Celebrate Taft Week!

This week is Taft Week at the College of Law. Join us as we celebrate President Taft’s 162nd birthday! The Student Bar Association has scheduled several events for this week:

  • Monday, Sept. 9th doughnuts and coffee outside of Rooms 114/118
  • Wednesday, Sept. 11th postcards for NYC police and firefighters (available outside of Rooms 114/118)
  • Thursday, Sept. 12th Taft Week Lecture
    • Prof. McMahon speaks on the “5 Things Everyone Should Know About Taft” at 12:15pm in Room 114 (cupcakes provided)
  • Friday, Sept. 13th Taft Trivia in Room 114 at 7pm.

Be sure and check out our Who Was Taft? display in the Law Library, the Taft information on our digital sign, and our Taft Week Guide! With all of that information, you’ll be sure to dominate Taft Trivia!

Remembering 9/11

Do you remember what you were doing on 9/11 when you first heard the news? I and many people can you tell you exactly where we were and what we were doing. I was getting ready for a legal research workshop which involved print resources. One of the law librarians I worked with set up televisions so that students, faculty, and staff could watch the news coverage. I taught my legal research workshop and my students completed the exercise but we were all distracted and found it difficult to concentrate.

In the not-quite two decades since 9/11, how are we preserving what we know about that day?

The National Park Service is building a memorial for Flight 93. Flight 93 was the passenger flight from New Jersey, bound for California that was part of the September 11 attacks. Passengers attempted to regain control of the plane and it crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. All 44 people on board were killed, including the hijackers. On September 24, 2002, Congress passed the Flight 93 National Memorial Act. The Act “Established a Memorial at the September 11, 2001, crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, to honor the passengers and crew of Flight 93.” The Act also designated the National Memorial as a unit of the National Park system. The Memorial Plaza, Wall of Names, and Entrance Road were dedicated on September 10, 2011. The Visitor Center, Learning Center, and Walkway to the Memorial Plaza were dedicated on September 10, 2015. The Tower of Voices is currently in development. On the National Park Service Flight 93 Sources and Detailed Information webpage, you can find the cockpit voice recorder transcript, the Flight Path Study by the NTSB, transcripts of passenger and crew phone calls, the flight seating chart, and photographs of the crash site.

The Library of Congress has a September 11, 2001, Documentary Project. “The September 11, 2001 Documentary Project captures the reactions, eyewitness accounts, and diverse opinions of Americans and others in the months that followed the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93.” The Collection contains 400 audio and video recordings, 8,100 manuscript materials, 421 graphic and photographic materials, electronic media, and artifacts.

After the attacks, Congress formed the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) through Public Law 107 – 306 – Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003. In addition to reading the text of the public law on Govinfo.gov, you can also read President Bush’s signing statement and remarks at the signing. The 9/11 Commission gave the National Archives approximately 570 cubic feet of textual records. Although many of the records are still classified, the unclassified records are being processed as documents are requested. Many of the Memorandums for the Record from the over 1200 fact-finding interviews are online. You can see the list of released material on the National Archives’ 9/11 Commission Series website.

New York has established The National 9/11 Memorial Museum with the mission of “exploring the implications of the events of 9/11, documenting the impact of those events and exploring 9/11’s continuing significance.”

The September 11 Digital Archive has been added to the Library of Congress. They have been “collecting and archiving first-hand accounts, emails and other electronic communications, digital photographs and artworks, and a range of other digital materials related to the attacks.”

There are other 9/11 resources out there but the final resource to highlight is the Internet Archive’s Understanding 9/11: a Television News Archive. This archive covers news of 9/11 broadcaster in the U.S. and Internationally.

We will never forget.

