Do you need an authoritative definition of an English-language word? Are you looking for the origins or first usage of a word? Remember that the Mendik Library provides online access to the OED (the Oxford English Dictionary). The OED covers words from across the English-speaking world. It is a guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books. You can find it on our web page under Electronic Resources.
Author: library
Happy 2010!
Welcome back!
Hope you all had a relaxing and rejuvenating winter break. Alas, all good things must come to an end.
All of us at the Mendik Library wish for you a rewarding and fulfilling semester. We’d love to be a part of your success and hope you will let us help you with all your research projects and information needs.
Good luck and best wishes for a great semester! We’re looking forward to strengthening our partnership.
The Mendik Library Staff
Power Outage at 40 Worth Street
Due a planned power outage at 40 Worth Street, all phones in the Library, and the Banner administrative system are down. OIT has informed us that electricity (and the phone service) should be restored around 8 PM tonight.
If you need to renew a book, please go to https://lawlib.nyls.edu/patroninfo
If you need research assistance, you can instant message a librarian until 6 PM Saturday via AOL instant messenger: nylslib or Google Talk: nylslib.
Free Case Law on Google Scholar!
Google Scholar has recently begun offering free access to federal and state case law (as well as some law reviews and other secondary legal materials). You can access U.S. Supreme Court opinions from 1791 to the present and other federal opinions, including district, appellate, tax and bankruptcy opinions, from 1923 to the present. State appellate court cases are available from 1950 to the present.
You may search for cases the same way you search for any information on Google. Using the advanced search option, you can restrict your search to federal or state court opinions. For more information, see the discussion at the Google blog. You may also want to see Google Scholar: A New Way to Search for Cases and Related Legal Publications.
Remember, there are a number of other very good sources for free cases (and more), including: Lexisone.com, Precydent, and The Public Library of Law. Caution: None of these sources is yet comprehensive and you should always check the scope (jurisdictional, geographical, and chronological) of their coverage.
Catalog and Electronic Resources Back Online
Access has now been restored to the online catalog and to materials from the Electronic Resources page. Thank you for your patience.
Online Catalog Unavailability
On Tuesday January 5, 2010, the Mendik Library’s online catalog will be unavailable from 9:30 a.m. until sometime in the mid-afternoon, to allow for a server upgrade. You will not be able to search the catalog or use any of the Library’s online materials from the Electronic Resources page. If you are on campus, however, you will be able to access those online materials through an alternate page we have created. All users will continue to have access to Lexis and Westlaw through direct links to their respective web sites.
We apologize for any inconvenience this disruption may cause. We will post an announcement as soon as services have been restored.
Library Closing Reminder, Unavailability of Online Access, and Intersession Schedule
As a reminder, the Mendik Library will be closed this weekend, December 19-20. We will close on Friday December 18 at 9:00 p.m. The Library’s full intersession schedule is set out below and also appears on the Library’s home page under Mendik Matters.
Important Notice about Online Access: As a result of Con-Ed’s power shutdown at 185 West Broadway this weekend, you will not have access to any of our online network services, including the online catalog and all online databases. You will, however, be able to access both Lexis and Westlaw at their respective websites.
The Office of Information Technology will begin working to restore access to the Library’s online resources on Sunday, December 20, and hopes to have some services restored by Sunday afternoon. Barring any unforeseen issues, we should be fully operational on Monday morning.
Thanks in advance for your patience.
Intersession Hours:
December 19 – 20 (Saturday & Sunday)
CLOSED
December 21 – 23 (Monday – Wednesday)
9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
December 24 – 27 (Thursday – Sunday)
CLOSED
December 28 – 30 (Monday – Wednesday)
9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
December 31 – January 3 (Thursday – Sunday)
CLOSED
January 4 – 8 (Monday – Friday)
9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
January 9 – 10 (Saturday & Sunday)
12 Noon – 8:00 p.m.
Free Earplugs Available – But That’s No Excuse for Noisemaking
The Library has earplugs available. You can pick up your own pair at the Reference Desk or the Circulation Desk on the first floor.
Remember, all reading and stack areas in the Library are QUIET STUDY ZONES. Please avoid conversation and unnecessary noise. Be particularly mindful of the need for quiet as you enter and leave the Library. Voices in the corridors and elevator vestibules carry into the reading areas and disturb those trying to study.
During the finals period the Library gets very crowded. The only way to maintain an appropriate study atmosphere is through student cooperation under these simple rules. Please keep this in mind always, and especially at this time of year.
Exam Prep Help!
Three 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: The Library maintains an archive of previous years’ exams for most courses. You can access these exams by course or professor name. From the Library’s home page, click Find Sample Exams under How Do I . . . ?
Third: 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)
Tips for Multiple Choice Exams in Law School (Podcast)
Top 10 Tips for Successfully Writing a Law School Essay
Writing Better Law School Exams: The Importance of Structure
Best of luck to everyone!
Bluebook Tips Online
If you’re interested in “authoritative guidance to reasonable questions on subjects covered by the Bluebook,” visit Blue Tips at the Bluebook’s web site. There, Bluebook editors answer common questions and provide helpful advice on a wide range of citation issues. You can submit your own questions as well. If the editors find the answer to your question “useful to Bluebookers generally, it may be formulated into a new tip,” which would appear on the Blue Tips page. Thanks to Amy Burchfield at the CM Law Library Blog (Cleveland-Marshall College of Law) for the tip.