Update: Texting, Driving, and the Law

As the summer vacation season begins, worldwide interest in officially restricting cell phone use while driving continues. Just this week, the United Nations Secretary-General banned all UN employees from using mobile phones for texting while driving UN vehicles, hoping to take the lead in curbing global deaths from distracted driving. United States government employees are already prohibited by an executive order from texting while driving on official government business or using government issued mobile devices. As reported by JURIST, several Canadian provinces, California, and New York have also enacted driver cell phone use or texting legislation. Speaking of New York, the sections of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law dealing with cell phone use and texting can be found here, and here.
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Time

We are now on our Summer schedule. The Library's hours are listed below and you can find the full listing of our hours here. For Reference Librarians, check out our new calendar .

SUMMER PRE-BAR EXAM SCHEDULE - Thursday, May 13 - Monday, July 5

Monday - Thursday 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Friday 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

EXCEPTIONS:

Monday, May 31 (Memorial Day) CLOSED

Sunday, July 4 (Independence Day) CLOSED

Monday, July 5 (Independence Day) CLOSED

SUMMER PRE-BAR EXAM SCHEDULE - Tuesday, July 6 - Tuesday, July 27

Monday - Thursday 8 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Friday 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

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Insects, Up Close And Personal

Summer is approaching, and this means that insect season is approaching, as well. Take a moment to appreciate our six-legged, tri-segmented companions via some striking insect macro photography.

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BBC Languages

Studying abroad this summer or going on vacation? Check out the BBC Languages page. The BBC Languages page offers free 12 week online audio courses in German, Spanish, Italian and French. The courses offer weekly e-mail tips to help you stay motivated and RSS subscriptions for a "word of the day".

In addition, the website has online resources for over 36 other languages. Going to vacation in Brazil? The Portuguese page has mini audio lessons, cultural notes and and introduction to the geography of Brazil. Studying in Japan? The Japanese page has audio files of essential phrases, an introduction to the alphabet and an interactive game to help you learn. Take a look and enjoy.


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The Government Domain: New & Free Regulations Trackers

We've blogged about federal regulations trackers in the past, but it is time to re-visit the subject. The federal government's are improved and there are some free alternatives now available. To get the overview and links, check out The Government Domain: New & Free Regulations Trackers on llrx.com.
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Research Resources: Family Law Reporter

Are you looking for a family law resource? The Family Law Reporter provides access to important new federal and state cases, legislation, trends, and issues.

The reporter is published weekly on Tuesdays, except the last Tuesday in March, the Tuesday following July 4th, and the last Tuesday in December. Coverage begins with the August 6, 1996 issue. However, to search issues prior to March 24, 1998, use the "Search articles" link in the Advanced Search form.

To access BNA Family Law Reporter:

* Go to the Library's home page, click "Online Resources"
* Click the "Family Law" link
* Scroll down to "Family Law Reporter (BNA)"

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How to Delete (or Almost Delete) Your Facebook Account

iLibrarian has posted links showing how to delete your facebook account, and how to manage your Facebook privacy settings to reveal a minimal amount of information to the public. These are probably good things to think about for students and new graduates (congrats to those who graduated, by the way) who are now looking for legal jobs, especially since Facebook's privacy policy is continually evolving.


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