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.

Goodbye and Good Luck

Best of luck on your final exams and summer jobs.

A special congratulations to our graduates: Erick Helenihi, Ron Hur, and Mark McNally. You did it!

Library Usage Statistics

We would like to keep track of the number of people using the Library during the early morning and evening hours.

I've posted a chart by the study-room sign up sheet. Please fill it in for the times listed that take place during your shift. We also want to track usage mid-day during the weekends.

Questions? Comments? Let me know - thanks!!

Library Fine Amnesty Week

In honor of National Library Week, April 16-20, we will forgive up to $10 in fines per patron. To qualify, they MUST have returned all overdue books.

Please contact me, Mike, or Maya for help with forgiving fines. You will need to use the supervisor's access code.

ABA Site Visit

The American Bar Association visits each fully-accredited law school once every seven years. They will be here at Mason from Sunday, March 25 to Wednesday, March 28.

Please pay special attention to the condition of the library as you shelve over the next week. We want to ensure that everything is as neat and orderly as possible. Thank you.

Please Don't Make Me Yell at You

Some of you are diligent about recording your time in the binder and on Patriot Web, and for that I am very grateful. Your attention to detail makes the circulation desk run smoothly.

As for the rest of you . . . . .

Please, every time you work a shift, fill out your time sheet both in print and on Patriot Web. It will take 5 minutes, and remove the need for nagging reminders. Thanks.

Spring Break

This year, spring break is March 10 to March 17. Please let us know immediately whether you can work your normally-scheduled shifts. We will assume that you can, unless we hear otherwise. Thanks.

Time sheets are due Friday

Please submit your time sheets (paper and on PatriotWeb) before noon on Friday, February 16.

Year-End Time Sheets

Your hours for the last pay period of 2006 (12/10 - 12/23) MUST be entered into PatriotWeb by 11:59 am on MONDAY, 12/18. Filling out the paper time sheet at the circulation desk is not a substitute for entry into PatriotWeb.

Because it is the last pay period of the year, I cannot accept any late submissions, so please be on time.

Good Luck on Your Exams!!!

This time of year, we get questions on study rooms and old exams. A couple of things to keep in mind:

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.

Study rooms - During exams, 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.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As you know, the library will be closed Wednesday - Friday for the Thanksgiving break. We will reopen on Saturday at noon and resume normal hours on Sunday.

Thank you all for the good work that you do. Have a safe and joyous holiday.

Westlaw Classes

The librarians are teaching Westlaw to the 1Ls this week. Classes are at noon, 4:00 and 8:00 pm. All classes meet in room 222 - the electronic classroom outside the library. Questions about registration should be directed to Iva or Paul.

Motivational CPR

This time of year is particularly tough on law students in their second or third years. The 1L newness has worn off, you're tired, and there is waaaaaaaay too much to do. This article on mid-semester doldrums has lots of useful tips to address boredom and burn-out, and keep yourself motivated and healthy. Hang in there!

New Seating Policy

Due to increased demand for seating in the Library, carrels are now reserved for law student use only. Non-GMUSL patrons should use the tables instead of the carrels.

Library Classes for 1Ls

This week, the librarians are teaching case research to 1Ls as part of their LRWA class. See the schedule here.

Please pay particular attention to the second floor when shelving this week; they will be using the digests and reporters.