Resources For Legal Research Grants

The University of Buffalo Law School Library has created a useful list of resources for law faculty seeking research funding. Its web page Funding Sources For Research Scholars lists some 18 sources of possible research grants.

Studying Law Through Cartoons

Here is yet another aid to understanding the cases that are assigned in law school. The web site Stu's Views has nearly 500 cartoons based on the facts or law of major cases taught in Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence and Corporations. Most of the cartoons are hyperlinked to the text of the cases they parody. (Thanks to Law Librarian Blog for the information.)

Independent Film Festival Begins At Downtown Library

This Thursday the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library begins for the fifth year its Independent Film Festival. Here is the schedule. Every Thursday evening for 5 weeks at the downtown Library you can see a high quality first-run feature film that will not be in your local multiplex. And best of all, these showings are free. I have attended a number of these in the past, and the films are always of high quality and thought-provoking. They begin at 6:45 pm, and generally there is an optional Library-staff-led discussion of the film afterwards.

This week's film is Familia (2005, directed by Louise Archambault). Here is the description: "Janine’s seemingly comfortable middle-class life is disrupted after her childhood friend Michele--a divorced, unemployed gambling addict--asks for help. Their daughters form an unlikely friendship, leading to cross-generational tension and the question: Must our children be burdened with the traits we despise in our parents--- and in ourselves?"

Internet Explorer 7 Now Available

Internet Explorer 7 is now available for downloading from Microsoft. I am using it at home and find one great advantage-- it has the "tab" feature pioneered by Firefox that allows you to have multiple websites open at the same time, with easy navigation between them.

Electronic Database of the Week, part 2

This week's spotlight is on OHIOLink.

OHIOLink is “a consortium of Ohio’s college and university libraries and the State Library of Ohio. Serving more than 600,000 students, faculty, and staff at 85 institutions”

Essentially, Ohiolink lets you search multiple Ohio schools’ catalogs at once. If the resource is in another school’s collection but not at the University of Toledo’s, you will be able to request it.

OHIOLink is a great way to get materials that are somewhere in Ohio, just not here. So if an UTMOST search doesn't return what you are looking for, don't despair, use OHIOLink. OHIOLink is accessible via the Legal Research Links on the LaValley Law Library's site. And if you have any questions, please ask one of us librarians.

Current Events in Toledo and Surrounding Areas

EXHIBITIONS:
Now thru October 29, 2006, Reading, Riteing & Rithmetic - Wolcott House Museum, Maumee OH Thursday - Sunday 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Now thru September 15, 2006 Slippery Weasel Society - U.T. Center for the Visual Arts Gallery Monday thru Saturday 9 am - 10 pm, Sunday 10 am - 10 pm

Now thru September 4, 2006 Extreme Science - COSI, Toledo OH Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Sunday noon - 5:00 pm

September 2 - 23, 2006 Artomatic 419 - 1717 Adams St. (Formerlly Toledo Rep Headquarters) Saturday 11 am - 11 pm

Now thru September 24, 2006 Ansel Adams - Toledo Museum of Art Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Now thru October 8, 2006 Pop Prints from - Toledo Museum of Art Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Now thru September 29, 2006 Curran Erard Art Exhibition - Space 237 N. Michigan, Toledo 11 am -5 pm

Now thru September 3, 2006 88th Annual Toledo Area Artists - Toledo Museum of Art Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Now thru October 4, 2006 Pop Prints from TMA - Toledo Museum of Art Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

FESTIVALS:
Saturday, September 2, 2006 Arti Gras - Adams Street (11th - 18th) Noon to Midnight

Sunday, September 3, 2006 Tejano Festival - Centennial Terrace, Sylvania TBA

Sunday, September 3, 2006 RiverFest and Pandemonium VI Fireworks - Promenade & Festival Parks 5 0m - 10:30 pm

September 8 -10, 2006 Greek-American Festival - Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral Friday and Saturfay 4 pm - midnight, Sunday noon - 8 pm

September 8-10, 2006 Black Swamp Arts Festival - Downtown Bowling Green Friday 5 pm - midnight, Saturday 10 am - midnight, Sunday 11 am - 5 pm

