D.U.L.L. NEWS

Newsletter of the Duke University Law Library

D.U.L.L. News is the newsletter of the Duke University Law Library. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Editor: Laura Scott

Headline

Posted 1 June 2006

Welcome, Summer Starters!

The Duke University Law Library ("DULL," get it?) staff is glad you're here. We know the first semester can be challenging, and we are here to help point you in the right direction in your studies. Feel free to ask us any questions you might have. During the summer, you will find us in the library from 8:00-5:00, Monday through Friday, except holidays. (As a law student, you also have 24/7 access to the library with your DukeCard.) Also, check out our first year survival guide, which lists books on taking exams and succeeding at law school and tells you how to find study aids and your professors' publications.

With this issue of DULL News, the law library's monthly online newsletter, we welcome you to Duke Law and offer tips for using the library and getting your first year off to a successful start.

Posted 20 March 2006

History of Women in the Law

Do you recognize the following names? Elizabeth Ware Packard? Charlotte E. Ray? Soia Mentschikoff? If not, you should get to know them! While theirs might not be household names, the achievements, advocacy, and dedication of these women made them early leaders in the legal field. Elizabeth Ware Packard, after being wrongfully committed to a mental hospital by her tyrannical husband, successfully advocated for reforms in commitment, marital property, and child custody laws in several states in the 1860s. Charlotte E. Ray, “the first lady lawyer in Washington, [D.C.],” was also the first African-American woman attorney in the U.S. and an expert on corporate law. Soia Mentschikoff was one of the few female law professors in the 1940s, a principal drafter of the Uniform Commercial Code, and the first female president of the Association of American Law Schools. (For more information about the lives and careers of these and 47 other important women in the law, see Dawn Bradley Berry, The 50 Most Influential Women in American Law (KF353 .B47 1996).

Here at Duke Law, we have our own history of women’s achievement in the legal field. Miriam Cox, described in the press as a “Golden Haired Portia,” supported herself as an undergraduate at Duke Woman’s College, finishing in three years, before becoming the first woman to enroll at Duke Law. In 1974, the first African-American women, Evelyn Omega Cannon, Brenda Becton, and Karen Bethea-Shields, graduated from the law school. All three went on to become judges.

In honor of the 70th anniversary of women at Duke Law in 1997, the law school held a symposium to celebrate the achievements of its alumnae. In anticipation of that event, Duke Law Magazine published a special history of women at Duke Law and a timeline of American women in the law. See “A Celebration of Women: 70 Years at Duke Law School,” Duke Law Magazine, Fall 1997, at 3-31. Also check out a video of the symposium by the same title, available at the circulation desk.

The law school’s proud record with respect to women continues to the present, of course. Today, according to ABA statistics, only 19% of law school deans are women, but Duke Law has had two female leaders: Dean Pamela B. Gann (1988-1999) and Dean Katharine T. Bartlett (2000-present).  Dean Bartlett is herself a nationally-recognized expert on gender and law. Most recently, the Program in Public Law’s Great Lives in the Law series has brought several distinguished women to the law school. We’ve been honored by visits from Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor (video available at the circulation desk) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (view webcast), former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno (view webcast), and New York Times Supreme Court correspondent Linda Greenhouse (view webcast).

With this Women’s History Month issue of DULL News, we honor these and the many other great women in the law and highlight resources on the history of American women in the legal field.

Posted 20 February 2006

Corporate Governance and Financial Reporting after Enron

The criminal trial of former Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling began last month in federal court in Houston, Texas. They are accused of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, among several other charges. The charges against Lay and Skilling arose from the misleading financial statements Enron filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission during their tenure and their own statements to shareholders, analysts, and auditors about Enron’s financial health. This closely-watched trial is expected to take up to four months to complete.

In response to the spectacular collapse of Enron in 2001--as well as the WorldCom, Adelphia and other corporate accounting scandals--Congress enacted "An Act to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws, and for other purposes," Pub. L. 107-204, 116 Stat. 745, in July 2002. This statute is commonly known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (a.k.a. SOX or SarbOx or SOA) for two of its sponsors, Senator Paul S. Sarbanes and Representative Michael G. Oxley.

Described as "the broadest package of federal disclosure and corporate governance legislation since the federal securities laws were first enacted in the 1930s," Sarbanes-Oxley affected many aspects of the corporate governance and financial reporting of U.S. public companies. John T. Bostelman, The Sarbanes-Oxley Deskbook 2-2 (2003). For example, in an effort to prevent securities fraud through increased accountability, Sarbanes-Oxley (and its accompanying SEC regulations) imposed heightened accounting, control, conflict-of-interest avoidance, and financial reporting requirements on companies and their officers and directors. The act also increased the criminal penalties for corporate fraud. In addition, it regulated the accounting firms providing auditing services to public companies through the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and through new rules on auditor independence. Finally, and importantly for many of you, Sarbanes-Oxley and the new SEC regulations created new rules of professional conduct for attorneys appearing and practicing before the SEC, which includes providing advice on a company’s SEC filings.

Corporate governance and financial reporting reform will remain a hot topic in corporate and securities law in 2006. Since the enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley, there has been continuing controversy over the expense of complying with its stringent control and reporting requirements, particularly for smaller publicly-traded companies and private companies considering going public. Business groups are lobbying for amendments to Sarbanes-Oxley, and a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the PCAOB was filed last week in Washington, D.C. Also, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox has indicated that the SEC’s rulemaking agenda for this year will include further strengthening the corporate disclosure rules to make executive compensation more transparent.

Want to learn more about Enron, Sarbanes-Oxley, or corporate governance in general? This issue of DULL News highlights some good starting places. For more information or additional resources, just contact the Reference Desk.

Posted January 2006

Spring Semester Print Edition

Download the spring issue of Dull News (.pdf)

Posted 6 December 2005

On the Lighter Side

A secretary, a paralegal and a partner in a city law firm are
walking through a park on their way to lunch when they find an
antique oil lamp. They rub it, and a Genie comes out in a puff of smoke.

The Genie says, "I usually grant three wishes, so I'll give each of you one."

"Me first! Me first!" says the secretary. "I want to be in the
Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.

Poof! She's gone.

In astonishment, "Me next! Me next!" says the paralegal, "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with an endless supply of piña coladas and the love of my life."

Poof! He's gone.

"You're next," the Genie says to the partner. The partner says,
"I want those two back in the office after lunch."

With exams under way, we thought you could use a little break from the serious in this issue of DULL News. Over the coming weeks, you will be thinking deep thoughts of important issues like Chevron deference, the fruit of the poisonous tree, and the perfection of security interests. When you are ready for a study break, though, check out some of the lighter legal resources highlighted here for your enjoyment and stress relief.

Posted 4 November 2005

U.S. Supreme Court Nomination

On October 31, President Bush nominated Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. With Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the appointment scheduled to begin January 9, 2006, Judge Alito's professional experience, legal views, and judicial record will be the subject of intense scrutiny over the next two months.

This issue of D.U.L.L. News highlights resources for finding biographical information about Judge Alito and for researching his opinions and other writings, as well as those of other judges. For further information about the Supreme Court nomination and confirmation process, take another look at the August 15, 2005 issue of D.U.L.L. News.

Posted 7 October 2005

Supreme Court 2005 Term Commences

The United States Supreme Court is the most watched and researched court in the country, if not the world. Its opinions are available in many formats, and many primary and secondary sources are available for research into the Court's decisions and the Court itself. Supreme Court resources are often organized by term, which starts on the first Monday each October.

The Supreme Court’s official web site, http://www.supremecourtus.gov/, debuted in 2000 and continually adds materials. Visit the official site for official docket information and the Court's calendar.

According to the Supreme Court's web site: "The Court's caseload has increased steadily to a current total of more than 7,000 cases on the docket per Term. The increase has been rapid in recent years. In 1960, only 2,313 cases were on the docket, and in 1945, only 1,460. Plenary review, with oral arguments by attorneys, is granted in about 100 cases per Term. Formal written opinions are delivered in 80-90 cases. Approximately 50-60 additional cases are disposed of without granting plenary review."

Researchers are interested in the Court's docket for a number of reasons including the anticipated outcome of a particular case or knowing which cases the Court chooses to hear. One of the best sources for current information on the Court's docket is U.S. Law Week. The library receives this publication in paper (Index Tables & Reserve) 2 and keeps older editions in Superceded Reference (Level 1). The United States Supreme Court Monitor provides summaries of the current OT as soon as certiorari is granted. In addition, news coverage is gathered from major legal newspapers.

For more information on researching the Court, check out the Law Library's U.S. Supreme Court Research Guide.

Posted 15 August 2005

Supreme Court Resignations and Nominations

John G. Roberts

Biography

On July 19, 2005, Roberts was nominated by President George W. Bush to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the retirement of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Judge Roberts graduated from Harvard College, summa cum laude, in 1976, and received his law degree, magna cum laude, in 1979 from the Harvard Law School, where he was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. After law school, he served as law clerk for Judge Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the following year to then-Associate Justice Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Following his clerkship experience, Mr. Roberts served as Special Assistant to United States Attorney General William French Smith. In 1982 President Reagan appointed Mr. Roberts to the White House Staff as Associate Counsel to the President, a position in which he served until 1986. Mr. Roberts’ responsibilities as Associate Counsel to the President included counseling on the President’s constitutional powers and responsibilities, as well as other legal issues affecting the executive branch.

