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Last updated: July 2007
Research and Library Instruction
Circulation Services
Technical Services
Collection Services
Reference and Research Assistance
Reference librarians assist the faculty in their scholarly work. Reference librarians
are available during scheduled Reference Desk hours, by appointment, or via
e-mail. Reference librarians provide help and guidance in locating and using
library resources effectively, in suggesting sources for further study and research,
and in connecting users with information outside the Library. Reference assistance
is provided to adjuncts for course related work during the semester in which
the course is taught and for course preparation. For reference assistance, contact
the reference desk at (206) 398-4225 or e-mail a reference librarian at lawreference@seattleu.edu.
Tours
Reference librarians are available to give individual or group Library tours
to faculty members, their classes, or visitors. Library tours can range from
informational to instructional and can be general or tailored to a specific
area of interest. To schedule a Library tour, please contact Kristin
Cheney (ext. 4091). Please schedule instructional tours at least two weeks
in advance to allow adequate preparation time for review of materials and completion
of handouts.
Course-Related Instruction and Lectures
Faculty can schedule library research lectures for their courses. Lectures can
be general or topical, with or without accompanying research assignments. The
librarians have created several research guides (“Starting
Points”) tailored to researching the law on particular topics. Feel
free to request similar Starting Points or other research guides to supplement
classroom instruction. Faculty interested in scheduling a research lecture or
research guide should contact Kristin
Cheney (ext. 4091) directly with as much lead time as possible (at least
three weeks).
Westlaw/Lexis Passwords & Training
Access to and use of Lexis and Westlaw passwords are governed by the terms of
the law school's contracts with the database vendors. Adjunct faculty may obtain
passwords during the semester(s) they are teaching or for class preparation.
These passwords are to be used for academic purposes only. To obtain a password,
contact Tina Ching (ext. 4129). Training
in the use of online services is conducted by vendor representatives who will
provide one-to-one lessons in faculty offices. Available topics include new
services, training on the various interfaces available to faculty, training
in effective research strategies, and specialized database searching. Faculty
who wish to schedule a session should contact the vendor account representatives.
The law school representatives are:
Westlaw/TWEN: Zachary Gose
Web: lawschool.westlaw.comLexisNexis: Aaron Meyers
(206) 323-9537
Web: lexisnexis.com/lawschool
Library Research Portal
and Catalog
The Library’s online catalog may be accessed through the Library’s
Research Portal. The Research
Portal allows searching for library materials and also provides links to related
library information, Internet sites and research databases.
Circulation Policy
The majority of the Library’s collection is available for faculty to check
out. All materials taken from the Library must be checked out and “desensitized”
at the Circulation Desk. Identify yourself as a faculty member to the staff
person at the Circulation Desk. Law school faculty may assign their borrowing
privileges to student research assistants or faculty secretaries. Please remember
that the faculty member remains the responsible borrower for all items checked
out in his/her name.
Faculty members may go to Lemieux Library to check items out by showing picture ID.
Faculty members may access the Law Library catalog from any computer terminal. For items not found in the Library collection, contact a staff member or reference librarian for search assistance.
| Treatises (from 3rd & 4th floor) | 90 days |
| Reserve material | 3 days |
| All other areas of the Library | 3 days |
The majority of the Law Library collection does not circulate to anyone other than faculty members; please respect the three-day limit and return material on time.
Renewals
Renewals are available by calling the Circulation Desk (ext. 4220).
Returns
Library materials can be returned to the Circulation Desk during regular business
hours or left on the book truck near the faculty secretaries on the 4th floor.
Overdues
Overdue notices are sent to faculty members as a courtesy. No fines are charged
for late items. Questions about overdues should be directed to Michael
Zubitis (ext. 4228).
Photocopy Resources
Faculty secretaries or research assistants are responsible for photocopying
any material faculty require for classroom or personal use. Secretaries must
check out material at the Circulation Desk for copying in the faculty offices.
Photocopying for faculty is done in the administrative copy/mail room on the second floor of the law school. On an emergency weekend basis, faculty needing single copies of documents may bring these items to the DDC. These will be charged back to the administrative account. The DDC has a minimum two-hour turnaround time for all copy orders, including emergency faculty copying on the weekends. However, for those who need on-demand services, the Library has self-service copiers that take cash and One Cards. There is also a faculty copy card at the Circulation Desk for making a small number of copies using the self-service copiers.
Reserve
The Law Library automatically places certain types of material in Reserve when
they are received, e.g., hornbooks, the West Nutshell series, Washington Practice
and Washington deskbooks. These types of materials are kept on Reserve on a
permanent basis.
Exams
The Library maintains a collection of past law school exams through summer 2003.
More recent exams are placed on faculty TWEN sites at the discretion of the
faculty member.
Course Reserve
A variety of materials including books, photocopies of articles, and chapters
of books can be placed on course reserve at the request of a faculty member
for required classroom use. These materials are in high demand and are checked
out frequently. Items remain on "course reserve" for the semester
during with the course is taught.
The Library requires that faculty members placing photocopies or copies of other media on reserve comply with section 107 of the copyright law and the policies contained in Seattle University’s Copyright Policies. The Library reserves the right to refuse to accept material for course reserve if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would violate the copyright law.
