Using the Library During Final Exams

Please extend special courtesies to your colleagues during final exams.

Studying for Exams

Need help studying for exams?  Check out the Law Library's Resource Guide on Final Exams.

Food & Drink

Food, including candy and other snacks, is not permitted in the Library. Food attracts insects and roaches which stay to eat the books. Beverages may only be brought into the Library in spill-proof containers like car cups. Please note that Styrofoam or paper cups with lids and water or soda bottles with screw type caps do not qualify as spill-proof containers.

Cell Phones

The Law Library is a quiet study environment.  Please step outside into the atrium lounge for cell phone conversations. Cell phones and pagers may not be used in the Law Library to make or receive calls or to check messages. Please turn off the ring feature on your cell phone or pager so the noise doesn’t disturb other patrons. 

Carrels & Study Rooms

The ten study rooms located on the Law Library’s second and third floors are dedicated for group study.   A study room may be reserved through the law school's web page at http://www.iulaw.indy.indiana.edu/ under the tab at the top entitled “Current Students.” Reservations by a single group are limited to a maximum of two hours per day, and they may not be made more than one day in advance.  Study rooms that have not been reserved are available on a first-come, first-served basis. All library policies apply in the study rooms.

Computer Labs

The Law School has three computer labs for student use. Two of the computer labs, Rooms 235D and 235G, are located on the second floor of the Law Library. Room 235E can be entered from the classroom wing on the second floor. All of the computers require that you log in with your IU ID and password.  The law school computer labs are managed by the University Information Technology department.  Any questions regarding problems with the computer labs should be directed toward the IT department.

Note library closing dates and special hours

Personal Safety and Securing Your Belongings

Do not leave laptop computers, book bags, purses, or other items unattended anywhere in the library.  If you find personal items left anywhere in the building, turn them in to Therese Kamm at the Receptionist’s Desk in the atrium.  Therese will post Lost & Found notices on the law school listservs.   If you do not feel safe leaving the law school, Contact the Campus Police for an escort.

Police:  274-7911     

Escort service:  274-SAFE  (7233)

Library Hours - Spring 2009

News You Can Use - Using Directories to Find Potential Employers

It is often said that “it’s not what you know, but who you know”.  Using legal directories to find potential employers may put you in the know of who to contact.  Here is how to get the most out of the lawyer directories available to you.

1.    Select the directories that fit your needs

Lexis and Westlaw provide comprehensive directories and smaller divisions of directories based on geography (US, Canada, Indiana), type of employer (academic, government, law firm) and subject area (health, tax, corporate).  

2.    Know your directories
Free directories such as Lexis sponsored services www.Lawyers.com , www.martindale.com, and Westlaw’s sponsored service www.lawyers.findlaw.com  are aimed at the consumer and are searchable based only on practice area and geography.

Experience has shown that Martindale Hubbell databases tend to offer more complete information on solo practitioners than West Legal Directory.   More extensive entries cost the attorney participants so often only larger firms will have detailed profile information.

Indiana Legal Directory, the Official Directory of the Indiana State Bar Association is about the only place you find listings for local public defenders, prosecutors, county attorneys.  This directory is available at the library circulation desk.

3.    Consult multiple directories
First thing you need to know is there is no single directory that covers every practicing attorney.  There is some coverage overlap between the directories, particularly listings of mid-size and larger firms.   Many private practitioners only list in a single service and their contact information is sometimes limited to street address (no e-mail or phone).   

4.    Use segments or fields
Do you want to track down IU-Indy alumni in LA?   Are you looking for an environmental firm in Seattle?   Do you want to use your Portuguese language skills on the job?  Segment or field searches in the directories can provide the answer.  Lexis’ Martindale Hubbell offers these segments “Law-School”, “College” – for undergraduate degree, “Practice areas”, “Firm-languages”, “City”, and “firm size”.  West Legal Directory (WLD) offers a search template that includes these fields as well as whether a practice accepts pro-bono.  One caution on using segments or fields is that not all attorneys or firms may fill out a complete profile so not all areas may be searchable.

