|
|
Seattle University School of Law will once again host the 8th
Annual Bridge the Legal Research Gap program on Thursday, June
19, 2003. A joint production by law librarians from Seattle University
Law Library and University of Washington Gallagher Law Library,
Bridge the Gap is a program designed to give students a refresher
course on key research skills needed for summer legal employment.
Last year, over 120 registrants included law students from schools
around the country working at 61 local law firms, companies, not-for-profit
organizations and government agencies. We anticipate that this
year's Bridge the Gap will serve an equally diverse group of students.
|
|
The Seattle University Law Library has been chosen to receive
the 2003 American Association of Law Libraries Excellence in Marketing
Award, in the Best Use of Technology category. This award honors
outstanding achievement in public relations by member organizations.
The centerpiece of the Library's award winning public relations
campaign is the newly redesigned Virtual
Tour of the Law Library. This new tour, created by the Information
Services Department, utilizes Flash technology to offer viewers
a virtual experience akin to walking through the physical space
of the Library.
This Tour was used to support the Library's marketing campaign,
which introduced our new alumni memberships. This campaign has
been very successful, with a number of alumni borrowing memberships
created since the launch of the program. The Tour has also successfully
reached prospective students, parents of students, and even several
viewers from Japan, France and Australia.
The award will be presented July 14, during the annual meeting
of the American Association of Law Libraries.
Back to top
|
|
 National
Library Week was observed from April 7-11 with pride and celebration!
To mark the event, banners and posters throughout the library
proclaimed the special occasion, and patrons received complimentary
pens and memo pads. Free bookmarks carrying library-related, thought-provoking
quotes also proved especially popular. To kick off the annual
event, law school faculty and staff joined library staff for a
cake and ice cream social on Monday, April 7.
 The
public services desks also featured a variety of contests. At
the Reference Desk, a game involving a glass fishbowl filled with
gummy sharks "swimming" among gummy fish, brought forth
chuckles and smiles from law library visitors. Law students, faculty,
staff, and alumni were all eligible for this guess-the-number-of-sharks
game. Two additional contests--"Dead or Alive?" and
"Who Knows What Game"--required familiarity with legal
authors and their subject specialty.
Library Week was also a chance to clear pesky library fines.
During a week-long fine amnesty, the law library collected cans
and dry goods, accepting one canned item for every dollar of fines.
Fine amnesty collections were donated to the Northwest Harvest
food bank.
At week-end, three contest winners were announced: Prof. Eric
Chiappinelli and Danielle Gilmore received Starbuck's gift certificates,
and Ryon Lane became the proud owner of a private stash of gummy
sharks.
Thanks to everyone for sharing in the celebration!
Back to top |
|
Today's law library is an interactive classroom for individual
and group research instruction, reference interviews and lively
discussion. Moreover, public service activities at the reference
and circulation desks can be disruptive to students who desire
a quiet place to study.
In response to student suggestions, the law library has designated
the 4th floor as a Quiet Zone. Laptop use is permitted, but conversation
should be restricted to the group study rooms.
By setting aside an area for quiet pursuits we hope to maintain
an academic environment that is conducive to a variety of library
activities.
Back to top |
|
It is estimated that between July 12 and July 16, 2003, approximately
4,000 law librarians and exhibitors will converge on Seattle to
attend the 96th Annual American Association of Law Libraries (AALL)
conference. Held at the Washington State Convention and Trade
Center, this year's meeting will include 78 program sessions,
three workshops, over 20,000 square feet of exhibits, plus a variety
of pre- and post-conference training opportunities.
In addition to providing library and art tours, the Seattle University
Law Library will be hosting several major conference events. Each
year the Academic Law Libraries Special Interest Section (ALL-SIS)
presents a special event to introduce newer academic law librarians
to the world of law school librarianship. This year's Conference
of Newer Academic Law Librarians (CONALL) will be held on Tuesday,
July 15 at Sullivan Hall. Additionally, the law library is very
proud to be hosting the ALL-SIS Reception, which will run from
6:30-9:00 p.m. throughout the law school. Always well attended,
this event will provide librarians from all venues the opportunity
to explore the library, tour the building or just catch-up with
old friends, all while sampling various northwest culinary delights
and listening to the jazz and blues music of the Michael Powers
Group. It promises to be a memorable evening!
Back to top |
|
The library would appreciate your assistance in returning any
unneeded library materials before the end of the semester. This
is an opportunity for you to turn in any overdue materials or
any materials that you may have forgotten to check out.
If you have a number of items to be retrieved, or would like
materials renewed, please call the Circulation Desk (x4220).
Thank you very much for your help.
Back to top
|
|
Need to find data on voter turnout, bankruptcies, product recalls,
interest rates or other topics? LexisNexis Statistical Universe,
a new database offered by the law library, may be able to help.
