New Faces

We have some new faces in the Law Library.

Toni Aiello has joined us as a Reference Librarian. She earned her J.D. at Loyola Chicago and her M.L.S. at Simmons. She has extensive legal reference experience.

Denise Smith joined us as a new Circulation Assistant. She has many varied interests, including competitive equestrian skills.

Come and say hello.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

What's happening in the blogosphere?

(The blogosphere being the world of weblogs) One way to find out is to check Technorati. Technorati is a real-time blog search engine. Blogs have really changed the dynamic of the web. Instead of being passive consumers of information, more and more people (and cats!) are participating by running or posting to weblogs. Technorati provides a live view of this "global conversation". It Currently tracks 14.4 million sites and 1.3 billion links. Not only is Technorati great for finding out what the blogosphere is talking about (think tracking a clients product or public opinion), it's also great for finding new blogs that are related to topic that you are interested in.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Shifting the Collection

You may have noticed that the library is engaged in a rapid shifting of the collection. This undertaking was necessary to make sure that we had enough room on our shelves for five years' growth. The existing arrangement of the collection does not maximize shelf space, and this project is intended to remedy this oversight.

In addition to an allowance for growth, the new arrangement should simplify the shelving arrangement. The periodicals collection will be housed completely on the lower level below the main reading room, and the foreign/international materials will be integrated into the regular classified collection. The shifting should be completed before the fall semester officially begins, and we hope that you'll find the new arrangment easier to use.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Summer hours - Post bar exam

With the bar exam ending today, our hours for the remainder of the summer have changed.

From July 27 - August 25 our hours are:

Sunday: Noon - 6:00 P.M.
Monday - Thursday: 9:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M.
Friday: 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Saturday: 10:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.
Exceptions:
Tuesday, August 23 - Thursday, August 25 9:00 A.M. - 10:00 P.M.

On Friday, August 26th we will resume regular school year hours.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Shepard's new features

Headnotes are now included in online reports and Shepard's. Identify relevant cases even faster and move directly to directily to discussions of the Headnotes in citing cases. Shepard's navigation and restriction tools allow one to zero in on specific headnotes.

Orange "Q" Shepard’s Signal makes Shepardizing even easier to understand. Generated only by the “Questioned by” treatment, the orange "Q" creates a new level of specificity between the red and yellow signals, helping you differentiate among negative citing references.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

new Shepard's features

LexisNexis TheOrange "Q" Shepard’s Signal™
Let the new Orange "Q" Shepard’s Signal make Shepardizing even easier to understand. Generated only by the “Questioned by” treatment, the orange "Q" creates a new level of specificity between the red and yellow signals, helping you differentiate among negative citing references.adnotes.
Shepard’s/LexisNexis® Headnotes
LexisNexis® Headnotes are now included in Shepard's® online reports. Identify relevant cases even faster. Move directly to discussions of relevant LexisNexis Headnotes in citing cases. Use Shepard's navigation and restriction tools to zero in on specific headnote references. Quickly refer back to your case's full-text LexisNexis Headnotes.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Graphical KeyCite

One of Westlaw's latest innovations, Graphical KeyCite literally illustrates the direct history of a case. This feature helps researchers understand the history and impact of a court case faster than before. To read more about Graphical KeyCite, see this news release from West. You can also view a short interactive tutorial.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

How Appealing

Howard Bashman, an appellate lawyer with Philadelphia's Buchanan Ingersoll, presides over How Appealing an EXTREMELY authoritative blog devoted to appellate litigation. Tony Mauro, a writer for American Lawyer Media states in a law.com article that How Appealing is "the primus inter pares of all legal blogs, the undeniable Marbury v. Madison of the genre".

A well told example of the reach of this blog is mentioned in Mauro's article "When Bashman noticed that a ruling last month by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals incorrectly cited the 3rd Circuit in a footnote, he noted it in his blog. Within hours, the mistake was corrected -- and Bashman got an e-mail from the judge, Jerry Smith. "You were the first to spot the error in footnote 17. Thanks. I have fixed it," Smith wrote Bashman".

This blog is high on the Ernster's list. It is very timely, quite authoritative, and often times hard to find supplementary material will be posted here first. Feeds are available via RSS, for a quick and easy way to stay current to the minute with all things appellate.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Question for you on Desktop Search

Being a feline of faulty memory, I could really use some help in finding files which I know exist but cannot remember what I named or where I saved. Has anyone installed the Google Desktop Search (GDS) - which, as I understand it, allows you to "Google" your harddrive - or Yahoo's equivalent, Yahoo! Desktop Search? Any tips or tricks on nifty features would be greatly appreciated as well. If you have any insight, please comment to this post.

For other curious cats, you can download GDS at http://desktop.google.com or Yahoo! Desktop Search at http://desktop.yahoo.com/ .

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Long Island spot to visit

Long Island offers many green open spaces that can make one forget that urban density is so near. One of these - close to Hofstra - is Old Westbury Gardens. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Old Westbury Gardens hold a magnificent mansion set amit 160 acres of formal gardens, landscaped grounds, woodlands, ponds and lakes. The Gardens are a beautiful place to visit at any time of the year. Old Westbury Gardens also offers in-depth tours of the formal gardens, outdoor classical concerts, summer concerts, plays, Scottish Games and more. Visit their website for a schedule of events. When you want to get away from city life for a few hours, the Gardens are a delightful and convenient place to visit.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat