants are concerned about ramifications of non-payment of rent and possible eviction from their homes. The 2020-2021 edition of this treatise by NYLS Professor Andrew Scherer, with contributions from a few New York City Housing Court judges, includes chapters about the Tenant Safe Harbor Act, which permanently bars landlords from obtaining possessory judgments for a tenant’s failure to pay rent during this time of emergency. It also includes chapters about public housing, rent control and housing courts. You can find this treatise in the Library Catalog with a Westlaw link to the current edition.