Cornell Law Library

July 2010 – May 2011

Faculty Services

Top priority for all law library staff is service to law faculty for their teaching and scholarship. Rush orders are placed by Information Management staff for materials needed quickly. Document delivery –whether from across campus or around the world – is provided everyday by Access Services staff. Research projects are handled everyday by Research Attorneys. We are pleased with the very positive feedback we receive from faculty on the support provided by the library.

“My gosh, you are too fast for me! Amy, thanks

so much for such prompt service!” Prof.

Laura Underkuffler

Acquisition of materials for the Clarke Institute for the Study and Practice of Business Law was accomplished this year, in consultation with law faculty teaching in that area. Work continues with the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice, including the completion of an inventory of Avon library materials. All faculty were personally invited to sign up for daily and weekly alerting services through our web subscription to the Bureau of National Affairs, publisher of information and analysis products for professionals in law, business and government. InfoBrief, our blog sent only to Cornell law faculty, posted 27 items from August to early April, and it is also available on our web site. Blog topics ranged from legal guidance on federal government shutdown to Title 51 of the U.S. Code, rejection of the Google settlement and tips on using BNA sources. Research Attorney Jean Callihan coordinates our Research Fellows, law students who are specially trained in legal research to assist with projects for faculty. This year, Fellows updated three international law guides, compared EU Tracker with the EU web site, worked on a comparison of Justice Thomas with Justice Thurgood, assisted with article footnotes and Bluebooking, and worked on creating a bibliography of the use of international law in US Supreme Court decisions. They also write annotations for InSITE, our bi-weekly current awareness service on law-related web sites.

Research Attorneys logged 518 reference questions for their liaison faculty through CountIt!, our new tracking system for information and instructional transactions, from July 2010 through April 7, 2011. Some of the faculty projects were:

Ongoing extraterritorial securities research as a follow-up to last year’s large project, war crimes and rape in Africa

Advising research assistant on locating investment arbitration decisions

Legal systems of Canada and Israel, remedies, contract law

Relationship between intelligence and ability to feel pain

Researched civil partnership law in the U.K.

Advised Research Assistants on researching rhetoric in pro-life arguments

Issues in co-habitation

Hate speech

Jurisdiction of the Indian Supreme Court

Summaries of the Dodd-Frank bill immediately after its passage

Labor law in the Dominican Republic

Uniform Trade Secrets Act

“Wow Iantha! This is amazing and so quick. You're

incredible! Thank you so much. I clearly

made the right choice to ask you. Great

work!” – Prof. Sherry

Latest trends in internet law

Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008

French juries

Women and the law

Student Services

The Library provided new equipment and technology solutions for law students this year: • Obtained new copiers/scanners with capability to save to flash drive • Networked new copier/scanners to provide email option for students • Networked fiche machine to provide email option • New scanner for Document Delivery room to improve quality and speed • Laptop loaners checked out from circulation desk for building use • Microsoft Office added to Reading Room computers • Audio recorders available for loan from circulation desk • Flash drives available for loan from circulation desk

Using the Qualtrics web survey

system, Matt Morrison conducted the annual Student Summer Research Survey which showed that legal research was a major work duty for 59% of the students spending at least half their work time on research. In the fall, he tabulated questions asked on the Incoming Student Survey which was used to get a picture of students in Lawyering classes. In preparation for the ABA site visit in the spring, Iantha Haight developed a Student Satisfaction Survey, for which Matt translated the 160+ responses into Qualtrics, tabulated results, and wrote an overview and executive summary. The results of that survey are now forming the basis for numerous follow-ups and new initiatives by the library.

“The research consultation before my summer associate job was

invaluable. The resources Matt Morrison provided me were useful. But also, I felt relieved that I at least knew

something of practical value (as opposed to theory that is learned in

What do you like most about the library? The

librarians. Seriously, you guys

Jessup International Moot Court team was assisted again this year by Research Attorney Thomas Mills. The five-member team received instruction on international law

research, mooting before the ICJ, and writing the memorial which helped the team win best brief honors, have two top oralists, and be ranked in first place after the preliminary rounds. Jean Callihan again served as research advisor to the Niagara International Moot Court team, establishing an updated Blackboard page and grading memorials for the competition. Research instruction was also provided to the student staff of Cornell Law Review, Cornell International Law Journal, and Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy to assure quality note-writing, sourcing, and compiling of the journals.

The Competitive Edge continues as our primary blog, aimed at Cornell law students and read by many researchers. Over 75 postings from July to April covered topics of animal law, Google ngram viewer, law.gov, and research workshops. The Casual Reading Room, high atop the Gould Reading Room, opened this year to new uses by students, including availability for video conference job interviews and for regular tutoring sessions. Underneath the Casual Study Room, the Rare Book Room hosted an Open House in October for LL.M.s, J.S.D.s, and visiting scholars, and several tours for all the 1Ls in (April).

Collections

The growth of the library collection has been changed from a “just-in-case” model to a more “user-

centered” model in response to a declining budget in real terms, rising prices, and a shift to an electronic

information environment. Librarians and staff have reviewed many subject areas, made decisions in

consultation with faculty on what to keep and what can be cancelled or moved to e-only, and processed

materials and records based on these decisions.