 

This Week at the Law Library

Research Instruction

Monday, Sept. 9

  • Prof. Bock’s LLM class
    • 3:05pm – 4:30pm
    • Room 104
    • Cases & Citators with Reference Librarian Shannon Kemen

Tuesday, Sept. 10

  • Human Rights Quarterly Cite Checker Training with Associate Director of Public & Research Services Susan Boland
    • 5:00pm – 6:00pm
    • Room 118

Wednesday, Sept. 11

  • Prof. McCord’s Section 1
    • 10:40am – 12:05pm
    • Room 302
    • Secondary Sources with Reference Librarian Shannon Kemen
  • UC Paralegals Law Library Orientation with Associate Director of Public & Research Services Susan Boland
    • 11:15am – 12:15pm

Friday, Sept. 13

  • Prof. McCord’s Section 5
    • 9:00am – 10:25am
    • Room 302
    • Secondary Sources with Reference Librarian Shannon Kemen
  • Immigration and Human Rights Law Review Training
    • 12:15pm – 1:15pm
    • Room 303
    • Research & Cite Checking with Associate Director of Public & Research Services Susan Boland

Featured Resources

Featured Study Aid

Featured Database

Featured Videos

This Week at the Law Library

Hours

Note that the Law Library will be closed Monday, Sept. 2 for the Labor Day holiday.

Research Instruction

Thursday, Sept. 5

  • Associate Director of Public & Research Services Susan Boland will meet with Prof. Smith’s writing sections for research sessions on Secondary Sources
    • Section 3
      • 9:00am – 10:25am
      • Room 100B
    • Section 4
      • 1:30pm – 2:55pm
      • Room 100B

Featured Study Aids

This week we continue our look at labor and employment law resources!

Featured Database

This week we continue our look at labor and employment law resources!

  • CCH Cheetah: Labor Relations Explanations (Must be on-campus or use VPN to access)
    • Labor Relations Explanations provide explanatory material covering such topics as union organizing, collective bargaining, bargaining units, union-employer reporting requirements, discrimination, union security, and contract administration, among many others. These explanations discuss, summarize and coordinate court decisions, law, and regulatory interpretations. New Developments keep the user current with new matters in the labor law field.

This Week at the Law Library

Hours

Note that the Law Library will be closed Monday, Sept. 2 for the Labor Day holiday.

Research Instruction

Monday, Aug. 26

  • Join us for the first Library & Lexis Lunch & Learn of the year!
    • Associate Director of Public & Research Services and Lexis Representative Ashley Russell will go over tips on studying and preparing for class.
    • 12:15pm – 1:15pm
    • Room 302
    • Lunch & Lexis points provided
  • LLM Research Session
    • Reference Librarian Shannon Kemen will hold a research session for LLM students on Secondary Sources
    • 3:05pm – 4:30pm
    • Room 104

Tuesday, Aug. 27

  • Print Resources Workshops
    • Prof. Oliver & Electronic Resources & Instructional Services Librarian Ron Jones will meet with section 6 for print research workshops.
      • First half of section 6
        • 9:00am – 10:25am
        • Law Library Ohio Alcove
      • Second half of section 6
        • 3:05 – 4:30pm
        • Law Library Ohio Alcove

Wednesday, Aug. 28

  • Print Resources Workshops
    • Prof. Oliver & Electronic Resources & Instructional Services Librarian Ron Jones will meet with section 2 for print research workshops.
      • First half of section 2
        • 10:40am – 12:05pm
        • Law Library Ohio Alcove
      • Second half of section 2
        • 1:30 – 2:55pm
        • Law Library Ohio Alcove
  • Law Review Cite Checker Training
    • Associate Director of Public & Research Services Susan Boland and Lexis Representative will provide law review training to new members.
      • 12:15pm – 1:00pm
      • Room 302

Friday, Aug. 30

  • Prof. Oliver’s Section 2 Research Session
    • Prof. Oliver’s section 2 will meet with Electronic Resources & Instructional Services Librarian Ron Jones for a research session on Cases & Citators
      • 9:00am – 10:25am
      • Room 100B
  • Prof. Oliver’s Section 6 Research Session
    • Prof. Oliver’s section 6 will meet with Electronic Resources & Instructional Services Librarian Ron Jones for a research session on Cases & Citators
      • 10:40am – 12:05pm
      • Room 100B

Featured Study Aids

Featured Database

Featured Guide

  • ERISA: Research Guide to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
    • This guide, authored by Electronic Resources & Instructional Services Librarian Ron Jones, provides a general overview of laws pertaining to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, otherwise known as ERISA. It covers using general sources for background research and how to locate articles, textbooks, treatises, statutory law, administrative materials, agency publications, legislative histories and websites of interest. The guide can be used by students, faculty members, lawyers, and the general public.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back everyone! We missed you! As you gear up for the semester, we’ll be around to help you up when you stumble, give you that extra edge, and support you in all of your law school endeavors. We’ve got your back with CALI lessons, study aids, research guides, access to Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg Law, and most importantly, people! We can help you find what you need and teach you how to find it on your own.

