The UBalt Law Library’s annual March Madness bracket has returned for the third year – and this time, you’re voting on the most iconic class. What does that mean, exactly? Well, that’s up to you! The first round of voting is already open on our Twitter, and the polls close Tuesday at noon EST. Enjoy!
For those voting in the #MostIconicDissent polls on our Twitter, all of the nominated dissents are linked here.
In honor of National Library Week and National Library Workers Day, our lovely librarians have contributed their picks for underutilized resources in the library.
First up is Bijal Shah, our Electronic Resources, ILL, and Reference Librarian, with the journal look-up tool. She says, “The library’s journal look-up tool is accessible from our homepage. Click on “Search for Journals by Title” and enter a journal title (either law or non-law). If the library has access to the journal in any of our research databases, it should be the first result. A hyperlinked list of databases where the journal can be found as well as the holdings and embargo information will appear. These databases are available to everyone in the law school community.”
Next is Savannah Long, the Digital Services & Reference Librarian, with our study aid subscriptions. She explains, “We have two different databases available: West Academic Study Aids and the Aspen Learning Library. They’re both valuable in different ways, and they have audio and even video resources available. Everyone in the law school community can access them through the library’s homepage.”
Harvey Morrell, the Library Director, chose HeinOnline, saying, “This is a ginormous print library on one digital platform, with PDF’s of the original print sources. It’s available to everyone in the law school community.” You can access HeinOnline through the databases link on the library’s homepage, and then going to “H”.
Similarly, CJ Pipins, the Deputy Director, selected the US Law Week feature of Bloomberg Law. He states, “This is a great source of legal news, but my favorite part is the Circuit Splits Chart which is a fantastic source for students looking for a topic to write about. It is a nicely bundled list of unsettled federal law.” Accounts are available to everyone in the law school community.
In selecting our historic, local collections of news for Baltimore, Carly Roché, Reference Librarian, said, “It is a source that I often reach for when I am working on legislative history requests for the time period pre-1990. If the topic is controversial/newsworthy, I often find interesting context in old news articles.”
Carly also said, “I love that we now have brochures on The People’s Law Library website on the reference desk and at the public access computers. It is not specific to our library, but it is an important resource that we promote. I especially appreciate being able to share this resource because it is such a valuable source of information (and statutory cites!).”
David Matchen, the Head of Circulation and Reference, chose two resources: “My two (yes, two) are CRSReports.Congress.gov and EveryCRSReport.com, both of which provide access of varying levels to reports of “Congress’ brain”, the Congressional Research Service. The latter site, per its name, purports to have all of them; Congress.gov makes no representations one way or the other, but it is the official source. CRS reports are almost uniformly useful, thorough, nonpartisan, and delve into the sorts of things that don’t get covered elsewhere. They are, collectively, the most valuable repository of empirical data anywhere on the internet. And, yes, I’m prepared to back that up.”
Our newest librarian, the Government Documents Librarian, Charlie Amiot, picked the Internet Archive: “Not just for finding archived copies of websites, the Internet Archive is the first place I go to look for hard to find materials. It’s also a great place to play a video game with all your free time, like the original Oregon Trail!”
The Law Library has a Premium subscription to PowerNotes, a research outlining and management tool. It uses a browser on Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge (uses the Chrome extension). To help get you started, PowerNotes is offering 2 online training sessions in addition to their regular guides and tutorials.
| Join a training session: February 3rd at 11am (Central Time) February 18th at 12pm (Central Time) |
| What will be covered? Project Setup: Installing the extension, creating topics, and more. Capturing Content: How to save text, images, bookmarks, and annotations from websites and PDFs. Share & Collaboration: Share projects to receive feedback or to work together. Citation: See how PowerNotes saves and formats source info into bibliography-ready citations. Reorganizing & Exporting: How to use a Project Outline to set yourself up for writing and studying success. Go to PowerNotes |
Hello Everyone!
Although the law school is beginning the semester remotely, the library and its services are still available to you.
You can access the library (and the PC labs) for studying or research whenever the building is open. This is usually 7am to midnight, Sunday to Saturday.
The Reference/Reserves room on the 7th floor, which is where the course reserves are located, will be available during our Regular Semester Circulation Desk Hours.
To reserve a study room, go to https://law-ubalt.libcal.com/r, click on “Reserve”, and then follow the prompts to reserve your space. The only change from the normal procedure is that occupancy will be limited to one person per room until the law school returns to in-person instruction.
