Preparing for Remote Work During the BLS Winter Recess  

If you need to conduct remote research during the BLS Winter Recess (Dec. 23–Jan. 3), these are our suggestions:

  • NOW is the time to email askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu or to text (718) 734-2432 and state: “My [professor/journal editor] encouraged me to find additional articles and treatises to support [assertion X].  Can you help me?”  A reference librarian can recommend searches in our SARA library catalog to find e/books and “advanced searches” in our OneSearch discovery platform to find articles.
  • NOW is the time to implement the BLS proxy server instructions for off-campus access to many ebooks, ejournals and databases.  Prior to Winter Recess, you can still troubleshoot implementation problems with our library tech staff, accessible through: library.lab@brooklaw.edu  Librarians recommend either the Firefox (Mac) Proxy Instructions or the Firefox (Windows) Proxy Instructions. 
  • Check out needed print sources in BLS Library by Dec. 22.
  • If you find cites to articles or books unavailable through BLS Library, as of Dec. 15, 2022, you still have time to place requests for scans of articles and book chapters through the BLS interlibrary loan process. 
    • To place an ILL request, access SARA library catalog and click tab: ILL, enter your BLS username [format: firstname.lastname] & password, then click: Create Request. 
      • Fill out the appropriate template: Article, Book or Other (choose Other to request a scan of a single book chapter).
    • Feel free to email askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu or to text (718) 734-2432 to learn more about making an ILL request. 
    • If you place an ILL request, please monitor both your BLS “In” box and “Clutter” folder for replies from lenders. 
    • Note: ILL requests will not be processed from Dec. 23-Jan. 3. 
  • For further information, BLS patrons can access the Canvas page: Librarians’ Research Presentations > under heading: Materials from Librarians’ “Alcove Academy” Presentations, click: PowerPoint: “Effective Remote Research.”

We hope our tips will improve your research during Winter Break.  Remember: Right now, we are here to help! 

New: Campus-Wide Access to WashingtonPost.com

In response to patron requests, BLS Library now provides campus-wide access to WashingtonPost.com for students, faculty and administrators. 

WashingtonPost.com includes: expert reporting and analysis from Washington, D.C. and locations around the world; editorial commentary; real-time Q&A Discussions (offering “behind the scenes” views of key stories); and live-streaming of Washington Post Live events (featuring “top-level government and business leaders, emerging voices and newsmakers discuss[ing] the most pressing national and global issues of the day”).

Q: How can I access WashingtonPost.com?

A: Visit WashingtonPost.com while connected to Brooklyn Law School’s wireless network (bls-secure), while using computers in BLS Library’s computer labs, or while off campus using a web browser that communicates with the BLS proxy server.

Q: Where are Brooklyn Law School’s proxy server instructions to access WashingtonPost.com from off campus?

A: Click here to access BLS proxy server instructions for various web browsers.  Many patrons have reported that Firefox browser works well to provide off-campus access to BLS databases.  After implementing the proxy instructions for one web browser, close/reopen the browser.  You should now see a prompt requesting your BLS username/password.  If you have trouble implementing the BLS proxy server instructions, email: library.lab@brooklaw.edu for initial help.

Q: Can I print an article from WashingtonPost.com?

A: Yes.  Use your web browser’s “print” function.  The printout might not display the article’s complete URL.  We recommend copying a WashingtonPost.com article’s URL from the website if you plan to include this URL in a citation.  A member of The Washington Post’s Enterprise Client Success team told us that “URLs for our original content will be permalinks.”

Q: Can I create a personal WashingtonPost.com account?

A: Yes. Use your BLS email address to create a personal WashingtonPost.com account.  Below is a summary of the instructions to create a personal account.

Visit: WashingtonPost.com

Click: Sign In in the upper right-hand corner.

Click: Sign up link (near the bottom of the screen next to: “Need an account?”) to register a new account.  Enter your BLS email address and choose a password.  Click: Create account.

Once you have been redirected to the home page, click on your name in the upper right-hand corner.

This will result in the menu being displayed.  Click: Account Settings.

Make sure your email address is Verified – if not, click “Unverified” to be sent a verification email.

Click on the My subscriptions tab.  Click: Activate free digital access.

Your subscription should now be active.

Finding Casebooks & Study Aids in BLS Library

Questions & Answers, Torts
by Prof. Anita Bernstein

In its first-floor Reserve collection, BLS Library provides current editions of casebooks/textbooks that are required for classes.  There also are current editions of many treatises, hornbooks and other study aids in the Reserve collection.  Note: Study aids are only supplements to required course readings.  These print books circulate for two hours.  You can search for a specific source by title, author or keywords in SARA catalog.  Feel free to email askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu or to text (718) 734-2432 if you have questions about finding or accessing specific sources.

