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Cornell Law Library Annual Report July 2001-June 2002 Highlights
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Cornell Law Library Annual Report 2001-2002

Apr 06, 2016

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Annual Report 2001-2002
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Page 1: Cornell Law Library Annual Report 2001-2002

Cornell Law Library Annual Report

July 2001-June 2002

Highlights

Page 2: Cornell Law Library Annual Report 2001-2002

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Faculty Services

Prof. Kevin Clermont using Microform collection

Student Services

Prof. Claire Germain with LL.M. studentBajrakitiyabha “Pat” Mahidol

The Faculty Liaison Librarians helped faculty with a variety of projects.

? All the librarians answered extensive research questions and provided current awarenessservices.

? Brandy Kreisler and Charlotte Bynum helped several faculty members put researchmaterials online and set up course web pages.

? The Law Library created a Web page to help faculty make requests for regular Reservesand E-Reserves.

? Charlie Finger assisted Profs. Eisenberg andClermont with the library part of theirinformation technology grant proposal andimplementation. Thanks to the grant, theLibrary bought books, audiovisual, and onlinematerials.

? In collaboration with the Law SchoolCommunications office, Jean Callihan startedcoordinating the publication of facultybibliographies on the web and in the CornellLaw Forum.

? In August, the Law Library participated in the orientationprogram for the new 180 J.D. and 60 LL.M. students. Library staff conducted tours, including the Rare BookRoom this year, which proved to be a welcome addition.

? The Law Library assisted the Law School InformationTechnologies Department in promoting the wirelesssystem in the Law School. Brandy Kreisler wrote a flyer forstudent use. The Library is checking out laptop cards.

? Five lawyer-librarians taught the legal research part ofLegal Methods to the first year students during a two weekperiod, October 15-26. Pat Court coordinated this trainingwhich included book and computer research and consistedof over 70 small group sessions in the Reading Room, andin the computer lab. It also included 45 one hour onlinegroup sessions during intersession in January 2002.

? In October, Charlotte Bynum taught a session on "Career Research Strategies for LL.M.&JSD Students."

? Legal Research Training for Law Practice. In the Spring, the Law Library helped lawstudents prepare for their summer clerkships and their new associate positions with the

Page 3: Cornell Law Library Annual Report 2001-2002

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Publications

Public Services Activities

8,122 reference questions answered

33,021 materials checked out, renewed, or used in the building

1,244 items retrieved from Rare Book room and Cage

10 bibliographies and handouts written

203 one hour instruction sessions provided to 3,700 students

20 tours given to 249 participants

892 Interlibrary loan items borrowed from other libraries

671 Interlibrary loan items lent to other libraries

364 Books and photocopies provided to faculty from Law Library and other campuslibraries

popular "Sail Into Summer" campaign. The highlight was a series of programs by KayTodd, Law Library Director at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky, and Walker in Atlanta, on“Survival Skills for a Summer Associate.” Ms. Todd spoke to over 60 law students,including the Advanced Research Seminar, on how to be a successful associate, andmaneuver through complex research situations.

? Students also benefitted from customized Research Appointments, with a personalizedhour of assistance from one of the lawyer-librarians. Pat Court, Charlotte Bynum, BrandyKreisler, Jean Callihan, and Charles Finger provided numerous one-on-one sessions,focused on the students' special needs, from a basic research review to training on printand online federal securities materials.

? Janet Gillespie managed the circulation and reserve operations, including the studentcarrel reservation system which was extended this year to 75 carrels.

? Remembering Harry Bitner. The Law Library prepared a memorial to Professor HarryBitner, Cornell Law Librarian 1965-1976, published in 94 Law Library Journal 187-208(2002), with contributions by Claire Germain and Crystal Hackett.

? 22 issues of InSITE (annotations of new law-related web sites) were published. SashaSkenderija converted the InSite database into a relational database, entailing changes toboth the public and staff interfaces. The new database structure allows for the nearlyautomatic creation of new online issues of InSITE, with minimal human intervention.

