If you need – or think you may possibly need – Lexis or Westlaw over the summer, now is the time to register to extend your full access to their systems.

Lexis – register by June 1^st

 Use this link: http://www.lexisnexis.com/myschool/myschool.asp?sc_id=282

(Log in, then hit the link at the bottom of the page and follow the directions.)

To be granted full access, you must verify that you will be doing one of the following:

• taking summer classes
  

• working on a law school related research assignment

• moot court research

• law review or journal research

• working as a faculty research assistant

• a non-profit externship

• an unpaid internship/externship

• bar review

1Ls and 2Ls – Register by June 1 or your access will be limited to Career materials; full access for continuing students resumes August 1st.

3Ls who are graduating in May – You must register to extend your access until August 1^st.

Westlaw – Register by May 31^st

Use this link: http://lawschool.westlaw.com/registration/summerextension.asp?appflag=100.14

(Login, hit the link in the lower right hand column and follow the directions.)

To be granted full access, you must be doing one of the following things this summer:

• taking summer classes

• law review or journal work

• research for law faculty

• moot court competition

• unpaid public interest intern/externships (this excludes working for state or local governments or the courts)

• pro bono work required for graduation

1Ls and 2Ls – Act by May 31^st, full access will resume August 1^st if you don’t register. If you don’t register online by the deadline, you must call Westlaw to extend your access: (800) 850-9378/WEST.

3Ls/May graduates – Watch for an email from Westlaw with details and a link to their Graduate Password program. Registration will give you 10 hours of online time, available until July 31 (access lasts until you’ve used the hours or July ends, whichever comes first).

 

To celebrate National Library Week, we are sponsoring a haiku-writing contest. The contest begins today and ends on Friday, April 27.

- One haiku will be selected each day for notable content, and the author will receive $10 in funds on their ACCESS Card

-One haiku will be selected each week for exceptional effort, and the author will receive a $25 Barnes & Noble Bookstore gift certificate

-In keeping with the theme of National Library Week, haikus with a library focus will be given extra consideration.

-Law students, staff and faculty may enter the contest as often as they wish. Library staff may enter, but are not eligible to win prizes.

-Daily submissions will be posted in the library display case for the enjoyment of all

-Entries may be placed in the contest box at the library display case or sent to the Reference email account: lawref@scu.edu (Be sure to include your name and contact information with each entry)

The Foreign Law Sites webpage from the Heafey Law Library links to three good websites for Chinese legal research:
– Wei Luo’s Internet Chinese Legal Research Center
– The GlobalLex guide to Finding Chinese Law on the Internet by Joan Liu, and
– A list of online Research Guides to Chinese Law maintained by Professor Donald Clark at George Washington University (which links to the two preceding sites).

Some additional Chinese law websites:
– The Asian Legal Information Institute, Laws of the People’s Republic of China
– Florida State University’s research guide on Finding Chinese Law
– UC Hastings Chinese Law research guide
– York University’s (Toronto) Research Guide on Chinese Law
– Professor Clark’s (GWU) Chinese Law Prof Blog (He has been posting links to English-language translations of Chinese law.)
– A podcast on Chinese Legal Research by Lee Peoples (Oklahoma City University School of Law

Several Chinese government sites include some English-language materials.  See links at the Chinese government’s English-language web portal. Some of these Chines government websites contain translations of selected Chinese legislation:
Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Science and Technology

The Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas has produced the Actual Innocence Awareness Database. It includes books, articles, legislation, websites, and reports about wrongful convictions. Materials are grouped by topic: forensics, eyewitness IDs, police/prosecutorial misconduct, etc. The database is also searchable by author, title, summary, etc. Thanks to Melissa Bernstein at the Tarlton Law Library for her post to Law-Lib, the law librarian’s listserv, with information about the database.

The Actual Innocence Awareness Database includes a link to the web page of the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP). See the Santa Clara University Law School webpages for information about the NCIP’s recent successful efforts on behalf of Ken Foley.

The American Association of Law Libraries has made a 200-plus page State-by-State Report on the Authentication of Online Legal Resources available online. Among the Report’s key findings:

--States are beginning to discontinue print official legal sources, substituting online official legal sources
--Disclaimers are prevalent, eroding the authority of even official online legal sources
--No state’s online legal sources are authenticated.

For purposes of the Report, an official source is "governmentally mandated or approved by statute or rule;" an authentic text is "one whose content has been verified by a government entity to be complete and unaltered when compared to the version approved or published by the content originator."

Maryruth Storer, of the Orange County Public Law Library, authored the portion of the Report on California. She notes that "California has provided free online access to primary legal materials for a number of years, but no agency has moved ahead to establish a true official or authenticated source for these items."

The Law Librarian Blog has a posting about the Report this morning and a link to it in .pdf format.

è  Noise in the library:

 

§         Now more than ever, please try to keep the noise level down.  As finals approach, students are much more sensitive to noise levels in the library.

§         Please remember to turn your cell phones off or at least put them on vibrate or silent when in the library.  If you need to take or make a call please do so in the lobby outside the library.  Cell phone use in the library is not permitted.

 

Thanks for your cooperation.  GOOD LUCK on exams!

 

Heafey Law Library Staff

With finals rapidly approaching we would like to remind you about some of the law library’s policies to clarify some areas that cause confusion, to improve our services to students, staff, and faculty, and hopefully make the law library a more conducive space for all to study.

 

è    Materials removed from Course Reserve or Stauffer:

 

§         Reminder that all materials in both the Stauffer Reserve Collection and the Course Reserve Room MUST be checked out prior to use. 

§         Whenever you walk past the circulation desk with materials from these locations you need to check them out even if you are only going to be using them in the library.

§         This enables the library to track these items and gather statistics about their use.  It also allows students to place holds on these items, allowing these course reserve materials to be used by as many students as possible. 

§         Many of these items, particularly course reserves, are owned by members of our faculty and are difficult, if not impossible, to replace. 

§         So PLEASE when you need any of these materials remember to always stop by the circulation desk to have them properly checked out.  The staff and your fellow students thank you.

 

è  Policy regarding food and beverages:

 

§         Reminder, eating in not permitted in the law library. 

§         Believe it or not we get a number of complaints from students about the noise, smell and residue caused by people eating in the library.  Eating in the library can be disruptive to other students so everyone would appreciate it if all would refrain from eating while in the library.

§         Not eating helps us to keep the library clean, a quiet study space, prevents damage to books or other materials and keeps uninvited guests away such as vermin and other creepy crawlies. 

§         If you are going to drink while studying in the law library, please remember to use spill-proof containers.  All those stains and spots you see decorating the carpet and furniture are from people who failed to use spill-proof containers.