The Digital Commons Law Network

Open Access has become one of the new hot topics in academic scholarship, especially in law schools. What is open access?  Well, open-access materials are digital, online, free of charge, and free from most copyright and licensing restrictions.

Did you know that in November of 2008, directors of some of the major law library players, such as the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Harvard, Stanford and Yale met in Durham at the Duke Law School to discuss open access in the legal environment?

As a result of this meeting, the “Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship” was created, calling for law schools to no longer publish in print format, instead focusing only on electronic publication in stable, open digital formats.

Since then, libraries and academic institutions have begun a movement towards the use of “institutional repositories”, which provide open access to institutional research through archiving, promote the institution as well as the scholars through the visibility of these words, collect content within a single platform and location and store and preserve additional digital assets.

While institutional repositories are developed as databases, there is almost no capacity for the reader to browse.  Repositories don’t necessarily allow connections between their own materials, much less those created and housed at other institutions.

In response to this, the leading hosted institutional repository (IR) software platform, bepress, has created the Digital Commons Law Network, which draws together open access content from nearly 300 repositories that use the Digital Commons IR platform.  Anyone with an Internet connection can access this resource, with no pay-walls, embargoes or subscriptions.  This Network currently contains almost 650,000 works from 275 institutions, with over 113,000 of these works specifically devoted to the topic of law.

The Digital Commons Network brings together scholarship from hundreds of universities and colleges, providing open access to peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, conference proceedings, and other original scholarly work. This constantly growing body of publications is curated by university librarians and their supporting institutions, and represents thousands of disciplines and subject areas—from Architecture to Zoology.

The intuitive interface invites you to explore discipline-specific Commons, where you can view and follow popular authors, institutions, and publications in your field. And you’ll never run into pay walls or empty records, because only full-text, open-access research and scholarship are included in the network.

Check out this resource for yourself at http://network.bepress.com/, and explore all of the amazing resources that are available free to you, complete with search functionality and browse capacity.  

Be sure to check out our Open Access LibGuide for more information on the Open Access movement.

~Ashley Moye~

ProQuest Research Library in a Nutshell

Introducing the newest member of our LibGuides lineup:  ProQuest Research Library

Want to know what ProQuest Research Library is?  What content does it cover?

Need some search tips?  From Boolean operators to truncation characters, we’ve got you covered.

Want to know how to use searchable fields and the Thesaurus feature?

In need of more information about viewing your results?

Want to know how the My Research tool can help you save, manage and organize the content and supporting materials you find in ProQuest?

Interested in some sample searches?

Check out this LibGuide to get more information on all aspects of ProQuest Research Library including content, searching, and viewing results on the new ProQuest platform.  And as always, don’t hesitate to ask your friendly library staff for assistance!

~Ashley Moye~

Check Out Our Video Tutorials!

Want to know more about using our specialized legal resources such as HeinOnline, ProQuest Research Library or JSTOR?  The Charlotte Law Library has tutorials for that.

Want to learn more about our library catalog?  Placing holds?  Accessing electronic resources from the comfort of your own home?  Searching our your course reserves?  Yep – we’ve got tutorials for those too.

Need some assistance with your legal research?  Stymied by legislative history?  In need of some guidance with your common law research?  Want to know more about resources like the USCA, ALR and CJS?  We’ve got you covered.

Just head on over to our Going Digital: Electronic Research Resources LibGuide and click on the CSL Video Tutorials tab to find all of these tutorials and more.

Check out this one on using the ScholarCheck feature in HeinOnline!

HeinOnline ScholarCheck

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~Ashley Moye~

Study Aids for OneLs Have Arrived!

You asked and we listened!  As a result of the Study Aid Survey conducted in the Fall, we have dramatically increased the quantity and quality of study aids available for the first year core classes.  Whether you need a little help with Property or Civil Procedure, Criminal Law or Torts, Contracts or Future Interests, we have the study guides that you need.

