Tag Archives: Study Rooms

11.01.21
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Dear My 1L Self- Shheeeeeesh

Hello, reader. You’ve happened upon “Dear My 1L Self.” Have you heard of this epic library blog series? Wherein law librarians, 2Ls/3Ls, and other intriguing interlocutors engage in anachronistic correspondence w/ their 1L selves? Wherein said correspondence dispenses sage advice that readers would do well to take under advisement? In today’s wise & witty epistle, Reference GRA Colin Daniels addresses his 1L self…

Dear 1L Colin,

I’ve got good news and sad news from the future. First the bad. By your 2L year, law school professors acquire technology that enables them to target a live cold call at any student anywhere on earth—Zoom. On the bright side, I can help you get by as a 1L.

Let’s start with suggestions. The Library’s VIP study rooms have outlets and beautiful marble-white whiteboard walls. Fill a study room with reliable people who keep motivate each other. Take notes and stick to a consistent study plan. There’s a lot of information to track over a semester. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Because law school is a marathon, you need to remember you’re a human being with physical limitations. Go through the syllabi at the beginning of the year and stick deadlines into a calendar. Then schedule time well in advance of due dates to work on projects. While you can spend a forty-eight hour period furiously writing a 1L foundations paper, you never want to turn in the first draft of anything you’ve written.

More importantly, you’re going to miss a lot of mistakes if you’re sleep deprived. Just schedule your time instead so you can make slow and steady progress on assignments. Your body and your GPA will thank you.

You’re going to make mistakes. Your biggest is not writing practice exams. Yes, they’re exhausting when many things demand your time. Don’t wait to start writing practice exams until you have a perfect outline (because it’ll never be perfect). Ultimately, 1L Colin, because you don’t take any practice contracts exams, your final exam reads like the next paragraph.

Buy a printer. Take half-days on Friday. Meet other students. It’s not a competition. Watch trashy reality TV occasionally (or frequently). Learn about bird law. Go meet a professor during office hours. Use a watch and a calendar. Get a free lunch (and learn something) at meetings and events. Take a mindfulness seminar. Read the career services emails. Borrow whiteboard markers from the library. Look into GRA positions for experience and a tuition discount. Interviewers care about personality, so don’t forget about the hobbies and interests that make you an interesting person.

Good luck, and don’t worry too much. You can always try for Tik Tok fame.

Shheeeeeesh,

3L Colin

06.24.21
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Study Rooms Are Back!

Law Library study rooms are available for reservation by law students, we are happy to announce!

Study rooms range in size and location—we have rooms that accommodate groups as large as 10. On the Law Library’s fifth floor, we have study rooms with monitors that you can use to do group work on a big screen. Rooms have dry erase boards that groups can use to share notes, develop outlines, etc.

Reserving a study room is pretty simple, and if you’ve used the booking system before it will be very similar. Start from the library home page and checkout the booking explorer, so your group can find the right time and room that will work for your study plan.

You can book the rooms in 15 minute increments, with each law student in a group eligible for up to three hours of study room time per day.

In the picture below, Room 501 is unavailable, but 503 and the other rooms are each available for a reservation.

image of the room booking system showing the date, a legend of the colors indicating available, unavailable, and your booking, and a table listing the rooms on the y axis and the times on the x axis

When you book your room, you will still need to have (and list) the two or more law students who will be using the room for studying. Remember, when you’re finished using a study room that you need to lock the door and tell the folks at the circulation desk if you are leaving before the end of your reservation, so we can make sure that the room shows up as available to other students who may want to reserve the room. Knowing who is in the group can really help us with this part of reservation management!

Here’s a sample of the booking form:

Screen shot of the room booking form listing the fields for name, email other law students who will be using the room, and asking confirmation that the room reservation requires two or more law students

We look forward to checking the keys out to your groups as you work on your summer classes and prepare for exams!

screen shot of the banner on the room booking page
Screen shot of the Study room policy, including requirmements that there be two or more law students per reservation and that there is a maximum of three hours available for reservation for each person's campus ID.