Hours

The library will be open and staffed Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. We will be closed on Sept. 2 for Labor Day. Need to use the library outside of those hours? Law students, staff, and faculty have 24×7 access to the library with your Bearcat card and you always have access to our thousands of online resources. To submit a question to our reference librarians, or to schedule a consultation, use the “Ask a Research Question” form

Featured Resources

Upcoming Research Sessions

  • Wednesday, Aug. 21
    Prof. McCord’s Section 1
    10:40am – 12:05pm
    Room 302
    Cases & Citators with Reference Librarian Shannon Kemen
  • Friday, Aug. 23
    Prof. McCord’s Section 5
    9:00am – 10:25am
    Room 302
    Cases & Citators with Reference Librarian Shannon Kemen
  • Monday, Aug. 26
    Prof. Bock’s LLM class
    3:05pm – 4:30pm
    Room 104
    Secondary Sources with Reference Librarian Shannon Kemen
  • Tuesday, Aug. 27
    Prof. Oliver’s sec. 6
    9:00am – 10:25am
    Ohio Alcove
    Print Resources with Prof. Oliver and Electronic Resources & Instructional Technology Librarian Ron Jones
  • Tuesday, Aug. 27
    Prof. Oliver’s sec. 6
    3:05pm – 4:30pm
    Ohio Alcove
    Print Resources with Prof. Oliver and Electronic Resources & Instructional Technology Librarian Ron Jones
  • Wednesday, Aug. 28
    Prof. Oliver’s sec. 2
    10:40am-12:05pm
    Ohio Alcove
    Print Resources with Prof. Oliver and Electronic Resources & Instructional Technology Librarian Ron Jones
  • Wednesday, Aug. 28
    Law Review Training with Associate Director of Public & Research Services Susan Boland
    Noon – 1:00
    Room 302
  • Wednesday, Aug. 28
    Prof. Oliver’s sec. 2
    1:30pm-2:55pm
    Ohio Alcove
    Print Resources with Prof. Oliver and Electronic Resources & Instructional Technology Librarian Ron Jones
  • Friday, Aug. 30
    Prof. Oliver’s sec. 2
    9:00am-10:25am
    100B
    Cases & Citators with Electronic Resources & Instructional Technology Librarian Ron Jones
  • Friday, Aug. 30
    Prof. Oliver’s sec. 6
    10:40am-12:05pm
    100B
    Cases & Citators with Electronic Resources & Instructional Technology Librarian Ron Jones

Welcome! And So Long :(

Whether This Is Your First August Here or Your Third

Since launching this blog nearly six years ago, I have grown accustomed to posting a welcome message for both our new and returning students. I would not want to disappoint anyone now, so again, welcome! It is exciting to see familiar faces in the building after the relative quiet of the summer, and I am invariably rejuvenated by meeting new law students during our Week One events. The library staff is ready to help you build a successful law school career.

For those of you who are returning, there is a new face in the library. Michael Whiteman moves into the Library Director spot at the end of this week. Michael’s full title is Associate Dean of Library Services and Library Director, and he joins us from his prior positions as Interim Dean and Associate Dean for Law Library Services and Information Technology at the Chase Law School of Northern Kentucky University. Michael, along with the rest of our staff, will ensure that the library continues to be your number one resource for finding the legal information that you need.

This week is a bittersweet one for me. I have enjoyed serving you and your predecessors as library director for the past 101/2 years, and doing so has been a privilege. I will miss my friends and colleagues, but I am anxious to return to North Carolina to rejoin my family. I bid you farewell, knowing that the Robert S. Marx Law Library is in the best of hands.