Library Water Bottles for Students

You may have seen some students walking around with library water bottles. All upper class students (day and evening 2Ls, 3Ls, 4Ls) can stop by the reference desk and get their water bottle. The water bottles contain the contact information for the library circulation desk and reference desk. Additionally, you will have a wonderful approved beverage container to use while you study. Stop by the desk today or tomorrow!

Free PACER Training

Once you graduate law school, you may find yourself needing to use PACER to access court documents. PACER stands for Public Access to Court Electronic Records. It provides users with access to case and docket information from federal district and bankruptcy courts along with the federal appellate courts.

Registering for PACER access is free, however researching within PACER is not. The cost of accessing PACER materials is currently $0.08/page and it was recently announced it will soon to be rising to $0.10/page. This increase will impact how many users interface with PACER, but fear not Legal Eagles, there is hope. For PACER users not accruing more than $10/quarterly billing cycle ($15/quarterly billing cycle when the new rate takes effect), PACER access is FREE. Also, PACER is now offering FREE training via a new site that is populated with real court documents. This site allows users to learn how to use PACER and sharpen their PACER skills to help them keep costs down.

If you are interested in learning more about PACER, please visit: http://www.pacer.gov/. If you are interested in learning how to use PACER or already are a PACER user but want to work on your searching skills to keep costs down, please visit: https://dcecf.psc.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/ShowIndex.pl.

Focus on the Reference Desk

You may see us without noticing us...your reference librarians sitting at the reference desk. You may even wonder what is the purpose of the reference desk, or even what we do. To be succinct, our purpose at the reference desk is to help you find information. So, come up and ask your research questions! We are happy to help.

But besides in-person communication, we also available via instant messaging. If you live off campus and cannot make it into the library, simply click on "chat with a reference librarian," and you can ask your question via AIM, Yahoo, or MSN messenger. You can also contact us via email or by telephone. There is, however, one caveat: We do not provide any legal advice.

More information on our reference services can be found at http://law.nccu.edu/library/reference-services/ .
Please come and see us!

Seminar Topics...Oh My!

The semester is moving along quickly, and for those of you in seminars, it is time to start researching your topic. Your library is the place to go for help in starting, help in researching, and help in general. For those who may be struggling with finding a topic, the library offers LibGuides. LibGuides are online research guides that information about the library's print and online sources. We offer a variety of LibGuides, ranging from Constitutional law and First Amendment resources to Environmental law and Intellectual Property, among others. Check them out at http://ncculaw.libguides.nccu.edu/.  Look for your subject specific LibGuide by entering the subject name in the search box.

And for those who've chosen their subject but are having difficulty beginning their research, we have a variety of secondary sources that can help you get off and running. We have current legal encyclopedias, ALRs, and Restatements. Treatises, hornbooks, and Nutshells can be found in the online catalog, and legal periodicals can be researched via our online resources, available through our e-resources page at http://law.nccu.edu/library/electronic-resources/. For those who are looking for legal periodicals, see what HeinOnline, LegalTrac, or Index to Legal Periodicals have to offer.

Finally, for those of you who might need some general reference help, don't forget about your reference librarians. We can help you get started on your research, as well as show you some outstanding (and helpful) resources along the way. Our reference desk is open from 9am to 9 pm Monday through Thursday, and from 9 am to 5 pm on Friday. During the semester, we also have Sunday hours from 1pm to 5 pm. And for those who commute and who may find it difficult to make it to campus, we also offer instant messaging reference services!

So, don't forget, your library is here and waiting to help you with your seminar research needs!

Happy Constitution Day!

Constitution Day celebrates the signing of the United States Constitution 224 years ago on September 17^th, 1787. Not only does Constitution Day celebrate the signing of the Constitution, but it also serves as a day to recognize all who, by coming of age or completing the naturalization process, are citizens of the United States of America. This year’s Constitution Day theme is Federal Courts: Guardians of the Constitution. Every federal judge in the United States is required to take an oath of office as required by the Judiciary Act of 1789. The text of the oath is as follows:

"I, _________ (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as a __________ (title) under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God."

If you’d like to see an interesting short video of about the oath, check out the U.S. Court’s Constitution Day website. The video shows federal judges saying the oath and discussing what it means to them.

Due to Constitution Day falling on a Saturday this year, most institutions are celebrating today, September 16^th. The NCCU Law Library is celebrating by giving away free pocket U.S. Constitutions courtesy of the Law Library and LexisNexis as well as showcasing several of our resources on constitutional law and the federal courts. Please feel free to stop by and pick up a free U.S. Constitution and check out the various materials we have on display.

Learn more about HeinOnline

Stop by the Fishbowl on Thursday September 15 from Noon-2pm and learn more about HeinOnline!

HeinOnline is a great service because you can get historic versions of documents in addition to current versions in PDF format. HeinOnline has law review articles, CFRs, and even information related to Moot Court. For a complete list of products offered through HeinOnline please click here. Remember, when accessing HeinOnline off campus, you must be logged into Web VPN. For directions on accessing Web VPN, please click here.

For additional information on HeinOnline, you can check out their YouTube Channel.

Kicking Off Your New Semester - Library Workshops and Free Federal Rules E-Books at CALI

Now that the semester is underway, it is time for us at the Library to begin our monthly workshop schedule. Your library is dedicated to promoting resources and services to our student body, and one way that we do this is by presenting practical workshops highlighting a certain resource or giving an overview of several resources.

This month, the Workshop Season kicks off with an Introduction to E-Resources. For our 1Ls, this quick (1/2 hour) workshop is purposed to introduce to you our long list of E-Resources. For 2 and 3Ls, this workshop is purposed to refresh your memory on an important part of the Library's collection. Introduction to E-Resources will take place at 2 pm in Room 205. I hope to see you there!

Oh, and did I mention free Federal Rules e-books - I believe I did!  CALI (Computer Assisted Legal Instruction) is offering free Federal Rules E-Books. Just go to www.cali.org and click on the Federal Rules E-Book box. (It should be noted that while CALI is offering these books for free, they are asking for a voluntary donation to offset the cost.)

HORNBOOKS!!!

1Ls are you having trouble understanding your casebooks? Do you need to supplement what you are reading? Well stop by the Law Library and check out a Hornbook. What are Hornbooks? Hornbooks are secondary sources that analyze and explain a single area of the law(i.e.. Torts.) They are excellent supplements for your casebooks. So 1Ls if you are interested, you can find a list of helpful First Year Law School Resources at:

http://ncculaw.libguides.nccu.edu/firstyearlawschoolresourceguide

If you need any additional help, stop by the reference desk and ask one of our friendly reference librarians for assistance.

DVD Collection is now here!

The Law Library now has a DVD collection filled with many popular movies with a law theme. Come check it out! Watching a movie is a great way to take a break from studying. The DVD location is located on the first floor of the library by the study tables. You can also view the available titles on our DVD LibGuide available at http://ncculaw.libguides.nccu.edu/dvdcollection.

DVDs circulate for 3 days. In order to check out a DVD we have created a process similar to Blockbuster: retrieve the case from DVD display and take it to the Circulation Desk. They will put the DVD in the case and check it out to you.

You can also make recommendations. Find a popcorn bowl located through out the library and let us know what you would like to see in the DVD collection.