5.    Update
Individual attorney listings may only be updated when the attorney actively requests an update, so the information could be multiple years out of date – be sure to verify using an updated phone directory.  

6.    Stay Current
Blogs and legal newspapers track job availability and sometimes host career services.  A couple popular Blogs are “Above the Law” and “Clerkship Notification Blog”.   The Law.com weekly legal news service hosts lawjobs.com and an RSS feed for their career center.  The University of Washington law library has put together a nice career information web page available at: http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/career.html

Spotlight on UN Research

The UN Research Library

Much content has been recently added to the United Nations Library for International Law.  The UN Research Library has added texts of treaties, jurisprudence, publications and documents and links to related organizations and law journals.  Most of the texts are in PDF. The links are publicly available at http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/researchlibrary.html.

In the Research Library, the Jurisprudence section has the Jurisprudence of International Courts, Tribunals, quasi-judicial entities, and other mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes.  The Research Library has the United Nations and related Courts, Tribunals and quasi-judicial entities.  Regional Courts and Tribunals and International Arbitral Tribunals are also included.

An online database of United States court cases and related materials featuring international law, established by the American Society of International Law, is available at http://ilex.asil.org/.  ECOLEX is an online database maintained by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the United Nations Environment Programme.  It includes national judicial decisions relating to environmental law.  ECOLEX is available at http://www.ecolex.org/start.php.

In the Research Library, one can find PDF publications and documents to the following titles:

1. Yearbooks of the International Law Commission
2. Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs
3. United Nations Juridical Yearbook
4. United Nations Reports of International Arbitral Awards  
5. Summaries of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the International Court of Justice
6. UNCITRAL Yearbooks and other UNCITRAL publications)
7. United Nations Treaty Series 
8. United Nations Disarmament Yearbook 
9. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)publications
10. United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) publications
11. Yearbook of the United Nations

The Historic Archives are still not complete, but PDF preparatory documents for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) will be added in the near future.  One can find the archives at http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/ha/udhr/udhr.html.

The UN on YouTube

The UN Webcast uploads daily on the YouTube UN Channel video clips on various issue issues, including current news, peace and security, economic and social development, and human rights.  The UN Channel on YouTube is located at http://www.youtube.com/user/unitednations.

UN Environmental Site Overhaul

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has recently redesigned its website at http://www.unep.org/.  The revamped site is organized by priority themes including climate change, disasters and conflicts, ecosystem management, environmental governance, harmful substances, and resource efficiency.  The publications page is located at http://www.unep.org/publications/.  It highlights recent UNEP publications.                                

Three New Websites within the UN: Focus Forests, Human Trafficking and Polar Research

Three new websites within the UN system have begun.  The first is the release of the State of World Forests 2009 (FAO) by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.  The site for its report can be found at http://www.fao.org/docrep/011/i0350e/i0350e00.HTM.  The site focuses on the probable impact of forests on future economic development, global trade, and increases in the world’s population.  The 2009 edition of the biennial State of the World’s Forest looks forward with the theme “Society, Forests and Forestry: Adaption for the Future.” 

The second site is the Blue Heart Campaign against Human Trafficking.  The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has launched a new campaign to fight human trafficking.  The Blue Heart Campaign aims to raise awareness and bring people together against this crime.  Their campaign can be found at http://www.undoc.org/blueheart. 

And the third site deals with multidisciplinary research from the International Polar Year.  The State of Polar Research provides new evidence of global warming in polar regions affecting livelihoods and local plant and animal life in the Arctic and ocean and atmospheric circulation and sea level.  Findings are released by the World Meteorological Organization and the International Council for Science and can be found at http://www.ipy.org/index.php?/ipy/detail/state_of_polar_research/. 

