Author: Susan Good

Beginning Monday, April 12, the Circulation Desk will take reservations for laptops that are on Reserve. Reservations will be taken on a first come, first served basis. During the exam period- Friday, April 30 through Saturday, May 8 laptops will be available only for Electronic Bluebook and there will be no overnight circulation of the laptops. Because of the limited number of loaner laptops available, we request that you do not reserve a laptop as back up for your personal laptop.

Following past practice, the library will maintain public service hours as follows:

Friday	April 2	8:00 a.m.-Noon; 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Saturday	April 3	9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday	April 4	Closed
Monday	April 5	8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

The building will be closed except to detex card and key holders:
Monday – Friday	5:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
Saturday & Sunday	ALL DAY

Notre Dame Law Faculty and Law Students have 24 hour access to the collection.

Policy on use of the Kresge Library by non-law patrons:

The Kresge Library is a legal research facility. Its use is intended primarily for law school faculty, law students, and other members of the law school community. Non-law patrons are welcome to use the collections Monday – Friday during regular business hours 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

On Monday, March 29 through Thursday, April 1 (No fooling), the staff of the Access Services and Technical Services departments of the library will be moving to Biolchini Hall.

Reserve material (files and books) will be moved on Wednesday and Thursday, March 31 and April 1. If you will need anything from reserve (including a laptop) please check with the circulation staff prior to these dates. While we may be able to access some of the material while in transit, we would like to avoid doing so. However, if something is needed, we will make every effort to accommodate any unforseen need.

Access to the circulation desk from April 1 through April 7 will be through the reserve book room which is adjacent to the elevator near the current circulation desk. After April 7, access from the Commons will be more direct, through the archway just behind the current circulation desk.

Red Route: from Commons to the new circulation desk, April 1 – April 7

Green Route: from Commons to the new circulation desk after April 7

Students,

Come join the research librarians for Research Redux sessions to prepare you for your summer jobs!

The research librarians will offer a series of online sessions designed to: 1) review topics covered in the 1L Legal Research course; or 2) introduce new sources that could come in handy this summer.

Each session will last 50 minutes or less; and will take place in one of the classrooms. Bring your laptop.

Sessions begin Monday, March 22nd and continue through Thursday, April 8th.

We’ll cover these topics:

Administrative Law
Where do I find that EPA regulation?

Advanced Google
How do I limit my Google search to government sites?

Citators: Shepard’s and KeyCite
Is my case still good?

Free Legal Internet Sites
My firm restricts our Lexis/ Westlaw usage. How can I still find that case online?

International Law
Where can I find the text of a treaty?

Legislative History
What can I expect to find in a committee report and are they available online?

State and Federal Court Dockets
How do I get a copy of a complaint, motion, or order?

Statutes
What is a session law and how can I find one online?

West’s Key Number System on Westlaw
I’ve got a good case from Ohio; how do I find one from New York?

And see Dwight if you would like additional topics covered. We are open to suggestions.

Sign up on the Internet at:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGFYQy16TnRKczFGOFl6VDJ2LV9GRkE6MA

Sign up for as many sessions as you want.

Come to the Research Redux sessions and then wow your summer employer with your research skills!

Off the Shelf … A review of selected law library resources
By: Chris O’Byrne

As discussed in the previous installment of “Off the Shelf,” JURIST offers excellent (albeit selective) coverage of breaking national and international legal news. But sometimes you need a more comprehensive legal news source, one that summarizes the most significant cases and key legislative, regulatory, and pre-decisional developments, across the country, across all areas of the law. In short, you need BNA’s U.S. Law Week.

BNA’s lawyer-editors sift through thousands of federal and state court and administrative cases, to select those that establish new precedents, address new statutes, contribute to emerging legal doctrines, tackle current controversies, or further splits in the circuit courts (n.b., viewing circuit splits is a great way to find a paper topic).

Summaries of these important cases and developments are presented in a newsletter format each week. You can also browse back issues or the topical case index, use the advanced search option, or simply view recent articles arranged by court, agency, state or law firm.

In addition to U.S. Law Week, BNA also publishes many topic and industry specific newsletters, reporters, and practice materials. If you want to develop current awareness in a particular practice area, signing up for BNA email alerts is an excellent way to track decisions and other important developments across specialized fields of law.

For more information about BNA products, see a friendly research librarian today!

By Ed Edmonds

The opening of Biolchini Hall will happen before you know it. The reading areas in the new building look outstanding, and I am pleased that all of our current first and second-year students will be able to enjoy the new spaces next year after the challenges of locating study space in Eck Hall or outside of our building during the past year. I truly appreciate the willingness of everyone to stay cheerful as we complete the renovation project.

