Library Information

Group Study Room Policy

Please remember the policy governing the Mendik Library’s Group Study Rooms:

Group study rooms are for groups of students to work on academic tasks.  A study group consists of two or more students, conversing in a normal tone of voice.  Study groups are welcome to use these rooms on a first-come-first-served basis.

Individual use is allowed only when study groups are not using the room.  Individual studiers must share the room, or yield it if the conversation bothers them.  Be considerate of other library users who may require the room.  Do not stay for more than four hours.

Also, remember to leave the room clean and in order.  All trash should be placed in waste baskets and furniture returned to original locations.  Do not store or leave your belongings unattended.

Contact a librarian at X-2332 if you have any questions or need assistance.

We appreciate everyone’s cooperation.

Welcoming Our New Online Catalog!

Koha

During the semester break the Library will be rolling out our new online catalog (which is part of a wider integrated library software system named Koha.) This will replace our existing catalog.

The new online catalog will provide all the features that you’ve come to expect from our current system. You’ll use it to search the Library’s collections of books and electronic resources. It will help you identify your course reserves, charge these out, and renew them. It will keep track of the materials you’ve borrowed, tell you when they’re due to be returned, and list any Library fines or fees you may have incurred.

Plus, the new online catalog will offer features not found in our current catalog, such as search history and filtering of search results. If you like Amazon’s website, you’re likely to be more comfortable with the new catalog.

All of your account information in our current catalog will migrate to the new online catalog. Your Library barcode and login credentials will remain the same. Our award-winning mobile app, Mendik Mobile, is still available, and none of its features will change.

The go-live date for our new online catalog will be Monday, December 21.

The Library staff thanks you for your patience and understanding as we migrate from one software platform to another. If you notice any glitches when using the new catalog, please bring them to our attention so that we can work to resolve them.

We believe you’ll be pleased with the final product.

Celebrate the International Day of Peace

The International Day of Peace, established in 1981 by United Nations General Assembly resolution 36/67, is observed each year on September 21st.  The theme of this year’s commemoration is “Partnerships for Peace – Dignity for All” and the United Nations invites “all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the Day, and to otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace.”  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also issued a statement calling “on all warring parties to lay down their weapons and observe a global ceasefire.”
 
For more information on the International Day of Peace visit the UN website.

Win . . . and Learn!

Have you submitted your Legally Clueless Info Hunt entry? The drawing will be on Tuesday September 1 at 5:50 pm, just outside the Library. As always, we plan to award lots of prizes, including OneCards (with pre-loaded cash values), all kinds of study aids, law school swag, and who knows what else!

The yellow entry form is in the packet you received and worked on during your First Week library tour. If you need another copy, you can pick one up at the Reference Desk. Spend a few minutes learning more about research and the library’s resources. You don’t even need to get the right answers, and you should always feel free to ask one of the reference librarians for help.

Good luck to all!

It’s Our Turn to Lead

April 22 marks Earth Day’s 45th anniversary with the theme of “It’s our turn to lead.”  Did you know that the original symbol of Earth Day was created by artist and cartoonist Ron Cobb in 1969?  According to legend, it was created as a combination of the letters e and o, from the words environment and organism.  (If you’re curious for a visual, check out Ed’s overalls when you ride the elevator.)

There are plenty of ways to observe Earth Day – volunteer, plant trees, organize a community garden, or simply change a habit.  One other suggestion – drink your coffee, tea, or other beverage from a NYLS reusable mug.  You’ll help to reduce the volume of plastic, Styrofoam, and paper cups piling up in landfills or requiring energy for recycling.  At the same time, you’ll be complying with the Library’s food and drink policy and earning our thanks!  If you don’t have a spill-proof mug, pick one up at the Circulation Desk for $5.00. For every one purchased through the end of this semester’s exam period librarians will contribute $1.00 to Earth Day Network (www.earthday.org/), which works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement.

Summer and Post-Graduation Use of Bloomberg Law, LexisNexis and Westlaw

Student access to Bloomberg Law, Lexis Advance and Westlaw is governed by our academic subscription plans.  Under these plans, your passwords to these services may be deactivated or limited in use beginning June 1, 2015.

FOR CONTINUING STUDENTS:

  • Bloomberg Law and Lexis Advance offer students unlimited access over the summer, for any purpose.

 

  • Westlaw access is limited to 40 hours during the months of June and July, unless you are using it for academic pursuits (e.g. summer school, internships, research fellowships). To get unlimited academic use during the summer, you must apply for an extension on Westlaw’s website.

FOR GRADUATING STUDENTS:  All of these services offer extensions of up to 6 months to help you prepare for the bar, conduct your job search, or become a more proficient searcher.  But you must apply for these extensions, using the services’ websites.

For complete details about password extensions, please visit: http://www.nyls.edu/library/for_students/extend_passwords

Register now to ensure that these research databases are there when you need them.

Attention Legal Practice Students

Winter is nearly over and spring is just around the corner. If you are in LP, this means the deadline for satisfying your RSW requirement is coming closer and closer.

To avoid being left out in the cold, please don’t wait until the last minute to register for the classes you really want to take.

In addition to our proven winners, the library has added three new Research Skills Workshops to this semester’s lineup:

Premium Legal Research Sources beyond Bloomberg Law, Lexis Advance & Westlaw Next

  • Review of the Legislative Process
  • Secondary Sources

To get more details and to register for the classes of your choice, please visit http://www.nyls.edu/library/for_students/library_research_classes/ .

Join us for a Valentine’s Day Cupcake Party!

cupcake party

This Thursday, Feb 12, at 5:15 pm, take a study break and share sweet treats with your librarians!   Stop by the Reference Desk and enjoy some cupcakes, coffee, cookies, and other sweet treats while we celebrate a very special birthday for our own very special Elevator Ed. He’s turning five! (Shh.  It’s a surprise).

          At 5:30 pm, we will have the Find Love in the Library Info Hunt drawing.  Anybody can join the hunt.  All you need to do is pick up an answer sheet at the Reference Desk (or download a copy from www.mendikmatters.org), answer 3 of the 6 questions, submit your answers by email (reference@nyls.edu) or drop them off in our raffle drum.  We will be giving away lots of prizes, including Amazon gift cards, OneCard gift cards, research, study aids, Lexis points and many more.  Got a research question?  Bring those too!  We’re all looking forward to meeting you!

Where Are The Printers?

The printers that used to be located in L300 and L400 have retired to the printer rest home.  There are two new Canon printers in L204, and one in the Reserve area behind the Reference Desk.  You can print to any of these printers using the computers in the labs, the kiosk machines, or your laptop.

In the upcoming weeks, L300 and L400 will house brand new book scanners.  Thanks for your patience.

Keeping it Together This Semester

Great news!  Along with brand new printers/scanners/copiers in the Mendik Library you will now find an easy-to-operate manual stapler in L204 (the location of printers 204A and 204B).  This should help you all keep things together this semester!  A light touch is all that is needed to staple up to 25 pages.  For heavier duty stapling jobs, use the stapler at the circulation desk and be sure to use the right size staples, which are color-coded to match the rough number of pages you need to staple.

The new stapler is the result of student feedback and suggestions, so keep those cards and letters coming!  Or even better, use the Suggestions? link on our home page.