by Nirvi Shah

Over 130 years after its inception, the American Bar Association is still the prestigious community that serves its members, profession, and the public by “defending liberty and delivering justice as the national representative of the legal profession.”  The ABA’s goals include improving the legal profession by promoting the highest quality of legal education.  The organization recognized Georgia State University College of Law as an accredited law school in 1984.

Thirty years later, the ABA will visit GSU College of Law again next week, beginning March 3, to evaluate whether the school still complies with ABA standards, and is, thus, accredited.  Typically, a six or seven person team conduct a Site Evaluation Visit.  The team includes: a present or former law school dean, a few academic law school faculty members, a law librarian, a faculty member with an expertise in professional skills instruction, one judge or practitioner, and one university administrator who is not a member of a law faculty.  During the visit, expect the team to visit classes while touring and evaluating the law school.

The Law Library has gathered and organized many of the law professors’ published materials to showcase to the ABA site team during their visit.  If you’re interested in knowing more about our faculty publications too, you can find a full list of them on our website.

by Ryan Browne

Photo by Flickr user aafromaa.

If the two snowstorms to hit Atlanta in the past month have made us realize anything, it is that spring break needs to get here as soon as possible. Luckily for us, spring break is right around the corner. Just three short weeks and all you will have to worry about is getting too much sun.

But if you are going on spring break, you have to be prepared. Make sure that you have most or all of these items to ensure that you have the most enjoyable spring break possible.

• Music – While the sounds of the waves crashing on the sand is nice, spring break wouldn’t be complete without your favorite tunes. Make sure that you hit iTunes to fill up your iPhone with your favorite music to play at the beach.
• Portable Speakers – Now that you have your music, you need a way to listen to it while you sit on the beach. Your old 80s boom box isn’t going to cut it anymore. Luckily for you, there are lots of speakers that hook up to your phone/iPod using Bluetooth. They come in a wide range of sizes and prices.
• Sunscreen – The sun is a silent killer, you guys.
• Beach Games – While it’s tempting, you can’t lay on the beach soaking up the sun all day. You have to stay active too. The beach is the perfect place for cornhole, bocce ball, ladder ball, whiffle ball, or to throw around the football or Frisbee.
• Books – Your spring break doesn’t have to be filled with constant activity. Few things are more relaxing than taking in the beautiful weather by the beach while reading a great book. If you need a recommendation for something to read, check out what your professors have suggested in the past.
• Beach chairs and coolers – You can’t enjoy the beach without a place to lounge, so make sure you bring a beach chair. (Probably not this one.) And make sure you have a cooler to wheel onto the sand to keep your, uh, sodas cold.

 We are in the heart of the 2014 Session of the Georgia General Assembly. Beginning the second Monday in January, the assembly will meet for a Georgia Constitution required 40 days. Depending on the number of adjournments, the session usually ends between late March and early May.

Those interested with keeping up with General Assembly can do so by following the status of bills introduced in the assembly, as well as watching live broadcasts of the proceedings from both the House and Senate chambers. You can also locate archived videos and reports on a specific assembly day by using GPB Lawmakers.

Check out the following resources to get more information on the General Assembly:

• Handbook for Georgia Legislators by Edwin Jackson, Mary E. Stakes, and Paul T. Hardy (available at the Reference Desk)
• Georgia General Assembly Website
• New Georgia Encyclopedia: Georgia General Assembly
• Georgia.gov: General Assembly 

We’ve gotten through another bout with snow, and K-12 students have missed another several days of school. In Georgia, as in many states, the minimum length of the school year is set by statute at 180 days. Although some wiggle room is built into the school calendars, when snow days start to add up, school districts have to scramble to make up the missed days. In Georgia, there is currently a proposal on the table to allow school districts to not make up some days. Other days may be made up in a variety of ways, from adding days onto the school year to adding hours to the remaining school days. Spring break may even be shortened (or eliminated).

One recent idea is to hold “virtual” school days, where students aren’t required to venture out to school, but instead attend classes online. However, this requires students to have computers and internet access, and so may not be feasible for many students.

photo by flickr user nengard

The 2014 American Inns of Court Warren E. Burger Prize writing competition is now open. Submit an essay of 10,000-20,000 words addressing issues of excellence in legal skills, civility, ethics and professionalism. The competition is open to members of the bench and bar as well as students. The winner will receive $5,000, publication of their essay in the South Carolina Law Review, and an award presented at the Supreme Court of the United States. For more information go to www.innsofcourt.org/burgerprize.

For information on other student writing competitions check out the Law Library’s Research Guide. If you need help getting started on your research come by the reference desk or use our Personal Librarian Program.

This past Sunday was the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII. The game pitted the AFC Champion Denver Broncos against the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks prevailed in the game, winning 43-8. While the action during the game captivated many sports fans, it was the action between the snaps that keeps the attention of the casual/non sports fan.

The Super Bowl is one of the most watched events of the year in the United States, so it would make sense then that companies also roll out new commercials just for the event. Beer, Car, Food, and Internet, the list of companies goes on and on. For the most part, people will see the same commercials across the nation. However, there are some slots set aside for regional/local ads. One local attorney commercial in Georgia has sent the web buzzing over the past two days. The commercial is for Jamie Casino, an attorney in Savannah, GA.

This is not Jamie’s first commercial. He are two more short commercials for Jamie Casino.

For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of other creative lawyer commercials.

By Nirvi Shah

On January 29, 1802 John Beckley was appointed as the first Librarian of Congress.  The Librarian’s first power was that he would be solely responsible to make the institution’s rules and regulations and appoint its staff.  One of the more recent developments in the Librarian’s role is that he is granted the authority to issue exemptions for piracy statutes – one of the newest controversial areas for artists’ creations. As Archibald MacLeish declared, “[e]very American librarian worthy of the name is today the champion of a cause.  It is, to my mind, the noblest of all causes for it is the cause of man, or more precisely, the cause of the inquiring mind by which man has come to be.”

Here are a few links to provide more information about the Library of Congress:

• Library of Congress’s website: http://www.loc.gov/index.html
• How the Cataloging system organizes every book in the Library system: http://www.loc.gov/aba/cataloging/classification/lcco/
• Librarian Pam Brannon’s Blog on the origins of the Library of Congress: https://theblackacretimes.com/2011/09/28/jefferson/
• Librarian Austin William’s Blog about the current Law Librarian of Congress: https://theblackacretimes.com/2012/01/06/new-law-librarian-of-congress/?relatedposts_exclude=894
• NPR Article about the Librarian’s authority over your personal phone: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/03/06/173614675/why-the-library-of-congress-has-a-lock-on-your-phone

by Flickr user jphilipg

Good news, everyone! The construction work on the upper level bathrooms has been completed. The bathrooms on the lower level remain closed for now, but we expect them to also be open again soon.

Just as a heads up, you’ll notice some big changes to the lower level bathrooms. First of all, the men’s and women’s bathrooms are swapping locations (so pay attention to those door signs!). The other major change is that each bathroom will now be just one stall, rather than several. So if you find one  of those restrooms occupied, you can always try the ones of the upper level or those in the lobby.