He then joined Hogan & Hartson where he developed a civil litigation practice, with an emphasis on appellate matters. He personally argued before the United States Supreme Court and the lower federal courts, participating in a wide variety of matters on behalf of corporate clients, trade associations, governments, and individuals.

Mr. Roberts left the firm in 1989 to accept appointment as Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States, a position in which he served until returning to the firm in 1993. In that capacity he personally argued before the Supreme Court and the federal courts of appeals on behalf of the United States, and participated in formulating the litigation position of the government and determining when the government would appeal adverse decisions. Mr. Roberts had general substantive responsibility within the Office of the Solicitor General for cases arising from the Civil and Civil Rights Divisions of the Justice Department, as well as from a variety of independent agencies. He returned to Hogan & Hartson in 1993.

Mr. Roberts has presented oral arguments before the Supreme Court in more than thirty cases from 1990 to 2002, covering the full range of the Court’s jurisdiction, including admiralty, antitrust, arbitration, environmental law, First Amendment, health care law, Indian law, bankruptcy, tax, regulation of financial institutions, administrative law, labor law, federal jurisdiction and procedure, interstate commerce, civil rights, and criminal law.

Judge Roberts was confirmed by the Senate to a judgeship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on May 8, 2003, and sworn in on June 2 by Chief Justice Rehnquist. At the time of his confirmation, Judge Roberts was the senior partner in charge of Hogan & Hartson's appellate practice. He is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

Timeline

Born: Buffalo, NY, January 27, 1955
Education: Harvard College - A.B., 1976; Harvard Law School - J.D., 1979
Bar Admittance: 1981 District of Columbia
Experience:
1979 - 1980 United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Law Clerk to Honorable Henry Friendly
1980 - 1981 Supreme Court of the United States, Law Clerk to Honorable William H. Rehnquist
1981 - 1982 United States Department of Justice, Special Assistant to the Attorney General
1982 - 1986 White House Counsel’s Office, Associate Counsel to the President
1986 - 1989 Hogan & Hartson, Associate
1989 - 1993 United States Department of Justice, Principal Deputy Solicitor General
1993 - 2002 Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P., Partner
2002 - present United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Judge

Sources: U.S. Courts, http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/; U.S. Dept. of Justice, http://www.usdoj.gov/olp/

By Judge Roberts

John G. Roberts, Jr., Article III Limits on Statutory Standing, 42 Duke L.J. 1219 (1993).
The article examines the A Legal Times article characterizes, stating, "in a 1993 law review article Roberts penned shortly after his departure from the government, he holds little back about his own views--and offers a passionate defense of Justice Antonin Scalia."

John G. Roberts, Jr., Riding the Coattails of the Solicitor General, Legal Times, Mar. 29, 1993, at 30.

John G. Roberts, Jr., The 1992-93 Supreme Court, 1994 Pub. Int. L. Rev. 107.

On Judge Roberts

John G. Roberts, Jr. has been characterized as "one of the best Supreme Court advocates in recent memory." Michael M. Gallagher, Disarming the Confirmation Process, 50 Clev. St. L. Rev. 513, 531 (2002/2003) (examining potential flaws in the judicial nomination process). The article notes that Roberts did not receive a Senate confirmation hearing for his current appointment during Senator Leahy's tenure as chair of the Judiciary Committee. The result was a two-year stall in his confirmation. See U.S. Dept. of Justice: Office of Legal Policy, Judicial Nominations, at http://www.usdoj.gov/olp/judicialnominations108.htm.

For more information on the work of Judge John Roberts, use Westlaw Profiler (Database PROFILER-ALL) and enter "John G. Roberts." There are close to 900 profile references in the following categories:

• Verdict and Settlement Summaries
• Appellate Petitions, Motions and Filings
• Appellate Briefs
• Joint Appendices
• Oral Arguments
• Cases
• Law Reviews & Journals
• Dockets

Also check out http://en.wikipedia.org for general information on the nominee.

Confirmation Process

Congressional Research Service reports

• Henry B. Hogue, Supreme Court Nominations Not Confirmed: 1789-2004 (updated March 21, 2005). Another update is expected due to the vacancy on the Court. The summary, in part:
  "Of the 154 nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court between 1789 and 2004, 34
  were not confirmed by the Senate. The 34 nominations represent 29 individuals
  whose names were sent forward to the Senate by President. . . .
  These nominations have been the subject of extensive legal, historical, and
  political science writing, a selected list of which is included in this report."
  
• Richard S. Beth, Cloture Attempts on Nominations (updated Dec. 11, 2002). The summary, in part:
  "Cloture is the only means by which the Senate can vote to limit debate on a matter,
  and thereby overcome a possible filibuster. . . . From 1949 through 2002, cloture was sought on 35 nominations, and invoked on 21. Only three of the 35
  nominees were not confirmed; all three were among those on whom the Senate rejected
  cloture."
• Betsy Palmer, Evolution of the Senate’s Role in the Nomination and Confirmation Process: A Brief History (updated June 5, 2003). The summary, in part:
  "The role the Senate has played in the nomination process has depended, in part,
  upon the relationship between the President and the Senate. Nonetheless, while there
  have been many controversies over nominations, the vast majority of nominees
  eventually make it through the process and are confirmed."

In the D.U.L.L. Collection *

David N. Atkinson, Leaving the Bench: Supreme Court Justices at the End (KF8744 .A98 1999).

Michael Cominskey, Seeking Justices: The Judging of Supreme Court Nominees (KF8742 .C63 2004).

Richard Davis, Electing Justice: Fixing the Supreme Court Nomination Process (KF8742 .D383 2005).

Patrick B. McGuigan & Dawn M Weyrich, Ninth Justice: The Fight for Bork (KF8742 .M33 1990).

John Anthony Maltese, The Selling of Supreme Court Nominees (KF8742 .M36 1995).

Roy M. Mersky & J. Myron Jacobstein, The Supreme Court of the United States Nominations, 1916-1981 (KF8744 .J8) (Senate Hearings in 17 volumes).

Barbara A. Perry, A "Representative" Supreme Court?: The Impact of Race, Religion, and Gender of Appointments (KF8742 .P336 1991).

Christopher E. Smith, Critical Judicial Nominations and Political Change: The Impact of Clarence Thomas (KF8742 .S57 1993).

Norman Vieira & Leonard Gross, Supreme Court Appointments: Judge Bork and the Politicization of Senate Confirmations (KF8742 .V54 1998).

Artemus Ward, Deciding to Leave: The Politics of Retirement from the United States Supreme Court (KF8742 .W368 2003).

George L. Watson & John A. Stookey, Shaping America: The Politics of Supreme Court Appointments (KF8742 .W385 1995).

Justice O'Connor

In the D.U.L.L. Collection *

Walter Dellinger, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (2003) (videorecording, Reserve).

Nancy Maveety, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor: Strategist on the Supreme Court (KF8745.O25 M38 1996).

Sandra Day O'Connor, The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice (KF8742 .O274 2003).

Sandra Day O'Connor, Lazy B: Growing up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest (KF8745.O25 A35 2002).

Robert Van Sickel, Not a Particularly Different Voice: The Jurisprudence of Sandra Day O'Connor (KF8745.O25 V36 1998).

Robert Zelnick, Swing Dance: Justice O'Connor and the Michigan Muddle (KF8742 .Z44 2004).

* Look for these books in the Law Library display case at the end of the week; ask for any one of them at the reference desk.

Posted 28 May 2005

File-sharing cases

The Supreme Court is expected to announce a decision in MGM Studios v. Grokster (link to Supreme Court docket information). The case presents an important question at the crossroads of copyright and innovation: Should the distributor of a multi-purpose tool be liable for copyright infringements committed by its end users? The Ninth Circuit said networking services are not liable for vicarious or contributory infringment. 380 F.3d 1154, 1154 (9th Cir. 2004). Oral argument in this case took place in the Supreme Court on March 29; a 55-page transcript is available on the Supreme Court web site, http://www.supremecourtus.gov. With the 2004 term ending next month, a decision is anticipated in the coming weeks. This issue of DULL News explores legal resources and news features on copyright issues of file-sharing and peer-to-peer networks.

