HAVE A GREAT BREAK!!

As you all finish up with exams, I look forward to some well earned cat naps. The Library will close at 10pm tonight (Fri., 12/21) and not reopen until Jan. 2, so I will finally get some rest.

I will be back on the prowl bright and early at 8am on Wed. , Jan. 2.

The Library's intersession schedule is as follows:
Jan. 2 - Sun. Jan 13
Sun. noon - 8pm
Mon. - Thurs 8am - 8pm
Fri. 8am - 6pm
Sat. 10am - 6pm

Get some rest, enjoy the holidays and have a very happy New Year!!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Google Patent

Google has now extended its tentacles into the area of patent research. Google Patent allows patent researchers to search the entire collection of patents made available by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Dates of coverage extend from patents issued during the 1790s to those issued by the middle of 2006.

Google Patent does not currently include patent applications, international patents, or U.S. patents issued during the past few months, but it anticipates expanding its coverage sometime in the future.

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Remote Access to IM Archive

Do you wish you could access your IM remotely? Well, Josh Lowensohn discusses two new options from IM History and Simkl that will allow you to search and read your IM archive remotely.



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Lawcrossing for your job search

From the site: LawCrossing offers the largest collection of active legal jobs in the world. We continuously monitor the hiring needs of more than 750,000 legal employers, including virtually every law firm, corporation, government office, and public interest organization in the United States. We do not charge employers to post their jobs, and we aggressively contact and investigate thousands of employers each day to learn of new positions.

Launched in July 2003, LawCrossing is a brainchild of CEO A. Harrison Barnes, who also founded the hugely successful parent company of LawCrossing, Juriscape, in 2000. The very popular JD2B is another website published by the Company. You do have to register but it appears to be worth it.

Thanks to Law Librarian Blog for the heads up on this site.


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The Death Penalty Information Center

The Death Penalty Information Center is non-profit organization that provides analysis and information on capital punishment. The web site is filled with useful resources such as reports, press releases, news stories, an execution database, and state-by-state information. It is a great starting point for all aspects of capital punishment research.


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The Mitchell Report

Are you looking for something to ease the post-finals transition from reading outlines to reading the newspaper? AskSam has posted a free searchable version of The Mitchell Report on steroids in baseball, which is somewhere between reading a contracts outline and reading the sports page.

Also, although cell phone use is not permitted in the library, in light of In re Restaino, we no longer arrest or detain offenders. (Of course, we never did.)


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OANDA: The Currency Site

As exams wind down, thoughts may turn to study abroad and other foreign travel in 2008. If foreign travel is in your plans, be sure to visit OANDA first. This helpful site for both currency traders and travelers offers a wide array of currency calculation tools and financial resources, but anyone can appreciate its "Leisure Traveler" section. One of my favorite OANDA features is the "Travelers Currency Cheat Sheet." For each country you plan to visit, just insert your home currency in the converter and a wallet-size printable conversion table for a range of amounts (at the official, cash or typical credit card rate) is produced to carry with you. I also recommend the clothing size tables (for humans only, of course), and the temperature and measure converters. OANDA is a one-stop traveler's resource that will save time, money and frustration in other countries while you focus on enjoying your trip.



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zap

It's Friday, you have had a long week of studying and exam taking. Take a break and restore your sense of humor at Comics.com . Read your favorite comic strips in one place - whether that is Dilbert, Frank & Ernest or classic Peanuts.

Study hard, take a break now and again and remember - only one more week to go.

Good luck on exams.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Government Gazettes Online

Federal governments throughout the world publish some type of gazette that documents regular governmental activity. For instance, in the United States, the government publishes the Federal Register. The Government Gazettes Online Web site Aattempts to list all online government gazettes and their characteristics to aid researchers.@ The site contains entries for each gazette, which is organized alphabetically by country name. Each entry provides the gazette's title, URL, and other information.



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Looking for a Good Book?

Our holiday break is just around the corner and I’m sure you can’t wait to curl up with a good book. To help you, I thought I would share a few readers’ advisory tolls.

First, I’d like to suggest NoveList. It is a wonderful tool that is accessed through the New York Public Library’s database link with a NYP Access or library card number. NoveList is a searchable database that includes over 125,000 fiction titles. It allows searching by author, title, series, a variety of traditional index terms, natural language terms or phrases, and Boolean combinations.