MUSIC:
Wednesday, August 30, 2006 Judith Avers - B.G.S.U. 8:30 pm - 10:30 p

September 1, 2006 - May 4, 2007 First Friday - Toledo School for the Arts 9 am - 10 am

Friday, September1, 2006 Club Friday Music: The Travelers (early rock) - Toledo Museum of Art 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Saturday, September 2, 2006 Johnny Knorr Orchestra Presents the Music of Frank Sinatra with Dan Welch - Centennial Terrace 7:30 pm - 11:30 pm

SPORTS:
Sunday, September 4, 2006 Toledo Mud Hens vs Columbus Clippers - Fifth Third Field 6 pm

THEATER:
September 9 and 10, 2006 Open Auditions for the Nutcracker - Toledo Ballet Association 10 am - 4:45 pm

MISCELLANEOUS:
Now thru September 20, 2006 Birthday Special - Butterfly House, Whitehouse Monday - Saturday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Sunday Noon- 5:00 pm

Saturday, September 9, 2006 SRO Fundraiser - Centennial Terrace, Sylvania TBA

Saturday, September 9, 2006 Family A-Fair Day - Lutheran Village at Wolf Creek 11 am - 3 pm

Saturday, September 9, 2006 Fantasy Fest in the Forest Gala - Camp Miakonda 6 pm - 11 pm

Friday, September 8 - 10, 2006 35th Annual Jewelry, Gem and Mineral Show - Stranahan Theater Friday 2 - 9 pm, Saturday 10 am - 6 pm, Sunday 10 am - 5 pm

September 9 and 10, 2006 Fall Plant Sale - Toledo Botanical Garden Saturday and Sunday 9 am - 5 pm

Newsletter for US Federal Courts

The Third Branch is the newsletter for the Federal Courts. It has been around for a while, with online archives going back to 1995. It gives adminstrative news about the courts, such as new appointments and the Judiciary's new budget. While there usually isn't much earth shattering news in the newsletter, it is a good way to keep up with what is happening in the federal courts.

Labor Day Week End Hours

Please note the LaValley Law Library hours for Labor Day week end:

Fri. Sept. 1: 7:30 am- 11:45 pm
Sat. Sept. 2: 9:00 am- 9:45 pm
Sun. Sept. 3: 9:00 am - 11:45 pm
Mon. Sept. 4: 9:00 am - 11:45 pm

Electronic Database of the Week

I am going to try and highlight one of our electronic databases each week.

I want to start off the series with UTMOST
UTMOST is the University of Toledo's online catalog:
http://utmost.cl.utoledo.edu/ is the website, we have a link to it on the library website under "Search our Catalog"

UTMOST contains records of all the materials available at the University of Toledo libraries. With the recent merger with MUO this does now include the medical library's records.
You can search by title, subject, author, call number or keyword. For me, unless I know who the author is or the title, I prefer using the keyword. Subject searching can be tricky, for example searching "Tort Law" as a subject won't bring up any results. Using them as keywords will bring up books on tort law. Choose one of the results, and towards the bottom of the record there will be a subject line or lines. You can then click on those subject headings to call up more results on the same subject.

If you any questions, please ask one of us librarians.

For 1L's: How To Read A Judicial Opinion

First year students-- you may find this short essay by Prof. Orin Kerr of George Washington University Law School useful. It is titled: How To Read a Judicial Opinion: A Guide for New Law Students.

New edition of the U.S. Government Manual

The 2006-07 edition of the US Government Manual is available at the GPO website

The manual "provides comprehensive information on the agencies of
the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. The Manual also
includes information on quasi-official agencies; international
organizations in which the United States participates; and boards,
commissions, and committees."

It is broken down into various sections, avaiable in text format or PDF.

