Inclement Weather Policy

The law school's official policy on inclement weather appears below. If you are scheduled to work and the library is open, you are expected to arrive on time. Please call me, Maya, or Mike to let us know whether you will be able to make it here for your shift. Please be sure you have our home and cell phone numbers with you.

In the event of inclement weather, we will communicate information about the operating status of the law school and the law library in three ways:
E-mail notice via the law school listservs
Notice on the law school web site
Recording on the law school main telephone number (703-993-8000).

For a weather event that develops overnight, we will try to make a decision and have it communicated before 7:30 a.m. the next morning.

Important note: The law school and the rest of the university do not always respond to a weather event in the same way. As a result, you should rely on one of the aforementioned means of communication from the law school to learn the operating status of the law school and the law library. Do not rely on public announcements made by the media or by the university because those announcements might not apply to the law school.

Happy Thanksgiving

Have a safe and happy holiday. No matter how much work you have to do before exams, take a break and enjoy some time with family and friends.

We will be closing tomorrow (Wednesday) at 6:00 and reopening Saturday from noon to 6:00. Normal hours resume on Sunday, November 27.

Old Exams

We have a small collection of old exams given by our professors. The most recent exams are located in the course reserves filing cabinet. The older exams (pre-1999) are located in bound books at the bottom of the audio reserves shelves.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Audiovisual Equipment for the Atrium

There is new equipment and a new procedure.

Event planners may check out the following items at the Circulation desk: Key to the Atrium a/v closet (room 110); Microphones (one handheld and one lavaliere), and Microphone Stand. All items are barcoded and kept in/near the filing cabinet behind the Circulation desk.

Patrons wishing to borrow any of these items must show a copy of their event confirmation form. Check out is handled the same as for any other library item.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Exams are Coming!

A couple of things to keep in mind:

Study rooms - beginning on Saturday, November 19, peak usage rules apply. Use of the seven smaller rooms requires a minimum of two users, while the two large conference rooms require at least four. These rooms must be reserved in advance, and we do take reservations over the phone.

After hours study halls - Although they are not run by the library, we get questions about this. Rooms 120 & 121 are available until 2:00 am. Students must be in the building before 11:00 pm (when the building closes), and must have a current GMUSL ID card with them.

Please start thinking about your work schedules for exams and the holidays. Maya and Mike will be in touch with details. Thank you all for keeping the library running so smoothly!

Punctuality

Being on time for work is important. Please make every effort to be punctual. If you are going to be late, please call the Circ Desk at 703-993-8120 or the supervisors at 703-993-8237/8. Traffic is not an acceptable excuse for being late on a regular basis; please plan ahead.

Discharging Items

Please be sure to discharge all items that have barcodes, especially study room keys and reserve items. Remember, fines for these items accrue by the minute.

Columbus Day & LRWA

Although there are no classes, the library will be open as usual on Monday, Oct. 10 (8 am to 11pm).


Next week, the first year students begin working with the state materials on the second floor. Please pay special attention to shelving and shelf reading in these areas, as they will get a lot of usage over the next few weeks.

Getting Paid!

In order to get paid, you must submit your hours both on paper and online. Get in the habit of recording your time in both places during each shift you work. Please be mindful of the deadlines for submitting wage hours - alternate Tuesdays before noon. The next due date is October 18. See the complete calendar here - http://hr.gmu.edu/time/calendar.html.

LRWA Exercises

First year students will be turning in their homework for the secondary source classes at the Circulation Desk. There is a box on the shelves behind the desk for this purpose. I will pick them up. Thanks!

Research Classes Begin Next Week

Next week, Rae Best and I will be teaching the first year students how to use secondary sources. The students will use AmJur, CJS, ALR, & the Restatements to answer several questions. These collections will get a lot of use over the next two weeks, so please shelf read these areas during your shift, and ensure that everything is shelved properly. Thanks!

Time for a little levity

It looks as if the a/c & power issues have been resolved. Thanks for your patience & help during this weird week.

And now, something that never fails to make me smile, no matter what kind of a day I'm having (provided I can get my PC to work!): http://www.millikin.edu/staley/fluff/peep_research.html

Interlibrary Loan Options

There are 3 possibilities for borrowing materials not owned by the GMU Law Library. 1) First check our catalog to determine if another GMU library owns the item. If so, use the Intercampus Lending online forms to request the item. 2) Second, check the WRLC catalog, Aladin. The Washington Research Library Consortium is comprised of DC-area university libraries and requests are made directly through Aladin. 3) Finally, if the requested item is not available through GMU or WRLC, submit a request for Interlibrary Loan to the Reference Desk. Our ILL specialist will locate the materials and contact you.

The forms, along with full details on these options are posted on the law library web page at http://law.gmu.edu/libtech/ill.html. Questions? Contact one of the reference librarians: Christine, Iva, or Paul.

Assistive Technology

Equipment to assist patrons with disabilities is available at the Arlington Campus Library (in the original building). Here is a link to the equipment available: http://library.gmu.edu/libinfo/Assistive.PDF

Law library patrons may check out our materials (even if they normally do not circulate) and take them over to the Arlington library for use. Public patrons must leave a current photo ID at the law library circulation desk while using these materials.

As always, please let me, Maya, or Mike know if you have questions.

CALI CDs

Starting today, CDs with the complete CALI lessons will be available to first year law students. There will be a list of all 1L students; please check off their names when you give them a CD.

In a few weeks, the remaining CDs will be available to all other law students.

Pay Increases

For those of you employed at GMU before May 25, 2005, a 3% pay increase will take effect on November 27, 2005. The increase will appear on your December 23 paychecks.

New Policies and Procedures

Computer Lab Access Codes – codes are pre-assigned ONLY to new LAW students (1Ls, transfers, foreign exchange students, LLMs). Returning students will be assigned a code at their request. Visitors will be assigned a code at their request, and visitor codes are not valid for a semester (instead of a month). Everyone must complete an Access Code Agreement. Please see the instructions posted by the lab code boxes and binders.

After Hours Study Hall - the law school has arranged with campus police to provide an after-hours study hall to accommodate those students who wish to remain in the building after the law library has closed. The study hall will be confined to rooms 120/121 on the ground level. After the doors to the building have been locked at 11:00pm, students who are already in the building will be allowed to use the study hall until 2:00am. They must be in the building by 11:00pm, the police will not let them into the building after the doors have been locked. This service will be available 7 days a week. As a change from last year, no passes or pre-registration are needed. Instead, students need only show their current GMU ID. Persons without a current GMU ID will be asked to leave.

We will send out an e-mail to all students reminding them of study hall availability.

Welcome Back!

We've missed you over the summer. You will notice some changes upon your arrival. First and foremost is the addition of Michael Queen as our new daytime Circulation Manager.

Second is the creation of this blog. This will be the primary mechanism by which Maya, Michael, and I will communicate with you, so please check in often and share your thoughts with us.

As we kick off the new school year, I want to thank each of you for your hard work and dedication. Your work at the circulation desk is essential to the smooth operation of the library and we all appreciate your efforts.