Another resource is www.BookSpot.com. This free web site is a compendium of news about books, publishing, authors, and awards. It isn’t as user friendly as NoveList, but it is packed with information. BookSpot provides numerous reviews and a great deal of genre-specific information including links to the book review pages of major newspapers and to book excerpts.

Well, I hope these help. Have a wonderful holiday break.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Noise in the library

This is a busy time of year and many of you are studying in the library. Please be aware of the different quiet and talking areas within the Library. Please step outside into the lobby or use the upstairs lounges for extended conversations.

If you are in a talking area, please keep your voices down. With many people engaged in discussion the area can become quite loud without any intent to be noisy.

Please contact a member of the library staff if you are disturbed by noise. We will ask those engaged in conversation to lower their voices (talking area) or be quiet or leave if in a quiet area.

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Codes of Ethics Online

Are you looking for a code of ethics? Codes of Ethics Online is a good place to start your search. Created by the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Codes of Ethics Online has collected over 850 codes of ethics from professional societies, corporations, government and academic institutions. You can browse an alphabetical list of codes or an index of codes (organized by professional category) or you can search the codes using a customized Google search engine.

In some instances, several versions of the code are made available. For example, four versions of the American Chemical Society's Professional Employment Guidelines are available through the site.


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ARDA: Religion Data Archives

ARDA, The Association of Religion Data Archives, is a fascinating goldmine of information from researchers, polling and census data, and other reliable sources. ARDA provides free access to quality data on American and world religions. In easy to view format, it quickly presents national profiles and American city statistics, religious group membership and religious freedom data, and recent survey results on beliefs and practices, replete with maps, charts, and reports. The site is fun to explore and an easy way to better understand demographic trends and the current role of religious groups and beliefs as a factor in today's world. It's also a great place to take a study break and learn some interesting and often surprising facts at the same time.



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Government Docs.Org

According to its Web site, Government Docs.org "was created to advance the values of open and accountable government. This site gives the public an unprecedented level of access to government documents by allowing users to browse, search, and review hundreds of thousands of pages acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other public disclosure, or 'sunshine', laws". The site offers browse and search functions for the documents acquired via FOIA requests.

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Helpful Policies During Exam Period

You know that the Library has extended hours during exam period, but knowing the archived exam and study room policies may prove helpful also. To access the Exam Archive:

• Go to Hofstra Law School Library Main Page http://law.hofstra.edu/Library
• Scroll down. In the lower, left-hand margin click “Exam Archive”
• In the Hofstra University Library Electronic Reserves (ERes) window logon with your Novell Username and Password (this is the same username and password used to logon to the portal)
  
• You will be prompted to enter the password (contact the reference or circulation desk for the password)
  
• Click on “Accept”
• Click the professor’s folder to access the exams.

Click here to access the Library’s study room policy.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Persuading Judges in Writing: Tips for Lawyers

This article explains how a good writing style can help lawyers persuade judges. It is a short article and focuses on writing briefs, but many of the tips are good for law exams too.


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Likelihood of Confusion

If you'd like to keep up with developments in trademark law and free speech, take a look at Likelihood of Confusion. In this blog, lawyer and writer Ron Coleman discusses recent trademark news and cases. Recent topics include Olympics merchandise, the Tiffany v. eBay case, and DRM in Switzerland.


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Federal Rules, Restyled

December 1 has come and gone, and Congress took no action to stop the new, "restyled" Federal Rules of Civil Procedure from coming into effect. Every rule in the newly-effective FRCP's has changed. The substance of most rules has stayed the same, but all of the rules have changed stylistically (that's why they're calling it a "restyling"). Cornell's Legal Information Institute offers free access to the new rules here. And if a particular subsection you are looking for has moved, this chart may be able to help you find it.



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Exam-Writing Tips from Law Profs

At this point in the semester, outlines, sample exams and study sessions are important, but knowledge will get you only so far. In the great quest for A's on law school exams, don't forget that critical part of exam performance: knowing how to write those "quality answers" that professors really want. Two of the best short articles on exam-writing are "Strategies for Taking Law School Exams...So They Don't Take You," by Professor Dionne Koller, who formerly directed the academic support program at the University of Maryland School of Law, and "Tips for Students Taking Law School Exams" by Professor Vikram Amar of the University of California (Hastings), featured in a previous post. Take a look.