BLS Library’s guide 1L Resources, Tips and Tools highlights 1L casebooks and study aids available through BLS Library in both print and digital formats.  The top-level guide tab: 1L Course Study Aids provides a pull-down menu of subjects.  Click a subject, like: Civil Procedure.  There are “quick links” to boxes highlighting:

  • Selected CALI Lessons (online lessons on specific legal topics created by law professors/librarians – these lessons include review questions)
  • Casebooks
  • Treatises & Hornbooks
  • Study Aids Containing Multiple-Choice Questions
  • Additional Study Aids

In the 1L guide, sources in a box appear in reverse chronological order (“newest first”).  Guide pages also include a search feature (top right).  Recently, vendor EBSCO began supporting BLS Library’s desire to circulate Reserve copies of ebooks for two hours.  So, EBSCO ebooks like Mastering Multiple Choice for Federal Civil Procedure and A Short & Happy Guide to Torts circulate for two hours.  BLS Library’s e-copies of study aids in the Q&A, Understanding and Gilbert Law Summaries series (available through Lexis Digital Library) circulate for three days. 

Additionally, the 1L guide identifies print sources and online tools to support legal research and writing.  Top-level guide tab: Research, Writing & Citation provides a pull-down menu of resource pages on:

  • Legal Research
  • Legal Writing & Analysis
  • Legal Citation

Please reload the 1L guide’s web page when you visit this guide – BLS Library frequently adds new sources.  Reference librarians are happy to help you identify BLS Library’s sources!   

Study Rooms – Now You Can Use a QR Code to Check in and Out!

Several BLS students requested that the library reconsider its policy of locked study rooms during the regular (non-exam) part of the semester.  We heard you!  In response to your requests, the library will not lock study rooms during the regular semester. 

It is important for the library to continue tracking study room usage, however, as the law school regularly reevaluates the library’s space requirements.  As a result, to ensure that the library continues to meet student demand for study room space, students will now use QR codes to check in and out of study rooms.

We’re glad you asked!  Here is how it works in four easy steps:

STEP ONE: Make your study room reservation HERE, just as you always have.

STEP TWO: After making your reservation, you will receive a confirmation email that looks like this:

STEP THREE: Before you enter your study room, you must check in:

1. Scan the QR code posted on your study room door or click this link.

2. You will be directed here:

3. Now click Check In and you will be directed here:

4. Enter the unique reservation code provided in your confirmation email.  You are now checked in!

STEP FOUR: At the end of your study room reservation, you must check out:

1. Once again, scan the QR code posted on your study room door, or click this link.

2. You will be directed here:

3. Now click Check Out and you will be directed here:

4. Once again, enter the reservation code provided in your confirmation email.  You are now checked out!

Please make sure you follow these 4 easy steps.  If students regularly use study rooms without making reservations, or if students fail to check in and out of study rooms, the library may reconsider locking study room doors during the regular semester.

Contact the Reference Desk at askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu.

Need to find and research a paper or presentation topic? BLS librarians (and their guides) can help!

BLS librarians have created 40+ publicly-accessible legal research guides. Tips: A BLS student can email askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu, text (718) 734-2432 or chat with us for help determining whether there is a guide to support research on a specific topic. Off-campus use of many subscription databases described in BLS research guides requires implementation of the BLS proxy server instructions.

Also, your librarians serve as liaisons to the BLS full-time faculty–we can tell you which librarian works most closely with a particular professor. A librarian liaison might have created research links in the Canvas page for a paper-writing course or other material to support students’ research. Note: BLS librarians can highlight resources to support any type of law student paper, article or presentation.

A useful starting point for many types of paper research is the guide: Selecting & Developing Your Seminar Paper Topic. This guide’s home page includes videos on: selecting/researching a topic; developing a thesis for a seminar paper topic; and avoiding plagiarism. Guide tab: Selecting a Topic links to: indexes of legal blogs; legal news sources; and selected legal journals and newsletters. All of these sources highlight new and developing legal topics. Guide tab: Developing an Argument through Commentary links to both full-text sources of articles and indexes of articles. Guide tab: Developing an Argument through Grey Literature includes sources to find material published by think tanks, NGOs and interested organizations.

Moreover, there are BLS guides to international law research. The broadest two guides are: Paper Topic Selection: International (highlights news/legal news sources) and Paper Topic Development: International (highlights sources of articles and primary law). If you need to find a topic for a “Rule of Law/Law of War” seminar, you could access the Paper Topic Selection guide > tab: Pull-down Menu of News: Specific Topics and choose sub-tab: Law of War. The English Legal Sources guide includes links to newly available resources in Westlaw Edge UK.

Additionally, there are many subject-focused BLS research guides. If you need to develop a topic in the “Art Law” seminar, the Art Law guide > tab: Other Resources links to websites of organizations and the searchable ArThemis database of news/case notes on art and cultural property disputes. If you need to conduct research for the “Topics in White Collar Crime” seminar, you could link to many resources through guide: White Collar Crime Research. If you are writing in the “Civil Practice Workshop,” the New York Civil Practice guide might be helpful. (This is a guide BLS librarians like to highlight to all BLS students who might wish to become litigators.) If you are writing on a tax topic, see: Federal Tax Research Guide and International Tax Research Guide. These guides include instructions to access BLS subscription databases to support tax research.

COMING IN EARLY OCTOBER: A presentation for students on selecting a paper topic and avoiding plagiarism. We will provide the date/time soon!