? 4 Law Library Newsletter issues were published, in print and online.

? Cornell Law Library Guide (rev. Aug. 2001)

? Law Library: A Library of Distinction (rev. May 2002)

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Budget, Planning, and Collection

? Several web and print guides, available through the Law Library web site. “Legal Ethics”by Jean Callihan (June 2002); “First Year Survival Guide” by Jean Callihan (Sept. 2001);“Researching Australian Law” by Charlie Finger (Aug. 2002); “Treatises, Hornbooks, andNutshells: A Guide for First Year Students” by Jean Callihan (Sept. 2001); “InternationalCommercial Arbitration” by Charlotte Bynum (April 2002); “Immigration Law” by Pat Court(Sept. 2001); “Legal Research and Writing: A Bibliography” (rev. Sept. 2001); and severalguides prepared for the Advanced Legal Research class.

? Budget: The Library worked hard to serve faculty and students within the approvedbudget and staffing. In light of the fact that the Law Library staff is smaller than in 1967,the accomplishments are extraordinary. Since that time, there have been increaseddemands for service, whether electronic or print, requests for rare books and other specialcollections, and a substantial expansion of the Law School programs, particularly ininternational and foreign law, and multidisciplinary areas. [In 1967 the Law Libraryconsisted of 26 staff members - in 2002, 23.5 staff members - a fact revealed while doingresearch for the Tribute to Harry Bitner].

The collections budget was tight because of continual increases in prices from all legalpublishers, but the Library finished the fiscal year with a balanced budget. This result wasdue to significant cutbacks in various areas of the collection such as Canadian andAustralian law, in reliance on electronic sources. Charlie Finger prepared a web guide on"Researching Australian Law", that explains how to find information in the Law Library,both in print and electronic sources. Increased reliance upon Lexis and Westlaw inparticular, as well as other electronic sources, allowed the Law Library to cancelduplicative print materials. The consistent price increases, the plethora of new editions ofsets being produced by the few legal publishers, and the growing international andmultidisciplinary programs of the Law School, indicate that expenses for next year will begreater.

The collection was enhanced in certain areas, thanks to the new Jack ClarkeInternational & Comparative Law Fund and the Sheppard Guryan endowment on theHistory of Jurisprudence and American Legal Thought.

? Planning: Dean Lee Teitelbaum shared his vision for the Law School with the librarystaff during the annual law library retreat in August 2001. The staff then fleshed out goalsand objectives to support that vision, as well as the goals of CUL, and produced the LawLibrary Plan for 2001-2002. This Plan was implemented, with regular updates andadjustments, during the fiscal year.

? Jean Pajerek and the Technical Services Department continued to create new serialcheck-in records for Voyager, the Library Management system, and completed asubstantial project of cataloging over 15,000 Congressional hearings.

? To enhance the usefulness of the online catalog, hundreds of hypertext links were addedto scanned monographic tables of contents purchased from Index Master on existingbibliographic records.

? 800 records were prepared for the implementation of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)serials invoicing for titles supplied by Hein Publishing Company.

? This year saw a notable increase in the number of requests for special collections, inparticular several projects involving the use of the Bennett Collection of statutory law, and

Page 5: Cornell Law Library Annual Report 2001-2002

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Acquisitions & Cataloging Activities

18,183 Titles cataloged

17,871 print titles 106 microforms 116 serials microforms 19 audiovisual 61 computer files

116 Serials titles added for a total of 6,503.

490,907 Total Print Volumes on June 30, 2001650,346 Total Volumes and Volume Equivalents

Building

Gifts and Endowments

Dean Teitelbaum, Prof. Bernard Rudden, andProf. Claire Germain

the Trials collection, which required over 1,400 retrievals from the Cage and Rare BookRooms.

