On the 200th Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, take a minute to check out our extensive collection on this lawyer President, who appears to be the inspiration of our current President. Here are some of the most recent publications we have acquired on Lincoln

E457.2 .P65 2009The Political Lincoln : An Encyclopedia, by Paul Finkelman, Martin J. Hershock, editors Washington, D.C. : CQPress, c2009

PS504 .L56 2009The Lincoln Anthology : Great Writers on his Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now , edited by Harold Holzer [New York] : Library of America, c2009

KF8742 .M32 2008 Lincoln and the Court, by Brian McGinty Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2008

E457.2 .M645 2008, President Lincoln : The Duty of a Statesman, by William Lee Miller New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2008

E457.2 .D575 2007 Lincoln the Lawyer, by Brian Dirck Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c2007

E457.2 .S8 2006 An Honest Calling : The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln, by Mark E. Steiner DeKalb : Northern Illinois University Press, c2006

To locate our entire collection, conduct a Subject search on Gulliver for:

Lincoln, Abraham

Also, the Law Library of Congress has prepared a website on Lincoln and the Law, which links to historical documents in their digital collection focusing on the legal career of Lincoln, as well as transcripts of the trials of the conspirators in Lincoln’s assassination.

In addition to the Georgetown Law art exhibit on Lincoln, other Washington institutions are celebrating the Bicentennial this weekend. Here are just a few that we’re located:

Smithsonian Institution’s celebration of Lincoln’s Bicentennial

Ford’s Theater: Grand Reopening

Library of Congress

National Archives: Display of the Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln Memorial

According to 36 U.S.C. 106, "September 17 is designated as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day" to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787.

Check out the law library's Guide to Constitution Day which outlines resources available in commemoration of the day.

Also, Georgetown University is sponsoring a program to commemorate our founding document, entitled "Constitution Day: Constitution, Courts, Checks and Balance" This event, open to the public, features the following speakers:

• Hon. Seth Waxman, Solicitor General of the United States (1997-2001)
• Hon. Viet Dinh, Asst. Attorney General of the U.S. (2001-2003) & Georgetown Law Professor
• Hon. Brett Kavanaugh, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• Hon. Patricia Wald, former Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• Moderated by: Joan Biskupic, Supreme Court reporter, USA Today

The New York Times recently featured an article on the new web-based Civics lesson being prepared by the Law Center, in conjunction with former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Arizona State University.

The "Our Courts" Project was created to help those seeking to address the evident crisis in civics education. It will be an interactive,  problem-based Civics curriculum designed for the middle school environment. While not completely interactive as yet, it currently contains numerous links offering key definitions, discussion on the branches of government and structure of the courts.

In the article, Justice O'Connor said that most citizens know very little about their government. "Two-thirds of Americans know at least one of the judges on the Fox TV show American Idol, but less than 1 in 10 can name the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, she said."

During the Spring 2008 semester, the Law Library conducted a survey asking students to comment on various aspects of the library.  740 students responded, providing more than 1,500 separate responses. The Library is reviewing all feedback, and we plan to publish a detailed response during the summer. For now, we've posted several charts summarizing the results. View 2008 Survey Results on our website here.

One of the more interesting results from the survey is a list of reasons people come to our library.  The top reason is to study in a queit environment, followed by conducting research.  Beyond that, it's nice to know that people continue to use the library for more traditional uses, such as checking out books and getting reference assistance.

The TaxProf Blog has posted a list of law school commencement speakers for 2008.

Georgetown traditionally announces the speaker a few weeks before the ceremony. See the announcements for 2007 (Nina Totenberg), 2006 (John Roberts) and 2005 (Lee Hamilton).

1993 Georgetown Law graduate Min Jin Lee will read from and sign copies of her debut novel, Free Food for Millionaires, this Friday, April 18th at Olsson's Books and Records in Dupont Circle at 7 pm.  A synopsis of the story and additional information. The book can be found in the Library's Popular Reading Collection housed in the Loewinger Lounge.

The Law Library of Congress will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Law Day on May 1st with a panel discussion entitled, "The Rule of Law in Established and Emerging Countries." Georgetown Law Professor Jane Stromseth will be one of the panelists. 

Law Day is a celebration of the appreciation of U.S. liberties and loyalty to the country, as well as a "rededication to the ideals of equality and justice under law with each other and with other countries." 36 U.S.C. 113 (2000).

Here's a list of other commemorative observances you may not know about.

I was pleasantly surprised to see not one, but two, articles featuring Georgetown University Law Center in my April issue of the Washingtonian Magazine. The first article highlights Prof. Lisa Heinzerling as one of the 30 "Green Powers" in the DC area for her work on the Supreme Court case, Massachusetts vs. EPA. The second article features the photographer who recently created the panoramic photos of the Law Center featured on the GULC website.

So, when I wanted to share these articles with a colleague, I checked the magazine's website and found out that the current month's articles are not electronically available. I then went to our E-Journal Finder to see if the articles were available through some other online source. While E-Journal Finder indicated that the Washingtonian Magazine was available on both Lexis and Westlaw, a search of these resources found that the April 2008 issue was not yet available.

Many magazines, such as the Washingtonian, embargo their material so that online resources don't take away from their print circulation. So, if you have a minute, check out the April 2008 issue of the Washingtonian, kept in the Loewinger Lounge or on Reserve at the Circulation Desk in the Williams Library and remember that not everything is available online.

The Law Library is currently conducting a survey of all Georgetown law students to get feedback on our services and materials.  We're also looking for feedback on our facilities and a few other library-related items.  Take the 2008 Law Library Survey here.

One lucky student completing the survey will win a free Apple iPod touch (8 GB).  We promise to read every comment submitted, and we'll do what we can to act on and respond to your feedback.  We'll keep the survey open through April 6 and select the winner of the Apple iPod touch the following week. Don't put off taking the survey until the last minute.  It should only take a few minutes to complete.

Here's a summary of last year's survey, together with our narrative responses.

The Board of Directors of the Consortium for the National Equal Justice Library and Georgetown University Law Center are hosting a symposium and celebration of the National Equal Justice Library's (NEJL) arrival at Georgetown Law and the Library's acceptance of the Gary Bellow Papers.  The symposium will be held Tuesday, March 25 from 1:30-4:30 on the 12th floor of Gewirz.  The program, Gideon and Katrina: Legal Aid and Defender Programs at a Crossroads will explore the criminal and civil aspects of Gideon and the civil legal aid response to Hurricane Katrina.  Speakers include: Martha Bergmark (Mississippi Center for Justice), Helaine Barnett (Legal Services Corporation), Jo-Ann Wallace (National Legal Aid and Defenders Association), Jonathan Smith (Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia), Esther Lardent (Pro Bono Institute), Norman Lefstein (Indiana School of Law), Ab Currie (Department of Justice, Canada), Janell Smith (Student Hurricane Network) and Peter Edelman (Georgetown Law). 

An event honoring the NEJL at Georgetown, donation of the Bellow Papers and presentation of the Edgar and Jean Cahn Awards will take place in Gewirz from 4:30-6.  A reception will follow from 6-8 in the Faculty Dining Room in Hotung.