Background

The applicable copyright laws in this case come from the U.S. Constitution, federal statute, and case law:

• U.S. Const., art. I, sec. 8, cl. 8: "The Congress shall have the Power . . . .To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries"
• Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. sec. 101 et seq.
• • Section 102. Subject matter of copyright: In general.
  • Section 106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted works.
  • Section 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.
  • Section 109. Limitations on exclusive rights: Effect of transfer of particular copy or phonorecord.
• Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984).
• • "In summary, the record and findings of the District Court lead us to two conclusions. First, Sony demonstrated a significant likelihood that substantial numbers of copyright holders who license their works for broadcast on free television would not object to having their broadcasts time- shifted by private viewers. And second, respondents failed to demonstrate that time-shifting would cause any likelihood of nonminimal harm to the potential market for, or the value of, their copyrighted works. The Betamax is, therefore, capable of substantial noninfringing uses. Sony’s sale of such equipment to the general public does not constitute contributory infringement of respondent’s copyrights."
  • Id. at 456.
  • "It may well be that Congress will take a fresh look at this new technology, just as it so often has examined other innovations in the past. But it is not our job to apply laws that have not yet been written. Applying the copyright statute, as it now reads, to the facts as they have been developed in this case, the judgment of the Court of Appeals must be reversed." Id.
• The Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-304, 112 Stat. 2860 (codified at 17 U.S.C. sec. 101 et seq. (2000)).
• • Section 512. Limitations on liability relating to material online
• Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, Pub. L. No. 102-563, 106 Stat. 4237 (codified at 17 U.S.C. sec. 1001 et seq. (2000)).
• • "No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright based on the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a digital audio recording device, a digital audio recording medium, an analog recording device, or an analog recording medium, or based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of such a device or medium for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings." 17 U.S.C. sec. 1008.
• A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 239 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2001)

Several legal portals examine the issue and provide access to documents and analysis of peer-to-peer file sharing. Findlaw's Special Coverage section includes coverage of the Grokster case, http://news.lp.findlaw.com/legalnews/lit/mpaa/. Besides briefs and lawyers involved in the case, the site links to legal commentary and analysis as well as various related organizations. Analysts have examined similarity to the Napster case, A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 239 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2001). See http://www.dml.indiana.edu/pdf/AnalysisOfNapsterDecision.pdf. One commentator notes that the distinction between the Napster case and this one, according to the Ninth Circuit, is that "Unlike Napster, which featured a central server that connected user’s computers, Grokster had no central server. Instead, Grokster’s software employed a networking technology licensed from FastTrack, a third party." http://www.alanbergman.com/grokster.pdf.

The Ninth Circuit also relied on Supreme Court precedent that when a technology is capable of substantial non-infringing uses, developers, manufacturers, and providers of the service cannot be held liable for consumers infringing uses of that technology. Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios, 464 U.S. 417 (1984). The Digital Media Corporation asks key questions in its FAQ from its amicus curiae brief, including:

"If Grokster’s software falls within the Sony standard, and its peer-to-peer technology is capable of substantial non-infringing uses, why is there so much controversy? The Sony defense protects only against liability associated with the development and operation of products and services. But it does not protect against liability for other conduct, such as active encouragement of infringement. Record labels and movie studios have accused Grokster of promoting infringing uses of the Grokster software so that Grokster could build a huge network of users and market the user base to advertisers (including spyware and pornography companies)." Digital Media Corporation, FAQ’s for Friend of the Court Brief Filed by DiMA, NetCoalition, CDT and ITAA, http://www.digmedia.org/docs. See also the Question Presented on the Supreme Court docket, http://www.supremecourtus.gov/qp/04-00480qp.pdf.

How does it work?

Peer-to-peer sharing tools such as Kazaa and Grokster are similar to Gnutella, featured on Howstuffworks, http://computer.howstuffworks.com/. This site breaks file-sharing down into short discussions including "How the Old Napster Worked," "Peer-to-Peer Sharing," and "Is Gnutella Legal?"

In the Law Library Collection

William Cornish, Intellectual property : Omnipresent, distracting, irrelevant? (K1401 .C665 2004)

CNRS communication, Internet et le droit d’auteur : la culture Napster (K1450 .F37 2003)

All the rave : the rise and fall of Shawn Fanning’s Napster (ML3790 .M46 2003)

Jessica Litman, War stories (Occasional papers in intellectual property from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, no. 10) (KF3045.95 .L58 2002)

Sonic boom : Napster, MP3, and the new pioneers of music (ML3790 .A43 2001)

Irresistible forces : the business legacy of Napster & the growth of the underground Internet (Perkins Library 025.0678 M568, I71, 2001)

The Napster litigation and the future of peer to peer file sharing [videorecording]

File sharing [electronic resource] : selected universities report taking action to reduce copyright infringement : report to congressional requesters.

Additional resources

The Winter/Spring 2003 issue of Law and Contemporary Problems - http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/lcp/ - focused on The Public Domain. David Lange touched on peer-to-peer sharing in "Reimaging the Public Domain," and Negativland discussed file-sharing in "Two Relationships to a Cultural Public Domain."

Seagrumn Smith, From Napster to Kazaa: The Battle Over Peer-to-Peer Filesharing Goes International, 2003 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0008, available at http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/dltr/articles/2003dltr0008.html, discusses international jurisdiction and enforcement of copyright laws shortly after the judgment against Napster. Kazaa was an Australian-based corporation that now resides in Vanuatu.

Other useful web sites: P2P United: Fighting for the future of peer-to-peer technology, www.p2punited.org; Electronic Frontier Foundation: MGM v. Grokster Backgrounder, http://www.eff.org; Motion Picture Association of America, http://www.respectcopyrights.org; and Recording Industry Association of America, http://www.musicunited.org.

An upcoming event at the University of Maryland University College called, "Symposium on Intellectual Property: Pirates, Thieves and Innocents: Perceptions of Copyright Infringement in the Digital Age," http://www.umuc.edu/cip/symposium, will be held on June 16-17, 2005. The theme,"Exploring the ways in which we think and talk about copyright infringement in our digital age; focusing on issues relevant to the higher education community and the delivery of third-party copyrighted content." Speakers include legal counself of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Posted 20 April 2005

Annual Faculty Authors Reception

Date: Thursday, April 21, 2005
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Burdman Lounge

Faculty, staff and students of the Law School are invited to the Fifth Annual Faculty Authors reception, celebrating faculty scholarship and the contributions of the library in support of this scholarship. Members of the faculty will offer comments on their colleagues' books published during 2004.

In addition, the Law Library will distribute the second annual publication of Beyond Excellence: Duke Law School Faculty Scholarship including a comprehensive list of 2004 scholarly writings by Duke Law Faculty. This year's issue features an essay based on the remarks given by Andrew L. Kaufman, Charles Stebbins Fairchild Professor of law at Harvard, at the Duke Law School Library event celebrating the addition of the 500,000th volume to the law school library.

Honored Books
2004

George C. Christie
Advanced Torts: Cases and Materials (Thomson/West, 2004) (with James Meeks, Ellen S. Pryor & Joseph Sanders)
Cases and Materials on the Law of Torts (Thomson/West, 4th ed. 2004) (with James Meeks, Ellen S. Pryor & Joseph Sanders)

Charles T. Clotfelter
After Brown: The Rise and Retreat of School Desegregation (Princeton University Press, 2004)

James D. Cox
Securities Regulation, Cases and Materials (Aspen Publishers, 4th ed.) (with Robert W. Hillman & Donald C. Langevoort)

Donald L. Horowitz
Facing Ethnic Conflicts: Towards a New Realism (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004) (editor with Andreas Wimmer et al.)

Jonathan K. Ocko
Contract and Property in Early Modern China (Stanford University Press, 2004) (editor with Madeleine Zelin, & Robert Gardella)

Jedediah Purdy
Democratic Vistas: Reflections on the Life of American Democracy (Yale University Press, 2004) (editor with Anthony T. Kronman & Cynthia Farrar)

Arti K. Rai
Law and the Mental Health System (West Publishing, 4th ed. 2004) (with Ralph Reisner & Christopher Slobogin)

William A. Reppy, Jr.
Community Property in the United States (Carolina Academic Press, 6th ed. 2004) (with C. Samuel)

Cesare P.R. Romano
Internationalized Criminal Courts and Tribunals (Oxford University Press, 2004) (editor with Andre Nollkaemper & Jann K. Kleffner)

Thomas D. Rowe, Jr.
Civil Procedure (Foundation Press, 2004) (with Suzanna Sherry & Jay Tidmarsh)

James Salzman
Natural Resources Law and Policy (Foundation Press, 2004) (with James Rasband and Mark Squillace)

Richard L. Schmalbeck and Lawrence Zelenak
Federal Income Taxation (Aspen Publishers, 2004)

Steven L. Schwarcz
Securitization, Structured Finance, and Capital Markets (LexisNexis, 2004) (with Bruce A. Markell & Lissa Lamkin Broome)

Posted 1 April 2005

Right to Die Resources

With the life events and recent death of Terri Schiavo in the headlines, right to die issues are once again in the spotlight of legal discourse. This DULL issue highlights some of the topics and resources that provide timely information on this politically charged area of law.

The Schiavo case has been considered for some time. Rebecca Dresser's Schiavo: A Hard Case Makes Questionable Law was published in the May/June 2004 issue of The Hastings Report. Daniel Eisenberg's The Terri Schiavo Case: Related Ethical Dilemmas appeared on the Society Today web site in November 2003.

Findlaw is representative of the information available on commercial sites available to the public. News, actual court documents, opinions, and related cases are posted along with links to living wills and the lawyers involved in the case: http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/lit/schiavo/.

Many academic institutions have tracked developments in the Schiavo case. For example, the University of Miami's Ethics Program provides Key Events in the Case of Theresa Marie Schiavo, a detailed look at life events since 1990, when she suffered from cardiac arrest. Links to public documents are available here.

