Thanksgiving week Library hours

Deane Law Library Hours for Thanksgiving week (Mon. 11/20 - Sun. 11/26):
Mon. - Tues. 8am - Midnight
Wed. 8am - 5pm
Thurs. - Fri. LIBRARY CLOSED
Sat. 10am - 8pm
Sun. 10am - Midnight

Reference Librarian hours are, as always, at the link on the right side of the page (scroll down a bit).

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Selecting New York Judicial Opinions For Publication

Have you ever wondered how judicial opinions are chosen for publication in New York? The New York State Law Reporting Bureau’s “Selection of Opinions for Publication” Web page offers a succinct but informative overview of the rules and statutory criteria that the Bureau follows in determining which cases it accepts for publication.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Sunlight Named "Best Blog"

An international jury of bloggers, journalists and media experts has selected the Sunlight Foundation site as the winner in the “Best Blog “ category of the 2006 International Weblog Awards. Also known as the Best of the Blogs (BOBs), the competition is organized by the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. The Sunlight Foundation, begun in January 2006 with the goal of using the power of the internet and technology to help American citizens be their own government watchdogs, neither supports nor opposes political candidates. Sunlight posts information and sponsors projects, such as the “Exposing Earmarks” project using citizen volunteers to find hidden funding inserted into legislation. The site also lists useful links to key government oversight and citizen watchdog groups.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

21st Century Library: Customizing Firefox

Due to Pizza with the Dean Monday evening, this workshop will be repeated
this coming Thursday, Nov. 16th from 5:10 to 6:00 pm. Thank you to
everyone who expressed interest. Hope you can attend this Thursday evening.

Customizing Firefox: Why use Firefox, the Internet browser from
Mozilla? There are many reasons, some of which are tabbed browsing,
built in searching and enhanced security. However, one of its nicest
features is that you can customize Firefox's appearance and enhance its
capabilities to suit your needs. This library workshop will cover how to
get the most out of Firefox from using its built-in features to finding
and installing the best enhancements.


All 21st Century Library workshops are held in the lower level computer
lab.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

A Visual Guide to the Federal Budget

Death and Taxes is a website that looks at the Federal Budget. It does so mainly through a visual map designed by freelance designer Jesse Bachman to make people more aware of how our taxes are spent and try to create more accountability in Congress. The charts are divided into military and non-military spending. It is a fascinating website.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Eating in the Library?

Continuing on with our discussion of the survey results, today's topic is eating in the library. There were a number of comments about eating in the library (both asking if we could permit it, and others complaining that the "no eating" policy was not being enforced), so below are some common questions and answers.

Q: Why won't you allow food in the library?

A: There are many reasons, but the main ones are these: (1) we have had several insect invasions, directly caused by food in the library, (2) other students complain about the smell and noise of food, and (3) cleanliness.

Q: What is the food policy of the library?

A: No eating is permitted by students in the library. If a student is caught eating, two options are available: (1) leave the library, taking the food with him/her, or (2) allowing the food to be confiscated by library or law school staff. Multiple violations may lead to a loss in library privileges.

Q: Why won't you let students just put away their food if they're caught eating?

A: We tried this for many years and found that what usually happens is that the food is put away until after the staff member leaves, and then it comes right back out again.

Q: Will the library ever allow students to eat in the library?

A: Hopefully, yes. If we are able to find ways to address the concerns under the first question above, we would like to change the policy, at least long enough to see if we can find one that works well both for students and for the library's facilities/collection. In fact, recommendations have already been sent to various law school committees in an attempt to address these concerns.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

How Stuff Works

Whether you think asking a colleague how something works might expose a lack of knowledge, or you are starting a research project and are looking for ideas about alternate or additional search terms, the website howstuffworks is a real find!

Search this site by keyword, or browse by subject category. You will find concise articles that clearly explains how things like computers, cloning, botox, your cell phone, fiber optics, or a manual transmission work.

An easy place to do some quick pre-game before a meeting etc.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat