Category Archives: GSU Law Library

01.27.11
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Checkout Old Study Aids

 

Are you ever right in the middle of a torts study session and realize the library is about to close in 10 minutes?  Class is tomorrow morning and you need just a little more prep time?

Many students like using study aids to prepare for class and exams, but are unable to use them outside of the library because of the circulation restriction.  However, the Law Library does have some study aids that students can check out.

When the Law Library receives the newest edition of a study aid, it places the previous edition on the last set of shelves in the Study Aid Collection, facing the Jackson Pollock painting.  These study aids can be checked out by students for the regular 3 week circulation period.

If you have questions on which study aids can be checked out, talk to one of the librarians or staff members working Reference and Circulation.

01.25.11
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Online Room Reservations

Study rooms can now be reserved online

Study rooms can now be reserved online. The new online booking system also allows you to reserve a room up to one week in advance.

To reserve a study room, visit the booking system website and login using your myLAW ID (click the “Log in” button in the upper right corner of the page). You can reserve a study room for up to three hours per person per day.

You are responsible for canceling reservations if your group no longer needs the study room and for ensuring two or more members of your group are present to check out the study room key within ten minutes of the reservation start time. More information about these and other study room polices is on our policy page.

If you have any questions or problems, please contact the Circulation Desk (404/413-9100).

01.18.11
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New Library Workshops

Library Abridged LogoThe law library is launching a new workshop series this spring. Each “Library Abridged” workshop will be 20 minutes long and focused on a narrow aspect of legal research, technology for lawyers and more. Coffee will also be served.

Workshops will meet in the law library conference room. And each workshop will be given twice, at 2:45 p.m. on Mondays and at 5:20 p.m. on Tuesdays. The full schedule is below:

  • Jan. 24 & 25 — A Professional’s Guide to Facebook
  • Feb. 7 & 8 — Let Me Google That For You
  • Feb. 21 & 22 — Better Know Your States: 50 State Surveys
  • Mar. 14 & 15 — Listening to the Law: Audiocasefiles
  • Mar. 28 & 29 — Take the Law Into Your Own Hands: eBooks
  • Apr. 11 & 12 — There’s an App For That: Apps For Lawyers

Although each workshop is independent from the rest, each student who attends the full series will receive a certificate of completion. Plan to join us this semester and top off your legal research skills.

01.07.11
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Welcome back!

Welcome back to the spring semester! We hope your winter break was enjoyable. You may notice some small changes as you research this semester.

The library Reference Desk hours have changed slightly. Our new hours are:

Monday – Thursday: 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Don’t forget we are also available for chat reference and by phone during these hours as well.

You may also notice that both Westlaw and LexisNexis look a little different this semester. LexisNexis now features a “cleaner, more modern look” (to quote one of their emails about the change); although some tabs and databases have moved, you’ll find the site functions quite similarly to the way it did last semester.

Westlaw has also released its much-discussed WestlawNext client to law students. You can now access both WestlawNext and “Westlaw classic” when you login.

If you have any questions or comments about these new changes, feel free to ask one of the reference librarians. You can also contact LexisNexis or Westlaw directly.

 

12.17.10
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Winter Break Notices

Here are some things to remember during the break:

  1. The Law Library will close on December 17th at 6pm and will re-open on January 4th at 8am.  Between January 4th through January 7th, the Law Library will be operating from 8am to 6pm.  The Law Library will return to regularly scheduled hours on January 10th.
  2. Upon return, the Law Library will be rolling out its new online booking system.  Students will be able to book rooms online up to 7 days in advance.  Study Rooms can be checked out for 3 hours per person, and groups must consist of two or more people.  Students will still need to pick up the keys from the Circulation Desk.
  3. If you are trying to access something on the campus website and your log-in is not working, you may need to reset your password.  Campus IDs must be reset every 90 days.
  4. Keep your eyes out for the Library Abridged workshop series beginning in January 2011.

From everyone here at the College of Law Library, Happy Holidays! 

 

 

12.15.10
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Relaxing Over Break

Law Library Leisure Collection

Finals are nearing their end. Three weeks of vacation stretch before you in glorious Technicolor. You find yourself thinking, “Gosh, what a perfect time this would be to catch up on the first seven seasons of Law & Order. If only I had access to them!”

Oh, but you do. The law library’s leisure collection not only has all the “ripped from the headlines” stories you might want, but it offers more TV shows like The West Wing as well as Legally Blonde, 12 Angry Men, Breaker Morant and other movies.

If you’re thinking more about curling up with a good book and some eggnog, we’ve got you covered too. Cozy mystery fans can work their way through Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who series. Maybe A Christmas Carol has put you in the mood for some Dickens. And there’s always John Grisham’s legal thrillers too.

The leisure collection offers a lot of selection. Whether you’re wanting a light mystery or a legal classic, swing by the 130s study rooms to check out some great holiday break choices.

12.06.10
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Study Aids Available!

Studying for finals? Can’t figure out U.C.C. 2-207? The Law Library is here to help! To help you succeed on your exams we have:

Substantial previews of some study aids, such as the Examples & Explanations series, are available through Google Books. The library’s new catalog, GIL-Find@GSU, provides links to the available previews.  (Hat tip to USF’s Zief Law Library & John Marshall Law School’s Biro Law Library!)

12.02.10
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The Royal Engagement

The media has been buzzing over the past 2 weeks about the engagement of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton:  Where will the wedding be?  Who will design the dress?  Does the Queen approve?

What makes this wedding all the more special is the fact that Prince William is the second heir to the throne after his father Prince Charles of Wales.  Therefore, many see him as the future King and Catherine Middleton as the future Queen.

How can Americans put this in perspective?  The thought of a royal wedding seems foreign these days to most Americans.  Even though most of the world’s superpowers have turned to a democratic form of government, including the United Kingdom, the British still hold a special place in their heart for the monarchy.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy.  Therefore, while they function as a democracy, similar to the one we have here in the United States, the monarchy is still recognized as the head of state (the Prime Minister is recognized as the head of government).  However, the monarchy has little influence or power over the Parliament.  Instead, the monarchy performs ceremonial functions and acts a representative of the United Kingdom.

Even with our differences though, the United States and the United Kingdom are very similar.  The United States common law legal system is based on English common law.  Furthermore, although a royal wedding might seem dated to the American public, many of our celebrity weddings are covered with as much pomp and circumstance as a royal wedding.

One cannot dispute though that this wedding will be different than any other one we have seen before.  Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding happened before the onset of Facebook, Twitter, and Wikis.  Furthermore, it is hard to think of many American celebrity weddings that can boast a guest list that is rumored to include President Barack Obama, Sir Elton John, and David Beckham.  My advice is to tune in to the wedding at Westminster Abbey on April 29th, 2011 to see what all of the fuss is about.

Interested in learning more about the British Monarchy?  Go to the following link.

Looking for books on the English Legal System?

11.29.10
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Fighting For Superman

image: flickr user b-tal

Warner Bros. recently announced that Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) is going to direct a new film version of Superman. The casting rumors have begun, and the studio wants to start filming in June 2011, it’s reported. But it’s only been four years since Superman Returns was generally panned. What’s the big rush?

The flurry of activity is due to ongoing litigation between Warner Bros. (which owns DC Comics) and the heirs of Superman creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Shuster and Siegel sold the Superman rights in 1938 for $130.  They’ve been trying to get them back ever since. Although the exact parties have changed over the years (with Shuster’s and Siegel’s heirs eventually on one side and various iterations of Warner Bros. and DC on the other), the question of who-owns-what is still not settled.

In 2008, the United States District Court for the Central District of California ruled that Siegel’s heirs are entitled to partial copyright of Superman’s character (542 F.Supp.2d 1098), but left several other issues unsettled.  Shuster’s heirs have also stepped into the fray and after several hiccups, the parties are set to begin discovery. The new Superman film is one way Warner Bros. is trying to minimize economic losses, whatever the outcome of the suit may be.

Superman isn’t the only comic book character to make an appearance in copyright jurisprudence. For example: Snyder’s previous film, Watchmen (based on a graphic novel of the same name), was subject to a fierce lawsuit (630 F.Supp.2d 1140) prior to its release in theatres. And Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane went to court (360 F.3d 644) over characters created for the Spawn series. The judge in that case described one Spawn character as “a kind of malevolent Superman figure, although actually rather weak and stupid” and appended the opinion with cover art and other images of the characters in question. These cases themselves now appear in treatises, ALR annotations and law review articles on copyright law.

The University Library has a large collection of comic books and graphic novels available for check out, including Watchmen, works by Neil Gaiman and Superman titles.

11.22.10
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Thanksgiving Pardons

Nixon was one of many presidents to receive a Thanksgiving turkey (image: National Archives)

George Washington issued the first presidential proclamation on Thanksgiving when he declared Nov. 26, 1789 to be a day of “national thanksgiving” in which a new country was invited to acknowledge their “opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness”.

Since that first proclamation, Americans have made Thanksgiving one of our most celebrated holidays. Presidents even get in the act by granting a chosen turkey a presidential pardon. Most people think that presidents have been pardoning Thanksgiving turkeys since the 1940s. But while there is ample proof of presidents receiving turkeys, it wasn’t until George H.W. Bush pardoned one in 1989 that the tradition was formalized. (In fact, there is some suspicion Truman and his family ate the turkeys they received.) However the tradition got started, it will continue again this year when President Obama pardons a turkey on Wednesday, Nov. 24. The newly-pardoned turkey will then bring the Thanksgiving tradition full circle by moving to Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home.