Government Information:

• U.S. Living Will Registry
• Florida's Health Care Directives statutes
• Florida Dept. of Elder Affairs, Making Choices: Beginning to Plan for End-of-Life Care

LexisNexis "Get a Document" citations:

• Federal Decisions:
• • Schindler v. Schiavo, U.S. Supreme Court, (March 24th, 2005): 2005 US Lexis 2757
  • Schindler v. Schiavo, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, (March 23rd, 2005): 2005 US App Lexis 4702
  • Schindler v. Schiavo, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, (March 22nd, 2005): 2005 US Dist Lexis 4265
• Congressional Action:
• • "An Act for the Relief of the Parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo" 109 PL 3: Legislation conferring jurisdiction to US Dist. Ct.
  • Senate Bill: 109 S 686
  • Bill Tracking for Senate Bill: 109 Bill Tracking S 686, links to Congressional Record for remarks and floor debates
  • House of Representatives Resolution to Consider Senate Bill 686: 109 H Res 182

In the DULL collection:

• National survey of state laws, Ref. KF386 .N38
• Advance health care directive: a handbook for professionals, R726.2 .K76 2002
• Right to die policies in the American states, KF3827 .E87 S65 2002
• The right to die : the law of end-of-life decision making, KF3827.E87 M452
• Physician-assisted suicide : the anatomy of a constitutional law issue, KF3827.E87 B44 2003
• Taking advance directives seriously : prospective autonomy and decisions near the end of life, KF3827.E87 O43 2001
• The essential guide to a living will : how to protect your right to refuse medical treatment, KF3827.E87 Z953 1991
• In general, browse KF3827 on Level 2.

Decide for Yourself
Living Wills & Powers of Attorney
Donna Nixon, Head of Reference Services

The predicament of the Schiavo family has prompted many of us to think about control of our future health care decisions. As the population ages and as medical technology makes extraordinary and costly life-support available, this becomes even more of an issue. A good way to avoid controversies such as the one that is rending the Schiavo family is to make your wishes known, by putting them in writing. There are several types of documents that one may need to execute to make one's wishes legally documented. The names vary, but here are a few of the main documents and their purposes:

1. Living Will-This is a document that you can execute to indicate whether and in what situations medical personnel should start, continue or stop life support treatments if you become seriously ill and incapacitated to the point where you cannot speak for yourself at the time. Things covered in the form may include use of breathing, feeding and resuscitation apparatus. Such a directive cannot anticipate every possible situation, but must speak of your wishes in broad terms.

2. Medical Power of Attorney or Health Care Power of Attorney-This is a document that appoints one or more persons to make medical care decisions for you should you be incapable of making them for yourself. In a medical power of attorney you can give someone broad or very narrow authority to act as your proxy in the medical decision-making process.

3. Advance Health Directive-This is a document that combines the features of a Living Will and a Medical Power of Attorney. It may also include directives concerning other related matters such as organ donation.

4. Durable Power of Attorney-This is a document that appoints someone to manage your affairs (including financial and other matters, not just your health care decisions) in the event that you become incompetent or incapacitated.

5. Will-This is a document that designates how your property should be disposed of after your death.

Practically speaking, you need only execute an Advance Health Directive, a Health Care Power of Attorney or both in the state in which you spend most of your time. Other states will generally honor those documents. Execution requirements for each of the documents vary by state (e.g. witness requirements, notarization, etc.). So, be sure to look at your specific state's statutes and regulations regarding such documents. Also, you can change the directives by executing a new document at any time. Just make sure to let your family know of the changes and where to locate the original documents. There are also state and commercial "registries" where you can file health directive documents so that they will be readily available to healthcare providers when needed.

Helpful Sites:

ABA Public Education-Health Care Advance Directives

ABA Public Education, Estate Planning Answers

ABA Lawinfo.org, Your Family, Estate Planning/End of Life Issues/Living Wills

State Living Will/Health Care Directive Resources & Forms:

North Carolina
Info:
North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services, Advance Care Planning/Advance Directives

Registry & Forms:
North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Advance Health Care Directive Registry

Statutes:
Advance Health Care Directives:
North Carolina General Statutes §130A-465

Powers of Attorney:
North Carolina General Statutes §32A

New York
New York State Bar Association, Public Resources: New York Living Will

Other States
Wall Street Journal Online: "Advance Directives by State"

Posted 23 December 2004

New Research Guide on Intellectual Property - a preview

The contents of the IP guide provided here will soon be available on the library web site and in paper version at the reference desk. The guide was written by Valerie Weis, reference librarian here at Duke Law, shortly before her departure last year. Donna Nixon updated the guide for publication in the new year.

Intellectual property consists of property rights in patents, inventions, trademarks, copyright and industrial designs. Intellectual property has become a valuable commodity in domestic and international trade. As the value of intellectual property increases, the body of intellectual property law becomes increasingly complex and comprehensive in response to efforts to protect this valuable commodity from being pirated. This guide provides useful starting points for research on United States intellectual property law. It does not discuss every specialization within intellectual property law. Instead, this guide provides a general section on intellectual property law resources and specialized sections on patent law, copyright law, and trademark law, the core areas of intellectual property law.

Basis for Intellectual Property Law

Patents and copyrights are authorized by the United States Constitution, which grants to the U.S. Congress "power…To promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." U.S. CONST. art. I, § 8, cl. 8. One can find intellectual property law in U.S. federal and state law and in international treaties (for example, the "TRIPS Agreement"). Often, U.S. federal and state intellectual property law is a mixture of U.S. common law, and federal and state statutes. Below is an annotated list of select intellectual property law resources.

GENERAL RESOURCES

Reference Books & Treatises
Robert C. Dorr and Christopher Munch, Protecting Trade Secrets, Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks. (3rd ed., 2000) (KF2979 .D67 2000).
This single-volume looseleaf is a useful starting point for researching traditional areas of intellectual property law. It discusses federal and state laws and regulations governing copyrights, patents, trademarks and trade secrets. Citations to key cases and secondary material are included. The publication is kept up-to-date by annual supplements.

Arthur R. Miller and Michael H. Davis, Intellectual Property: Patents, Trademarks and Copyright in a Nutshell (4th ed., 2000) (on Reserve). This book, oriented towards law students, does a good job of summarizing the basics of U.S. copyright, patent and trademark law.

Newsletters
The Filter
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/filter/
Published monthly by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, The Filter newsletter provides the latest news on Internet issues through the eyes of leading experts, scholars, and researchers. You can subscribe to this newsletter by e-mail.

Duke Law and Technology Review
http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/dltr/
Provides thoughtful and in-depth coverage of the latest law and technology issues. DLTR publishes "ibriefs." Ibriefs are short 10-12 page student-written essays that focus on current intellectual property topics. DLTR has received rave reviews from a number of legal and news organizations. New ibriefs are posted weekly during the school year.

Findlaw
http://newsletters.findlaw.com/
The legal portal site, Findlaw, offers free weekly case summaries on intellectual property and topical legal newsletters on subjects such as cyberlaw, entertainment law, and sports law. Register for the newsletters by e-mail.

IP Law and Business
http://www.ipww.com/
From the publishers of Law.com and American Lawyer, this practice-oriented site that publishes recent news stories and case summaries focuses on the business of intellectual property protection and features prominent attorneys who practice in the area.

Managing Intellectual Property (Euromoney, 2001-) (Periodicals).
This is a practice-oriented newsletter that is a valuable source of United States and international intellectual property law information.

Both Westlaw and LexisNexis contain a number of intellectual property newsletters and magazines that are oriented towards the practicing attorney. Both include Intellectual Property. LexisNexis includes: Mealey's Litigation Report (MEALEY;MEAIP) and Patent Strategy & Management (NEWS;PATSM). Westlaw includes: Internet Connection (GLINTCON), Internet Law & Strategy (INTERLSTR), E-Commerce Law & Strategy (ECOMLS), and Intellectual Property Law Newsletter (IPLN).

Academic Web Sites
Franklin Pierce Law Center, Intellectual Property Mall
http://www.ipmall.fplc.edu/
This web site is highly recommended as a starting point for conducting general intellectual property research. The web site contains links to Congressional Research Service documents on intellectual property law and select legislative histories, including those for the Patent Act of 1952 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. Although difficult to navigate, the IP Mall "Web Links by Topic" contains a plethora of information and links to various sub-specialties in intellectual property law.

JURIST, the Legal Education Network, Guide to Intellectual Property Law http://www.jurist.law.pitt.edu/sg_ip.htm
This is a portal of journals, legislation, associations, and course pages that focus on intellectual property law. The site includes information about listservs that may be of interest to students, scholars, and practitioners of IP law.

Association Web Sites
Creative Commons
http://creativecommons.org/
The brainchild of prominent intellectual property law scholar Lawrence Lessig, Stanford Law School, Creative Commons offers model language for various copyright licenses that are less restrictive then traditional licenses. Certain licenses on the site allow the copyright owner to put his work in the public domain for unrestricted use. Other interesting features of the site include a weblog with comments and links to free/low cost media provided by users and the Common Content, a repository and directory of Creative Commons licensed works.

IP@The National Academies
http://ip.nationalacademies.org/
The National Academies are advisors to the U.S. government on science, technology, and health-related issues. Their Intellectual Property web site contains a number of interesting reports on various intellectual property law issues. Content is organized by topic and by sector.

Virtual Chase
ttp://www.virtualchase.com/resources/ip.shtml
Created by a law firm librarian, this site contains an excellent collection of annotated links to public and commercial sources of intellectual property law.