The law library is often referred to as the heart and the laboratory of the law school. I know that the shift to online access requires us to consider that concept in a different way. The Kresge Law Library in Biolchini Hall will allow us to blend much of the traditional, like the Reading Room, with the new, our new technology spaces. We will have a significant number of group study rooms that will be outstanding spaces for collaborative learning. I am sure that they will be popular. We will be able to house our entire print and microform collection for the first time in years while continuing to provide access to digital resources. Our most important library resource, our wonderful staff, will be able to occupy significantly better work areas, and they will be able to more efficiently handle incoming resources while maintaining and improving our services. We are all excited as we anticipate starting the move soon, and we know that this fall will begin a great new chapter in the history of the Kresge Law Library.

Following past practice, the library will maintain public service hours as follows:

Friday	March 5	8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday	March 6	9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday	March 7	Closed
Monday – Friday	March 8 – 12	8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday	March 13	9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday	March 14	10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

The building will be closed except to detex card and key holders:
Monday – Friday	5:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
Saturday & Sunday	ALL DAY

Notre Dame Law Faculty and Law Students have 24 hour access to the collection.

Policy on use of the Kresge Library by non-law patrons:

The Kresge Library is a legal research facility. Its use is intended primarily for law school faculty, law students, and other members of the law school community. Non-law patrons are welcome to use the collections Monday – Friday during regular business hours 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Barb Ritty, born in Cleveland, Ohio came to the Kresge Law Library in 1985 after working three years at the Hesburgh Library. Roger Jacobs was named Director in June of 1985 and hired Barb that November. As Barb reminisces, the Technical Services’ staff was very small and there was a great deal of camaraderie. Among them were Jim Gates (former Head of Tech Services, now Director of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York), Nan Moegerle (Head of Cataloging), Barb Ritty (Cataloging Assistant), Esther Batten (in charge of loose-leafing), and Phyllis Strom (Bookkeeper). When Barb started, the original law building was undergoing its third renovation, which involved the addition of the East Reading Room and the demolition of the outer wall. As Barb described it, “My desk was located across from Jim Gates. Only thick plastic sheeting separated us from the opening and the elements. Those were the days when the collection was arranged by broad subject categories and we had only one OCLC terminal, which was chained to a column. I worked at that terminal for hours wearing my coat, hat, and gloves.”

Today with the new renovations, Barb is experiencing a whole new set of adjustments to temporary quarters. Her desk is now located near the entrance to the library under a stairwell. A humorous sign identifies her area: “Barb (Harriet Potter) Ritty —the lady who works under the stairs.” When asked how she feels about her new space, she said with a smile, “It’s almost as bad as it was coming in [to Kresge], because I fear they’ll have me out the door, yet.” This will be Barb’s 24th year working in Tech Services at Kresge. She was hired as a Cataloging assistant and has been involved in several major library innovations including reorganizing the collection by call number order, closing out the card catalog for an online system, inventory of the library’s entire collection, and more. Today, Barb is the Cataloging Coordinator and Unit Supervisor and her main responsibilities include original and copy cataloging (microform, monographic serials, audio, and video) and various database maintenance projects.

Since she is detail-oriented, problem solving is one of her main assets. On the personal level, when Barb was asked how she would describe herself, she answered with one word: “Complicated.” You may find her to be of strong character, whimsical, a dreamer, deep, persevering, conscientious, loyal, and dedicated. She named her father as her greatest influence, saying he encouraged her to “do my best in all things.” As a child she “wanted to grow up to be an elevator operator for Bonwit Teller and be impressive.” Her working years began when she was 14 with various part time jobs. She delivered papers for a local Czech newspaper, stuffed envelopes for a local printing office, and later helped with their bookkeeping.

Barb was the first person in her family to graduate from college, graduating Magna Cum Laude from Ursuline College in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with a double major in English and Drama along with earning a Secondary Education Teaching Certificate. While pursuing her studies, Barb also worked for the telephone company as a long distance and information operator. When asked, “If you could be or do anything else- what would it be?” Barb readily replied, “I would like to act on a Broadway Stage. I really wanted to go to acting school!” In response to being asked if she agreed or disagreed with Anne Frank, that “In spite of everything, people are basically good,” Barb’s answer was immediate and intense. “I agree, because I played her part in my senior year of High School at the Lakewood Civic Theater in front of 2,000 people. I am like her: I give people the benefit of the doubt and if more people believed that way, there would be less struggles and war.”

