Nichelle J. Perry selected to attend Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Harvard Institute for Academic Librarians

Nichelle J. Perry, Assistant Director of the NCCU Law Library, has been selected to participate in the Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians sponsored by the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education and the Association of College & Research Libraries.

The program will be held from July 31-August 5, 2011 at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Participating in the Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians will provide Ms. Perry with the opportunity to discover important leadership concepts and apply them to the practical challenges of leading and managing the contemporary academic library.

“As an Assistant Law Library Director at a Historically Black Law School, it is imperative that I am ready to deal with the many challenges facing academic libraries efficiently and effectively. I am thrilled to be attending a program which recognizes the challenges facing the leaders of academic libraries” said Perry.

Prior to becoming the Assistant Director of the NCCU Law Library, Perry served as the Reference/Electronic Services Librarian at the Kathrine R. Everett Law Library and as the Reference Instructional Librarian at the NCCU Law Library.

Perry is a member of the North Carolina State Bar.

Justia.Net is offering Free Web sites for Lawyers & Law Firms

3Ls, Don't miss this opportunity!!! If you are planning on opening your own law firm and your budget is tight, Justia is offering FREE Web sites for Lawyers & Law Firms.

All Web sites include:

1.Template Web Design
2.Search engine optimized pages

3.Firm Home Page

4.Practice Area Profiles

5.Firm Profile Page

6.Attorney Profiles

7.Web Resources Page and

8.Legal Articles Section

If you are interested go to www. Justia.net.

Library Etiquette

Students please remember to use proper library etiquette at all times (and especially during final exams)!

Remember:

• Do not leave your personal belongings unattended.
• Be considerate of those around you and keep noise to a minimum (i.e., lower the volume on your iPod, type gently on your laptop, etc.)
• Refrain from using your cell phone or having loud conversations while in the library.
• Hold study group meetings in appropriate locations (i.e., study rooms, the fishbowl, etc.)
• Avoid bringing food into the library and use spill-proof containers for your drinks.
• Return study materials promptly so that other students can use them.
• Do not attempt to reserve the library carrels -- they are first-come, first-serve.
  

Best of luck on your finals!

Happy World Intellectual Property Day!

Today is the day to celebrate intellectual property and all the ways it touches our lives. Intellectual property laws foster creativity and innovations that make our lives better - by protecting authors who pen great works of literature and inventors who design a machine that makes life easier.

The aims of World IP Day are:

• to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life;
• to increase understanding of how protecting IP rights helps promote creativity and innovation;
• to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies across the globe;
• to encourage respect for the IP rights of others.

To learn more about World IP Day check out the World Intellectual Property Organization's website and facebook page.
To learn more about notable dates in American copyright history, check out the Copyright Office's World IP Day page.

Justia Opinion Summaries Alert Service

Interested in staying current with trends in case law? You can sign up for the Free Justia Opinion Summaries and receive daily or weekly emails that meet your interests. You can receive emails by circuit (all Federal and select State Supreme Courts) or by practice area.

Sample Daily Summaries can be found here.

Sample Weekly Practice Area Summaries can be found here.

Countdown to the Bar Exam!!!!

3L's its about that time. Graduation is right around the corner and so is the Bar Exam. It's time to buckle down and get serious.

So, let's kick off your Bar Exam prep with a few helpful tips to jump start your planning process:

Tip 1: Make sure you are properly registered for your state bar,

Tip 2: Gather Old State Bar Exams (past 10 years) and Practice Multiple Choice Questions,

Tip 3: Prepare a study schedule and stick to it (Make sure you schedule breaks or days of rest), and

Tip 4: Make sure you extend your Lexis and Westlaw Passwords. Both databases are allowing graduating 3L's to extend their passwords until the July Bar Exam study period.

CALI.org experiencing technical difficulties

Some of you may have noticed that CALI's website went down this morning. According to Austin Groothuis, CALI Marketing & Communications Representative, the outage is a result of problems with Amazon EC2 (CALI's cloud service provider).

We realize that many of you would like to use CALI Lessons to prepare for finals and although we have no idea when CALI.org will be up and running again, we do have a solution -- CALI DVDs!

Please stop by the Law Library Reference Desk to get yours today.

White House Easter Egg Roll

To many, the White House Easter Egg Roll is a joyful American tradition. However, things weren't always so "joyful."

The first press account of an organized Easter Egg Roll was in 1872 on Capitol Hill. Between 1872 and 1875, the annual Easter Egg Roll practically destroyed the Capitol grounds. And in 1876, members of Congress proposed a bill banning "egg-rolling" at the Capitol. The "Turf Protection Law of 1876" was signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on April 21, 1876 and enforced by police in 1878 (no Easter Egg Rollers showed up in 1877 due to rain).

Reluctant to face thousands of upset children (including his own), President Rutherford B. Hayes decided to allow the event to be held on the South Lawn of the White House. Since then, the Easter Egg Roll has been held at the White House nearly every Easter Monday.

Over the past 100+ years, the White House has had thousands of visitors on this day. So to keep things orderly, Easter Egg Roll tickets are now distributed through an online lottery system. This year's 30,000 winners will head to the White House's South Lawn on Monday, April 25, 2011 between the hours of 7:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. First Lady Michelle Obama's theme for this year's event is: Get Up and Go!.