LLRX: ResearchRoundUp: Searchable Intellectual Property Databases - Updated
http://www.llrx.com/columns/roundup21.htm
Written by attorney Kathy Biehl, this 2002 research guide provides descriptions of the best intellectual property databases for research in the U.S. and abroad.

SPECIALIZED RESOURCES

Patent Law

A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The right conferred by the patent grant is "the right to exclude others" who wish to make, use, offer for sale, or sell the patented invention in the United States or who might import the invention into the United States. 35 U.S.C. § 271 (2000).
The requirements for patentability start at 35 U.S.C. § 101. Regulations on patent law commence at C.F.R. Title 37, chapter 1.

Reference Books
Irwin M. Aisenberg, Modern Patent Law Precedent: Dictionary of Key Terms and Concepts. (5th ed., 2003) (KF3105 .A35 2003).
This is a dictionary of patent terms. Terms are organized alphabetically by keywords and phrases. Words and phrases are taken from summaries of leading patent cases with precedential value and from important sections in the U.S. Code.

Treatises
Donald S. Chisum, Chisum on Patents (also titled Patents: A Treatise on the Law of Patentability, Validity and Infringement) (1978-) (KF3110 .C4 & in LexisNexis, PATENT;CHISUM).
Scholars and practitioners alike frequently cite this essential treatise on patents. The huge fourteen-volume looseleaf set includes a glossary of patent terms, federal circuit guide, forms, statutes and commentary. This set is supplemented four times a year to stay current with the most recent patent law developments.

Patent Grants and Applications
Jeffrey G. Sheldon, How to Write a Patent Application (1992-) (KF3120 .S48 1992).
This is an excellent looseleaf on how to write patent applications. In addition to an extensive treatment on writing applications for utility patents, the book also contains specialized information on writing applications for plant patents, electrical patents, biotech patents, and patents for computer software and chemical inventions. Select provisions of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure are included in this publication.

Web Sites
United States Patent and Trademark Office
http://www.uspto.gov/
This official U.S. government web site on patents and trademarks is an excellent resource for researching patent grants, patent applications, and trademark registrations. The site also contains many essential reference sources and manuals geared towards the practitioner. The patent grants database contains images of U.S. patents issued since 1790 and the full text of all patents issued since 1976. A new patent applications database contains full text and images of all patent applications published since March 15, 2001.

Westlaw & LexisNexis research on Patents
Both Westlaw and LexisNexis contain full text U.S. patent applications dating back to 1974. Similarly, both Westlaw and LexisNexis possess a number of intellectual property newsletters and journals.
LexisNexis contains a number of prior art research files that are not available in Westlaw. For example, LexisNexis has Technology journals (PATENT;TECHNY) and Computer journals (PATENT;CMPTRS). Westlaw does have a superior collection of treatises on patent licensing such as Eckstrom's Licensing in Foreign and Domestic Operations (ECKLICN) and Licensing of Intellectual Property (LICENSIP).

Unique to Westlaw is its collection of U.K. primary and secondary law sources. The United Kingdom Intellectual Property -Law in Force (UKIP-LIF) database contains U.K. statutes and administrative materials. The United Kingdom Intellectual Case Law Locator (UKIP-CASELOC) is another useful resource for researching U.K. case law.

Copyright Law

Federal copyright law is located in Title 17 of the U.S. Code. Copyright law protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. According to 17 U.S.C. § 102, copyrightable works may include the following subject matter categories:
(1) Literary works;
(2) Musical works, including any accompanying words;
(3) Dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
(4) Pantomimes and choreographic works;
(5) Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
(6) Motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
(7) Sound recordings; and
(8) Architectural works.
These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer programs and most "compilations" may be registered as "literary works"; maps and architectural plans may be registered as "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works." However, copyright law does not apply to ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, or discoveries. 17 U.S.C. § 102. (Caveat: patent law may apply in some of these instances.)

Treatises
Paul Goldstein, Copyright Principles, Law and Practice (2nd ed., 1996-) (KF2979 .G63).
Paul Goldstein, a professor at Stanford Law School, has written this scholarly treatise for lawyers, judges, legal researchers, and public policy decision-makers. The set is composed of 13 chapters on all aspects of copyright law. There are extensive citations to primary and secondary authorities including cases, statutes, regulations, legislative history and other documents.

Melville B. Nimmer and David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright: A Treatise on the Law of Literary, Musical and Artistic Property and the Protection of Ideas (1978-) (on Reserve).
This ten-volume looseleaf set is the classic treatise on copyright law. Courts and other scholars cite to it frequently. The treatise is an excellent starting place for researching specific aspects of copyright law. Updated twice a year, this treatise stays current with recent copyright law developments.

Web Sites
United States Copyright Office
http://www.copyright.gov/
This web site, the official U.S. government web site for copyrights, contains a number of informative circulars and brochures that focus on the basics of copyright law. The site also includes a helpful "New and Pending Legislation" section that links to full-text U.S. House and Senate bills pertaining to intellectual property law. The U.S. Copyright Office site also contains a searchable database of copyrighted works, which contains records of copyright registrations and ownership documents since 1978. Note, however, that this database is not comprehensive in scope.

LexisNexis & Westlaw Research on Copyrights
Westlaw only provides limited access to a few databases related to copyright law. The "U.S. Copyrights" database (COPYRIGHT) contains copyright registration information dating back to 1978. Westlaw contains an Arnold & Porter Legislative History for the General Revision of the Copyright Act of 1976 (COPYREV76-LH).
LexisNexis's copyright databases are virtually identical to that of Westlaw. However, LexisNexis also provides access to the CIS Index, which is used for compiling legislative histories on copyright laws. Unlike Westlaw, LexisNexis does contain useful Matthew Bender publications pertaining to copyright law such as Nimmer on Copyright (COPYRT; NIMMER) and Geller and Nimmer's International Copyright Law and Practice (COPYRT; INCLP).

Trademark Law

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. Trademark law is embodied in both state and federal law. The seminal federal trademark law is called the "Lanham Act." 15 U.S.C. § 1052 (2000). Regulations for trademarks and trade names start at Title 37 of the C.F.R.

Reference Books & Treatises
International Trademark Association, U.S. Trademark Law: Rules of Practice, Forms, Federal Statutes & Regulations (3rd ed., 2000-) (KF3181 .A3 2000).
This looseleaf gathers and reprints essential U.S. trademark law including the Lanham Act. It also includes the Trademark Rules of Practice, trademark registration forms and other practice-oriented materials.

Adam L. Brookman, Trademark Law: Protection, Enforcement and Licensing (1999-) (KF3180 .B68).
Written by a trademark attorney, this highly readable single-volume looseleaf publication is oriented towards attorneys that are new to trademark law. It is a useful reference source for academic research and includes helpful charts, citations to important case law and a table of cases. Fully up-to-date, Trademark Law: Protection, Enforcement and Licensing provides a thorough analysis of differences between federal circuits on aspects of trademark law.

J. Thomas McCarthy, McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition (4th ed., 1996-) (KF3180 .M32 1996) (on Reserve).
This treatise is considered the most authoritative source of information about trademark and unfair competition law. Supplemented annually, it covers all aspects of trademark and unfair competition law.

Web Sites
United States Patent and Trademark Office
http://www.uspto.gov
The USPTO site contains a searchable database of over 3 million pending, registered, and dead trademarks. This database is referred to as the "Trademark Electronic Search System" or "TESS." The site also contains introductory materials and several U.S. federal trademark practice guides.

Westlaw & LexisNexis Research on Trademarks
Both Westlaw and LexisNexis gather and organize federal and state trademark cases and trademark registration databases. LexisNexis contains a useful database on domain disputes that includes dispute decisions from international organizations based on the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (URDP).
Students studying trademark law within an international context will find Westlaw more useful for research. Westlaw contains general intellectual property materials from the U.K. that may include trademark and trade name cases.

OTHER TOPICS IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Roger M. Milgrim, Milgrim on Trade Secrets (1967-) (KF1366 .B87 & in LexisNexis, MATBEN;MILGRM).
Milgrim, a partner specializing in intellectual property law at a prominent law firm in New York, has authored this essential reading for any scholar or practitioner specializing in trade secrets law. This four-volume set is supplemented to stay up-to-date.

J. Thomas McCarthy, The Rights of Publicity and Privacy (1987-) (KF1262 .M4 1987).
This two-volume looseleaf is a useful treatise addressing almost any topic in this area. The author also writes McCarthy's Desk Encyclopedia of Intellectual Property (Ref. KF2976 .M38).

Posted 19 November 2004

The Library and Law School Exams: Study Aids

Practice exams and subject narratives can supplement your preparation for law school exams. In these stressful weeks leading up to exams, searching for more books and readings to add to your load may be the last thing on your mind. Compiled below is a list of useful study materials available in the library along with how to find each. The law library does not carry commercial outlines, but instead supplies major substantive narratives and hornbooks. In general, resources that are in high demand are located on reserve at the circulation desk.

Examples and Explanations Series
This series of books includes over a dozen titles that are great exam preparation aids. The books give a narrative overview of key concepts and rules followed by "examples" (hypothetical questions) and "explanations" (answers to the questions). The series covers topics such as contracts, civil procedure, bankruptcy, environmental law, securities and tax and are written by law professors. In the online catalog search title keyword: "examples and explanations" to see a list of all books in the series. Most of these books can be checked out.