Barb’s hobbies and interests include: reading biographies, fiction, and mystery novels; filling out The New York Times crossword puzzles in ink; and theatre. She is devoted to her four grandchildren and drives back and forth so often from Indianapolis and Cleveland to see them, that she says, “I think I’m going to ask my kids to put a steering wheel on top of my tombstone.”

– Susan Hamilton

We in the library would like to hold a few 50-minute focus groups to find out what you think about the Law Library web site — its look, the research sources included, the ease of navigation, etc.

We plan to hold these focus groups next week on February 8, 9, or 11 or later in the month on February 23, 25 or 26.

In return for your participation, you’ll get $10.00 worth of Domer Dollars!

No experience with the web site or with focus groups is necessary. E-mail me if you are willing to serve. Send me a sentence or two describing how much (or how little) you use the web site. Don’t forget to include which of the above dates you prefer, and what time of day works best for you.

Thanks in advance,

Dwight
[email protected]

Dean Edmonds was highlighted on Garrett Broshuis’s blog, Life in the Minors, discussing the Curt Flood Act. Garrett, a pitcher in the Giants minor league system, is interested in labor issues involving minor league baseball players. – January 8, 2010

Prof. Snead on BBC addressing politics of abortion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/02/2010_04_fri.shtml

Beth Klein, Library Specialist for Research Services and Administrative Assistant to the Research Law Librarians, provides competent and friendly public service, helping patrons access information in an effective and efficient manner. She enjoys the human exchange in sharing, disseminating, and retrieving information. To serve, to please, and to make life easier for others are all high values for Beth, but public service is only one aspect of her responsibilities, which draw on her diverse skills. These skills include research acumen, expertise in creative writing as well as other creative, technical, clerical, and supervisory skills. Beth enjoys using all these talents and abilities in serving the Notre Dame Law school community.

Beth earned her Bachelors in Speech, Radio, and TV, and her Masters in Speech and Public Relations at the University of North Dakota. However, her educational journey was not without some novel twists and turns. She grew up in Arvada, Colorado (a suburb of Denver) and attended the K-12 school system, now famous for the Columbine school shooting. Starting out with aspirations of being a professional Girl Scout, Beth began her collegiate work at Rockhurst, a Jesuit College in Kansas City, Missouri and enrolled in the Program of American Humanics – an academic program for nonprofit organizations and directorship training. While there, Beth met her husband, Jeff, who later earned his JD at the University of North Dakota Law School. They married in January, 1981, in Kansas City and moved to Bismarck, North Dakota. It was there that Beth resumed her studies at the University of Mary and enrolled in the London “May term” at the Catholic Radio and Television Centre in London where she enjoyed being a cameraman (woman) and technical director. Over the years, Beth has taught Speech, or worked in the Office of Public Relations at State Universities in Mayville and Dickinson, North Dakota and in Charleston, Illinois and then at Ivy Tech in South Bend, Indiana. She has also written personal interest stories for newspapers in Finley, Mayville, and Bowman, and was the fundraising director for the Sunrise Foundation in Bowman and the Fargo Catholic Schools.

In 1996, Beth, her husband Jeff, and their four children: Kristen, Jennifer, Caitlin, and Aaron, moved to South Bend after Jeff accepted a position as vice-president and trust officer with the Valley American Bank. In September, 1996, Beth was hired by the Kresge Law Library for copy cataloguing under Barbara Ritty. Just over a year later, in January of 1998, Beth joined the library’s Research Services/ Reference Department, where she has remained ever since.

Beth’s responsibilities while in this department have included the creation of exhibit display cases featuring faculty publications as well as displays on various topics such as the Legal Aid Clinic and drawings of the new Law school building, now in existence. She recalls putting together the writings and case decisions of a visiting dignitary — “Judge Antonio Augusto Cancado Trindade, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the Clynes Visiting Chair in Judicial Ethics.” Most display case requests came from Patricia O’Hara, the former Notre Dame Law School Dean, and the task was given to Beth by Dwight King, Head of Research Services.

Usually Beth’s large work projects occur two or three times a year, most of them involving faculty committee support. As project designer and organizer, Beth engages in and supervises student workers in the research process helping the students maneuver through LexisNexis and Westlaw databases and other non-law resources. Once the information is gathered, Beth compiles the results into graphs and spreadsheets, devising ways for the content to be useful to the faculty member in a visually appealing format. Recently, Beth has helped organize faculty bibliographies for the ABA accreditation visits, and also helped Dwight King with his writing and research activity focusing on minority law librarians. However, Beth reports that gathering information for the law library timeline in the 2006 Spring issue of the Notre Dame Lawyer magazine was the most challenging project to date. This project required extensive research and the reading of Law School Deans’ Reports, Law Library Annual Reports, and searching for articles on the history of the Notre Dame Law school and law library in the University Bulletin and other resources, in addition to annotating selected photos from the University Archives with editorial assistance from Dwight King and Patti Ogden.