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Business and Economic Research Using NetAdvantage

Looking for a business and economic information? Try Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage. Net advantage provides access to information about companies, industries and funds. Find commentary and market news on companies or review publications about industries and sub-industries. Once you have completed your search, you can export your results into a spreadsheet format.

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Students Rank Big Law Firms' Work Environments

A new web site, Building a Better Legal Profession, ranks and grades large, private law firms on several workplace factors, such as diversity of partners, pro bono work, and billable hours. For a few markets (Manhattan, D.C., Boston, etc.) you can find out how diverse your potential employer is before deciding whether to accept the offer. The site was started by concerned law students interested in workplace reforms.

Thanks to Law Librarian Blog and Moritz Legal Information Blog

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Web Freebies

BusinessWeek has put together a slide show of the 101 Best Web Freebies. You already know about some of these (Skype), and some are very useful (free tax software), while others seem to involve the kind of headaches you might already associate with free products (free iPods . . . after signing up with a sponsor and getting your friends to do the same). Enjoy!


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Country Briefings Worldwide

The Economist's online Country Briefings provides news, profiles, forecasts, surveys, statistics and currency sections for countries worldwide. Use the "research tools" option to search by subject and region or browse by country.



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The Right Brain vs Left Brain Test

From the site:

The Right Brain vs Left Brain test ... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?

If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa.

Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS uses logic detail oriented facts rule words and language present and past math and science can comprehend knowing acknowledges order/pattern perception knows object name reality based forms strategies practical safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS uses feeling "big picture" oriented imagination rules symbols and images present and future philosophy & religion can "get it" (i.e. meaning) believes appreciates spatial perception knows object function fantasy based presents possibilities impetuous risk taking

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

The Women Working digital collection

The Women Working digital collection provides digitized books, pamphlets, magazines and photographs documenting the role of women in the US economy between 1800 and the Great Depression. Created by the Open Collections Program at the Harvard University Library, Women Working offers original source material and is a great place to go for information about working conditions, health, social issues, policy and much, much more.

Some examples of material I found while browsing the collection include: the official Girl Scouts handbook (1920); the diary of a farmer (1887); a pamphlet “in favor of female physicians” (1850), and an Abercrombie and Fitch style catalog (1913) from which ladies could order bathing tights.

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Television News Archive

While prowling the web, I came across the Vanderbilt Television News Archive at Vanderbilt University, self-described as "the world's most extensive and complete archive of television news." This unique website offers detailed summaries of every national nightly news broadcast of ABC, NBC and CBS since August 1968, CNN news programs and specials since 2000, and Fox news broadcasts since 2004. Searchable and browseable by date, it also describes the photo coverage for each broadcast (for example, from Vietnam or the World Trade Center on 9/11), and includes the actual time spent on coverage of each topic and the commercial sponsors. A goldmine of information, including background on landmark court decisions, trials, elections, and legislation, the site also recaptures the news of a particular night in your life or the lives of family members. All features are free with registration. Video of the actual broadcasts and custom compilations may be loaned from the Archive.



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Thanksgiving Holiday Hours

In recognition of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Deane Law Library will operate under the following schedule:

• Wednesday, November 21: 8AM – 5PM
• Thursday, November 22 - Friday, November 23: CLOSED
• Saturday, November 24: Regular hours resume

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Meet LOUIS

You’ve met Thomas; now, meet LOUIS.

According to its Web site, the aim of the Library of Unified Information Sources (LOUIS; a project of the Sunlight Foundation) is “to create a comprehensive, completely indexed and cross-referenced depository of federal documents from the executive and legislative branches of government”. The site also states that “we are not there yet, but we can now offer these documents organized in a user-friendly interface, with a powerful search engine”. LOUIS also allows users to construct a standing query as an RSS feed, which will then alert them to whatever new documents satisfy their search.

Sources currently include Bills and Resolutions, Congressional Hearings, the Congressional Record, Congressional Reports, the Federal Register, GAO documents, and Presidential documents. Dates of coverage for most databases are from 2001 to the present.

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Searching the Deep Web

Did you know that you can search for Deep Web content? Completeplanet is a Deep Web directory that searches “surface” Web sites as well as Deep Web content contained in searchable databases.




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Historians on America

The U.S. Dept. of State has just released a new publication called Historians on America. This publication is a series of individual essays that selects specific moments, decisions, and intellectual or legislative or legal developments and explains how they altered the course of U.S. history. Much of it deals with important legal principles or important legislative acts. The entire publication is available online.


