Link+ has expanded its services to give patrons the ability to pick up materials from libraries other than their home library.  So now you can request books as an SCU student, faculty, or staff and pick them up in Berkeley or San Francisco, or even at your folks place in Los Angeles!

Unfortunately, Heafey is not one of the library at which you can pick materials up.  If you want your requests delivered to SCU campus, they will still go to the University Library.

You will notice new options the next time you place a request.  Choose from a number of different pick-up institutions and have your books delivered to the most convenient location.  Look for this new service when requesting any Link+ item.

You can view a list of participating Link+ libraries. 

You asked for it and now you can see it! 

We have posted the results of the student survey that the library conducted in October.  The 74 page survey report has been added to ClaraNet.   Aside from the link in this post, you can also access the survey results by going to the ClaraNet homepage, selecting Heafey Law Library, and then selecting LIBRARY 1207- Library Services Surveys. 

We plan to follow up this survey with one in the Spring and then again next Fall.  Changes cannot take place over night, especially when spending money is involved.  But please realize that we take your comments very seriously, and we appreciate the feedback you give us.

If you haven’t completed your Westlaw and/or Lexis training, it is imperative that you schedule a session as soon as possible so that you don’t end up with an "incomplete" LARAW grade.
 
To set up a LexisNexis session, contact Jessica Bride at jessica.bride@lexisnexis.com
Jessica will be in the Toso computer lab (1st floor of Heafey Law Library) this Friday (12/1) afternoon from 12 - 2 pm. No appointment necessary - just show up!

To schedule Westlaw training, please contact Susmita Ramani at susmita.ramani@thomson.com

 
Be sure to submit your punchcards at the Reference Desk as soon as you complete your training.

During the upcoming exam period (Nov. 30 – Dec. 16, 2006), the USF’s Dorraine Zief Law Library will again be closed to students from other Bay Area law schools.  In addition, they will be closed to all patrons from Dec. 17, 2006 to Jan. 1, 2007. Their library will reopen on Jan. 2, 2007, from 8:30 AM – 5 PM and will resume normal hours on Jan. 8, 2007.  Please refer to  the USF law library web site for a chart of their hours.  

 

The Zief Library will continue to welcome students from other ABA-accredited law schools at all times other than during exam periods and other times of restricted access.  

With exams just around the corner, here’s some information on ways to get ready.

Get your laptop ready

- If you are using your laptop to take exams, be sure you have the most current version of the software loaded.
- You should have ExamSoft 8.1 loaded (double click on your softest icon on your desktop to check).
- If this is the first time you’ve taken exams on your laptop, download the software from the website (choose the ’exam takers’ link). Use your SCU ID number and the password that was sent to you by email.
- If you can’t find your password or the email, bring your Access card and laptop to the Computer Support Office on the first floor in the library (between the SmartPrint and Westlaw/Lexis Printer stations) and they will assist you with the download.

Exam prep materials

 - Check out our spring exam tips posting for general ideas on exam preparation.

- We have a wide variety of hardcopy materials in the library - hornbooks, nutshells, and the question and answer series for example - to help you prepare for the content of the exams.
- In addition, we have practice materials to help you prepare to transmit all that information in your head most effectively, whether the exam is essay or multiple choice. - We have an extensive collection of past exams available on ClaraNet which includes an index to allow searches for exams by topic or professor.
- If your professor offers to look at practice exams you’ve tried, take advantage of the opportunity to practice your skills and get feedback.

 

Library hours are extended during the exam period, so come in and see us. Remember, you can reserve conference rooms by phone (554-4072). We also have copies of the exam schedule available at the main desk of the library.

A few exam tips

Here are three tidbits gleaned from my experiences in law school and from the sage advice of 2 & 3Ls when I was a wee 1L:

1. Arrive early, bring your ID and a snack; minimize caffeine if possible to calm your nerves. Get some exercise and/or take a nap after each exam before you start preparing for the next one.

2. Prepare your outlines for the first and last exams first. You will be too tired by the end of the exam period to do that last outline well. If it’s a closed book exam, keep reducing the outline until it’s one page, then memorize that. If it’s open book, index the heck out of your notes or outline (you’ll be able to find stuff fast and will learn more of it in the process).

3. Don’t talk about the exam afterward. Nobody sees everything or even the same things. You don’t have to give a perfect answer to get a good grade, all you do is get yourself rattled. It’s done, move on to the next exam.

Good luck on your exams!

 

Law School electronic resources -- databases and indexes -- are listed on the Heafey Law library website. University Library electronic resources are listed at the University Library site. While individual passwords are required to access a few of these databases – notably, Lexis and Westlaw – many can be accessed on campus via IP address.