Instructions for Placing Items on Course Reserve
A “Reserve Materials Request Form” must be submitted with each item
placed on course reserve. Forms are available from faculty secretaries or from
the Circulation Desk.
Any photocopy or reproduction placed on reserve must be stamped with a notice of copyright. Faculty secretaries must seek copyright permission before the Library will accept materials for course reserve.
The Library staff processes course reserves as expeditiously as possible, but does not guarantee availability of material in less than twenty-four hours. Please plan accordingly before notifying students that materials are on reserve.
The Library will not make copies. Secretaries or student research assistants are responsible for photocopying.
Non-circulating books and reference materials, as well as circulating material from the treatise collection, can be placed on reserve.
The loan period for course reserves is two hours unless the faculty member requests on the “Reserve Materials Request Form” that overnight copies be made available.
All reserve material will be removed at the end of the semester.
All inquires about course reserve should be directed to Susan Kezele (ext. 4227).
Summit Borrowing
Summit is the shared library catalog of the Orbis Cascade Alliance, a consortium
of 31 colleges and universities in Washington and Oregon. This service provides
access to over 27 million books, DVDs, videotapes, sound recordings, government
documents and significantly expands access to resources for faculty and student
research. Direct borrowing is available to students and faculty at member institutions
and materials are delivered to campus from member libraries within 2 - 3 business
days. Books check out for 21 days with one renewal in most cases. Some items,
such as CDs, check out for three days with one renewal.
Although there is no cost to borrow materials, each borrower must honor the due dates for materials or he/she will be assessed a fine of $0.50/item/day for the first ten days, then $1 per item per day for subsequent days. In the event that a borrower allows total fines to reach $10, he/she will be blocked from further use of the Summit system until the account has been resolved.
To borrow materials for course preparation and instruction through Summit and retrieve them, you will need your seven digit university ID # preceded by two zeros (e.g. 001234567). Please contact the Circulation Desk if you need assistance with your university ID #. You will find a link to the Summit catalog on the SU Law Library catalog.
For more information on Summit, read the FAQ or contact the Seattle University Law Library at (206) 398-4221.
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary loan (ILL) provides access to materials needed for course preparation
and instruction that are not available at the Law Library, at Lemieux Library,
or through Summit. The Law Library’s ILL policy is based on the National
Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States, 1994, revised 2001, and is
governed by the Copyright
Act of 1976. Requests are filled either by loan of original items or by
photocopy.
Most requests can be filled within one or two weeks if available locally, and within three to four weeks if outside our regional area. Items not available in the U.S., or requests submitted with incomplete or imprecise bibliographic information may require extra time to process or obtain.
The following material is often not available through ILL:
Interlibrary Loan request forms are available on the Library Web site and at the Circulation Desk. Telephone or e-mail requests are also accepted. Direct requests to Susan Kezele (ext. 4227).
Interlibrary loans will be placed in faculty mailboxes upon receipt. The lending library establishes the loan period. For renewals, please notify the ILL staff at least three days before the due date listed on the item. Renewals are granted at the discretion of the lending library. Not all renewals are honored.
Return ILL material to the Circulation Desk or place on the reshelving truck near the faculty secretaries on the 4th floor.
ILL material is occasionally recalled by the lending library before its due date. The Library will notify the borrower when a recall is in effect. Please return the material promptly.
While the Library makes every effort to secure ILL materials at no or low cost, requests for materials incurring significant charges are subject to review.
The Research Portal
One of the Technical Services Department’s primary activities is the maintenance
of the online catalog.
In addition to searching the Library’s catalog for bibliographic records
by authors, titles, and subject headings, it is possible to search by call numbers
to browse the Library’s subject specific classified shelves. The catalog
can be used to trace the order and in-process dates of new library materials.
To expedite the use of an in-process item, contact Nancy
Minton, Cataloger (ext. 4178). Use the catalog to verify a title’s
availability or circulation status, and to check the currency of a title or
the receipt of a specific periodical issue.
Binding
The circulation status of periodical volumes may indicate “On Bindery
Shelf.” These materials are available in the Technical Services Department
until they are actually prepared for a bindery shipment. Contact Donna
Turner, Bindery and Processing Specialist (ext. 4190), to check-out one
of these items.
Acquisition
Suggestions
Course-related purchase requests should be directed to Kara
Phillips, Collection Development Librarian (ext. 4093). Detailed information
on the title, author, publisher, price and edition is greatly appreciated. The
Collection Development Librarian will consult with the librarian selector for
the applicable subject area regarding the request. The Library Collection Development
Committee and Law Library Director review and consider special or major purchases.
Acquisitions and collection development require balancing financial resources, curriculum needs and long-term collection viability. Serial subscriptions, including periodicals, reporters, statutes and loose-leaf services, represent the largest percentage of the acquisitions budget. Because financial resources are limited, acquisition decisions must be made with this balancing in mind.
New Books Shelf
A list of recent acquisitions is located
on the Library Web site and featured in the Library
Newsletter. Select titles are displayed at the Reference Desk for one week.
Gifts
The Library welcomes gifts appropriate for the collection from the faculty.
Gift materials are accepted if they conform to collection development and selection
guidelines. Please contact Kara Phillips
(ext. 4093).