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A Search Engine for Human Rights Information

If you are looking for information related to human rights, take a look at Hurisearch. Hurisearch is powerful tool that searches over 3,000 human rights web sites for current, in-depth information. By indexing only web pages that focus on human rights information, Hurisearch filters out irrelevant information and increases the visibility of human rights organizations.


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Facebook Ad Privacy and Blog "Readability"

The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog gives a synopsis of and links to recent commentary over whether Facebook's plan to link advertisements to user profiles violates a New York privacy law. If Andrew Cuomo actually starts litigation related to this and any Hofstra Law students become involved, I would be curious to learn whether the compensation sought is real or in the form of Facebook "gifts."

And there is a fun site here that judges a blog's "readability," telling you what level of education is necessary to read a particular blog. This blog rated right on target, at the graduate school level. But after the link to the "readability" site was added, it rated at "Genius."



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Pioneering Women Lawyers

Here's a great site for anyone interested in the history of women lawyers in the United States or women's legal history. The Women's Legal History Website, created by Stanford University Law School Professor Barbara Babcock and her students, incorporates the work of the Women's Legal History Biography Project. The site is divided into three sections: the Women Lawyers Index, with links to books, articles, speeches, and case law relating to each of the more than 700 lawyers listed; the Clara Shortridge Foltz pages, documenting the life and times of the first woman lawyer in California; and Research Resources, including a wealth of web sites, articles, documents and research guides.


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Congressional Documents

Are you an American History buff or current political junkie? Either way, HeinOnline's U.S. Congressional Library collection is for you. Check out the Journals of the Continental Congress for some Revolutionary War history accounts or the current Congressional Record Daily for what presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barak Obama have said on the Senate floor. These are in pdf format and are searchable.



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Privacy News

According to its home page, Privacy.Org "is the site for daily news, information, and initiatives on privacy". The Web page is a joint project of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Privacy International. It includes daily stories, recent stories, and a news archive pertaining to all facets of privacy in the law and in everyday life. There is even a link to click to suggest privacy-related news stories.

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LexisNexis Congressional: A 21st Century Library Workshop

Need to compile a legislative history? Find a U.S. bill? Or, locate a report on a legislative issue? Then Congressional Universe is the source for you. This database covers from 1789 to present; provides access to the primary Congressional materials of bills, hearings, and reports; and important informational material such as CRS Reports.

LexisNexis Congressional is an important resource for not only legal but inter-disciplinary research. Come and discover how, when and why you should use this service.

You can still make this workshop:

Thursday November 8th: 3:10 to 4:00 pm

Where: Lower Level Computer Lab

No sign up is necessary. Just show up!

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Syllabus Finder

While prowling the internet, I came across a really neat tool-- the syllabus finder! Simply type keywords, phrases, names, or titles into the syllabus finder search box, and it will search the internet and return a list of syllabi related to your topic. Care to brush up on American history? The syllabus finder will find syllabi from hundreds of American history courses taught in colleges and universities (thus giving you hundreds of reading lists to choose from). Curious about Russian literature? Use the syllabus finder to find guidance to this rich field of study. Have fun!



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New York Supreme Court Decisions

Looking for an unpublished New York Supreme Court decision? Decisions for many counties from 2001-present are available online from the Unified Court System. Unfortunately, you may not have an easy time using this search if you don't already know the case you are looking for.


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InteliHealth

Even a Virtual Library Cat knows it's getting colder. Stress and flu season for law students is almost here. This is a good time to bookmark Intelihealth, the ad-free quality website for health information. Aetna, in partnership with Harvard Medical School and the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, provides a great one-stop authoritative medical site with a full array of health topics, today's health news, commentaries by Harvard Medical School experts, a searchable drug resource center, a medical dictionary, and quick links to recalls, safety alerts, and consumer information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Established for over ten years and better than ever, this site is a keeper.
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Instant reference gratification

For the Hofstra Law community ONLY . . .

Did you know that I will connect you with a reference librarian via IM, when there is a reference librarian on duty? (For the Reference Librarians' hours, see the Links on this page.) You can ask your reference questions from anywhere on the planet (where you have internet access) and get an immediate response.

