Email Reference Just for You
by Mary Whisner
We in the Reference Department are eager to help you use the Law Library,
search databases, and solve vexing research puzzles. During the quarter, the
Reference Office on the 2d floor is staffed, as in past years,
Monday-Thursday. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 1 p.m.
to 4 p.m., and Sunday 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. You can come by or telephone (206)
543-6794.
But what if you’re home, thinking about research in the middle of the
night? Or what if you just would rather write your question than telephone
or come into the Reference Office? We are now offering email reference
service to UW law students. You can ask a question using
the form on the Law Library website.
We’ll get back to you with our suggestions.
Email reference is an extension of our traditional reference service for
students, just in a new medium. That is, we still are helping you to do the
research yourselves, rather than telling you the answer. So, for example, a
law student working in one of the clinics needed some social science
information to prepare for the examination of a witness. Her research had
hit a dead end, so she asked for help. A reference librarian suggested a
database and a sample search that got her on her way.
Our goal is to respond to your questions within two working days although
it is likely that we will usually be able to reply much more quickly. If you
need quick reference assistance, please call or come by during
the hours the Reference Office is open.
What's on the Gallagher Law Library Website?
Have you visited the Gallagher Law Library
website and discovered the extensive amount of information available?
Here are some of the highlights of what you'll find at the website:
- Links to MARIAN, the
Law Library's online catalog (as well as the
UW Libraries catalog
- Over 50 legal research guides
describing resources and strategies helpful when researching particular
topics (e.g., foreign and comparative law, jury verdicts, legislative
history, and tax research)
- Old UW Law School exams
- Link to the
UW Libraries Information Gateway containing hundreds of databases,
indexes, and electronic journals covering topics not necessarily found on
Westlaw or Lexis (e.g., anthropology, engineering, medicine, and
psychology
- Law Library News column from the
Condon Crier
- Website of the Week featuring
websites of interest to legal researchers
How do you find documents and information on the Gallagher Law Library
website? Several ways:
- Click on the category that is relevant to your need (e.g., Library
Catalog, Research, Law Library News)
- Site Search allows you to search the website (including the Website of
the Week and Law Library News archives, but NOT the library catalog) by
keyword. For example, a search for "holocaust," retrieves two websites of
the week - Nuremburg War Crimes Trials and Holocaust.org. A search for
"biotechnology" retrieves two research guides, "Biotechnology and the Law"
and "Research in Health Law." The Site Search box is in the upper right
hand corner of the website.
Site Index is a browsable keyword index of the documents on the website.
The Site Index is found under the "Quick Info." category on the website.
Book of the Week: Looking at Law School
by Mary Whisner
Looking at Law School: A Student Guide from the Society of American
Law Teachers, edited by Stephen Gillers (Meridian, 1997). KF283.L55 1997
at Reserve
Part I, “Deciding to Go to Law School,” is moot for you: you have already
made the decision and picked your school. Nonetheless, this book of essays
by law professors (one essay is coauthored by a lawyer) could be worthwhile
anyway. Part II, “The Law School Experience,” has essays about the classroom
climate and the messages of legal education, along with three essays aimed
at students of color, women and parents, and lesbians and gay men. Part III
discusses the first-year curriculum, subject by subject. Part IV has essays
on jurisprudence, legal ethics, clinical studies, and law and economics.
Most of the chapters include footnotes or bibliographies, so they can be
good starting points for further reading. For instance, if you would like to
learn more about feminist jurisprudence or critical race theory, read the
chapter on jurisprudence and its bibliography.
For additional descriptions of selected books see the
Book of the Week Archive.
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