New & Updated Tools for UK Legal Research

Feel free to ask BLS librarians for help (contact: askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu) in using these tools!

BLS Library has updated its publicly accessible research guide: English Legal Sources Available Through BLS Library.

Guide tab: Legal Books describes how to find many Sweet & Maxwell sources in: Westlaw Edge UK. In this database, BLS researchers now can access a number of additional treatises (example: Dicey, Morris & Collins on the Conflict of Laws).

Guide tab: Dictionaries includes a link to: Westlaw Edge UK: Index of Legal Terms. Westlaw Edge UK will search for a term like: demurrer in Jowitt’s Dictionary of English Law, Stroud’s Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases and Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary. Westlaw Edge UK also states: “In addition to the dictionaries, the index includes definitions that form part of Westlaw UK’s Case, Legislation and Journal documents.”

Guide tab: Cases now includes a box titled: Easy Ways To Find and Print Cases in Westlaw Edge UK. Also, researchers might appreciate the way Judicial Treatment appears so clearly in Westlaw Edge UK > tab: Cases.

Guide tab: News explains: At subscription Law360 UK, it appears that BLS researchers can only access “Top Stories.” Tip: Use Lexis+ Legal News Hub > All sections > UK to obtain the text of additional Law360 UK legal news stories/analysis.

Library Reading and Exam Period Policies

The reading and exam period is from Thursday, April 21 through Friday, May 6, 2022. 

During the reading and exam period you must make a reservation to use a library study room. Mandatory study room reservations begin on Thursday, April 21 at 8:00am; at that time, all study rooms will be locked, and you must go to the first-floor circulation desk to charge out the key to the room at the time of your reservation. The link to the study room reservations is on the library webpage. 

Study Room Policies: 

  • Study rooms are for the use of groups of two or more students. 
  • Study rooms may be reserved for the current day and three days ahead. 
  • The default reservation time is 2 hours, although study rooms may be reserved in 30-minute time slots; your time slots must be contiguous. Use the grid to select your start time and use the drop-down box to select your end time. 
  • Study room use is limited to 4 hours per user per day to ensure availability for all users. 
  • You must use your brooklaw.edu email address to reserve a study room. 
  • Study rooms are subject to availability and reservations may be modified by library staff at any time. 

Library Hours for the Reading & Exam Period: 

  • Thursday, April 21-Thursday, May 5:  8:00am – 2:00am. The circulation/reserve desk closes at 12:00am
  • Friday, May 6: 9:00am – 10:00pm.

Reminders About Noise & Food in the Library: 

  • Please keep your voices down in reading rooms and study rooms.  Your colleagues are also studying. 
  • If you need a space for discussion, the collaboration areas are: the Bernsen reference & reading room (1st floor), the Nash reading room (3rd floor) and the study rooms.  
  • Drinks are allowed in the library. Please use the law school’s designated dining areas for eating. 
  • Brooklyn Law School is a smoke and tobacco free campus. Smoking or vaping is not permitted anywhere in the school, which includes the library.  If you have any questions, please read Brooklyn Law School’s Smoke and Tobacco Free Policy on BLSConnect. 
  • Good Luck on Your Exams! 

Lexis Digital Library Now Available on Lexis+

As you start preparing for finals, remember that the BLS library has an extensive collection of study guides. The Lexis Digital Library hosts the popular Understanding series as e-books which you can easily access through your Lexis+ account. Just go to the homepage, click on the small dots to the left of the Lexis+ logo and select Digital Library. Use your BLS credentials to log in and navigate to Browse Library on the left.

Good luck studying!

New York Family Law Research Guide

For those interested in practicing or researching in the field of family law, the library recently published a

research guide for family law resources. The guide focuses on the law of New York State. It includes links to practice aids, treatises, and blogs and news sources for researching New York family law. There are also quick links to the relevant titles in the New York state statutory code and to case law databases focusing on family law. This summer, if you are interning with a family law organization, it would be useful for you to become familiar with both the news sources and the secondary sources listed.

Research Guide on Climate Change and Environmental Law

A climate change demonstration in Erlangen, Germany.

Unsplash/Markus SpiskeA climate change demonstration in Erlangen, Germany.

Whenever you are researching an issue, whether for a paper or a note, one of the most efficient ways to get started is to find a research guide. The BLS librarians have created dozens of research guides, available on the library’s homepage (just click on the Research Guides tab), including guides on Career Resources, Paper Topic Selection and Development for International and Foreign Law, Federal Legislative History Research, New York Civil Practice, Researching Copyright Law, and Antitrust and Competition law.

Our latest guide summarizes resources for researching climate change and environmental law . This guide includes links to books, treatises, databases, major environmental treaties, blogs and news sources for researching U.S. and international climate change and environmental law. As noted in a recent report issued by the UN Environment Programme , there has been a rapid increase in climate change litigation with over 1,500 cases filed in 38 countries as of July 2020. Our research guide includes links to climate change litigation databases and other resources that will assist students researching this burgeoning field of law.

Find our Climate Change and Environmental Law Guide under the Research Guides tab at brooklaw.edu/library. Happy Researching!