What are study guides?  Which ones do we have?  Check out the Law Library’s Academic Success LibGuide for answers.  Browse through the tabs on the LibGuide to see what is available.  We have study aids for visual learners, audio learners and those who prefer a format like flash cards.  Visit the Circulation Desk and talk to our student workers for their recommendations.  We are here to help!

Don’t wait until reading period to check out our newly revamped collection of study aids for the first year law students!

Coming up next!  Improving the study aids available for upper level classes.  We welcome your input and feedback.  Come see us in the library and share your comments and suggestions.

~Mary Susan Lucas~

A Few New Apps…

Did you know that there’s an app that gives you simple mobile access to the world’s largest image-based legal research database?  Yes, I’m referring to HeinOnline.

With their new iPhone/iPad app, you can:

• view and download image-based PDFs
• access content by citation
• browse by volume
• navigate a volume with the electronic table of contents
• use full advanced searching techniques

Visit the Apple iTunes store to download this FREE app at http://itunes.apple.com/tw/app/heinonline-2011/id466881844?mt=8.

And are you aware that the Library of Congress recently launched a Congressional Record App that allows you to easily read the daily edition of the Congressional Record on your iPad?

Here you can:

• Browse editions of the Congressional Record by date: January 4, 1995 (the 104th Congress, 1st Session) to the present
• Perform keyword searches within individual documents or sections within documents
• Share documents via email
• Save documents to your preferred iPad PDF reader
• Identify the latest bills and resolutions considered daily on the floor of the US House of Representatives
• Identify the latest bills, resolutions, treaties and nominations considered daily on the floor of the US Senate

Visit the Apple iTunes store to download this FREE app at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-congressional-record/id492077075?mt=8.

Interested in checking out more mobile applications geared towards the law community?

Visit our There’s an App for That? LibGuide for apps for legal research, news, law school, bar study and more!

~Ashley Moye~

LibGuide Updates – Mobile Apps and Troubleshooting

Do you know about our Research Guides page?  Here’s where you’ll find a range of information tools that are designed to assist you with your research and study at Charlotte School of Law.  Created by CSL librarians and staff, they are a pathway to library resources most relevant to your area of study and contain recommended library resources – books, databases, journals and websites, as well as helpful research tips.

But did you also know that we also feature guides less devoted to research and more devoted to providing you with tools to assist you during your journey through law school?

With the close of 2011 and the dawning of 2012, we’d like to highlight two new LibGuides that the Charlotte Law Library has recently published…

Mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular and relevant to our daily lives - There’s an App for That? highlights a number of mobile applications that might be of interest to law students and lawyers, including a list of hand-picked CSL student favorites.

And our Database Troubleshooting Guide provides tips and solutions to the some of the most common access issues our patrons encounter, including off-campus access, authentication problems, PDF display issues, and secure connection errors.

So check us out over your holidays, and be sure to let the library know if there’s anything you’d like to see added to our growing Research Guides list…  We’re always eager to take on new challenges, especially for our patrons!

~Ashley Moye~

The Pursuit of Happiness

November 6 – 12 is Pursuit of Happiness Week and as you know, the Declaration of Independence lists the pursuit of happiness as one of the American peoples’ unalienable rights.  To that end, it is up to you to define what makes you happy and to pursue that happiness (within the confines of the law, of course!).

There are many people out there endorsing their guides to, definitions of and brands of happiness.  Many of these offer very compelling messages and various ways to accomplish happiness.

Do you want to be happy?  Then stop trying to be perfect.  Brene Brown is a successful research professor who has studied vulnerability, shame, authenticity and courage.  Her blog, Ordinary Courage, champions happiness by helping readers work through issues with the ultimate goal of enrichment.

Psychology Today offers an abundance of resources, articles, blogs and more about the subject of happiness.  And Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project is the memoir of the year she spent “test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier…”  You can also take the “Authentic Happiness Inventory Questionnaire” devised by Dr. Martin Seligman, the Director of Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.  Check out this link to the Boston University Pappas Law Library Pursuit of Happiness Week Libguide designed specifically for law students and lawyers.