To read more about the history of the Easter Egg Roll, see this National Archives' article.

Need help selecting a study aid?

Feel the pressure of finals creeping up on you faster than you'd like?

Don't have your outlines done?

Having trouble spotting issues or memorizing rules?

Never fear - the Law Library is here! Currently on display in the Law Library are various types of study aids along with information sheets listing the pros, cons, and recommended uses for each type. Still not finding what you're looking for? Stop by the Reference Desk and talk with a friendly Reference Librarian today!

Tax Day

If you are interested in learning more about the history of tax day, Westlaw Insider has the history of income taxation.

Solo Practice Resources

Are you are interested in starting your own solo practice? If you are, the ABA General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division has a list of free resources, podcasts and helpful links to help jump start your business.

Go to : http://www.americanbar.org/groups/gpsolo/resources/start_run_a_law_firm.html

Using Fastcase Workshop

Are you looking for an affordable legal research database to use after graduation?

Fastcase features primary law from all 50 states; powerful “Googlized” searching capability; integrated citation analysis; and iPhone/iPad compatibility – all for an affordable price.

Interested in learning more about Fastcase? Please join us for a workshop!

Using Fastcase
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
6:30 – 7:20 p.m.
Law Library Conference Room

*Due to limited space, please sign-up via the NCCU Law Library TWEN page or at the Library’s Circulation Desk.

Law Library Spring Survey

It's that time of year again - time for surveys. This spring, the Law Library is conducting a short survey (it will take you less than 5 minutes) so we can assess our programming and other services. The Law Library strives to provide you with great service, and your participation in the survey will help us do that.

Please take a few minutes out of your day to help the Law Library help you. The survey can be found here or at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9QWRCRQ.

Thank you!

Once upon a time, law school was easier.

Want to test your wits against Harvard law professors from 1870 to 1995? Now you have your chance. Harvard's Law Library has made available to the public an archive of past exams. Not only can you now see how exams were in the 1870s (hint- law school was easier), but you can also use some of the more modern exams as practice questions for your upcoming finals... or at least read through them to see how the law has changed in the past 100 years.

If you are interested in checking out Harvard's exam archive, visit http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/deepLink?_collection=oasis&uniqueId=law00237 to learn more.

H/t to the Legal Skills Prof Blog and the online ABA Journal.

Thanks to the LexisNexis Legal Technology Blog for pointing this out!

A U.S. Federal Court recently found that information from Wikipedia is not considered reliable.


Here are a few of Judge Charles Simpson's comments:

"... The court reminds counsel that such cutting and pasting, without attribution, is plagiarism."

"... Finally, the court reminds counsel that Wikipedia is not an acceptable source of legal authority in the United States District Courts."

Keep in mind that if you find something on Wikipedia, you should verify it with a credible source, such as a book or a credible legal database.

Free Seminar!!! Advocating For Veterans!!!

Practising Law Institute is offering the following free seminar for law students and professionals:

Advocating for Veterans-the Basics on Benefits, Discharge Upgrades Cultural Competency.

When: May 6, 2011 @12:00PM

Where: Via Webcasts

If you are interested go to www.pli.edu

Congratulations to Bibi Gnagno!

Bibi is the winner of the Law Library's LibGuides are Life Savers iTunes gift card. Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Law Library on Monday to learn about LibGuides and how to use them to get ahead in law school.

The Law Library's LibGuide page is located at http://ncculaw.libguides.nccu.edu/. New content is added frequently, so the next time you are in a legal research bind - remember LibGuides!

Visit 'The Vault' to view FBI records

Working on a project involving Federal Bureau of Investigation research? Check out the FBI's new electronic reading room - The Vault. The Vault contains 2000+ electronic documents you can use to discover information about specific topics and people the FBI has investigated over the course of its history as well as locate documents like the Legal Handbook for FBI Special Agents. The Vault can be searched by topic or keyword and even contains 25 files never released to the public before. The FBI will continue adding new files on a regular basis, so check it out. You might find some interesting information for a seminar paper (or your next trivia night).

Stop by the Reference Desk to view LIBGUIDES and earn the chance to win an iTunes gift card!

The law library is hosting a Libguides launch party TODAY! Stop by the reference desk to learn more about these helpful web-based guides and you can also get some candy and be entered for a chance to win an iTunes gift card!

NCCU Law Library Libguides are available at http://ncculaw.libguides.nccu.edu/.

Faculty Services Librarian Michelle Cosby Contributes to RIPS Teach-In Kit

Congratulations to Michelle Cosby, our Faculty Services Librarian, for having a research guide (A Guide to Using Citation Tools) and a research exercise (Secondary Sources-Criminal) featured in this year's National Legal Research Teach-In Kit!


The Teach-In Kit is published annually by the Research Instruction and Patron Services Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries and features presentations, lessons, guides and other helpful information pertaining to Legal Research.


For more information, check out the Law Librarian Blog's recent post offering kudos to Prof. Cosby and the other Teach-In Kit contributors!

FREE BANKRUPTCY PRACTICE EBOOK

Interested in starting a Bankruptcy Practice?

If the answer is yes, then go to www. coloradobankruptcytraing.com and download your FREE EBOOK on "How to Start a Bankruptcy Practice ".