Tag Archives: law library

09.21.21
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Ode to Study Aids

How do I study, let me count the ways?

I review my notes, summarize, restate

My future self I picture, earning As

How long to study, I can’t estimate!

Why are civil procedure, contracts, torts

So hard to wrap my tired brain around?

I ‘m desperate, overwhelm’d, out of sorts

I’m dragging, I’m flagging, in highlights drowned.

Stumped by lecture, black letter, check my text,

Questions, no answers! Help I cannot find?

Colleagues struggle too—we are all vexed

How to embed these concepts in my mind?

Law Library’s got my back, study aids

Connect, clarify, lifting up my grades

Seriously folks, we in the Law Library realizes that study aids are a useful tool in the effort to understand material that is presented through your textbook, lectures, and other assignments in your doctrinal courses.

To that end, we have an excellent collection of study aids that you can turn to if you need assistance or clarity as you seek to understand—or check your understanding—of concepts from class. Students often ask how to choose a good study aid.

Of course, in law school, the answer is usually “It depends.” It depends on what you’re looking for—do you need just a statement of the law? Do you want something that you can quiz yourself with? Are you looking to confirm that you’re outline structure of the relationship between concepts makes sense? Different study aids have different strengths. Many are based on books, but they also may be videos or even lessons like those CALI lessons you’ve heard so much about in class!

If you want help figuring out what options exist for a class you’re in, you can check out our Study Aid Finder. It’s organized so that study aids for required courses in your 1L or 2Lyears are pulled out separately, and study aids for other bar classes are included under recommended electives.

Remember that there are a variety of formats available to assist you. Have long drives in Atlanta and prefer to listen to an audio version? You can! Want to check a study aid at 3 in the morning without leaving the comfort of your home? You can!

If you’re looking for study aids for classes that fall out of the scope of regularly recommended bar classes, you will also find some study aid recommendations on the research guides for those subjects. Check out our federal tax research guide for an example! If you have questions about how to access study aids, our Introductory Guide for First Year Students is an excellent resource.

05.18.21
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Celebrating the Class of 2021 & The Library’s Student Advisory Council

Graduation is always an exciting time with much to reflect on: the three-plus years of hard work, the upcoming bar exam (and final part of your journey to becoming a practicing attorney), and many other reflective thoughts. So, as we celebrate in the law library, we want to congratulate all of the graduates on overcoming and achieving an important milestone in your life!

We thank each of you that supported the law library in various ways throughout the years. Whether it was filling out a survey, dropping by the reference desk to check-in, or giving your suggestions to improve student life, it was all appreciated. We also want to especially thank the members of the Law Library Student Advisory Council. The advisory council’s graduating members spent three to four years of their time serving the GSU student community.

The Student Advisory Council started in Spring 2011 to give law students a formal voice in library decisions. We met multiple times each semester and discussed ideas involving the library. These are just a few of the ideas implemented based on feedback from the Advisory Council: installing full-length mirrors in the library’s bathrooms, adding a hot water dispenser, and making the 6th floor of the library the “quiet floor” (and including elevator buttons to indicate as much.)

The following Student Advisory Council members are graduating this year:

  • Luke Hoover
  • Ellen Min
  • Valentina Poe
  • Maria Tellez (Graduated in December 2020)
  • Arlissa Williams Jennings

For a list of all of our members, and more information about the council, see our web page.

Graduates, good luck with everything. We wish you much success in the future. Remember that we are always available to assist you, even as practicing members! We’re only a chat or phone call away. 

04.27.21
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Finals Resources and Assistance

Another tough semester almost complete! We wanted to remind you of some of the resources available to help you prepare for exams, get research assistance from the librarians, or take a break from studying! As a reminder, we will be open to the GSU Law community for normal Spring 2021 hours through the end of the exam period, May 12th. Keep an eye out on our Facebook and Twitter pages for exam and graduation-related messages and videos. 

Study Aid Finder LibGuide:

  • The Study Aid Finder guide provides easy access to a compilation of digital, physical, and multimedia study aids grouped according to the traditional GSU College of Law curriculum (with recommended electives being subjects tested on the bar exam but are not required subjects of the J.D. curriculum). The current Spring ’21 classes are displayed towards the top of each respective page.

Stress Buster LibGuide:

  • The Stress Busters guide is available via the private link sent to you in the most recent personal librarian email. We hope that it serves as an outlet during final exams. When you take the time to de-stress, you’ll recharge and be able to focus when you return to your studies. The GSU Law Library has gathered a variety of stress relief activities for you to enjoy. 

Pet Pics Display:

  • Pictures of students, faculty, staff, and their pets are displayed via the private link sent to you in the most recent personal librarian email. Please reach out to us if you need access to it. These images are also being displayed on the law library digital signage. You can still get your pet added to the display by emailing Gerard Fowke at gfowke@gsu.edu. 

Blog posts with helpful information from the library to help you with finals, including:

Good luck with finals! Reach out to us if you need assistance, research-based or otherwise.