New Multilateral Treaties Site hosted by University of London

An important new treaty index has been developed by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London.  The Institute has begun to host the FLARE Index to Treaties at http://ials.sas.ac.uk/treatyindex.htm.  This new Index contains details to over 1,500 of the most significant multilateral treaties concluded from 1856 to the present.  The Index includes entries for all the treaties and conventions in force now concluded by or under the auspices of the following international organizations and many other world-wide or regional economical, social, and trade organizations including:

• African Union
• Arab League
• Council of Europe
• Council of the European Union
• International Labor Organization
• Organization of American States (OAS)
• International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT)
• United Nations
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
• World Trade Organization (WTO)

FLARE is similar to its sister collection, the FLAG database of foreign and international law collections in UK universities and national libraries.  Like its sister collection, the FLARE Index to Treaties is also free and easy to use, and it will be kept up to date annually.  The FLARE Partnership of Libraries  http://ials.sas.ac.uk/flare/flare.htm supports the Index.  Led by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, the partnership includes the Bodleian Law Library, Oxford; the Squire Law Library, Cambridge; the School of Oriental and African Studies, London and the British Library. 

The FLARE Index is searchable by:

1. Keywords from the official, popular, and alternative titles that have been used for each treaty;
2. Additional keywords relevant to the subject matter or organizations associated with the treaty;
3. The exact date on which the treaty was concluded or the year the treaty was concluded; and
4. The place where the treaty was concluded.

The entry for each treaty in the database includes:

1. Where the full text of the treaty can be found in printed publications;
2. Links to where the text is available on the Internet;
3. The official languages used for the text of the treaty; and
4. The name of the state or international organization acting as depository for the treaty.

A searchable index pointing to such a large number of full-text multilateral treaties dating back to 1856 can be very helpful.  Many believe that the United States or the United Nations has a central depository of all bilateral and multilateral treaties ever concluded.  No such database currently exists.  But the FLARE Index is an excellent attempt to access as many significant treaties with one search.  Students, scholars, and diplomats can use the FLARE Index for research and consultation. 

More Information on United Nations Research

If you would like more information on the United Nations or UN document research, please visit our United Nations research page at http://www.iulaw.indy.indiana.edu/library/unitednations.htm or visit or call our reference desk at (317) 274-4026.  If you would like to make an appointment with our international law materials specialist, please contact Steven R. Miller at stevmill@iupui.edu. 

Did You Know -- Internet Archive Searching in the “Wayback Machine” 

http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

Oh no!!  The web page you found last year and cited in your paper no longer exists.  Perhaps the information has been updated, or the site’s owner has changed.  For example, the executive branch (the President and agencies) typically overhauls its sites to reflect a new administration’s message and objectives.  While researchers welcome the addition of updated and new information, these changes result in the loss of information that needs to be verified.

The Internet Archive/Wayback Machine project has preserved 85 billion web pages dating from 1996 forward.   The advanced feature permits some refinement, such as date limiters.  However, note that:  (1) exact web addresses are required; (2) keyword searching is not an option; and (3) not every old page is saved.

Here’s how the Wayback Machine may help...  You have the url or link for a January 7, 2004 Bush White House press release addressing immigration issues.  However, the link now takes you to the current administration’s Briefing Room and the old document cannot be located with the search feature on the White House site.  Access the Wayback Machine/Internet Archive, enter the old address into either search box (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040107-3.html), and click “GO!” or “Take Me Back.” 

The results provide you with a chart of links from the archive that are closest in date – exact, you hope – to that of the document you are trying to find.  In this case, the press release has been preserved and, under the appropriate date, you will be able to view the page as you first found it.  Even if the exact date isn’t listed, the document will be under any other date during which time the page existed.

Great Women in the Law

The March display in the library lobby featured a St. Patrick’s Day theme, along with the biographies of numerous renowned women in American law. 

Beginning with Clara Shortridge Foltz (1849-1934), America’s first practicing woman lawyer, the display traced a historical journey through women’s continuing rise through the ranks of lawyers and judges.  Also featured iwas Pauli Murray (1910-1985) a writer, poet, lawyer, and Episcopal priest, who not only participated in sit-ins to integrate lunch counters in Washington, D.C. in the 1940s, but continued into prominence as a founder of the National Organization for Women in the 1970s.  The display included numerous biographies from the Howard University School of Law’s In the Footsteps of Giants series, which highlighted the influential careers of numerous female members of the Howard University School of Law faculty through the years. 