Concepts and Insight Series
These short books are written to complement casebook instruction and consist of concise, conceptual overviews of important areas of law. Written by law professors, the titles in the series cover a wide range of topics such as Eskridge, Frickey and Garret's Legislation and Statutory Interpretation and Chirelstein's Federal Income Taxation. In the online catalog search title: "concepts and insights" to see a list of all books in the series. These books can be checked out.

Understanding Series
These books are useful for both class preparation and reviewing for exams. Titles in this series focus on concise analysis for topics typically offered in the law school curriculum, such as Understanding Contracts or Understanding Evidence. Area of law outlines, a Table of Contents and the text of the first chapter are available on LexisNexis for most titles in this series.

Sum & Substance Audio Tapes
Give your eyes a rest and listen to your study materials. Selected titles in the Sum & Substance audio tape series are available at the Reserve desk. These are lectures covering basic concepts and exam tips designed for law students.

Posted 24 October 2004

Duke Law School Information Services Week: DLSIS is...

This week highlights the role of Duke Law School Information Services: the library, computing services, and educational technologies, in the life of the law school community.

Each of these departments serves the law school community here at Duke. The law library works with faculty, students, and other researchers using a variety of the best online and print resources available for legal research. Computing services provides assistance to the law school community and maintains the printers and computers throughout the building. Educational technologies oversees classroom technology, works on video projects, and maintains the school's website. The three departments make up Duke Law School Information Services, under Senior Associate Dean Richard A. Danner.

This is the first DLSIS Week, which we hope includes information of interest to the law community. In addition to days focusing on each department (see sections below for complete schedule and more library sessions), we hope to see you at law library and joint events:

Movie Night: Tuesday, October 27 at 7:30 pm in Room 3041
Desk Set, starring Spencer Tracy and Audrey Hepburn
The lighter side of technology and libraries
In the late 1950's, at the dawn of the postmodern age, the conflict began. Computers versus books. Electronic versus analog. Bunny Watson, (Katherine Hepburn), and her team of crack reference librarians at a television network's research library, are dismayed by a mysterious stranger lurking around the office. He turns out to be Richard Sumner (Spencer Tracy), an engineer from a fledgling computer firm. The librarians can only assume a computer is coming to replace them! Watch the hilarity unfold as the librarians struggle to prove they're irreplaceable, and Bunny struggles with her growing attraction to Richard. This romantic comedy classic portrays the birth of the issues that have consumed libraries as the electronic era unfolds.

High Tea With Your Faculty Liaison: Wednesday, October 28 at 3:30 in the Burdman Lounge
For Faculty
Reception hosted by the reference librarians for faculty, faculty research assistants and faculty support staff to learn about our services and an enhanced faculty librarian liaison program.

Posted 16 October 2004

Celebrating International Week

In honor of International Week, here are some tips on foreign and comparative law research. People often refer to comparative law, foreign law and international law as "international law" generally. Understanding the differences can help you focus your research.

Foreign law is the domestic law of individual countries, sometimes called "municipal law." The sources of domestic law are constitutions, statutes, regulations and court decisions. Comparative law is a method of studying similarities and drawing distinctions between different legal systems.

Public international law is the area of the law most of us think of when we use the term "international law." These laws govern the relationships among national governments and intergovernmental organizations, including treaty law. Private international law (or conflict of laws) governs the choice of law to apply when there are conflicts in the national law of different countries in private transactions (e.g., contracts, marriage and divorce, jurisdiction, recognition of judgments, child adoption and abduction). A recent addition to the international law area is the Electronic Information System for International Law, http://www.eisil.org, a free web site that includes resources ranging from research guides and links to authoritative web sites to primary resources such as treaties.

Library resources in foreign and comparative law include many databases, research guides, and materials available on Level 1. Katherine Topulos, Foreign and International Librarian, is also available for inquiries and research guidance in this area. Contact her at 613-7198 or topulos@law.duke.edu.

Posted 6 October 2004

Fundraising for Libraries in Developing Countries

Donna Nixon, Head of Reference Services here at Duke Law, is working with World Library Partnership (WLP) to help start libraries in South African schools and communities. WLP is a North Carolina non-profit organization that sends librarians and other volunteers to developing countries to assist communities in creating libraries that provide language appropriate and culturally appropriate resources for children and their families. Currently WLP's work is focused in impoverished South African communities.

To raise funds, WLP is having a jewelry and scarf sale event here in the Triangle on October 30th from 1pm to 4pm at the Arts Center, 100 Lloyd Street, in Carrboro. The event will include fun activities for kids and adults and sale of some South African jewelry and crafts in addition to sale of donated jewelry and scarves. If you have any jewelry or scarves (used or new) that you would like to donate, please drop them by Donna's office in the Law Library (Room 3062) or contact Donna at 613-7113 or nixon@law.duke.edu. The donation is tax deductible.

Donna worked with libraries in impoverished rural areas in South Africa in 2001. The funds she raised helped provide her adopted school library with $500 to purchase culturally relevant and language appropriate material. Donna worked there with a high school library, helping the teacher-librarian to select material, organize the library, process library materials, find fundraising options, and train teachers and students to use computers and to use print and electronic resources. What she found when she got there was a virtually empty library and 1,600 enthusiastic learners. What she left at the end of her stay was a library partially filled with newly purchased and processed resources--including five used PC's. She also left a teacher/librarian and several students newly competent in basic computer literacy, an administration working on Internet access for the library, and, of course, the same bright and now even more enthusiastic students.

To find out more about the World Library Partnership, please visit their website at http://www.worldlibraries.org/.

Posted 5 September 2004

Research Guides produced by the reference department

Research guides are useful when starting projects on unfamiliar legal topics. The library reference department updates approximately 25 research guides each year. The guides often highlight resources available in the law library and through the Internet. Consulting these guides may save time and can be used in conjunction with the catalog or secondary authorities.

A number of general legal research guides are available either in print at the reference desk or from the main library site. First year students were given guides on treatises, research and writing, and a "survival guide" during library orientation. Legal Research for Non-Lawyers, Introduction to the US Legal System, and Legal Research on the Internet are also helpful introductions to legal research.

Foreign and International materials are a strong area of focus at Duke Law Library. Katherine Topulos updates about a dozen guides each summer on a range of topics including Foreign and International law generally, English law and legal history, organizations such as WTO and the Council of Europe, agreements or treaties such as NAFTA, and specific legal areas such as international criminal law.

The guides aim to help you navigate our collection, which includes directories for lawyers and the judiciary, quick tips on looseleaf services and formbooks, and guidance on locating court rules. Substantive legal research guides are also available, including guides to environmental law and federal tax law.

If there is a confusing or new area of law you are interested in, the reference department encourages you to suggest new research guide topics. Stop by the reference desk to make suggestions or, as always, to ask for assistance with your research problem. The research guides are not aimed to replace reference assistance, but may provide a starting point.

Posted 20 August 2004

News for the new academic year

Welcome to the Class of 2007 and welcome back Journal staff members. August 16-20 marks orientation season around the law school, including familiarizing yourselves with the law library and available resources.

First-year students may want to check out the library maps or read The Figures before your library orientation, scheduled in the early weeks of your Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing course.

Journals may have scheduled library orientations with your assigned librarian:
Melanie Dunshee: Duke Law Journal
Donna Nixon: Law and Contemporary Problems
Michael Hannon: Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum
Katherine Topulos: Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law
Joy Hanson: Duke Law and Technology Review, Alaska Law Review

Feel free to contact the librarians individually or at the reference desk about scheduled orientations or any research assistance you need in the coming weeks.

Journal staff members may also be interested in changes to various online resources. Duke Libraries' new upgraded catalog [see July 29 headline] allows you to request books or even photocopies of non-circulating items to be sent from any campus library directly to the law library for your borrowing convenience. Journal staff will no longer need to travel across campus for most print resources; they will come to you! All you need to do is sign in to the catalog with your NetID to identify yourself as the borrower. (Forgot your NetID or password? Call the OIT Help Desk, 684-2200.) When you are viewing the catalog record of a book you want, just click on the location information and then the request link on the left side of the screen. Signing in to the catalog is also helpful to utilize search options and save research trails.

Database changes are notable at the beginning of an academic year, especially journal staff starting cite-checking assignments. Lexis, Westlaw, and HeinOnline are major databases that made significant changes over the summer.

Lexis is changing its search interfaces and citation formats. A new search box will be launched on August 26, allowing segment searching under Natural Language searches. (Segment searches narrow results to specified portions of the document; for example, you can search headnotes of cases rather than entire opinions.) The new search box also includes enhanced explanations of connectors in Terms & Connectors searches. A new FOCUS tool bar allows the user to enter terms and change options from the results screen, saving navigation time when you want to narrow search results. The "Copy w/ Cite" option allows you to cut and paste selected text, with an enhanced feature that strips away html coding and table formats from the Lexis screen, creating cleaner word processor documents. Citations in this feature are also formatted closer to Bluebook standards than ever before. Visit http://www.lexis.com/lawschool/learning/ for more information and tutorials.

Westlaw launched a new home page interface this summer, shifting organization of information and adding new features to search screens. From the main page, students may now sign up for training sessions online (and may still do so in the training room on Level 2), tutorials and learning tools are included under Discover Westlaw, and Quick Research allows for faster retrieval of documents. In the research interfaces, you can now e-mail research trails to yourself or others you may be dividing research with. Explore http://lawschool.westlaw.com or contact your student representatives, Joy Ganes and Fritz Swartzbaugh, for more information.