The Collection Development Policy was revised this year to incorporate our current thinking on

electronic and print collections and the growing importance of international materials. This was

important for our ABA inspection and for CUL’s policy reviews by each unit. It helps to focus the

decisions being made on a regular basis as we review the collection for potential savings.

A Faculty Survey on American Law Materials was conducted online in October to gauge the faculty’s

interest in retaining or eliminated the National Reporter System, print law reviews, state session laws,

[KUDO re Jessup: Thank you for your steadying presence,

your insight, your support during our research, your

support during the tournament, all of the

wonderful treats, and thank you for joining us

“Professor Mills is awesome -- he is always helpful and wealth of knowledge. I seek his advice on all kinds of research matters and he never

and digests. There are proponents on all sides of the questions, but with enough consensus that the

library has cancelled the session laws of all states except New York and cancelled most digests.

The Research Attorneys also conducted a survey of faculty needs and use of foreign law to assist efforts

to build a more user-centered collection. The same survey will be administered at the seven other law

libraries that make up NEFLLCG, the Northeast Foreign Law Libraries Cooperative Group. We will confer

with these other law libraries before making systematic changes in our foreign collecting.

Plans are underway for the Law Library’s contributions to the CUL Google

project. Janet Gillespie will be the point person, working with CUL on the logistics of moving potentially

thousands of books for digitization, with Research Attorneys reviewing the pick lists of titles to be sent.

The time frame is not yet set but should begin in 2011.

With $155,700 from the Save America’s Treasures grant program, the Library will restore and digitize a

collection of mass-produced pamphlets from the late 17th century to the late 19th century. These

pamphlets, which were often sold on the street soon after a trial as entertainment and cautionary tales,

include accounts of famous historical figures and reflect society’s attitude toward social issues like

capital punishment, marriage, and abortion.

In December 2010, we learned that our long-time bindery firm, Ridley’s, had sold

their business to a larger bindery firm called HF Group. Fortunately our newest staff member, Jackie

Magagnosc, had dealt with HF Group at her previous position at Swarthmore College library. Thanks to

her experience, we were able to transition our bindery operation from Ridley’s to HF Group quite

seamlessly.

The legal materials of Liberia are still

in high demand. Thomas Mills worked with the Carter Center

as they rewrite the public land law. He assisted with the ABA section on the rule of law in Liberia to

create the Liberian Legal Information Institute, which will be hosted by AusLII. Visitors here included the

president of the University of Liberia and also the head of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation

Commission discussing ongoing and future projects.

Teaching

To expand the course offerings in skills courses offered at the law school, the librarians added new research courses this year. Each Research Attorney taught one research course, either one or two credits, while we put the Advanced Legal Research three-credit seminar on hiatus. Two new courses taught this year were in Online Legal Research, one on free sources and the other on subscription sources. Courses taught: Lawyering – research component Fall and Spring to all 1L students by 6 Research Attorneys; added an assessment exam in January to gauge effectiveness of instruction Administrative Law Research – Pat Court U.S. Legal Research for LL.M. Students – Thomas Mills Online Legal Research: Subscription Sources – Matt Morrison Business Law Research – Jean Callihan Online Legal Research: Free Sources – Iantha Haight Foreign and International Legal Research – Amy Emerson Directed Reading in U.N. Charter Article 51 – Thomas Mills Workshops taught in law school courses: Contemporary American Jury – Valerie Hans Immigration and Refugee Law – Steve Yale-Loehr Social Science and the Law – Valerie Hans International Research and Writing for Judges – Sara Lulo Competition Law and Policy – George Hay Principles of American Legal Writing – Leslie Knight Labor Law Arbitration Clinic – Angela Cornell Legal Narratives – Emily Sherwin

“Pat, I learned a great deal from

the course, both about

administrative law generally

and about research

“Thanks for tackling this new area, Jean. The research guide looks very helpful…I am very

glad that I came [to the presentation]. I have some

new tools to use myself.” Prof.

[KUDOS re Liberia: Thank you so much.

I sincerely couldn’t have put this project

together without your help.]

Undergraduate workshop in Rare Book Room – Bernie Meyler U.S. Legal Research and free web sources for Dean of Qatar University and his students taught by Amy Emerson

Jean Pajerek, head of Information Management, will teach a workshop for CUL in May on RDA, Research Description and Access, the new unified cataloging standard, being planned for implementation at Cornell. Several hours of orientation to U.S. legal research were conducted by the Research Attorneys, led by Matt Morrison and Thomas Mills before the fall semester began. Sessions included lectures and Reading Room hands-on practice.

CountIt! statistics show x instruction sessions by the Research Attorneys this

year, with y hours logged for preparation, teaching, grading, and working with students.

Technology

Library mobile interface architecture has been developed for our web site. Implemented for Legal

Research Engine, Library Hours, Contact Us, New Books, Library Search, Online Legal Resources.

Legal Research Engine was completely redesigned and upgraded to an xml/ms sql/asp/IIS platform.

