By Brian L. Baker
Director of the Law Library & Assistant Professor of Law

The Law Library staff wishes all of you a Happy New Year, and hope that the winter break renewed your spirit and drive for learning the law.

The renovation is scheduled to begin February 7. The first phase of renovation and construction will take place on the "C" level of Building 39, directly below the Law Library, where additional staff space will be added. The additional three phases of the renovation project will be completed during the spring and summer Semesters. At all times, the Law Library will be open for use; please note, however, that when the renovation begins on the "B" level, the Computer Lab will close for good. At that time, the Wireless LAN will be the only Internet source in the Law Library.

The Law Library’s Intranet page (http://library.law.udc.edu) has a new look and a friendlier feel. More items have been added on the Electronic Resources page, the Past Exams page, and on the Administrative Forms page. If anyone is having difficulty accessing the site from home, please contact the Law Library’s Electronic Services Librarian, Mr. Barrett Graham, at 202-274-5582, or by email at bgraham@udc.edu.

If you are a UDC Work Study Student looking to earn your award, the Law Library may be able to help you. The Law Library is now hiring for a variety of positions in Public Services, Technical Services, and Electronic Services. If you are interested in working for the Law Library, please contact Ms. Helen Frazer, Head of Public Services, at 202-274-7356, or by email at hfrazer@udc.edu.

The Public Services Department started the spring semester with a series of research workshops for the Law School’s Clinics. On January 9, the Public Services Department held a Clinic Research Review Workshop focusing specifically on D.C. legal research, which was repeated on January 14,16, and 17. All of the workshops were identical presentations, offered at different days and times, so that all Clinic students could attend and get librarian-supervised in-library research experience in a small-group setting.

The Public Services Department also will offer specialized workshops for the Juvenile/Special Ed Clinic and the Community Development/Small Business Clinic later in January.

If other members of the law school community would like a librarian to speak to their class or study group about a specific aspect of legal research, please contact Ms. Helen Frazer.

The Technical Services Department is working hard to process new and continuing materials and make them available for Law Library patron use. The Law Library now has more than 210,000 volumes and volume equivalents, and the collection is continuing to grow rapidly. The Library recently added retrospective collections of microfiche for the entire Congressional Record and Federal Register, as well as U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs and the Code of Federal Regulations.

The Law Library also has initiated a quarterly binding process of law reviews and journals, and has completed the retrospective binding of all existing reviews and journals.

Any suggestions for additions to the Law Library’s collection may be submitted online at http://catalog.law.udc.edu/acquire, or to Ms. Han Ouyang at 202-274-7358 (email: houyang@udc.edu).

The Law Library staff wants you to know that we have an open-door policy. If you have any questions, concerns, congratulations, or complaints, please do not hesitate to contact us. We can all be reached through the Law Library’s main number, 202-274-7310, or directly by the phone numbers and email addresses listed on the next page.