PAST Program

PAST is a summer program here at the law school. These students are not regular enrollees and will not have the usual IDs. They DO have access to the computer labs.

Please verify their names on the enrollee list and give them a visitor code.

Questions?

Questions about policies and procedures should be directed to one of the circulation supervisors - Mike, Maya, or me. With Maya off for the next few weeks, please call me or Mike at home if necessary. I would much rather that you call me with questions than hear about a problem after the fact, so please do not hesitate. Thank you!

Welcome New Circulation Assistants

We have two new faces at the circulation desk this summer. Welcome to the law library!

Kathryn Boylan, 2L-UNC Chapel Hill: BS Business Adminstration

Joan Rothenberg, 4E-Rutgers Univ: MS Food Science; Central Michigan Univ: MA Business Management; Univ of Florida: BS Agriculture/Food Science

Summer Hours

Hours have changed for the summer semester. We open at 9am instead of 8am during the week, and close earlier on Friday and Saturday nights. Current hours are listed on the law library's web site.

Peak Usage for Study Rooms

Exams are coming . . . effective Friday, April 18, peak usage rules apply:

1. The smaller study rooms require a minimum of 2 people; the larger ones require a minimum of 4 people.
2. Rooms may not be reserved for more than 4 hours at a time.
3. A group of students may not collectively sign up a room for more than 4 hours per day.
4. Study rooms can be reserved up to one week in advance.
   
5. We do take reservations over the phone.
6. These rules apply to all students, including the ones who work at the Circulation Desk.
   

Swipe Cards & Access

Just a reminder: student workers may use their swipe cards only when they are working. Student workers must use the main doors at all other times.

In addition, after-hours access is not permitted for student workers. When responsible for closing the library, you should be out of the library no more than 15 minutes after the closing time.

As always, if you have questions or comments about library policies, please see me, Maya, or Mike.

First Year Moot Court Competition

Congratulations to our very own Tyler Brannon for advancing to the next round of the First Year Competition. Well done!!

Paychecks & Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend at 2:00 am Sunday, March 9. Please don't forget to turn your clocks forward (especially if you are working on Sunday!)

Also, please fill in your time sheet via Patriot Web before you leave for spring break. HR no longer accepts paper time sheets so if you don't use Patriot Web, I can't pay you.

Have a safe but fun spring break! I hope you get to take some time off and relax.

Special Hours for Spring Break

Just a reminder that hours change over spring break, Saturday, March 8 to Saturday, March 15.

Sunday: noon to 11pm
Mon. - Thurs.: 8am to 11pm
Friday: 8am to 6pm
Saturday: noon to 6pm

Normal hours resume on Sunday, March 16.

Inclement Weather Policy

Just a reminder about the law school's policy on inclement weather.

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 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.

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.

Welcome Back

Happy New Year! I hope you had a joyous holiday.

We have extended the library hours on Saturday evenings and will now be open until 10pm.

Thank you all for your hard work and support. We could not run the library without you.

Extended Hours for the Exam Period

Good luck on your exams!!

Exams: Friday, Nov. 30 - Wednesday, Dec. 19

Sunday	10:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Monday - Friday	8:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Saturday	9:00 AM - 11:00 PM

Make-Up Exams: Thursday, Dec. 20 - Friday, Dec. 21

Thursday	8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Friday	8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Study Rooms

As exams approach, demand for study rooms increases significantly. Beginning on Sunday, November 25, we will observe peak usage rules for the group study rooms.

A minimum of two users is required for the smaller study rooms, and four users are required for the larger study rooms (248 and 356). Use is limited to one four hour period per day, per group.

Thanksgiving Hours

We will be closed on Thursday and Friday for the holiday, and open shorter hours on Wednesday and Saturday.

Wednesday, Nov. 21	8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday, Nov. 22	CLOSED
Friday, Nov. 23	CLOSED
Saturday, Nov. 24	Noon - 6:00 PM
Sunday, Nov. 25	11:00 AM - 11:00 PM

LRWA Research

The LRWA open memo project involves four jurisdictions:

• Florida
  
• Illinois
  
• Maryland
  
• North Carolina
  

When shelving, please pay special attention to these jurisdictions, as well as to the general legal research materials:

• American Jurisprudence
• Corpus Juris Secundum
• American Law Reports

Thanks for you help.

Banned Books Week

September 29 to October 6 is Banned Books Week. This annual event is sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA). In 2006, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) received a total of 546 challenges. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. Public libraries, schools and school libraries report the majority of challenges to OIF.

Celebrate your freedom to read! Click here for more information on books that have been banned or challenged.

“If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” ---- Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., in Texas v. Johnson

Welcome New Circulation Assistants

We have several new faces at the circulation desk.  Welcome to the law library!

Tyler Brannon, 1L-Auburn Univ: BA Economics

George Ingham, 1L-William & Mary: BA Economics

Joann Kim, Int'l Commerce and Policy-GMU: BA Global Affairs

Ashley Lyon, 1L-Univ. of Missouri: BS Agriculture Economics

Seth Whitaker, 2L-Brigham Young: BA Political Science

Welcome Back

Just a quick note to say how happy I am to have you all back working the Circulation Desk. The peace and quiet of summer gets a little lonely.

Mike and Maya are reviewing applications now and we expect to hire several new students in the coming weeks. Also, Emily has been hired as a permanent part-time circulation assistant and will be covering several shifts each week.

Best of luck in your studies!

Library Privileges for Recent Graduates

Law students who graduated last month retain their library privileges through the summer. They may borrow books and use study rooms until their IDs expire on September 30, 2007.

BARBRI Students

BARBRI classes are being offered here at Mason. These students are given IDs by BARBRI and so long as they are wearing their ID tags, there is no need for them to sign in at the Circulation desk to use the library. Please contact me if you have any questions.