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Writing for Publication – Research Tips

For students who are moving beyond legal research, here are some pointers based on recent Law Library presentations to students enrolled in Writing for Publication in the Law Review:

  • Develop a research plan and keep detailed notes about your search terms. See a sample research checklist, but note that you will need to customize the plan to fit your topic.
  • For help selecting databases particular to your topic, consult the Law Library’s Databases page, the “Databases To Get You Started Guide,” and subject-specific legal and non-legal research guides.
  • Expect to see different screens in different databases, and for searches to behave differently as well. Whenever you are in a new database or catalog, use the Advanced Search function and read the Help or Search Tips pages before beginning to search.
  • Zotero may be a helpful tool for managing your research. It allows you to save, annotate, and organize references to books, articles, and more. Zotero can also export those references into a bibliography using the Bluebook citation style. For additional information, see Georgetown Law Library’s Guide, “Citation Tools for Legal Scholarship.”
  • Remember that you can always come to the Reference Desk for help and suggestions!
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Mendez v. Westminster

Want to know more about the landmark school segregation case addressed by today’s guest speaker Judge Rick Aguirre? Check out Mendez v. Westminster: School desegregation and Mexican-American rights. Strum “provides a clear, cogent, and concise examination of the case, the major players involved, and the decision’s influence in educational law and civil rights jurisprudence.”1

By the way, this 2010 title is from the University of Kansas’s award-winning “Landmark Law Cases and American Society” series. Over 40 additional titles from this series are available at UC Irvine Libraries – you can browse the list on ANTPAC.

Philippa Strum, Mendez v. Westminster: School Desegregation and Mexican-American Rights. (Univ. Press of Kansas) 186 pages.
Langson Library – KF4155 .S77 2010.
Check Melvyl to see if it’s on the shelf at Langson, or to request an ILL from another UC library.

1 René Luis Alvarez, Mendez v. Westminster: School Desegregation and Mexican-American Rights by Philippa Strum, 51 Hist. of Educ. Q. 138 (2011) (book review).

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Library Fines Start Tue. 9/6

Presidential Dollar CoinBeginning Tuesday, September 6th, the Law Library will begin collecting overdue fines for all materials that are not returned on time. Any fine accrued on or after that date will be subject to collection; however, all Law Library fines from prior dates will be waived.

Any Law Library fine—no matter how small the amount—will block your library account and prevent you from checking out Law Library materials. All fines must be paid in full; partial payments do not remove this block. Pay Law Library fines at the Law Library Service Counter.

Fines generally work like this:

  • Reserve books and study room keys: $2 per hour (or portion of an hour)
  • Circulating books: $1 per day
  • Automatic “lost item” charge: Your account will incur a replacement charge automatically, as follows:
    • Reserve items are considered “lost” after 16 hours.
    • Circulating items are considered “lost” after 28 days.
  • If you return the overdue item after that time, the replacement charge will be removed; however, you will still be subject to overdue fines and/or a bill-processing charge.

Please note that different libraries on campus each have their own, separate policies for fines. Fines from other libraries cannot be paid at the Law Library, and fines for Law Library items cannot be paid at any other library.

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Library keychains

Help the folks at the service counter by flashing your UCI Law keychain as you enter the Law Library to identify yourself as a UCI law student. If you don’t yet have one of the nifty red and white keychains, stop by the service counter and pick yours up (one per person only).

Hopefully we will get to know many law students by sight as the year goes on. But for now, please help all of us at the Service Counter in the effort to enforce the Law Library visitor policies.

 

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Clinic Orientation 2011 – Materials

Here’s an overview of the Law Library’s presentation during Clinic Orientation, held Friday August 19, 2011.

UCI Law Research Guides - Clinics A guide to clinical resources from the Law Library is at http://libguides.law.uci.edu/clinics. The guide is organized by tab, with one tab for each core clinic, a home tab with helpful resources for all clinics, and a tab with information about passwords and using the VPN. Highlighted resources include deskbooks in the Clinic Office, practice guides, treatises, specialized databases, call number ranges for specific topics, and news feeds. New resources will be added throughout the semester, so continue to check back for updated content.

When using ANTPAC to locate resources in the Law Library, there are 3 important locations to know aside from “Law Library Clinic Collection” (Clinic Office):

  1. Law Library Reserves – the area behind the Service Counter (2 hour check-out)
  2. Law Library Reading Room – the Main Level open shelving (some may circulate)
  3. Law Library – the Lower Level compact shelving (some may circulate)

For additional guidance, see our updated floor plan.

Clinical students are welcome to visit or email the Reference Desk to discuss research strategies, or for assistance locating or using any of the Law Library resources. Students should be careful not to divulge any confidential information about their cases or clients.

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Orientation – Class of 2014

Law Library tours and related Library orientation activities are the afternoon of Thursday, August 18. Here’s some useful information for 1Ls.

  • Books in print or online are found in several ways. Two places to start:
    • ANTPAC – for books, journals, and other resources at UCI campus libraries, including the Law Library
    • Melvyl – for books, journals, and other resources at libraries all over the world
  • For off-campus access to anything on the web that the library pays for, you usually need to connect to a Virtual Private Network (VPN.) During the school year, we encourage you to use the UCI Law VPN. Check the VPN Instructions from UCI Law IT.
  • Lexis and Westlaw account questions can be directed to student representatives.
  • Hours on the Law Library website are updated daily. There’s also a google calendar. UCI Law Library – Hours.
  • Course materials and related resources are available. Check out:
    1. Textbooks and study aids on reserve — how to find them, how to check them out. UCI Law Library Blog – Course Reserves
    2. Study aids in the Law Library – how to find them, how to check them out, and what kinds are available. UCI Law Library – Study aids
    3. Audio case files from CVN Law School
    4. Online lessons in a variety of doctrinal areas from CALI (Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction)
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Textbooks and study aids on reserve

Course reserves for Law 511 (Fall 2011)

Professors can choose to put books “on reserve” in the Law Library. Course reserve books usually include the required texts, and sometimes a professor may also include study aids. Important notes about course reserves:

  • List of books. To see what’s on reserve for your class, search by Professor or by Course Name in ANTPAC.
  • Course Names in ANTPAC for law school classes follow this pattern: LAW ### – [Description].
  • 2-hour checkout. You can check out course reserve books for 2 hours at a time, and ANTPAC will tell you if a book’s available.
  • Library-use only. Course reserve books stay in the Law Library.
  • Come to the service counter with the call number of a reserve book to check it out.
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