As one can readily see, Beth is a woman of many talents that are played out in the work setting but there are many more talents employed in her personal, social, and civic life. She especially enjoys working with her hands; most often, gardening and home improvement projects. She is musically accomplished and would play her piano, guitar, or violin “if [she] had more time.”

As an active volunteer, Beth is involved with St. Vincent De Paul delivering food to clients’ homes and verifying requests for clothing and furniture. She and Jeff enjoy being involved in the school activities of Caitlin and Aaron. Each fall they volunteer as chaperones for the Penn High School marching band competitions. In her quiet moments, Beth loves to read science fiction, fantasy, and adventure stories. Among her favorites are young adult books: the Harry Potter series, the Bartimaeus Trilogy, the Inheritance cycle, and the Artemis Fowl series. Her favorite authors include Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, and David Baldacci.

What are Beth’s personal aspirations at the law library? “To do the best job I can do with the tasks that I am given. I work for a great bunch of people. They are very flexible and understanding in enabling me to meet my family’s scheduling needs. I receive positive reinforcement and that taps into my creativity. I am most grateful for working here at ND especially with the educational benefits for our children—‘It’s all about family’.” Today, Beth has had one child graduate from Notre Dame, another who is currently in college, and another who will begin college next fall.

-Susan Hamilton

Attorneys for Notre Dame Law School’s Center for Civil and Human Rights (CCHR) have submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of 26 former U.S. diplomats and State Department officials. The brief argues that former foreign officials sued for torture and extrajudicial executions in U.S. courts are not entitled to sovereign immunity from suit.

The case at issue, Samantar v. Yousuf, was filed by Somali and naturalized U.S. citizens who claim they were tortured and their relatives were extrajudicially executed by Somali soldiers under Mohamed Ali Samantar’s command. Samantar, who now lives in Virginia, served as the Somali defense minister and then prime minister during the 1980’s.

Mr. Samantar claims that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) – a U.S. law which creates certain protections for foreign sovereign nations in U.S. courts – extends to him as an individual and should prevent him from being sued in the U.S. In January 2009, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to extend sovereign immunity to Mr. Samantar and allowed the lawsuit against him to proceed. Mr. Samantar appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the FSIA extends to individuals for actions they take in their official capacity and that the immunity continues to protect them once they leave government service.

The former diplomats and State Department officials represented by the CCHR attorneys address the narrow issue of whether such immunity should extend to former foreign officials sued for alleged torture and extrajudicial executions: “our collective experience teaches that amicable international relations do not require that foreign former officials be given blanket immunity from suit in our courts for alleged torture and extrajudicial executions.” Though the doctrine may be properly invoked in certain situations to facilitate the executive branch’s conduct of foreign affairs, “[i]n light of international law prohibitions of torture and extrajudicial executions, as well as longstanding American policy recognizing our national interest in holding human rights violators accountable, sheltering former foreign officials behind an impenetrable wall of sovereign immunity is inappropriate” in Samantar’s case.

Among the 26 former diplomats and officials represented by the CCHR are two former Under Secretaries of State and nine former Assistant Secretaries of State; 20 of the 26 have served as US Ambassadors, often on several occasions. Three of the 26 – Ambassadors Harriet C. Babbitt, Robert S. Gelbard and Marilyn McAfee — are members of the CCHR’s Advisory Committee.

The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for the case on March 3, 2010.

Attorneys on the case are Doug Cassel, director of the CCHR, Sean O’Brien, assistant director of the CCHR and outside pro bono attorney Amy Griffin.

Read the brief here.

Contact: Douglass Cassel at 574-631-8555 or [email protected] or Sean O’Brien at 574-631-8544 or [email protected].

