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.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

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.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

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.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

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.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

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.)


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

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.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

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.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

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