Review and recreation of E-resources password list; creation of separate passwords list, new online

passwords list for student access, active e-resources subscriptions spreadsheet (tracking new data

including user statistics availability, subscription cost, acquisition date, and Online Legal Resources

categories), created inactive e-resources subscriptions spreadsheet (tracking dates of acquisition and

deacquistion), along with corresponding updates to Online Legal Resources.

Skype set up and used for video conferencing with director while abroad.

Camtasia training for librarians in preparation for video tutorial development

All BNA titles incorporated into our web page on Online Legal

Resources

Web pages redesigned for Student, Faculty, Alumni, and Visitor pages

Outreach / Public Relations

The Law Library was pleased to receive the 2010 Public Relations Award from

SCRLC, the South Central Regional Library Council. Among the many PR activities recognized were:

Digital screen in the Reading Room highlighting library services, new materials, and useful

announcements, with lovely photography and innovative graphics. Working to have the slides also

display on library’s home page.

Exhibit cases in the Reading Room this year included Legal

Humor, Harry Potter & the Law, Poetry & the Law, Early Technology of the LII, Law School Projects and

Programs.

continues in its 15th year as a current awareness service and database of annotated law-

related web sites.

The Competitive Edge is our blog aimed at Cornell law students, with over 75 posting this year.

New this year is the Cornell Law Library Prize for Exemplary Student

Research. A panel composed of five Research Attorneys will judge submissions based on how well they

demonstrate sophistication, originality, or unusual depth or breadth in the use of research materials;

exceptional innovation in research strategy, including the ability to locate, select, and evaluate research

materials with discretion, and skillful synthesis of research results into a comprehensive scholarly

analysis. First prize is $500, and second prize is $250.

Law Library Staff

Jean Callihan served as board member of ALLUNY and as key member of the Education Committee that

held the Annual ALLUNY Meeting in October. She joined the ALL-SIS Public Relations Committee and will

serve as chair in 2011-12. She presented “Finding Information on Corporate Entities” at a National

Business Institute seminar in Syracuse and contributed a chapter to the book of CLE materials. Jean

was reappointed to the rank of Associate Librarian.

Carol Clune’s position was upgraded and is now a 12-month position.

Pat Court attended the Federal Depository Library Program conference in

Washington, D.C. in October, helping to present a program on the LII/CLL/GPO project on the Code of

Federal Regulations. She is on the alumni board of the School of Library and Information Science at

Indiana University.

Jane Drumheller was promoted to Public Service IV, Level D, as our

Circulation/Reserve/Interlibrary Loan Associate.

Amy Emerson co-chairs the new International Legal Research Interest Group of ASIL, the American

Society of International Law, with over 200 members in its first year. The group has already provided a

Research Liaison Program for ASIL speakers, panel members, and guests before and during the annual

meeting, and convened a panel presentation on “Greater Than the Sum of its Parts: Global Cooperation

in Making the World’s Laws Accessible.” Amy presented a program to nearly 250 people on “Navigating

Your Way to the Classroom: Law Librarians Teaching New Law School Classes” at the American

Association of Law Libraries annual meeting. She attended the International Association of Law Libraries

29th Annual Course on International Law Librarianship in The Hague in September. Amy was promoted

this year to the rank of Senior Assistant Librarian.

Claire M. Germain, the Edward Cornell Law Librarian and Professor of Law, is

leaving Cornell after 17 years. She has accepted a new position as Clarence J. TeSelle Professor of Law &

Associate Dean for Legal Information, University of Florida Levin College of Law, Gainesville, Florida.

Iantha Haight co-founded AALL’s Empirical Research Caucus with Darla Jackson and serves as vice chair

and webmaster of the group. She is a member and contributor of the AALL Working Group for State

Inventory of Legal Materials, currently working on West Virginia. She wrote two book reviews for the

AALL Spectrum Blog on International Economic Law, Globalization and Developing Countries and The

International Handbook of Private Enforcement of Competition Law.

Betsy Hand, cataloger for over 30 years, announced her retirement, effective

May 13, 2011.

Mae Louis was honored for 30 years of service in 2010.

Jackie Magagnosc joined the Library’s Information Management department in November as

continuations management assistant. She comes to us from Swarthmore College library.

Thomas Mills spoke at the AALL annual meeting on “Hotel Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia:

Preserving Evidence and Documentation in a Multi-Media Age.” He presented a talk at the University of

Rochester for the Excellence in Teaching Summit on “The Cornell Undergraduate Information

Competency Initiative." Again this year, he was a leader of the Information Competency Institute, and

presented talks at CUL Forums on Collaborative Collection Development and on CUL International

Projects in Liberia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Matt Morrison presented “Property, 4-Legged People, or Something In Between: An Introduction to the

Legal Context of Animals” at the ALLUNY Annual Meeting in October at Rensselaerville, NY. He joined

the CUL Economic Status of Librarians Committee, Fall 2010.

Jean Pajerek was honored for 25 years of service in 2010. She co-chairs the CUL RDA Training

Committee.

Sasha Skenderija’s position was approved for an upgrade to Programmer

Analyst III, Level F.

Elizabeth Teskey chairs the CUL United Way campaign and is the editor of Kaleidoscope, the CUL online

newsletter.