Dean Edmonds was quoted regarding the criminal charges facing Washington Wizard’s player Gilbert Arenas in Bill Myers, “Crittenton May Face Grand Jury This Week, Source Says,” Washington Examiner, January 10, 2010

If you are familiar with using the law library’s LINK catalog to find local resources, you may be interested to learn that we have recently joined forces with eight other law libraries to provide a place where you can see the holdings of all nine collections with one search. All of these law libraries catalog and display resources using Innovative Interface Inc.’s integrated library system. “Sharelaw” (”http://lawir.iii.com/":http://lawir.iii.com/ ) is Innovative’s experimental new product which combines the holdings of all participating libraries into one central database of records. From an initial search, you will see which libraries own a particular title, its location, and whether it is available or not. Initially, we in the library are using this resource to compare our collection with some of our peers. As other law libraries join in, this will become a valuable tool in our collection development efforts. We hope that eventually Sharelaw will include an interlibrary loan function which will allow participating libraries to lend and receive materials quickly and cheaply. Innovative Interfaces is the provider of library systems to more than 60% of academic law libraries, so the potential for creating a comprehensive database of resources for our users is excellent. While this experiment is in its early stages, please feel free to browse the Sharelaw holdings.

Academic law libraries currently participating in Sharelaw are: George Washington, Marquette, University of California-Berkeley, University of Miami, University of Nebraska, Notre Dame, University of Texas, University of Washington, and Yale.

-Joe Thomas

At the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, Ed Edmonds, associate dean for library and information technology, was selected as chair of the Law and Sports section. This is the second time Edmonds has chaired the section. He chaired in 1997-1998.

HeinOnline, has surpassed their milestone of 50 million pages of legal research material! They have introduced a number of new library modules, added enhancements, introduced new training opportunities, and released some notable news stories regarding Hein and HeinOnline. Below is a recap of everything accomplished in 2009.

New Library Modules

• Selden Society Publications & The History of Early English Law
• Taxation & Economic Reform in America, A Historical Archive
• Law Librarian’s Reference Library
• Bar Journals Library
• New York Legal Research Library

New Content Added to Existing Collections

• World Trials Library – more than 700 new titles
• Legal Classics – more than 120 new titles including the following notable titles: International Legislation, A Collection of the Texts of Multipartite International Instruments of General Interest edited by Manley O. Hudson; The Nature of Judicial Proof: An Inquiry into the Logical, Legal and Empirical Aspects of the Law of Evidence written by Jerome Michael and Mortimer J. Adler; Treatise on the Law and Practice of Receivers by Ralph Ewing Clark; and Civil Law of Spain and Mexico by Gustavus Schmidt.
• Law Journal Library – In April 2009, we surpassed 20 million pages of content in the Law Journal Library. 118 new titles were added including the following notable titles: University of Western Australia Law Review; Waikato Law Review, Insurance Law Journal, Law Practice, The Journal of Psychiatry and Law, Merkourios – Utrecht Journal of International and European Law, Clearinghouse Review, Antitrust Bulletin, SEC Docket, James Cook University Law Review, Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law, and Air and Space Lawyer.
• Code of Federal Regulations – In June 2009 we completed the entire backfile of the CFR, therefore making every title of every year from inception available! This was one of the most sought-after collection development items over the past few years, and we are excited to have made this happen for you!
• Digital Session Laws – The Acts of Parliament of Canada, the Acts of Parliament of Australia, and the state session laws of Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Texas, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania are available back to inception. The coverage of session laws for all other U.S. States has been taken back to 1990.
• Federal Register is now being updated daily!
• U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions and Appeals – more than 42 new titles including these notable titles: Civil Aeronautics Board Reports, Treasury Decisions (1899-1966), OSAHRC Reports (1971-1975), Decisions of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, Federal Anti-trust Decisions (1890-1931), Decisions of the United States Railroad Labor Board (1920-1925), and more than 30 GPO Best Sellers!
• Added more than 75 new full-text legislative histories to the U.S. Federal Legislative History Library.
• Added more than 485 KAVs and 240 TIAS documents to the Treaties and Agreements Library.

Enhancements & New Features
Click on any enhancement or new feature below to read more about it on the HeinOnline Blog.

• Added a quick link to CFR Indexes & Finding Aids
• Find Bluebook Citation tool added to Law Journal Citation Navigator
• Add notes to your MyHein bookmarks and reorder bookmarks in your MyHein account (view short video demonstration)
• Quickly find a Public Law Number in the U.S. Statutes at Large Library
• New citation locator tool added to the CFR library (view short video demonstration)
  Cross Library Searching
  Search the page or section you are reading
  URLs are now hot-links to the web
• Relocated the printer icon to be more central to the viewer
• Added the NOT operator to the Boolean search options
• Linking full-text legislative histories from the U.S. Federal Legislative History Library & Taxation and Economic Reform in America Archive to the Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories database
• Integrated ScholarCheck features with the U.S. Federal Legislative History Library & Taxation and Economic Reform in America Archive
• Faceted Searching Introduced in the Law Journal Library
• Quick search button added at a title’s volume-level listing