On Wednesday, September 18, Prof. Fajans and Librarian Kathy Darvil will be running their semi-annual workshop on how to research and write a seminar paper in Room 908A.  The workshop is from 4-5:30 PM. Topics covered include sources for selecting your topic, sources for researching your topic, and strategies for effectively organizing and writing your paper.  If you are unable to attend the workshop, you can access an online research guide which contains a recording of the workshop, links to and descriptions of all the research sources discussed, and the writing and research presentations.  The online guide is available at guides.brooklaw.edu/seminarpaper.  From the guide’s main page, you can access the recording of the presentation, Professor Fajans’ slideshow on how to write your seminar paper, and Kathy Darvil’s online presentation on how to research your seminar paper.  If you should need further help selecting or researching your topic, please stop by the reference desk for assistance.

The Brooklyn Law School Library is happy to announce that it recently obtained a site license that provides access to the New York Times for all faculty, staff, and students.  Our license will give you access via the website, https://www.nytimes.com/, as well as the NY Times apps for phones and tablets.

To register, go to https://nytimesineducation.com/access-nyt/, choose Brooklyn Law School from the drop-down, and then follow the instructions to register.  For your initial registration, you must either be on campus or go through our proxy server AND you must use your Brooklyn Law School email account to register.  Once you have registered, you can use your login name and password to access the site from anywhere.  Each year you will need to login from on-campus or using the proxy server in order to keep your access active.

Note that our access does not include e-reader editions, crossword puzzles, or the cooking app – those still need to be purchased separately.

If you have questions, send an email to askthelibrary@brookaw.edu.

This past weekend marked the 50^th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a pivotal point in LGBTQ history.  The New York Public Library is commemorating this event with an exhibition featuring photographs by two photojournalists, Kay Tobin Lahusen and Diana Davies, that captured major events in the gay rights movement in the 60s and 70s, alongside ephemera, periodicals, and other items from the library’s archival holdings.  The exhibition is free and open until July 13^th at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in Manhattan.   Be sure to check it out before it closes!  The NYPL has also provided book recommendations, podcasts, and other resources to learn more about the LGBTQ civil rights movement.  (https://www.nypl.org/stonewall50)

The BLS Library also has several LGBTQ resources. Check out our research guide for books, journals, major federal cases, legislation and a list of organizations advocating for LGBTQ rights. 

The first day of summer was June 21, and heading into July it sure feels like summer! For those of you sticking around BLS to study, the Library will be open 9am-12pm every day but Sunday (10am-12pm). The Library will be open from 9am-5pm on July 4th. Reference Services will not be available for those days.

As the count down to the bar begins, please remember to take care of yourselves! A good night’s sleep is valuable as we get closer. If you need a brief distraction, games and puzzles are available. Ask the Reference Librarian on duty for more information!

The first floor of the Library remains closed this for construction. Circulation, Reference, and Reserve services will be on the 3rd floor of the Library, near the internal staircase. Printing and scanning services will also be available on the third floor. If you have questions, you can always, Ask the Library.

Kudos to you all! After commencement, you may be ready to leave BLS, but BLS will not leave you.  Brooklyn Law School offers many services to its alumni.  2019 graduates can access the BLS network and are able to print until August of the year following graduation.  For May 2019 graduates, you have access until August 2020.   

In addition, graduates can register for Westlaw’s Grad Elite program.  The Grad Elite “Practice-Ready” program provides access to Westlaw Edge and other practice tools for 18 months post-graduation, for up to 60 hours each month. These hours can be used for work-related research.  Through this program, you can research using Westlaw Edge, Practical Law, Drafting Assistant Essential, and Westlaw Doc & Form Builder.

To register for this program, log in to your existing Westlaw account and click on the Practice Ready Solution link in the screen’s upper right-hand corner.  On the Practice Ready page, you will see a link for graduates to extend their access.

Besides access to Westlaw for 18 months post-graduation, Brooklyn Law School Alumni Association members have unlimited access to the library’s print resources and limited access to certain digital resources for research purposes while in the library.  Books, however, cannot be checked out.

While in the library, members have access to LexisNexis Academic, a stripped down version of Lexis.  LexisNexis Academic contains federal and state case law, statutes, and regulations.  It also has a limited run of law reviews, and features Shepards.  To use the database, go to the library home page, select Complete Database List, and then select LexisNexis Academic.

Finally, if you ever run into a research quandary, remember you can call, (718) 780-7567, or email, askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu, the reference desk.  Reference librarians are here to help!