Did you know that you now have access to a new, electronic library?  The LexisNexis Digital Library is a collection of eBooks that you can check out and read on your computer, smartphone, or tablet.  Our collection includes dozens of treatises, and study aids, which might come in handy for your exams.

To sign on to the LexisNexis Digital Library, follow this link: http://nyls.law.overdrive.com/

Enter your NYLS network credentials, and you’re in!  The service is easy to use, but if you have any questions, just contact a Reference Librarian.

We’ve just received word that our Mendik Mobile app has received a major update for iPhones and iPads.  Although updates to iOS apps usually happen automatically and transparently, this one will be different, requiring you to take affirmative steps.

When you use Mendik Mobile on your iPhone or iPad, you will see a banner at the very top of the home screen that says, “Your app is outdated, please update!”  Tap on that banner, and you’ll jump to a page on Apple’s App Store where you can download and install the updated app.  This will result in your having two Mendik Mobile apps on your device.  You should delete the older one, using the iOS deletion procedure.

Functionality of the new Mendik Mobile app will be the same as the old, and the old app will continue to work for the time being.  But error messages may appear on the old app, and eventually it will cease to function.  Thus, we encourage you to upgrade, as soon as it is convenient.  If you have any difficulty with the update process, please contact the Library Reference Desk.

 

You don’t want to miss this year’s Valentine’s Day Info Hunt!  As our Valentine’s Day gift to you, we’re offering another opportunity to be entered into a drawing to WIN  research aids, Lexis points, OneCard gift cards, Amazon gift cards, and much more!

To access the Info Hunt,  click here.

Each slide includes one question plus helpful guidance on sources and steps to get you to the answer. Answer just 4 of the 6 questions to enter.  Answer all 6 questions and receive an additional entry. Click here to access a PDF answer sheet (or pick up a copy at the Reference Desk) and submit your completed before 3 PM on Monday, February 13^th  to enter the drawing.  Deposit your completed entry in the raffle drum at the Library’s Reference Desk .

The drawing will take place outside the library entrance on February 13^th at 5:50 pm. (Yes, there will be chocolate.)  Although you need not be present to win, winners in attendance will have the opportunity to choose from the selection of prizes.  Absentee winners will be contacted by email.

 

Born on February 7, 1477, Thomas More was an English lawyer, statesman, author, scholar, dedicated father, early proponent of education for women, and eventually, a saint.  Raised in London, he entered the bar around 1501 after studies at Oxford and legal apprenticeship.  Politics followed shortly afterwards with his election to Parliament in 1504.  He eventually rose to the high office of Chancellor in 1529.  More’s strongly held religious convictions brought him into conflict with the king when Henry VIII established the Church of England.  More could not bring himself to acknowledge the king as supreme to the Pope, which led to his trial and execution for treason in 1535.  He was canonized in 1935 and is the patron saint of a variety of groups, including lawyers.

Douglas Linder, Famous Trials, The Trial of Sir Thomas More.

A Man for All Seasons (Highland Films 1966).

Thomas More, Utopia (1516).

You don’t want to miss this year’s Valentine’s Day Info Hunt!  As our Valentine’s Day gift to you, we’re offering another opportunity to be entered into a drawing to WIN  research aids, Lexis points, OneCard gift cards, Amazon gift cards, and much more!

To access the Info Hunt,  click here.

Each slide includes one question plus helpful guidance on sources and steps to get you to the answer. Answer just 4 of the 6 questions to enter.  Answer all 6 questions and receive an additional entry. Click here to access a PDF answer sheet (or pick up a copy at the Reference Desk) and submit your completed before 3 PM on Monday, February 13^th  to enter the drawing.  Deposit your completed entry in the raffle drum at the Library’s Reference Desk .

The drawing will take place outside the library entrance on February 13^th at 5:50 pm. (Yes, there will be chocolate.)  Although you need not be present to win, winners in attendance will have the opportunity to choose from the selection of prizes.  Absentee winners will be contacted by email.

 

 

 

 

In conjunction with a course on presidential power at the University of Washington School of Law this semester, the Gallagher Law Library has created a large and growing resource guide filled with links, readings, videos, podcasts and much more all focused on the presidency and presidential power and the relationship with other branches of government.  You’ll find official documents as they become available and plenty of background material to keep you in the know.

When a new administration enters office, there is a flurry of activity relating to Executive Orders, documents issued by the president to direct and govern the activities of government officials and agencies.  The incoming president typically issues a number of new Orders, many of which expressly revoke some of those of the outgoing president.

You can access every newly issued Executive Order in the Federal Register, usually a day or two after signature by the president.  They will also appear at roughly the same time in the Compilation of Presidential Documents.

The media has been reporting extensively about many of these orders—existing and anticipated—and will continue to do so both before and after the January 20^th inauguration. Why not read the actual documents themselves!

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

First Week Pizza Survey Results

For the tenth consecutive year the Mendik Library surveyed 1Ls during First Week about some of their digital inclinations.  You can see the survey questions and the full responses here.

In addition to telling us their favorite pizza topping (answer below), 260 members of the classes of 2020/21 responded to questions about:

• their preferences in electronic communication;
• their usage of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter, Blogs & Podcasts;
• the digital devices they owned and used, including Smartphones, Tablets and E-Book Readers.

Just a few of the highlights:

• Communication
  • Email as a preferred means of electronic communication took a precipitous drop—only 17% of the class listed it as their preferred form of electronic communication, down from last year’s 39%.
  • Text messaging is the vehicle of choice for 77% of the class.

• Social Media
  • Although Facebook remains the dominant social networking platform for these students, at 41%, Instagram has gained ground, up to 27%.
  • The up and comer seems to be Snapchat, already the favorite of 15% of this year’s class, the first one surveyed about Snapchat.

• Preferred Devices
  • Continuing a steady trend, the popularity of Mac laptops versus PC laptops increased to 68%.
  • Ownership of iPhones surged to 84% of the class.

•  E-Books
  • More students are taking advantage of E-Books on a variety of devices.  Only 10% indicated they had not read or viewed any E-Books.
  • When asked if they had used an E-Textbook for any undergraduate or graduate classes, 58% responded yes.
    • Perhaps surprisingly, when those who had used an E-Textbook were asked if they preferred it to a print textbook, only 14% replied “yes,” while 80% said “no.”

• Pizza
  • Pepperoni reigns as students’ favorite pizza topping, pulling in 22% of the vote but closely followed by Extra Cheese with 19%.  Mushrooms and Bacon were tied for third place at 10%