? With the help of the Law School Facilities Department, all the existing law deans' portraitswere rearranged and put in the Reading Room in chronological order, ending with PeterMartin's portrait, which was unveiled April 23, 2002. The Law Library prepared a brochuredescribing each painting for alumni and visitors.

? The Casual Reading Room above the Rare Book room was made available to studentsas a group study room, with tables, a blackboard, and wireless access to the internet.

? Pat Court and Crystal Hackett spent much time preparing for and overseeing the libraryportion of a new wiring system installation in the Law School. This project resulted in lostspace for the Library, including the loss of the Microform Room and a small part of theTechnical Services Workroom.

? Claire Germain worked with the architect on the Law School Renovation Plan, whichplans for a different use of several library spaces to accommodate new needs.

? Professor Bernard Rudden gave a rare bookto the Law Library, as his expression of thanksfor services rendered to him over the years, a1761bilingual edition of Littleton's Tenures, inFrench and English. (see Law LibraryNewsletter, September 2001)

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Prof. Fred McChesney with Prof. ClaireGermain

Staff

Sue Hills with Fuerst Award student Adam Schoenfeld

? Professor Fred McChesney (former CornellLaw School faculty) gave the Law Library the rarebook, Questions sur l’ordonnance de Louis XIVdu mois d’avril 1667, relative aux usages descours de parlement, et principalement de celui deToulouse, 1769.

? William Rogers Memorabilia. Upon DaleRogers Marshall’s request, Claire Germainvisited the former home of William Rogers inBethseda, Md., in August and selected acollection of memorabilia for the Law School.

? Harry Bitner Research Fellows Program. Harry Bitner, one of the foremost Cornell lawlibrarians, died in May 2001. His family indicated an interest in establishing the HarryBitner Research Fellows program in the Cornell Law Library to continue his legacy, andallow visiting scholars and librarians to learn about legal research at Cornell from theexperienced and skilled staff, and use the extensive facilities.

? New Staff. In August, two new staff members arrived. Charlie Finger joined the LawLibrary as Collection Development/Reference Librarian. Charlie received his J.D. andM.L.S. degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He was previously theLaw Librarian for the West group in Rochester, New York, and has extensive experienceworking in academic and court libraries. Jean Callihan began as a Reference Librarian. She received her J.D. from Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, andher M.L.S. from Clarion University. She was previously Reference/Instructional ServicesLibrarian at Marquette University Law Library. Prior to a library career, she spent over 10years as Deputy Chief Counsel, Chief Hearing Examiner, and Assistant Counsel, at theCommonwealth of Pennsylvania, Insurance Dept., in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

? Student Assistant Fuerst Award. Adam Schoenfeld received one ofthe 2002 Fuerst Awards, recognizingthe best student assistants in theCornell University Library.

? Employee Service RecognitionAwards. Barbara Taylor (20 years)was recognized in November 2001 atthe CUL Awards luncheon; ElizabethHand (25 years), Patricia Jones (20years), and Elizabeth Teskey (10years) were recognized in June 2002at the Law School Awards Luncheon.

? Law Library Interns. Olga Cabrero, from Barcelona, Spain, spent September 2001 inthe Law Library, and wrote “A Guide to the Spanish Legal System,” available on theInternet at www.llrx.com/features/spain.htm. Saah Quigee, former law librarian in Liberia,started a one year internship, while studying for a Master’s degree in Rural Planning.

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Partnerships and Outreach Activities

Jean Callihan at Small Business Administration award presentation in Washington, D.C.

? Staff Activities Outside of Work. David Elliott received a 2001 Pride of OwnershipAward for Residential owner-occupied from the City of Ithaca and the Rotary Club, inrecognition of his efforts to renovate his property. Laura Robert did an art exhibit inFebruary 2002. Elizabeth Teskey coordinated the United Way campaign for the entireCornell University Library system.