Current Events in Toledo and Surrounding Areas

EXHIBITIONS:
Now thru October 29, 2006, Reading, Riteing & Rithmetic - Wolcott House Museum, Maumee OH Thursday - Sunday 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Now thru September 4, 2006 Extreme Science - COSI, Toledo OH Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Sunday noon - 5:00 pm

Now thru September 24, 2006 Ansel Adams - Toledo Museum of Art Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Now thru October 8, 2006 Pop Prints from - Toledo Museum of Art Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Now thru August 27, 2006 The Art of Building: Creating Your Museum Campus- Toledo Museum of Art Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Now thru September 3, 2006 88th Annual Toledo Area Artists - Toledo Museum of Art Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sunday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

FESTIVALS:
Friday, August 18, 2006 Taste of Maumee - City of Maumee 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Saturday, August 19 - August 20, 2006 Maumee Summer Fair 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sunday, August 20, 2006 32nd Birmingham Ethnic Festival - Consaul Street Noon to 9:00 pm

MUSIC:
Thursday, August 17, 2006 Jazz in the Garden - University of Toledo Faculty Jazz Ensemble - Toledo Botanical Gardens 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Thursday, August 17, 2006 Muscial Evening at Wolcott House Museum Complex 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Friday, August 18, 2006 Gwar in Concert - Headliners, Toledo 8:00 pm

Saturday, August 19, 2006 Rock for Autism Concert - Cenntennial Terrace, Sylvania OH

Sunday, August 20, 2006 ApologetiX - Clay High School Auditorium 6:30 pm

Sunday, August 20, 2006 Music Under the Stars: Quest for Cool: Jazz 7:30 pm

THEATER:
Now thru August 20, 2006 Mamma Mia - Stranahan Theater

Friday, August 19, 2006 Late Nite Catechism 2 - Valentine Theatre 8:oo pm

Monday, August 21, 2006 Law & Murder - Spaghetti Warehouse 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

MISCELLANEOUS:
Now thru September 20, 2006 Birthday Special - Butterfly House, Whitehouse Monday - Saturday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Sunday Noon- 5:00 pm

Thursday, August 17, 2006 Silverback Society Dinner - Toledo Zoo call for times

Friday, August 18, 2006 Rock N' Roar - "Bell Bottoms and Boot Cuts" , Toledo Zoo 7:00 pm to midnight

Tuesday, August 22, 2006 Gold Circle Dinner - Toledo Zoo call for times

Welcome- and Welcome Back-- To UT Law Students

To returning students, Welcome Back! To new students: Welcome! There have been a number of changes in the Law Library this summer. Probably the most noticeable is the addition of a coffee bar where you may purchase coffee and tea (only in your own close-top travel mugs). There are many other changes as well. The library is now receiving all CCH and BNA publications in electronic form instead of in paper. This has allowed us to greatly increase the number of titles for each of these publishers. We are also integrating our electronic holdings into the UTMOST online catalogue. A number of additional computers have been scattered around the library with icons on them that can assist you in your research.

The Law Library's website has been improved-- with extensive research links as one feature. Current news headlines from Jurist now scroll across the Library's homepage. Click on a headline to go to the full news story.

We have updated and expanded our collection of student course-related materials such as Nutshells, treatises, "Understanding" series, and the like. CALI exercises are posted on the two computers in the First Year Study Area, and they are also available on CDs or online-- inquire in the library to get access to either of these.

In today's electronic environment, law libraries have become information centers. Our reference librarians can help you with both paper and electronic sources. Often the best starting point for a research project is a treatise, monograph or law review article that gives you an overview and context before you begin to explore online materials. Also, remember that online materials vary significantly in reliability. Proprietary databases to which the library subscribes are reliable sources. Materials merely turned up in Google searches require much more evaluation.

We are trying to make the Law Library a comfortable place for you to study, as well as a research destination. With coffee and wireless web access, as well as dedicated printers for items you wish to download from Lexis or Westlaw, think about making the LaValley Law Library your "second home" while at Law School.

New Article By Prof. Steinbock

UT Law Prof. Daniel Steinbock this summer posted a new article on SSRN: Designating the Dangerous: From Blacklists to Watch Lists, forthcoming in Seattle University Law Review.

Reading court opinions

Just in time for a new school year, Orin Kerr (an associate professor at George Washington) has a short article on how to read a court opinion:
How to Read a Judicial Opinion: A Guide for New Law Students

It is a PDF document.

Moussaoui trial exhibits

Exhibits from the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui have been posted on the web by the US D.C., Eastern District of Virginia.

The exhibits can be accessed here

The court also has exhibits from other notable cases, including US v. John Walker Lindh and Hamdi v. Rumsfeld. They can be accessed here