Study Room Reservation Policy

The Gould Law Library has a selection of study rooms available, which vary in size and capacity. Three of the rooms contain televisions equipped with DVD and VHS players for use with media placed on reserve at the circulation desk by professors. Many rooms also are equipped with erasable white boards and erasable markers for use by study groups. Reservations for study rooms are highly recommended and may be arranged in person at the library’s circulation desk, up to one day in advance of the booking. A group may reserve one room for a maximum of two hours each day. Individuals may not reserve rooms, except for two small rooms intended for individual students (L309 and L310). A group may continue past a reserved time, provided no other group has made a reservation for the next time slot. The room must be relinquished, however, if another group later makes a reservation (even if the reservation was made after the non-reserved students occupied the study room). Reservations will be held for 15 minutes and two group members must be present to hold a reservation, except for the two individual study rooms. Please ask a staff member at the circulation desk for details about study room reservations and policies.

Try CALI for Exam Preparation

Have you tried CALI (Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction)? CALI is a great way to test your knowledge as you prepare for law school exams. The CALI web site has hundreds of online exercises written by law professors and by professional reference librarians to help you hone your legal knowledge. CALI is free and may be accessed via a link on our library's web page at http://www.tourolaw.edu/library or by clicking directly to http://www2.cali.org/. Activation codes may be retrieved from the Reference Office on the main floor of the Gould Law Library. Then, you will use your activation code to create a personal ID and password for free CALI access as a Touro law student. Registration is easy, and the CALI exercises are invaluable. Check out CALI today!

Looking ahead: Intersession Library Hours

The library will be open during intersession to accommodate students studying for the February bar exam, as well as for other members of the greater Touro community and Friends of the Library. The intersession library hours and study hall hours have been posted on the library's web pages at: http://www.tourolaw.edu/library/hours%20and%20calendar.asp. Scroll to the bottom of the "Library Hours" page for intersession information.

The library staff extends good wishes to all Touro alumni preparing for the February 2009 bar exams...

Library Hours During Final Exam Period

Beginning on Monday, December 1 and extending through the evening of Monday, Dec. 22, the Gould Law Library will be open as a study hall around the clock, except for Friday afternoon – Saturday evening, in observance of the Jewish Sabbath. The library will close as usual at 2:45 p.m. on Fridays, but will reopen on Saturday evenings at 6:00 p.m. With this exception, the library will remain open 24 hours a day. Students using the library after midnight must sign in at the security desk. Library services will not be available during the overnight period, although a security guard will be on duty.

The Gould Library also will expand its “quiet zone” for the final exam period. Effective on December 1, the entire library (with the exception of the circulation desk, the reference office, and enclosed study rooms) will become a quiet zone to maximize available study space. After exams, the soft seating area on the main floor will resume its status as a quiet conversation area, in accordance with student requests.

As always, drinks in enclosed containers are welcome in the library. Please enjoy light snacks (such as candy and chips), but consume other food (sandwiches, salads, hot meals) outside of the library.

The library staff extends its support and best wishes to students as the final exam period approaches.

Spring Semester 2009: A Course Offering Entitled "Foreign and International Legal Research"

Foreign & International Legal Research Seminar
Spring 2009

Taught by Roy L. Sturgeon, J.D., M.L.S., LL.M. (Chinese Law)
Foreign & International Law Librarian, Library Liaison to the Public Advocacy Center,
& Library Faculty

*** This course tentatively is scheduled to be taught in the spring semester of 2009 -- on Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. - 5:10 p.m. Any 2d or 3d year law student may register for this one-credit course.

Due to post-Cold War globalization, law practice increasingly calls on attorneys—particularly those in the world’s reigning financial center, New York—to possess effective skills in researching foreign and international law. With that in mind, this seminar aims to equip students with the basic knowledge and skills needed to conduct such research as well as to expose them to differences in legal systems and cultures. In addition, it should reinforce and enhance critical-thinking skills that they may have gained previously from other law school experiences (e.g., working as a research assistant or summer clerk, participating in a summer abroad program, serving on international moot court or law review). It will meet 100 minutes once per week for the first half of the semester, cover multiple jurisdictions (common, civil, and mixed; foreign, religious, and international), and be graded mostly by two out-of-class research exercises and one in-class oral presentation. This seminar should be helpful for students seeking jobs in various settings: public and private sectors, litigation and transactional, large and small firms, domestically and abroad.

Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, Roy earned a B.A. (1992) from Grand View College in Iowa, a J.D. (2001) from Valparaiso University in Indiana, an M.L.S. (2005) from St. John’s University in New York, and an LL.M. (2006) in Chinese law from Tsinghua University in Beijing. He also spent a year (1997-98) as a history graduate student at the University of Memphis in Tennessee. Before starting work as a law librarian at Touro in 2006, Roy worked as a secondary school teacher in America and China, a bookseller and field interviewer in Iowa, and a law clerk in South Carolina. He has published articles about American constitutional law, Chinese libraries and librarianship, information ethics, and Hong Kong legal research (with Sergio Stone). He is writing an article about free speech in China and two books about Chinese legal history. Funded generously by an Overseas Young Chinese Forum-Gregory C. and Paula K. Chow Teaching Fellowship, Roy will also teach this research seminar as a visiting professor at Wuhan University Law School in May 2009.

Coming soon: New York Legal Research

The library recently has received new copies of New York Legal Research by Elizabeth G. Adelman and Suzanne E. Rowe (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2008). The copies should be processed and available to patrons soon.

This new book provides an introduction to the topic of New York legal research. In contrast to New York Legal Research Guide by William H. Manz, this new book provides an introduction to New York legal research with an eye to the novice researcher. The Manz book, an excellent source, provides in-depth detail, whereas the new Adelman volume states concepts in simple terms that are well-suited for law students and legal assistants. Using the two volumes in tandem, one can enjoy the best of both worlds -- a summary for quick consultation and careful detail when warranted.

Remember to Meebo the Librarian!

Don't forget about the new instant messaging capability for reaching a librarian in the Reference Office of the Gould Law Library. Just go to the library's homepage at http://www.tourolaw.edu/library. Then, click on the link that says "Chat with the Reference Staff." Wait a few moments for the Meebo box to load and, then, type into the box that says "Type here and hit enter to send a message." If the reference librarian on duty is available, she or he will respond shortly.