? Donovan Nuremberg Collection. In July 2001, the Law Library hosted the visit of twoprofessors from the United Kingdom, who had made a special trip to Cornell to explorethe Donovan Nuremberg trial transcripts in the Rare Book Room: Michael Salter,Professor of Law at the University of Central Lancashire, and Andrea Loux, Lecturer inLaw at the University of Edinburgh. Andrea is a '93 Cornell Law Graduate. An acid-freecopy of 43 of the150 volumes was created for preservation purposes. John Lauricellastarted working on an extensive index of the unique parts of the collection.

? Nuremberg/Rutgers Project in the News. Much publicity worldwide occurred after aJanuary AP story was published and syndicated about the Gen. William J. DonovanNuremberg transcripts going online at Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion, (www.lawandreligion.com). Articles were published all over the world, and also in theNew York Times, Ithaca Journal, and Cornell Chronicle. Please seewww.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/nuremberg for details.

? Law Library and Small Business Administration Partnership Wins E-Gov PioneerAward. The Small Business Administrationinvited the Law Library to participate in a pilotproject by reviewing, revising, and maintainingNew York state information presented on theagency's new website Businesslaw.gov. Businesslaw.gov, which made it formal debut onDecember 5, 2001, is designed to assist smallbusinesses cope with the myriad of legal issuesthat flow from starting and running a business.The New York pages present state specificinformation on 12 different subjects and providelinks to helpful resources including Choosing aBusiness Structure, Franchises, Selecting aLocation, Financing, Licenses and Permits,International Trade and more. The New Yorkpages also contain information regardingassistance to small business owners adverselyimpacted by the tragic events of September 11,2001. BusinessLaw.gov received the Pioneer Award at the June 2002 E-Gov conferencein Washington D.C. attended by Jean Callihan on behalf of the Law Library.

? History Channel Plans a Documentary onSam Leibowitz. The Law Library providedvarious transcripts and artifacts pertaining toSam Leibowitz (‘15), in connection with adocumentary to be produced by the HistoryChannel in 2002. These include originalphotographs regarding the Scottsboro Trial,the original trial transcripts, and the trainmodel (the replica of the train used by

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Pat Court, Assistant Director for Administration & Public Services, teaching an alumni Continuing Legal Education class on Legal Ethics

Leibowitz at trial to show that the defendants could not have traveled the length of thetrain from where they boarded to the crime scene within the timeframe of the rapes). Themodel was given by Leibowitz to Albert Neimeth, Emeritus Assoc. Dean of Cornell LawSchool, and is now entrusted to the Law Library.

? HeinOnline Collaboration. The Hein Publishing Company received the 2001 AALL BestNew Product Award. In a Press Release, the President of the Company expressed histhanks to the Cornell Law Library for its help in evaluating the interface and various userfeatures. HeinOnline provides both images and html files of most U.S. law reviews goingback to their first volume. The Law Library and the entire campus access the service freebecause of our work on the project, a $4,000 subscription value.

? The Law Library continued hosting the IALL Web site for the International Associationof Law Libraries. Sasha Skenderija contributed several design and databaseimprovements.

? Outreach to Law Alumni. The Law Library made two presentations at the June 2002Law Alumni Reunion, including a CLE program on Legal Ethics and a guided tour of theRare Book Room and Donovan Nuremberg trial transcripts collection.

? NELLCO Meeting. In October 2001, the Law Library hosted the meeting of the directorsof NELLCO (New England Law Libraries Consortium), a Consortium of large research lawlibraries in the Northeast, including Yale, Harvard, Boston College, Boston University,Penn, NYU, and Columbia. The Consortium allows for discounts on electronic licensesfor databases, and an increasing array of joint projects. In addition to the businessmeeting of the Directors, a program was held on "Generation X: What Motivates them?".

? CUL Librarians’ Assembly in Law School. In December 2001, the CUL Librarians’Assembly was held in the Mancuso Amphitheater of the Law School. Claire Germainspoke on “Web Mirror Sites: Creating the Research Library of the Future, and More.”

Cover: Elizabeth Teskey and Nancy Moore show the 19th Century Trials collection to alumni.