We have received many complaints from students who feel that their fellow students are being too noisy. Please remember that even if you are the type of student who can study well around noise and commotion, not everyone else feels the same way. Please take note that all reading rooms and stack areas in the Library are Quiet Study Zones. The only exception is the reading area immediately next to the Reference Desk on the 1st floor.

Within Quiet Study Zones:

·         Never engage in conversation. A few words at a whisper should always suffice. If you must engage in conversation, take it to the Library stairwells or outside.

·         Make sure the sounds on your laptop are off and your iPod isn’t loud enough for others to hear.

·         When you enter or leave a group study room, remember to close the door behind you.

·         If you become aware of a noisy facilities condition—such as a squeaky door, a thumping photocopier, or a rumbling equipment — report it immediately to the Library staff at ext. 2332 or reference@nyls.edu.

September 17 is Constitution Day, established in 2004 by 36 U.S.C.  § 106.  As a day of education about and celebration of our constitutional rights and freedoms, it commemorates the date on which thirty-nine of the Philadelphia Convention’s delegates signed the new Constitution.  The Convention was convened in May, 1787 as a result of dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation, the first post-independence form of national government in the United States.  The signing was preceded by months of debate and compromise over representation in the legislative branch (“The Great Compromise”), Presidential selection, property ownership as a qualification for public office, the federal government’s power to pay the national debt, and slavery. After ratification by the states, the Constitution took effect in 1789.

The U.S. Constitution remains the oldest national constitution in continuous existence. The original document is held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. You can read the Constitution online, or pick up your own pocket-copy at the library’s reference desk!

The Mendik Library is pleased to announce its new online catalog interface – Encore – a state-of-the-art “discovery engine.”  With Encore, keyword searches work the same as before, but the new interface offers tag clouds and drill-downs to move the researcher from broad search results to a more specific and focused list of resources. You can add descriptive tags to records in your personal Encore account and save your own research.

The addition of Encore to our research services and collections places New York Law School among the leaders in law school library technology. We hope you will enjoy using Encore to help navigate all of our resources. So give it a try and let us know what you think! We look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Welcome Back!  And, welcome to our new permanent home at 185 W. Broadway!

The Library staff has been anxiously awaiting the Fall semester so that you can join us in our beautiful new building. Your new Library is a magnificent space with great lighting, spacious carrels and tables, comfortable lounge areas, and plenty of group study rooms.  Our Electronic Research rooms are fabulous!  All we need is you!

We look forward to showing you around and have scheduled a few brief (15 minutes) tours to help you get your bearings. You do not need to sign up for a tour. Just meet us at the entrance to the library at any of the following times:

Monday (8/24)      10:00 a.m.           
Monday (8/24)      11:00 a.m. 
Tuesday (8/25)     11:00 a.m.
Tuesday (8/25)       1:30 p.m.          
Thursday (8/27)      5:00 p.m.         
Thursday (8/27)      5:30 p.m.

 

 

For those one-Ls who did not attend their scheduled Library tours last week (and did not receive their Lexis and Westlaw passwords), we will be holding make-up tours this week. These tours (lasting approximately twenty minutes each) are scheduled for the following times:

Monday (8/24)      10:00 a.m.           
Monday (8/24)      11:00 a.m. 
Tuesday (8/25)     11:00 a.m.
Tuesday (8/25)       1:30 p.m.          
Thursday (8/27)      5:00 p.m.         
Thursday (8/27)      5:30 p.m.

There is no need to sign up for these tours in advance.  All tours will begin from the Reference Desk near the entrance to the Library.  We look forward to seeing all of you.

On behalf of the entire staff of the Mendik Library, I want to extend my welcome and congratulations to the entering classes of 2012/13.  The library staff is looking forward to meeting you.  You are about to begin a challenging and exciting journey.   For most law students, the law library quickly becomes a constant feature of their lives. We welcome the opportunity to work with you throughout your law school career.

You are entering NYLS at a special time for us. You are the first class to join us in the new law school building and the new Library. 185 W. Broadway is our permanent new home. Although we are not settled completely in our new space, you can be assured that you are already getting the benefit of an outstanding library collection, an extensive package of services, and an excellent library staff.

We describe our collections and our services in great detail on our web pages and numerous handouts.  What you might not realize from these publications is the outstanding quality of each and every person on the staff of the Mendik Library, and why that is important to you.  Our staff of twenty-two includes fourteen professionals with master’s degrees, eight of whom also have J.D. degrees from law schools both in the region and around the country.  They all have many years of experience working in law libraries and teaching legal research. Most of our librarians have been at New York Law School for several years.  They can all help you with your library and research needs, of course, but their value to you goes far beyond that.  Do not hesitate to ask your librarians questions about the law school, particular courses, or any of the extracurricular activities available.  We can help you, or we will direct you to the best person to give you the help you need.

We all realize that law school is a new experience for each of you, and we are committed to making that experience a rewarding one.

 

Sincerely,

Professor Camille Broussard

Library Director

Until further notice, access to lab computers in Rooms 714-716 at 40 Worth St. will be limited.  All but four of the lab computers are in the process of being relocated to the Electronic Research Classrooms at 185 West Broadway.  Alumni access to Westlaw remains available from one of the remaining computers, with access instructions posted nearby.  Printing from all four computers also remains available. We will provide notice to the community once the Electronic Research Classrooms at 185 WB become available.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Brooklyn Law School Library has just informed us that they will be suspending general access to NYLS students beginning today (May 1, 2009), due to the start of Brooklyn’s exam/reading period.  If you need to access the BLS library for specific materials, you may still do so by obtaining a “green letter” from the NYLS Reference Desk.  Regular access to the BLS library should resume after the conclusion of final exams.

In these tight financial times, many law firms are asking researchers to use free/inexpensive sources before heading to Westlaw/Lexis. Georgetown Law Library’s guide to Free & Low Cost
Legal Research shows you how it’s done.

Keep in mind that print is always an option, too!

It’s that time of year again!! Are you looking for tax forms?  You can find federal forms at the IRS site at www.irs.gov.  If you are looking for New York forms, go to  www.tax.state.ny.us/forms/default.htm.  There is also a handy site for all state tax forms at www.50states.com/tax

Are you taking any tax classes this semester?  Do you ever need to quickly find a tax “reg” or private letter ruling, or even a section of the Internal Revenue Code which is not in your class supplement?  If so, take a look at the new edition of Tax Research Resources on the Library’s site. This website is a guide to both print and electronic resources available from the NYLS Library.

You may access most of the electronic resources from offsite, and the guide explains exactly what to do to use them.  If you need help beyond this guide, send a note to the reference desk at reference@nyls.edu, call us at (212) 431-2332, IM us at nylslib or stop by and see us in person in the library on the 4th floor at 40 Worth St.