HeinOnline recently added the full run of U.S. Supreme Court opinions in its U.S. Supreme Court Library and announced a "face lift" of its home page. This is the first online database to provide PDF images of the entire official United States Reports series, beginning with 1754 and supplementing its collection with preliminary prints and slip opinions to make available the most current information. While the database launched only four years ago, its publisher unveiled a new look to the home page today. Look out for a change in design, but be aware that the company anticipates this will not impact research and use of the database. [See Web Site for more information on HeinOnline.]

Posted 29 July 2004

Duke Libraries’ new catalog up and running

Exactly one year after the first serious discussion of a new catalog, Duke Libraries launched its new ExLibris system on Saturday, July 24, at 8:00 a.m. Online catalog users may not notice a significant change in using the new system, but there are several notable features to the new system. The new system includes an electronic database searcher which accesses full text materials and allows searches of several databases at once. Users may also log in with a NetID and password to save search results and research trails, request photocopies and holds from other Duke Libraries, link to external web sites and full text from search results, and conduct combined searching of subscription databases. These are just a few of the new features. Paul Conway, Director of Information Technology Services for Duke Libraries, reported last Wednesday to the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TLRN) on the process of implementing the new system, the efforts required to undertake the project, and expectations and advantages of the integrated catalog. The Libraries also launched new web site 18 months in the making [see Web Site].

A couple of characteristics of the new system’s Databases site are notable. Law resources are grouped together, and information on the individual database can be found by clicking on the “i” icon. For example, under Corporate/Tax resources, scrolling down to “Database info” under the information icon accesses RIA Checkpoint. For that item there are two entry points depending on whether you are a new (http://www.riahome.com/school/) or registered (http://checkpoint.riag.com/) user.

For general catalog searching, the following is an introductory guide:

Library staff and patrons will be getting to know the system together, as there has been little access to the catalog while it was under development. Librarians here at the law school provided an introduction on Monday, July 26, at 11:00 a.m. and are available for questions from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week.

Posted 2 July 2004

Happy Fourth of July!

With the holiday weekend just around the corner, D.U.L.L. discusses how this American tradition of celebration of independence (complete with a day off from work for barbeques and fireworks) came into existence. This issue also presents tips and general resources, both in the library and online, for finding legislative materials.

Finding the law establishing a federal holiday provides an opportunity for a refresher on major legislative materials. The U.S. Code (USC), U.S. Code Annotated (USCA), and U.S. Code Service (USCS) all provide codified law. The USC is the official government publication, while West publishes USCA, and USCS is produced by Lexis.

The resources are similar in that they all integrate Public Laws into an established subject arrangement, resulting in fifty Titles. All the sources include a general keyword index; the USC and USCA appear to use an identical indexing system, while the USCS uses different terminology. For example, looking under “Independence Day” and “Holidays” in the USC and USCA references days off for federal employees in Title 5, section 6103. In USCS, “Holidays” references Title 36, National Holidays and Observances, while “Holiday Pay Act” is the keyword leading to the days off provision. Try both indexes if your keywords do not work in one source.

All three resources also note Executive orders related to the Code section. Executive orders play a role in establishing and administering federal government operations, and are part of greater body of administrative law not discussed here. In this case, Executive Order 11582 sets out how public holidays created by Congress apply to federal government offices.

While each of the sources incorporate Executive orders and cross reference the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and other Code sections, the commercial sources include notes of decisions and secondary materials published by their parent companies. For example, at Title 5, section 6103, USCS cites related American Jurisprudence (AmJur) and Moore’s Federal Practice sections, while USCA cites Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS), key numbers, and generally cites more law review articles.

As an alternative to codified law, arranged by subject, acts of Congress are assigned Public Law numbers and included in the Statutes at Large, resulting in a chronological arrangement. In the Code, notes following the specific section provide both the Public Law (P.L.) and Statutes at Large (Stat.) citations. In our case, P.L. 89-554, 80 Stat. 515, established Title 5 in whole on September 6, 1966, but the Code also notes “Historical Revisions” from 5 USC 87. Using the revisions leads to P.L. 86-362, 73 Stat. 643, adopted on September 22, 1959. The text of this Act states the procedures for granting July 4, along with several other holidays, as days off no matter what day of the week the holiday falls. This year, because July 4 is on a Sunday, and thanks to a law established more than forty years ago, Monday is the designated federal day off.

Various sources also trace the history of each act in its bill stages (the Statutes at Large reference the bill number, in this case, HR 5752).

For more information on compiling legislative histories, visit the research guides section of the library’s web site, or take a paper copy available behind the reference desk.

Posted 15 June 2004

Welcome, summer starters!

As your legal studies begin, several resources provide helpful introductions to the judicial system.

The U.S. Courts site, http://www.uscourts.gov, provides excellent information on the judiciary. Understanding the Federal Courts describes its process and structure, includes tables and maps, and can be viewed as a 54-page pdf document.

The U.S. Supreme Court site, http://www.supremecourtus.gov , features the rules and opinions of the Court, ranging from 1792 case citations to immediate release of "slip" opinions from the term, which ends this month. The official U.S. Reports as well as current awareness services such as BNA's U.S. Law Week are in the library reading room.

On Monday (Flag Day), the Court ruled on a California Pledge of Allegiance case. For headlines on current legal developments there are many sites to visit such as http://www.cnn.com/law and http://news.findlaw.com.

Get to Know

Posted 1 June 2006

Law library basics

The law library is one department of Duke Law School Information Services. To learn more about the functions of all three DLSIS departments--computing services, educational technologies, and the library--be sure to watch the hilarious Mr. DULL video series. Meanwhile, here's a quick geographical beginner's guide to the library:

When you enter the library, you will be on the third floor, where the circulation/reserve and reference desks are located. On this floor you will find reference books, case reporters, state and federal statutes, and leisure reading materials, among other things. Feel free to take a break in the comfy chairs in the leisure reading area.

You will notice that the third floor reading room is a lively place. Students gather in the reading room for collaborative work and socializing. When you need a quiet study area, carrels are available on the first, second, and fourth floors. For group study, you can also reserve a study room by visiting the circulation desk with your DukeCard.

In the reading room, look up, and you will see law journals, shelved alphabetically by title, on the fourth floor. Venture downstairs, and you will find books whose call numbers begin with KF on the second floor. The designation "KF" stands for American law in the Library of Congress classification system. These materials include scholarly books on specific areas of law (called "treatises"), study guides, and state materials. The essential computing services help desk is also located on this floor in room 2068.

Books whose call numbers begin with anything other than KF are located on the first floor. These include foreign and international law materials, legal fiction, government documents, and books in other disciplines such as medicine, economics, and political science. Selected court briefs, superseded works, and materials on microfilm or microfiche are also on this floor.

Some computer-related amenities of the library include wireless Internet access, electrical outlets at all the tables, and networked printers on each floor (here are maps showing their locations). Photocopiers and a machine where you can add funds to your Flex account are located on the second floor. Restrooms are on the second and fourth floors. You're welcome to drink beverages from spill-proof containers--you can even get a DULL-approved mug by taking a library tour--but please enjoy your lunch outside in the beautiful North Carolina sunshine because no food is allowed in the library.

Posted 20 March 2006

Biographies

If you’re interested learning more about the life of a women lawyer, judge, activist, or politician, check out one of the many biographies available in the law library. To find them, try searching the library catalog for the term biography and the person’s name as subject keywords.

For shorter biographies, take a look at one of the biographical dictionaries in our reference collection. Current Biography Yearbook (Ref. CT100 .C976) is a source for biographical essays on living subjects, while American National Biography (Ref. CT213 .A68 1999) profiles prominent deceased Americans. (American National Biography is also available online.) If you are looking for a biographical dictionary specifically dealing with women, Notable American Women is available at several libraries on campus.

Online, Biography Resource Center provides biographies of living and historical figures from many sources, such as American Decades, Contemporary Black Biography, Contemporary Heroes and Heroines, Newsmakers, and the various Who’s Who series.

Posted 20 February 2006

Corporate/Securities Practitioners' Resources

Think you won’t have to do legal research if you practice corporate law? Not so fast! While corporate lawyers use the library somewhat less than litigators, there are many useful resources that corporate and securities practitioners--junior associates doing legal research and more senior attorneys alike--frequently consult. Some corporate and securities law favorites are listed with their DULL call numbers below. Be sure to look for these treatises, handbooks, and conference materials in your firm’s library when you get your first corporate or securities research assignment this summer.

American Law Institute, Principles of Corporate Governance: Analysis and Recommendations
KF 1422 .A947 1994
This essential work on corporate governance provides a thorough examination of the duties of corporate officers and directors to the corporation and its shareholders. It is published by the American Law Institute, an organization of prominent judges, lawyers, and legal scholars (and the same group that publishes the Restatements), and it is frequently cited by courts.

