Need to enhance your resume? The Law Library Research Fellow program has an opening for a 2L or 3L Cornell Law School student. Fellows conduct research for faculty who do not have their own research assistant, or who need additional help with a project. Research Fellows’ hours are extremely flexible, and they have the same pay rate as research assistants working directly for faculty. To apply, send your resume via email directly to Matt Morrison.
Students, please be aware that the CALI website will be down for scheduled maintenance on Sunday, September 2 from 8:00 am to Noon, Eastern Time. This maintenance will affect all components of the site. After 12, everything will return to full operation.
Aug 292012
The library is implementing a new carrel reservation system this year, as follows:
• Carrels located on the first, fourth, new ground, and basement floors may be reserved for one semester at a time by 2Ls, 3Ls, LLMs, and exchange students.
• Students must sign up in person to reserve carrels on a first-come, first-served basis. The sign-up period will span two days. The first day is reserved for students who are serving on journals or working for a professor. The second day is open to the remainder of the students identified above.
• Each carrel must be shared by two students. Students may choose a carrel partner or elect to have the library assign one.
• Carrels located on the second floor may not be reserved and are available daily on a first-come, first served basis.
• STUDENTS MAY SIGN UP FOR CARRELS ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, and THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6. Please come to Janet Gillespie’s office, room 352, in person, between the hours of 8am-12pm and 1pm-5pm. (Please note that Janet also works shifts at the circulation desk, so you may occasionally find her there.) All carrels are numbered. A map of the carrels will be made available with the signup form for easy identification.
• All questions may be directed via e-mail or telephone to Janet Gillespie (607-255-5854).
The law library has launched a one year pilot of OverDrive, a service offering downloadable popular and classic e-audiobooks and e-books, for Cornell Law School students, faculty, and staff.
For instructions on getting started and to browse the collection, please go to http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/WhatWeHave/Overdrive.cfm to sign in with your NetID and password. E-books and e-audiobooks can be downloaded to your PC, Mac®, and many mobile devices, including iPads, iPods, and Kindles. Since titles will automatically expire at the end of the lending period, there are no late fees.
Comments? Title suggestions? Please let us know what you think of this new service!
We have posted our new books list for August 1-15. Among the many new titles is The Shareholder Value Myth, by Lynn Stout, Cornell Law School’s Distinguished Professor of Corporate & Business Law.
Aug 222012
Today only, the rulebook™ app is offering free downloads of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Appellate Procedure and Bankruptcy Procedure and the U.S. Supreme Court Rules for your iPhone or iPad. Each set of rules normally costs $1.99. The app itself is free — just install the app and then download the rules. The app allows searching, highlighting, annotating, and bookmarking, and you can also keep multiple rules open at the same time.
Rulebook™ is also be the only place you can download the Bluebook to your iOS device. It’s $39.99 via the free app.
If you decide to use rulebook™, be sure to let the library know what you think of its interface and functionality. Thanks!
Aug 202012
The Law Library will host an open house for 1L’s, LLMs and exchange students tomorrow, Tuesday, August 21, from noon to 2:30pm. Join us to meet our staff, pick up some swag, and be introduced to a variety of helpful resources and services, including:
- Lexis, Westlaw & Bloomberg passwords
- Cool stuff to borrow
- After Hours Access
- Rare Book Room
- Interlibrary Loan & Borrow Direct
- Upper Level Research Courses
- Eating Area
- How to use our catalog
- Library website & subject-specific databases
- Where and how to check out course reserves
- And more!
Aug 172012
To our new students, faculty, and staff–welcome! And to those returning, welcome back!
We were pleased to meet the incoming LL.M. students at their orientation this week. We’re now looking forward to meeting the new J.D. students at our Open House on Tuesday.
The library has seen some changes over the summer. The blog’s name has changed: We’re now InfoBrief. Two of our research librarians, Pat Court and Jean Callihan, retired at the beginning of the summer, and a new librarian, Dan Blackaby, joined us in mid-July as the Technology Services Librarian. A new scanner in the Reading Room makes saving book and journal pages and other documents easier. Soft seating will soon be installed in alcove 4 of the Reading Room, and the Eating Area has new furniture too.
The Reading Room windows offer a great view of the construction in progress in the courtyard. And a new exhibit, also in the Reading Room, includes pictures of previous law school buildings and construction projects. (Our website also has information about our building and its history.)
And finally, Cornell University has been named a top 5 outdoor university by the magazine Outside, a reminder to enjoy our beautiful setting in Ithaca and the Finger Lakes region.
Aug 102012
The Cornell University pilot online participation initiative 
Regulation Room announced this morning it has opened a space for public comment on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau‘s proposed rules (regulations) about new consumer mortgage protections. These proposals are prompted by problems revealed during the mortgage crisis:
“The CFPB’s rules would help ensure that mortgage companies communicate effectively with borrowers, keep good account records, and avoid certain practices that harm consumers. The proposed rules focus on ensuring that all consumers receive accurate and timely information about the status of their home mortgages, and that borrowers who are in trouble are told about their options for receiving help.”
If you’re not yet familiar with Regulation Room, it’s designed and operated by the Cornell eRulemaking Initiative (CeRI) and hosted by the Legal Information Institute (LII). CeRI experiments with how Web 2.0 outreach and participation technologies can expand the kinds of voices that take part in federal agency policy-making. Regulation Room visitors will find the 800+ pages of CFPB explanation organized and condensed into 10 “issues posts,” written in plain language with links to a glossary and primary documents. The unique targeted commenting function allows users to link their comments to specific topics, and to have threaded discussion with others. Student moderators, trained in group facilitation techniques, mentor effective commenting and stimulate discussion. Regulation Room will send a detailed summary of the comments to CFPB. Particular target audiences for this discussion are individual consumers and small community banks and credit unions.
To learn more about Regulation Room and CeRI, read Cornell University Law School‘s Spotlight and Regulation Room’s About.