The library only collects textbooks for core 1L classes to serve as a bridge in case there was a problem with bookstore purchases. We are not able to do that for the upper-level course books because of cost. Sometimes we happen to already have a book (or a professor will give us their copy to loan) and we make those available. However, it is not terribly common to be able to access upper-level course books from the reserve collection.
Please send any reference requestions to lawlibref@ubalt.edu. You can also send requests to set up a meeting with a reference librarian to that address.
Please let us know (via lawlibref@ubalt.edu) if you have any other questions or if there is anything else with which we might be able to help.
Welcome back to the building, students!
Bee card access resumed today, based on properly completed and submitted paperwork. Our librarians are excited to finally and safely meet you in-person, so come on by!
Our hours this week are Monday and Friday 8a-6p; Tuesday-Thursday, 8a-8p, Saturday, 9a-6p, Sunday, 12p-6p. Future hours will be on our website.
The University of Baltimore Law Library is seeking current UB students for the part-time position of Student Circulation Assistant to start during the Fall term. Duties include interacting with University and public patrons at the 7th-floor Service desk, directing patrons to portions of the library’s collection, discharging and returning materials through the library’s system, reshelving materials, compiling patron statistics, updating looseleaf serials, opening and closing duties, and additional duties as assigned. The successful applicant must be able to lift 25 pounds, be punctual, and have the ability to read, write, understand, and follow directions.
The position reports to one Circulation Supervisor and, indirectly, to the Head of Circulation. The Law Library is normally open Mon-Thurs 8:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m., Fri 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m., Sat 9:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m., and Sun 10:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. during the term, with extended hours during exams and reduced hours after the July Bar Exam and during the Winter Break period. We do, however, expect to observe slightly reduced hours in the Fall due to coronavirus-related campus access restrictions.
All interviews will be conducted via Zoom. Position is ineligible for benefits. Resume and cover letter, the latter referencing “Law Library – Student Circulation Assistant”, can be forwarded directly to David Matchen, Head of Circulation, at dmatchen@ubalt.edu. Questions about the position can also be forwarded there.
As we approach the end of Mental Health Awareness Month and the beginning of the summer, we’d like to remind you that you are not alone.
The rate of depression is 4 times higher in law school students than the general population, and the past year has taken a toll on us all. This summer, make sure you take breaks and make time for yourself in between bar prep, work, or prepping for next school year. Your health is more important.
If you need help, you can call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for toll-free, 24-hour help, text HOME to 741-741 for free, 24/7 crisis counseling, or call 1-800-327-2251 to be connected with a coordinator at the UBalt Student Assistance Program, who can assess your needs, screen for emergencies, provide in-the-moment support, and connect you with more resources.
You can find even more resources on our Mental Health & Law School LibGuide at https://law.ubalt.libguides.com/MentalHealthLawSchool
As we conclude our celebration of National Library Week 2021, we want to remind you that the UBalt Law Library Team is here for YOU – law students, law school faculty, and alums – virtually for now and, hopefully soon, in the Law Library itself. Please reach out to us!
Here is what some of our users said about our services during the last year:
“It is like watching a magician! I had no idea!!! Thank you so much.”
– 1L on Zoom Teaching Session with Reference Librarian
“You have been a ray of sunshine!”
– UBalt Law Professor to Library Liaison
“This is fabulous. A trove of information!”
– UBalt Law Professor to Reference Librarian
“Wow, great! This is exactly what I need. Thank you very much! Really appreciate it!”
– 3L to Reference Librarian
We can’t wait to see you in the upcoming year. Thank you for celebrating National Library Week 2021 with us!
Harvey – Bijal – CJ – Savannah – Dave – Lisa – Gina – Tyler – Carly
lawlibref@ubalt.edu / 410-837-4559 / Ask A Librarian – Virtual Meetings
Mid-week greetings from the UBalt Law Library Team! To celebrate National Library Week, we would like to introduce you to this year’s Honorary Chair. It is someone whose name you may already know – Academy Award-winning actress, director, producer, author, and activist, Natalie Portman!
We agree with Natalie that libraries show us anything is possible.
Are you baffled by The Bluebook? Confounded by Con Law? Flummoxed by forum non conveniens?
We are here to help!
Harvey – Bijal – CJ – Savannah – Dave – Lisa – Gina – Tyler – Carly
lawlibref@ubalt.edu / 410-837-4559 / Ask A Librarian – Virtual Meetings
Recent Faculty Publications on ScholarWorks
University of Baltimore Law Library Blog 