And lastly, I’ll leave you with A Dog’s Philosophy – the epitome of happiness in my book!

 ~Julie Morris~

1L? There’s a LibGuide for That…

With the new semester just days away and our 1L orientation well underway, Charlotte Law classrooms are filled again and the school is bustling with excitement.  It seems like a fantastic time to point a finger at one of our newest LibGuides, Commonly Used 1L Resources.

This LibGuide is filled to the brim with tips, tricks and a variety of print and electronic resources hand selected by Charlotte Law students to help you survive your first year in law school.

Here you’ll find not only online materials specifically targeted to your 1L needs and books available through our library, but how-to-guides, tutorials, quick reference cards, specialized research guides and so much more…

Westlaw, TWEN, LexisNexis and CALI questions?  We’ve got you covered.  There’s even a collection of amusing law school videos to peruse when the stress quotient ratchets up too high and the sweet release of laughter is needed.  Check out this gem from George Washington University’s Law Review below…

So to all of our new students – enjoy the beginning of your semester, and be sure in the coming years to capitalize on all of the support the library can offer you on your journey!

~Ashley Moye~

Try the Facebook App for Libguides!

Click here to access the LibGuide App for Facebook

First off, what is a LibGuide?  LibGuides are electronic research guides that will make you a more effective and efficient researcher.  They are a “pathfinder” that will guide you to the best places to begin your research.  Charlotte Law Library has published ten LibGuides so far and we are always working on new ones.  Many of you have used the LibGuide for Electronic Resources as it has had over 13,000 views this year alone!  LibGuides are not just helpful for classwork – our dedicated librarians have also created LibGuides to guide our students through Academic Success and Professional Development, but you will hear more about those in upcoming weeks!

The reach of LibGuides extends far beyond our Charlotte Law Library community because it encompasses over 170,000 guides created by over 33,000 librarians at over 2000 libraries worldwide!  The LibGuides Community is searchable and you will find almost ninety law libraries represented by hundreds of LibGuides.

LibGuides are more accessible than ever thanks to Facebook.  The next time you login to Facebook, type “LibGuide” in the search box and you will be directed to where you can add the LibGuide app, giving you access through Facebook to all those helpful pathfinders located here at Charlotte Law Library and all across the country.  Try it today!

Have a suggestion for a new LibGuide that you would like to see here at Charlotte Law Library?  Email the Reference Desk and let us know!

~Mary Susan Lucas~

There’s an App for That?

With the bar exam fast approaching for our recent graduates and rising first years through third years waiting with bated breath for the start of the fall semester, all with SmartPhones planted firmly in their hands, this seemed like a fantastic time to introduce you to some of the legal research and bar prep assistance your mobile app store has to offer.

From iPhones to Blackberrys to Androids, it seems like everyone’s connected these days, and the mobile application markets have been growing exponentially, offering endless support for you both personally and professionally.

Did you know that there’s an app that allows you to search, bookmark, copy, share, and annotate text of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Evidence, Appellate Procedure, Criminal Procedure, and Bankruptcy Procedure on your Droid device?

Did you know that there are apps that offer free flashcards and instructional videos that you can use to supplement your studies for the bar exam?

Did you know that there’s a deposition question and answer outline app, which allows you to select from over 150 deposition questions by category, to organize the sequence of questions, and to link questions to exhibits?

If you want the latest scoop on these apps and more, Vicki Steiner, from the Hugh and Hazel Darling Law Library at UCLA, has created an amazing Apps for Legal Research LibGuide featuring links to tons of current mobile applications that may be of interest to both law students and lawyers.  We are currently adapting this LibGuide for our own CharlotteLaw students with phenom Vicki’s blessing, so stay tuned, and be sure to let us know what your favorite apps are!

~Ashley Moye~