Use CALI to help you study

If you need additional study help or you would like to test your knowledge in a particular subject, try using CALI lessons. CALI activation codes and discs are available at the reference desk. If you have registered with CALI previously, click on the "forgot my password" link to retrieve your custom password. If you need help selecting a lesson, please see a reference librarian. Happy studying!

Planning for Success: Preparing a Finals Plan

Tomorrow marks the last day of classes before finals. For some of you, this might be your first set of law schools exams - take a deep breath, you will survive. For others, you are familiar with the stress of exams and have some ideas about how to study. However, no matter what your comfort level is when studying for exams, you can benefit from a finals preparation plan. If you are wondering how to create one, the Lawyerist recently posted a few useful tips for how to prepare for finals. It’s a short, but valuable article to read.

How to Create a Plan for Finals

Good luck!

The Legislative History of Thanksgiving

President George Washington issued the first Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789 but he didn’t issue another Thanksgiving Proclamation until 1795. President John Adams issued proclamations for a "Day of Fasting & Humiliation” in 1798 and 1799; and President James Madison issued Thanksgiving Proclamations 1814 and 1815. However, between 1816 and 1862, there were no Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamations issued.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation declaring the last Thursday of November “as a day of thanksgiving and praise.” Although Lincoln didn’t issue the first Thanksgiving Proclamation, his proclamation is significant because it marks the beginning of Annual Thanksgiving Holidays.

In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt thought that moving Thanksgiving forward a week would create more Christmas-related profit for businesses and help the Nation’s economy. Many people were against this idea and in August 1941, the House passed a bill designating Thanksgiving as the last Thursday in November. However, in October 1941, the Senate decided on a compromise, making Thanksgiving the 4th Thursday of the month. Roosevelt signed the bill on December 26, 1941, and since then Thanksgiving has been observed on the 4th Thursday of November.

To see the legislative history for yourself, search for “P.L. 77-379” or “55 Stat. 862” in LexisNexis Congressional.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our patrons!!!!

Survey Time!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HSLCRRB.

The Law Library is a Federal Depository Library. This means it receives materials from the Government covering many different areas – including the laws we research and work with every day. These materials are deposited to ensure the American public can access government information when it is needed. Currently, the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) is administering a survey to the users of depository libraries. With your help, the Law Library (and the FDLP) can learn the value of participating in the depository program. Please take a few minutes to complete the following survey located at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HSLCRRB.

Thank you!

Thanksgiving Week Library Hours

The Law Library will be observing the following hours during the week of November 22:

Monday 11/22 7:00am - Midnight
Tuesday 11/23 7:00am - Midnight
Wednesday 11/24 7:00am - 5:00pm
Thursday 11/25 CLOSED
Friday 11/26 CLOSED
Saturday 11/27 CLOSED

The Law Library will return to normal hours on Sunday 11/28 opening at 1:00pm.

During these times, NCCU Law Students still have access to the Law Library via their access card when the law building is open.

Preparing for Law School Exams

Finals are fast approaching. You’ve gone to class, taken notes, and maybe even completed all of the assigned reading. Now comes the time to prove to your professors you know the required information. Sounds easy enough right? Well, in case you do have some anxiety about preparing for finals – here are some helpful tips.

Before the exam:

• Use your time wisely. Sure procrastination is fun now, but during finals free time is rare and it’s better to take your time studying instead of cramming for everything the night before. Plan your exam calendar accordingly and make sure you have enough time to study for each of your exams.
• Review past exams. This will help you grow accustomed to your professor’s exam writing style and allow you to practice your issue spotting skills for the subject. This also allows you to compare your practice answer with the model answer or your study partners’ answers. If you have the time, it is also helpful to practice taking these exams under the same time constraints and conditions as your real exam.
• Review your class notes and outlines. Professors teach what they will test. This means you likely have the information you need for your exam in your notes and the outline you’ve hopefully been preparing all semester. Review these heavily, start memorizing, and condense information into a short outline or checklist you can easily remember when you are sitting in your exam.
• Treat open book exams like closed book exams. You might have a book with you when you are taking the exam, but by studying like it is a closed book exam you won’t waste time looking up information you should already know.
• Take care of yourself. Make sure you are getting plenty of rest and eating properly. No one takes their best exam when they are overtired, hungry, or sick.

During the exam:

• Read the exam directions. No one wants to be penalized for something simple like going over a page or word limit.
  
• Make sure you read the question more than once. Read the question several times. This will help you spot issues, learn the facts, and understand the call of the question. The more comfortable you are with the question, the better the answer you can write.
• Before you write, plan your answer. Seems simple enough, but students often fail to do this. Professors like organized answers. It’s hard to do that if you start writing immediately. Take a few minutes to outline your answer. Who knows – you might even spot an issue you missed when you were reading the question.
• Answer the question that is asked. The professor expects you to answer the question they asked, not the question you wanted them to ask.
• IRAC. Identify the issue. State the rule. Make your analysis clear and thorough. State your conclusion and why you’ve come to that conclusion. You need to write clearly so the professor knows you learned the materials. Also, by following this formula, you are able to show your work – something else professors want.
• Anticipate counterarguments. Answer them. There are two sides to every story. Anticipating and addressing counterarguments shows the professor you’ve considered the alternatives to your chosen argument.
• Use your allotted time wisely. Keep track of the time. If a professor has a suggested time limit for a question, try to follow it. You’ve studied hard, so take your time and prove to the professor you’ve learned the material.

After the exam:

• Don’t talk to anyone about the exam. You are done with the exam. Walk away and stop thinking about it.
• Take some time for down time. Your brain functions best when you are well rested. So take the night off and start studying for your next exam in the morning. Your body and your brain will thank you.

Good luck with exams!

Welcome Patricia M. Dickerson, Student Services Librarian!

Patricia M. Dickerson joins the NCCU Law Library staff this week as the new Student Services/Reference Librarian. Before her arrival at NCCU, Patricia worked at the Ray & Kay Eckstein Law Library at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a Reference Librarian and at Hamline University School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota as a Reference Librarian and Circulation Assistant.

Ms. Dickerson received her Juris Doctor from Hamline University in 2009 and recently completed her Master of Library and Information Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in May 2010. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Ms. Dickerson is active in the American Association of Law Libraries and looks forward to working with students here at NCCU.