Of course such luminaries as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, along with Constance Baker Motley, a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement, and Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the current U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit were also highlighted.

In addition to the biographies of well known lawyers and judges, the display featured biographies of several women who, although not practicing law, have had significant influence on legal issues in the United States.  Among these are civil rights champions Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, and Fannie Lou Hamer and feminist crusader Betty Friedan.  While these prominent women may not have pursued legal careers, their commitment to justice, equality, and human rights stand as shining examples for all of us to follow, as we pursue our own careers in the legal profession.

It is indeed important for all of us to remember the important contributions of women who were pioneers in the quest for women’s rights and equality.  And often their accomplishments served to inspire the same level of commitment among more recent women attorneys and judges. While we may not aspire to the lofty accomplishments of these women, they should certainly serve as inspirational examples of what can be achieved through perseverance, dedication, and the belief that we all should be working toward the betterment of society at large.

The Next Generation of Law Librarians

The next time you stop in the law library, you just may be rubbing shoulders with the next generation of law librarians.  We are fortunate to have a couple of interns and mentees working with us this semester – Donna Bowman and Sabrina Kramer.  They come from a variety of backgrounds but have the same goal – joining the exalted ranks of law librarians!  I asked them a few questions about where they have come from and where they hope to go.

Donna has a B.A. in History and Political Science from Valparaiso University and graduated from Creighton University School of Law in May 2008.  She passed the bar last summer and moved to Indiana to start working on her Master of Library Science (M.L.S.) at the Indiana University School of Library and Information Science and  plans to graduate this summer.  Sabrina earned a BA in Paralegal Studies from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.   She is on track to receive her M.L.S. from IU in May.

Sabrina and Donna were both attracted to librarianship by their love of research.  Sabrina discovered this interest as an undergraduate.  “Not only did I like it,” she says, “but a few of my peers, particularly those in my law classes, would come to me when they had homework questions. I found myself giving impromptu Westlaw how-to sessions in our small law library. I found that I really liked helping my peers learn how to use this resource, and thought that perhaps I should focus my sights on being a librarian rather than being a paralegal.”  Donna says, “I have always had an interest in researching and writing, but I wasn’t sure how to make a meaningful career out of those interests.  After taking legal research in law school and working as a teacher’s aide for legal research classes, I realized that law librarianship would be a great way to combine those skills into one career.”

Although Donna and Sabrina share a passion for library research, they see that passion leading them down different paths.   Donna hopes to work in a law school library, teaching legal research classes and addressing the library’s budgeting, collection development, and administrative needs.  Sabrina, on the other hand, would prefer to work in the technical services area as a cataloger and dreams of landing a job in a law library.

The type of law library projects on which they have worked dovetail with their future plans.  Sabrina’s main focus has been in cataloging library materials. She has cut her cataloging teeth on some unique resources, including a number of United Nations monographs and is mastering the emerging art of cataloging electronic resources.  In addition to cataloging, she has worked on a few reference requests, has observed the circulation staff, and has been given a broad overview of technical services work in general.  Sabrina says that she has enjoyed the learning experience despite its challenges and has a feeling of accomplishment when the hard work finally results in a catalog record that will help library users find our resources.  She also says she has appreciated how kind and forthcoming everyone has been when describing their jobs, giving her better “insight into the library's inner workings.”  

Donna’s duties have also included filling in at the circulation and reference desks, and she has gained some valuable legal instruction experience by assisting the Law Library Director, Judith Anspach, with creating and revising legal research materials for her classes.  She reports that she has enjoyed meeting and working with the law librarians at the Ruth Lilly Law Library and that everyone has been welcoming and extremely helpful.  She also has learned some unexpected things, saying, “I was surprised at how much law libraries have to spend to subscribe to LexisNexis and Westlaw.  As a law student, such online tools are ‘free.’  I never really thought about how much the school spent to provide me with this ‘free’ access.  After looking at the bills, I now think twice about the searches I make.”