Statistical Universe is an online collection of individually indexed
statistical tables, drawn from statistical compilations issued
by the federal government, regulatory agencies, state governments
and intergovernmental organizations as well as private sector
and non-profit sources. Although the database is published by
LexisNexis, it is not available on our academic contract. The
law library purchased a separate contract for this database in
response to increased requests for statistical research information.
To access Statistical Universe, go to the library
database page and click on Statistical Universe. If you have
questions, please contact the reference desk at x4225 or send
us an e-mail by clicking on the E-reference
button from Theo.
Back to top
|
|
With the faculty's recent passage of the revised independent
study guidelines, the library is already fielding requests from
students interested in pursuing summer independent studies. The
new guidelines provide that the student consult with an "assigned
research librarian." Librarian assignments are determined
by the Executive Law Librarian based on the librarian's subject
specialty, the faculty member supervising the independent study
and librarian workload. Students who are pursing independent studies
should be referred initially to Kristin
Cheney, the Executive Law Librarian (Library Administration
– Third Floor, Room 307A, x4091).
Back to top
|
|
The Seattle University Law Clinic and Law Library
have teamed up to purchase a joint subscription to the Criminal
Law Reporter online, published by BNA. Available to Seattle University
Law faculty, staff, students and walk-in patrons for "purposes
of research, education or other non-commercial use," the
Criminal Law Reporter covers significant developments, trends
and emerging patterns in criminal law today. To access the Criminal
Law Reporter, go to the library
database page and click on the Criminal Law Reporter link.
If you have questions, please contact the Reference Desk at x4225,
or send us an e-mail by clicking on the E-reference
button from Theo. If you
would like electronic alerts of this publication routed to you,
please contact Kent
Milunovich.
Back to top
|
|
The law library recently surveyed law students about undergraduate
use of the law library. The 188 responses to the survey indicate
that a small majority of law students have been negatively impacted
by undergraduates using the library. We are currently evaluating
the survey results to find acceptable and practical ways to address
this issue.
Back to top
|
|
We are pleased to announce that Mr. Barrie Althoff, a noted
writer and speaker on legal ethics, discipline and professionalism,
recently donated his personal collection of CLE materials to the
law library. Mr. Althoff has been the Professional Counsel for
the Washington State Bar Association since March of 2002, and
before that, he was Director of Lawyer Discipline and Chief Disciplinary
Counsel. His CLE collection covers not only ethics and professionalism,
but a diverse range of Washington topics, including business law,
real estate, employment law, family law and more. The majority
of the materials will be integrated with the Washington CLE materials
on the 4th floor of the library. Seattle University Law Library
patrons will benefit directly from Mr. Althoff's generous donation.
Back to top
|
|
Most librarians continually enhance their abilities with ongoing
training. One such program, introduced this year by LexisNexis,
is the Certificate of Mastery Program. This multi-session advanced
training program was created especially for law librarians. The
first two sessions were held on March 6, and six librarians from
the law school attended: Kristin Cheney, Kerry Fitz-Gerald, Kelly
Kunsch, Kent Milunovich, Kara Phillips and Stephanie Wilson. The
sessions covered primary law research and analytical resources
(secondary sources to many of us). The remaining sessions will
be completed during the summer. In addition to the knowledge gained
and a Certificate of Mastery suitable for framing, librarians
can also receive CLE credits, if desired.
Back to top
|
|
The Faculty Research Assistant Program has gotten off to a great
start this semester. Some faculty directly requested the service
while other short term projects were assigned to student researchers
directly by the librarians. This made it possible to produce a
quality, in-depth product while allowing the librarians to continue
meeting other faculty needs. Research topics varied from professional
responsibility to historical research involving the Bill of Rights.
While some projects only required a few hours, others took more
than a week to complete. The students working in the program have
done a terrific job. Page Scott will be graduating in May, and
Stephen Leptich will continue working for the program this summer.
If you are anticipating any summer research needs, set up a time
to discuss your project with your liaison librarian soon. Summer
will be over before you know it.
Back to top
|
|
Later this year, you may notice a change in the location of
some books in the library's 3rd and 4th floor treatise collection.
The JX Library of Congress call number classification for international
treatises no longer exists. At least 80% of the JX titles will
be reclassified under the call number KZ (Law of Nations), with
most of the remaining 20% reclassified under the call number JZ
(International Relations). This requires shifting books, which
will be done in August to minimize disruption to study time.
Back to top |
|
Cynthia Burress has worked for the library since transferring
to Seattle University from the University of California Hastings
College of Law. Unfortunately for us, Cynthia is now graduating.
She has accepted an offer from Texas Wesleyan University School
of Law, and after graduation will become their newest reference
librarian.
Cynthia's work in the library has been invaluable. She has staffed
busy reference shifts, helped with faculty research, designed
reading room displays and worked on collection development projects.
Please join the library in wishing Cynthia the best of everything
as she continues her law librarianship career.
Back to top
|
|
|
Newsletter written by law library staff.
Questions? Comments? Please
contact Helane
Davis, editor.
Web Technician: Greg Soejima
|
|
