The law library has created a new guide to researching Congressional investigations.  The guide provides guidance on how to find relevant primary source documents, such as Congressional hearing transcripts, as well as case law dealing with the authority of Congress to conduct investigations. We have also listed some valuable secondary sources to help you get started on your research.

During the Spring 2009 semester, the Law Library conducted a survey asking students to comment on various aspects of the library. 573 students completed the survey, providing more than 1,300 separate responses. We thank everybody who completed the survey. We read every comment.

In May, the library published initial findings from the survey, focusing on qualitive responses.

Based upon student comments, the library used the Summer break to make several improvements so that the buildings, equipment,, and services better meet student current usage and needs.

Highlights from the survey responses are:

• The purchase of new chairs for the Reading Room;
• The instalation of three new free self-serve digital scanners;
• The move of the Wolff reference desk to a new location;
• The implementation of changes to the library's catalog, GULLiver, which will make it easier to locate library materials;
• The creation of a new online system for students to remotely reserve group study rooms.

The library has posted a page with the most frequent comments from the Spring Student Survey alongside library responses.

We greatly appreciate student input. Please feel free to continue this dialog through our Law Library Feedback Blog, a place where we post answers to your student questions.  You can send us your comments through our suggestion page, linked from the library's home page.  The library will use the Feedback Blog to respond.

Fee Fie Foe Firm is a new law firm search engine that promises to be the most comprehensive of its kind. It monitors the websites of U.S. law firms and provides access to firm profiles, media releases, client seminars, case notes and other legal analysis, as well as newsletters, bulletins and legal publications.

Instead of using Google to track a specific lawyer or law firm, try running a search in Fee Fie Foe Firm to retrieve a more targeted list of results. This could be especially useful for job searching and interview preparations.

Librarians will conduct training on how to search for cases on Lexis and Westlaw from September 17 through 28 for some legal writing classes.  The schedule and sign-up system is available online.  Please direct any questions to libref@law.georgetown.edu.

All of the classes will be held in the CLC (in the Williams Library Reading Room) and last for about 50 minutes. 

The Library will be holding three RA orientation training sessions.  In the orientation, RAs will learn about library services and policies and will gain an introduction to our databases and to best research practices.

The sessions will be:

• Friday September 25, 2009 from 11 am to noon
• Friday September 25, 2009 from 4-5 pm
• Friday October 2, 2009 from 11 am to noon

 All sessions will be held in EB Williams Room 320

Please RSVP to Thanh Nguyen (nguyent2@law.georgetown.edu) with which session you plan to attend.

This Thursday, September 17th is Constitution Day, a day to commemorate the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution. Georgetown Law Library has compiled a Research Guide featuring resources available on the Web for the study of the Constitution. One such resource is the Interactive Constitution, available from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Both the Williams and Wolff libraries have put up displays to observe this significant day for the legal community.  You can stop by the Robert Oakley Reading Room of the Williams library and pick up a handout detailing the legislative history of Constitution Day, as well as fun facts on the Constitutional Convention. While you're there, help yourself to a pocket copy of the Constitution too!

In the Wolff library, check out the display which supports the Law Center’s Constitution Day Panel discussion on “Defining Human Rights: What Role Does International Law Play in Our Constitutional System?” Included are relevant cases, such as the Supreme Court’s Paquette Habana decision (175 U.S. 677 (1900)), as well as books by law professors, David Cole, of Georgetown Law and Jordan Paust, of University of Houston Law Center.

Before you don your suit, don't forget to do your homework, by finding out as much as you can about your interviewee, the firm, agency, corporation or public entity you are thinking about working for and the legal environment, in general. The library's Job Searching Research Guide offers many resources to use to prepare for an interview.

One particularly useful resource is the electronic database known as the Leadership Library. Formerly known as the Yellow Books, this resource provides detailed directory information on government agencies, law firms, judicial entities, non-profits and more. Biographies of judges, attorneys and corporate executives include educational background, e-mail addresses, and often photos and publications.

The guide also highlights publications on interviewing and etiquette which can provide useful pointers before the big day.

Want to find readings for your Fall '09 courses? Need to learn how to find your course management software, be it TWEN, Blackboard or Georgetown Law's own Courseware? Looking for past exams?

The Library has created a list of links for all of the course materials available online and in the Law Library. The list is available below and on the Library's Student page.

Here are a few selected links for the start of the semester.

• First Week Reading Assignments (posted by Faculty Support)
• Course Materials Distribution -- also know as Article Works provided by Faculty Support.  Faculty often post syllabi and course readings through this service.

Course Management Systems

Georgetown Law faculty may use one of three types of course management web-based software. Below are links for all three:

• Georgetown Law Courseware
• TWEN Courseware
  • A Westlaw password is needed to access TWEN.The Library issues Westlaw passwords during Library Orientation.
  • Tutorial on How to Add a Class on TWEN
• Blackboard Courseware

Course Materials from the Library

• Past Exams (via Library Catalog)
• Course Reserves(via Library Catalog)
  

 

We've blogged about this before, but it's worth mentioning again since Early Interview Week and judicial clerkship hiring season is just around the corner.

The Library's recently updated Job Searching Research Guide covers everything from "how-to interview" to biographical resources for investigating potential employers of all types.

A frequently-used resource listed in our guide is the Leadership Library database, which includes the Judicial Yellow Book. Search or browse for judges' contact information, service dates and staff. There are also photos and biographical information for selected courts, as well as email addresses. The Judicial Yellow Book is one of the most convenient and up-to-date sources of judicial phone numbers, addresses and contact information.

Georgetown Law Students should consult the Law Center's Office of Career Services site to access job search tools, interview tips, and a specific section highlighting Early Interview Week 2009. This includes a list of important dates to remember. Students pursuing opportunities in the public interest community should review information from our Office of Public Interest and Community Service (OPICS).

Georgetown students may contact the Reference Desk with questions about how to use our databases or other online resources by contacting the reference desks in the Williams or Wolff libraries or via LiveHelp from the Library's website.

The newly published 9th Edition of Black's Law Dictionary has arrived in both the Williams and Wolff Libraries. It has been updated to include newer legal terms and contains approoximately 2,000 more entries than the 8th Edition.

While most law students are aware that Black's is the most respected and comprehensive source of legal definitions, many do not know about the other valuable information it contains. For example: there is a table of legal abbreviations, which can help you decipher difficult citations; a list of Latin legal maxims with their English translations; and many entries include references to Corpus Juris Secondum and the West Topic and Key Number System. Often, these tools are the quickest way to get started on your research, so it is worthwhile to become familiar with Black's.