In her non-library life, Donna’s favorite TV show is Top Chef and her favorite book is The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.  Sabrina likes spending time her three children, playing board games, building Lego sets with her sons (this winter break’s project was to complete the Collector's Edition Millennium Falcon, 5,000+ pieces), and watching movies with her daughter.  She enjoys reading Stephen King, John Grisham, Dean Koontz, and the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.

The entire staff at the Ruth Lilly Law Library thanks Sabrina and Donna for their contributions and wishes them well as they embark on their journey as librarians!

Recently Asked Questions

Q.  What is IUCAT?

A. IUCAT is the online catalog for the Ruth Lilly Law Library as well as all of the other Indiana University libraries. It contains records for the books, journals, government documents, audiovisual items, maps, and electronic resources available throughout the IU system.

Q.  Can I Access IUCAT from home?

A. Yes, it is available 24/7/365. Just point your browser to: http://www.iucat.iu.edu/. You do not need to use a password unless you want to request items from other IU libraries.

Q. What can I find with IUCAT?

A.  IUCAT is the place to find out what the IU libraries own or have online access to. Use it to find:

• what books, government documents, and AV items we own
• what journals we subscribe to
• what issues of those journals we hold
• the full-text of many online books, journal articles, and government documents

When using IUCAT on a computer within the Law School , it is set up to first look for material that the Law Library owns. If that fails, you have the option of changing your search to include all IU libraries, specific IU libraries, or combinations of several IU libraries.

Q.  What won't I find in IUCAT?

A. IUCAT is not a place to search for individual journal articles. To search for journal articles, use an online index such as Hein Online, LegalTrac, or  WilsonWeb —you can find these on the Ruth Lilly Law Library's webpage. 

Q.  How can I find out if we have access to a journal using IUCAT?

A. You can use IUCAT to find out if we have access to a journal either in an electronic database or on the shelf.  In the “Select Library” box, change the setting to “All.” Do a “Periodical Title” search using the journal's title. Display the catalog record.  If there is a URL link under IUPUI, click on that link.   A box will pop up linking  you to where  full-text of that journal can be accessed.    For journals on the shelf, you will see a reference to the location, such as Periodicals.

Librarian and Staff News

Judith Anspach, Director of the Law Library, was recently elected to the Executive Board of the Society of American Law Library Directors, an organization that promotes academic law librarianship and represents the interests of academic law libraries.  The Society provides academic law librarians with an independent forum to speak on behalf of academic law libraries on issues in legal education, to collect statistics and information valuable to the profession, and to cooperate on legal research initiatives.

Susan Boland, Head of Information Services, attended the 2009 American Association of Law Libraries Management Institute in Tampa, Florida.   

Steven R. Miller, Reference Librarian, has been appointed for a two-year period to the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee of the American Association of Law Libraries beginning in July 2009.  The committee is made up of seven members nationally.  Steven will be participating in the committee’s activities to accomplish the committee’s charge. 

Miriam Murphy, Associate Director, was presenter on a panel for Special Libraries at the Library Career Expo, Indiana Librarianship in the 21st Century on March 5, 2009.

Erin Thompson, Serials Senior Assistant, was named adoption coordinator for Friends of Ferdinand, a 501(c)(3) entity that rehabilitates and adopts out ex-racehorses.  This is a new position that was created out of necessity, as the organization has grown exponentially in the last few years since its inception in 2005.

Ruth Lilly Law Library
 Lawrence W. Inlow Hall
 530 West New York Street
 Indianapolis, Indiana  46202-3325
Reference Desk - (317) 274-4026
Circulation Desk - (317) 274-4028

Hours are posted on the website and in the library.

Library hours - http://indylaw.indiana.edu/library/hours.htm
Reference hours - http://indylaw.indiana.edu/library/libservices.htm#RefHours