To access many law school and university library subscription databases when off campus, search for the database by title in OSCAR and click on the “Connect to” link in the OSCAR record. An authentication screen should then appear, with two blanks to be filled in. Please enter your name in the first blank; enter the 14-digit bar code from the back of your ACCESS Card in the second blank (this code begins with 25098…); and click on “Submit.”

For example, the Heafey Law Library subscribes to an electronic database called Hein Online. To access Hein Online, search for itby title in OSCAR. When the Hein Online record appears in OSCAR, you will find a box in the OSCAR record that reads “Click on the following to…

Connect to Hein Online journal collection

Connect to the Hein Online Federal Register collection

Connect to U.S. Reports, U.S. Reports preliminary prints, and U.S. Reports slip opinions

Connect to the Treaties and Agreements library

If you click on one of these “Connect to…” links from an on-campus computer, you should go directly to the appropriate Hein Online collection. If you click on one of these “Connect to…” links from off campus, you should be prompted to enter your name and 14-digit bar code. 

Note that the Harvard Law Review is one of many law journals included in the Hein Online journal collection. If you search for the Harvard Law Review by title in OSCAR, you will find a box in the OSCAR record that reads “Click on the following to…Connect to Harvard law review via HeinOnline.” This link should work via IP address from on-campus computers, but will require you to enter your name and bar code if you are off campus.

If you have difficulties accessing subscription databases on or off-campus, contact the reference desk: 408 554-4452 by phone, lawref@scu.edu via e-mail, or in person

Last week a law professor’s laptop was taken from his office in Heafey, and a couple of undergraduate students had laptops stolen from their dorm rooms.  With our new security gate that restricts access, some students have been less cautious in guarding their computers, books and notes than in the past.  Although there have been no incidents of theft in the library this year, there have been instances in the past.

With exam season coming soon, and the inevitable increase of studiers in the library, we caution you to secure your materials that you leave in the library.  Consider a computer cable to lock your laptop to the carrel, or ask a friend to watch over your things when you take a restroom or snack break.  To lose you computer, textbooks or notes at any time is upsetting, for it to happen during exams is devastating.

If your belongings are missing, please notify library staff immediately, also if you see someone suspicious in the library, let the staff know.  Do not let someone piggyback on your security gate entrance.  If they should be here, they will have an ACCESS card, or can get the staff to let them in.

We are going through the results of the library student survey, and one thing is crystal clear.... we need new chairs!!  A big THANK YOU to everyone who particpated.  We had an excellent response, and are especially grateful to all the 1Ls who completed the survey, even though you had only been here a few weeks.

The survey covered questions related to library services and library facilities.  Overall, we seem to be doing well with our services, but the facility is lacking.  Aside from the chairs, the lighting, crowded study spaces, and temperature control seemed to be the biggest issues.  We will be doing all we can to address as many of these concerns as is possible.  The library is in the middle of a repurposing of our space, which began with the removal of 50,000 volumes to Loyola Hall.  New, more spacious carrels, some lounge seating, and new chairs are all part of the plan. 

As far as noise from fellow students or library staff, and aromatic meals being eaten in the library, please let us know.  If you do not want to get up from your study space, you can email us at lawref.scu.edu, we will do our best to address your concerns.

As part of the library’s self-study for the ABA inspection next year, we will be conducting additional surveys during the Spring semester and again next Fall.  I hope you will continue to response, so we have a clear picture of what we are doing well and what needs to be changed.

Thanks!!

Congratulations to the winners of our recent drawing:

$50 - Niamh Doherty

$25 - Lauren Vasquez and Erika Gasaway

$10 - Charlene Powell, Sheila Bari, Michelle McLeod, Destiny Umbenhower, Ameet Matharu

$5   - Hillary Steiner, Lauren Fair, Yudong Kim, Ann Marie Ursini, Jennifer Mispagel, Deepa
         Panelli, Tisa Pedersen, Mike Lee, Sylvia Bains, Rashmita Sriram

Thank you to everyone who participated in our survey; we value your feedback.

Four early twentieth century works by Gustav Klimt sold in a record-setting auction at Christie’s last week. Maria Altmann, now of Los Angeles, began her efforts to reclaim the paintings – taken from her family by the Nazis in 1938 – soon after passage of legislation in Austria in 1998, requiring that artwork acquired because of the German occupation be returned to its rightful owners. Litigation between Austria and Mrs. Altmann reached the United States Supreme Court in 2004, but was subsequently discontinued in favor of arbitration in Vienna. An arbitration court awarded the five paintings to Mrs. Altmann’s family earlier this year. 

Soon after their arrival in the United States, all five paintings were exhibited  in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. One – Adele Bloch Bauer I – was then purchased for the Neue Galerie in New York where the paintings were displayed last summer.

A 1903 painting by Pablo Picasso, Portrait de Angel Fernández de Soto, was withdrawn from the Christie’s auction at the last minute because of a separate dispute concerning its ownership.