John T. Bostelman, The Sarbanes-Oxley Deskbook
KF 1446 .A312002 B67
This loose-leaf handbook furnishes background on the enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley, analyzes its reporting and corporate governance requirements, and describes its impact on various professional groups, such as auditors and attorneys. It is published by the Practising Law Institute, which also holds conferences on corporate and securities law topics (among many others) and publishes the accompanying conference materials. Practitioners often consult the conference materials for articles on hot legal topics as well as for forms. If you’re told to look for "a P.L.I." on your research topic, the assigning attorney is suggesting that you find such conference materials. The materials are not indexed, but you can search them on Lexis and Westlaw. Their formatting is often lost in the online versions, so take your citation and find the print volumes in the library for easier reading.

West’s Securities Law Handbook Series
West’s Securities Law Series
Mostly shelved at KF 1439...
"I’m looking for, you know, the blue ones on securities law." Frequently missing from the firm library and found on partners' desks, "the blue ones" are actually two useful series on securities law, both published by West. The annual soft cover Securities Law Handbooks are one volume, up-to-date overviews of specific securities law topics. Some examples of handbooks in this series are Sarbanes-Oxley Act in Perspective, Going Public Handbook, and Analysis of Key SEC No-Action Letters. The loose-leaf Securities Law Series treatise volumes provide a more comprehensive treatment of nearly every aspect of securities law. Be sure to consult the index to the entire set to find relevant citations across multiple volumes. If you’re not keen on wrestling a partner for the volume you need, you can also find the Securities Law Series on Westlaw.

R. Franklin Balotti and Jesse A. Finkelstein, The Delaware Law of Corporations and Business Organizations, 3rd ed.
KFD 213 .B35 1998
Rodman Ward et al., Folk on the Delaware General Corporation Law, 4th ed.
KFD 213 .F59 1999
When the assigning attorney tells you to start your research by looking at "Balotti," "Finkelstein," or "Folk," she is referring you to these two heavily used works on Delaware corporation law. Frequently referred to by their authors’ names, the multi-volume treatises provide a comprehensive commentary on the Delaware corporate statutes.

Posted 6 December 2005

Legal Humor

You are no doubt familiar with the law library's outstanding collection of legal primary sources and secondary sources from the United States and around the world. You may not have noticed, however, that among our 622,000 volumes are collections of humorous essays on the law, lawyer cartoons and jokes, and strange and funny legal cases. Here are some favorites and how to find them:

The Green Bag: An Entertaining Journal of Law
[Shelved in the Periodicals section on the fourth floor]
Among the fun articles in this alternative law journal are:

• Kevin Underhill, "If Great Literary Works Had Been Written by Lawyers," Parts One and Two, 2 Green Bag 2d 449 (Summer 1999) and 4 Green Bag 2d 119 (Fall 2000). Those of you planning to "billeth plenty" after law school will enjoy "The Law Book of Job."
• Eugene Volokh, "Hum a Few Bar Exam," 2 Green Bag 2d 125 (Fall 1998). Imagine an exam based on song lyrics. As evidence questions, consider: "Can my admitting that I shot the sheriff be used as prior bad act evidence in my trial for shooting the deputy? If I want to introduce my prior denial of shooting the deputy, will I be barred by the hearsay rule?"
• David B. Sentelle, "Judge Dave and the Rainbow People," 3 Green Bag 2d 61 (Fall 1999), 3 Green Bag 2d 179 (Winter 2000), 3 Green Bag 2d 285 (Spring 2000), and 3 Green Bag 2d 405 (Summer 2000). Judge Sentelle, now a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, was a previously federal district court judge in western North Carolina. This series is an account of his adjudication of the case of the 1987 Rainbow Family reunion in the Nantahala National Forest.

Daniel R. White, Trials & Tribulations: Appealing Legal Humor
PN 6175 .T74 1989
This collection of poems, cartoons, essays, and other writings includes works by authors ranging from A.A. Milne to Alan Dershowitz. The parents among you will appreciate "How a Law Professor Tells His Children the Story of the Three Bears," and future big firm associates will benefit from Mr. White's advice on the "lawyerly" way to write the sentence, "The sky is blue."

Ronald L. Brown, Juris-Jocular: An Anthology of Modern American Legal Humor
PN 6231 .L4 B76 1988
In this collection of materials previously published in law journals, you will find articles by legal greats like Yale Kamisar and William L. Prosser. 1Ls: Get ready for next semester's LARW work by reading "In re Brett: The Sticky Problem of Statutory Construction," in which the author applies principles of statutory construction to the rules of baseball.

Robert M. Jarvis, et al., Amicus Humoriae: An Anthology of Legal Humor
PN 6231 .L4 A45 2003
Covering materials published after Juris-Jocular, this anthology includes twenty-five funny law review articles and essays, plus a bibliography of more "Clever and Amusing Law Review Articles." Wondering what rubric your professors will use to grade your exams? Find out in "Criteria for the Evaluation of Law School Examination Papers" by Professor Harold See. (Giving an "A" for the course for an exam providing a "Verbatim reproduction of a standard outline of the course including typographical errors".)

Blackie the Talking Cat and Other Favorite Judicial Opinions
K 184 .B58 1996
In the strange-but-true category, this compilation of real cases includes opinions written in verse, an opinion that incorporates more than 200 movie titles, and factually strange cases, such as those involving a haunted house (a contracts case), a girdle as a burglar's tool (a statutory interpretation case), and a rogue computer held in civil contempt (a bankruptcy case).

Marc Galanter, Lowering the Bar: Lawyer Jokes and Legal Culture
[Coming soon to the law library collection]
Many of you attended Professor Galanter's thought-provoking and entertaining Honor Week address on lawyer jokes. In his new book, he collects lawyer jokes and provides a scholarly analysis of the meaning of these jokes in American culture.

Posted 4 November 2005

Judicial Directories

The Library's Reference and Reserve Collections include directories of judges, which are good starting places for finding biographical information about them. (We also have directories of attorneys and law professors.) Some helpful directories are:

Almanac of the Federal Judiciary (on reserve): Special features of this loose-leaf directory include summaries of the judges' noteworthy rulings, references to media coverage, and evaluations of the judges by lawyers who have argued cases before them.

The American Bench (on reserve): This directory provides biographical information about state and federal judges, as well as jurisdictional, structural, and geographical information about specific courts. (This court information can be particularly helpful when you are researching the law of an unfamiliar state.)

Who's Who in American Law (Reference KF 190 .W46): Part of the Marquis Who's Who series, this directory provides personal and professional information about nearly 18,000 judges, lawyers, and law professors, among others.

Posted 7 October 2005

Supreme Court materials
The Library maintains a comprehensive collection of United States Supreme Court materials. The collection includes resources on the Court's history, opinions, and other publications, as well as information about the Justices.

Materials on this topic can be found in the general collection on Level 2 at around KF4541- and KF8742-. Reference resources are available, using the same call numbers, in stack 53 on Level 3. Reporters and Landmark Briefs can be found in stacks 36-42 on Level 3. An extensive set of records and briefs is available in microform on Level 1.

Try searching the Catalog by subject. Examples:
Judges -- Selection and appointment -- United States.
Political questions and judicial power -- United States.
United States. Supreme Court -- Decision making.
United States. Supreme Court -- Encyclopedias.
United States. Supreme Court -- History.
United States. Supreme Court -- Officials and employees -- Selection and appointment.

Posted 15 August 2005

The Duke Libraries Catalog - e-Journals

The e-Journal directory is a convenient way to find out if we have online access to a journal title. Link from the Catalog into MetaLib, http://metasearch.library.duke.edu/, and click on the "Find e-Journal" tab for an easy search by title. A search results in an alphabetical display of journal titles and links to resources for full-text and indexing.

For example, "Duke Law Journal" results in ten resources where you can find the title, including the Duke Journals web page, HeinOnline, JSTOR, and LegalTrac. The results list will display the time coverage and text availability for each individual linked database.

Posted 28 May 2005

The Duke Libraries Catalog - Get it at Duke

Requesting articles from other campus libraries or via interlibrary loan can be completed thru the catalog. Use the "Get it at Duke" button when you find a book or periodical that you are viewing. A pop up window should provide the option to "Request via Law School Library Interlibrary Loan," linking you to "Request Books & Articles" - http://www.law.duke.edu/lib/ill.html. Check that the catalog is linking you to the law school site rather than a Perkins library site. You may also link directly to our interlibrary loan form from our home page.

Posted 20 April 2005

The Duke Libraries Catalog - Law Library Only

In this second installment of catalog tips, consider cutting down extraneous search results by limiting your search to Law Library Only. This can get you into the stacks more quickly, as well as eliminate interdisciplinary materials from other campus libraries. Employing this limit can be helpful when, for example, you are using keyword searches, or run across too many unrelated documents results for congressional searches.

You must set the scope of your search each time you use the catalog. The default setting is to search the entire catalog. Click the Duke Libraries tab, scroll down to Professional School Libraries, and select the link for Law Library Only. Your search screen banner should now read, "Basic Search of Law Library only."

Posted 1 April 2005

The Duke Libraries Catalog

This issue begins a series of tips to get you acquainted with the functions of the Duke Libraries Catalog and Metalib.

This issue's tip leads you to the "Request" function. You've probably heard that you can get books from other campus libraries sent to you, but you don't know where to go when you are looking at a catalog record. New instructions are available on DULL's Request Books and Articles page, linking to an easy-to-follow Duke Libraries Recalls and Holds instructions.

Posted 23 December 2