Contact your favorite reference librarian or send me your email via a comment for the IM name. This service is for the Hofstra Law community only, so we must authenticate you first.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

bepress Legal Repository

Looking for another resource to locate articles and papers? Try bepress Legal Repository . You can locate law-related materials using simple or advanced search options and download content. Not sure what you are looking for, or where to begin? You can also browse bepress by subject, recent publications, popular papers, or peer-reviewed articles.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

U.S. Government Info on the Web: A 21st Century Library Workshop

If you missed it Monday, you can still attend this workshop on Thursday, Nov. 1st at 3:10 to 4:00 p.m. in the Lower Level Computer Lab.

Why should you be interested in government information? Well, some of the information that can be found on government websites include pending bills, regulations, statistics, studies, reports, and demographics. Government websites are invaluable resources in so many disciplines. Come and get an overview of what can be found and how to find it.

No need to register, just show up!



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Open CRS

A project of the Center for Democracy & Technology, Open CRS collects reports created by the Congressional Research Service and makes them available in PDF format. The web site employs an easy to use search box and full-text search capabilities. The collection is updated frequently as members of the public are encouraged to acquire CRS reports and add them to the collection.

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Zimmerman's Research Guide

Have you ever wondered what website a reference librarian went to first to answer your question? Often, it's Zimmerman's. Zimmerman's Research Guide has short entries that describe the top resources on many subjects. It includes many links and lists the appropriate Lexis and Westlaw databases. It's easy to see why many librarians use this self-described "online encyclopedia for legal researchers."






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Business Facts Fast: Factiva

Many law students know the Factiva database as a great source for news and business articles. But Factiva is much more than articles. Just select the "Companies/Markets" tab on the main page, and a wealth of clear and reliable information on individual companies is quickly at hand. After clicking on "Companies," enter the company name or symbol to bring up a concise "Snapshot" page. The "snapshot" includes a company description, key executives and financials, a list of competitors in the industry, recent stock price activity, and the most current news and trade articles relating to the company. For more information, detailed company profile reports and financials are also available from the menu.

Factiva, a subscription database made available through the Axinn Library, is accessible from a link on the Law Library's "Online Resources" page under Commercial and Corporate Law; Business databases (Axinn). You can also link to Factiva from the "Research Databases" list on the Libraries page of the Hofstra University website. Just be aware that there are a limited number of licenses for this database. If you are unable to access Factiva, try again later. If you have any questions about Factiva, ask your favorite reference librarian.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

HeinOnline - more than just law reviews

You probably know by now how amazing HeinOnline is for getting the pdf of many law review articles online. But, did you know that there is much more to HeinOnline - much of it in pdf? Take a look at the Law Library's list of HeinOnline Resources and you will discover a wide range, from English Reports 1220-1865 and Legal Classics to the CFR, Foreign and International Law Resources and U.S. Treaties and Agreements .

Check out these links and other materials available through this valuable resource.


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Write To Your Congressional Representative

For budding political activists, or merely for those who, on occasion, have a question to ask, or a request to make, locating and contacting Congressional Representatives has never been easier. The House of Representatives' "Write your Representative" Web site makes the process absolutely seamless.

First, enter your location and your ZIP code in the areas indicated*. Then, click "Contact my Representative". The site will prompt you to enter your contact information, and it will then direct you to a text entry form. Simplicity itself!

*Note: You'll likely need the nine-digit version of your ZIP code, but a link will take you to the USPS Web site, where you can quickly determine the remaining digits.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Database

Looking for intellectual property legislation worldwide? Try WIPO's Collection of Laws for Electronic Access (CLEA) database. CLEA provides access to treaties on intellectual property as well as intellectual property legislation from many countries and regions.



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U.S. Government Info on the Web: A 21st Century Library Workshop

The U.S. Government is one of the world's largest publishers of all kinds of information. Thanks to the advent of the Internet and to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, much government information is available to the public on the Internet.

Government Search and Portals
Federal: Legislative, Judicial & Executive
New York State: Legislative, Judicial & Executive
Other States

Monday, Oct. 29th 10:10 - 11am & Thursday, Nov. 1st 3:10-4 pm
Lower Level Computer Lab

No need to sign up, just show up!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Strangers to Us All

Lawyers can be wonderful poets. If you don't believe me, take a look at Strangers to Us All, a web site dedicated to lawyers who are also published poets. The site includes chronological, alphabetical and geographical indexes of lawyer-poets; a section on Civil War lawyer-poets; and a list of contemporary lawyer-poets (with biographical information and links to online poetry). The site is constantly updated and alerts us to recently published books of poetry.

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