Guide to Legal Research on the Internet

Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute and Justia have recently sponsored a helpful and instructive research guide entitled "Law Student Guide to Free Legal Research on the Internet." The guide is hosted by CALI and written by Sarah Glassmeyer, JD, MLS, of Valparaiso University School of Law. The guide was created to help law students navigate the overwhelming world of Internet legal resources and to assist legal research instructors in teaching law students on how to use those resources. In addition, there is a Law Student’s Guide to Free Legal Research on the Internet’s Blog, which provides information on upcoming and existing free legal research resources . Access the guide and blog at: http://freelaw.classcaster.net/.

Is the World Wide Web in decline?

Wired magazine's September 2010 cover story examines whether the Web is dying in face of new technologies like apps. Apps are becoming increasingly popular with the advent of Iphone, Ipad and other smartphones. The cover story is very informative on the technical background of the web and apps. But most importantly discusses the challenges that face the Web and present several arguments on the future of the Web debate. Read the full cover story at: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_webrip/.

Informative Essay on Publishing Articles in Academic Publications

An informative essay guide was recently released for law students who want to publish articles in academic publications. It is written by faculty members Nancy Levit, Lawrence D. MacLachlan and Allen Rostron from the University of Missouri at Kansas City - School of Law. The essay explains the how-to's for academic publication by law students that are not on law review but have written scholarly level papers for classes or seminars. It also highlights the publishing route for article submissions and provides a chart of the 194 law review policies (by law school) with respect to whether they will publish comments by students and additional information. Read the guide on SSRN at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1656395.

TWEN Training Sessions

TWEN (The West Education Network) is used by many Touro Law Center faculty members for online course management. TWEN training is provided to incoming first-year law students during Orientation because some faculty members begin posting assignments and messages for their students on TWEN before classes begin.
Incoming first-year law students should attend one of the following sessions during Orientation. Pre-registration is not required. Please arrive in the Auditorium about five minutes before your session begins. Please bring your Library Orientation Packet because it contains the Westlaw password and supporting materials that you will be using to access TWEN. (You will receive this packet during the Law Library Introduction Session on Tuesday, August 17.)

Sessions will be held for the Day Division on:

Tuesday, August 17, 2:00-2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, August 18, 5:00-5:30 p.m

Sessions will be held for the Evening Division on:

Tuesday, August 17, 10:00-10:30 p.m.
Wednesday, August 18, 5:00-5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, August 18, 10:00-10:30 p.m

Gould Law Library Tour Schedule

The Gould Law Library at Touro Law Center is offering library tours to interested first-year law students on Wednesday, August 18, 2010. Tour leaders will introduce students to the locations of frequently used legal research materials, such as New York cases and statutes, legal encyclopedias, and study guides. Also, students will learn the locations for basic library services such as reference assistance, materials checkout, computer printing, photocopying, and quiet study rooms. Tours will be held at 5:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and will be led by a member of our Reference Office team.

New HeinOnline Features and Enhancements

HeinOnline has introduced some new features to its database that will make researching easier and faster. The features include "Did You Mean" which will correct misspelled words and display the alternative spelling for your term. They have also introduced title e-mail alerts which will update you when new content is added to the various database libraries. Lastly, HeinOnline has also added faceted searching to the Taxation & Economic Reform in America, Parts I & II, History of Bankruptcy: Taxation & Economic Reform in America, Part III, and the U.S. Federal Legislative History libraries. Faceted searching provides results from all of these libraries when you run a search in one library. Read and learn about these features at:
http://heinonline.blogspot.com/

Senate Confirms Elena Kagan for U.S. Supreme Court

The Senate has just confirmed Elena Kagan as the Supreme Court's 112th justice by a vote of 63 to 37. Elena Kagan is the fourth woman named to the court and will serve with two current woman judges including Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. See New York Times article for more information on the confirmation:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/us/politics/06kagan.html?hp.

Interesting Article on Plagiarism in the Digital Age

The New York Times recently published an interesting article on plagiarism for students in the digital age. The article discusses possible causes of plagiarism and other issues within the realm of digital materials on the Internet. Access the article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html.