The Best of Legal Blogging Awards, 2005

Just as final exams ended last month--and most law students settled into some serious escape and rest--Dennis Kennedy's 2005 Best of Legal Blogging Awards, a/k/a the "Blawggie Awards," were announced by the law and technology expert and pioneer legal blogger at DennisKennedy.com/blog. (Scroll down and click on "Blawggies" under Archives.) The winners of the second annual awards represent eleven categories of law-related blogs and blogging (including one called "Best Legal Blog Category," honoring blogs created by law librarians). The announcement features lively short descriptions, links, and overall criteria for selection. Law-related blogs have quickly become a key information and communication resource for lawyers--both academics and practitioners. Before a busy new semester begins, explore a few of the best.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

In my Prime

Having watched the film Pi (a "mathematical thriller") over break, I am in a mathematical mind. For any of you mathematicians who could use and extra $100,000, check out the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search . The longest known prime number discovered just last month is 9.1 million digits. The first person to discover a "Mersenne" prime number over 10 million digits long will win the $100,000 top prize. Good luck!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Environmental Conditions In Your Community

The Environmental Protection Agency's "Where You Live" Web page is a very useful resource for those who wish to learn more about the environmental conditions in their communities. A simple search by ZIP code yields information regarding pollution, hazardous waste sites, and other regulatory information. For those without a protective coat of fur, there is even a daily forecast of the expected intensity of Ultraviolet radiation from the sun!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Happy Birthday Louis Braille!

Serendipity. When heading on over to Google to do a search, I noticed their normal logo wasn't normal anymore. As of right now, you can see it here. Same letters, but spelled in braille instead of the romanized alphabet.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Happy New Year!

We are back for a new year and shortly the start of a new semester. Keep an eye on this blog for updates on Deane Law Library news and events. Library hours are shorter during the intersession, so you might want to check our website for specifics.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

WE'RE FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have all survived either our first, or another, set of exams. Congratulations!! I will have a good long purr in everyone's honor.

I don't know about you, but I have earned not one, not several, but many, many catnaps. And I will have ample time, over the next 11 days - starting at 11pm Thursday, December 22 - while the Library is closed. We will reopen rested and refreshed on Tuesday, January 3rd at 9am.

So, enjoy your break and the holidays and . . .
a Happy New Year to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT !

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Winter Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice. Here in the Northern Hemisphere that means it is the shortest day of the year, with the least amount of sunlight. But don't fret. With the school semester almost over, each day will start to get longer and longer. You can say there's a light at teh end of the tunnel even.

Happy Holidays!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Reminder - Access to Other Academic Libraries During a Strike

Most of the law school libraries in the New York City metro area have expressed their willingness to let each others' students into their libraries in order to study for exams during the transit strike. Participating institutions include Columbia, CUNY, Hofstra, NY Law School, Pace, Rutgers, St. John's, Touro, and Cardozo.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

2005:Year in Review

It's that time of year again. All of the "best of" lists and "year in review" stories get published now. Almost every day a new one comes out. If you'd like to go to one website that compiles links to many of these lists and stories on one page and continually updates it as they come out, then see Refdesk.com 2005 Year in Review.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Now, for a little perspective...

A Virtual Library Cat knows that exams can make law students wish for a quick escape to another planet, or at least to a galaxy far, far away. Well, there is a way to clear your mind for a few minutes, and place yourself in a universe without the law at the center of gravity. Try taking a study break with the thematically arranged breathtaking space photos at the National Space Science Data Center Photo Gallery. Select from views of the planets, of the earth and moon, and of galaxies and comets, collected from the NASA space missions. This site is worth book marking for return visits throughout the year.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat