The Goodson Blogson

On April 15, West released its first iPhone application, Black’s Law Dictionary . In the last few weeks, some legal blogs picked up the story, but most have simply pointed out the existence of the app and linked to a brief YouTube video with its developers ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4oh7QrixTs ). For $49.99, though, a bit more exploration may be in order. That’s not the most expensive app on the iTunes Store (that honor goes to iRa Pro , a mobile video surveillance program retailing at $899.99), but it's certainly hefty enough to give the average law student pause…especially when a print edition can be had for nearly the same price, and the definitions can also be found on Westlaw (BLACKS database). The authors of iPhone J.D. ( http://www.iphonejd.com ), a blog for attorneys who use iPhones, have just posted an excellent review of the new Black’s Law Dictionary app ( http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2009/04/review-blacks-law-dictionary-for-iphone.html ). Although lengthy,...

When tensions run high during final exams, students often seek an outlet in the form of a prank. As last semester’s flash mob at UNC-Chapel Hill ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruEMaDZWRcs ) demonstrated, libraries are frequent targets of such stress-induced mischief. We’re no strangers to the exam-season prank: Goodson Law Library staff can recall toilet paper decorating the mezzanine and various other garden-variety practical jokes. But one prank stood out from the rest, grabbing a front-page headline in April 1980 (click photo for full story): Second-year law student and professional singer Mark Clark (JD ’81) performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” from the library’s mezzanine for four consecutive nights at 10 p.m. According to the article, the final performance on Tuesday, April 22 was a black-tie affair that featured musical accompaniment from other law students and even a miniature fireworks display (current and future library users: please don’t attempt to replicate this portion ...

The library is a busy place during finals. Study rooms are often booked solid 24 hours in advance, carrels are crowded, and tempers can flare. In order to keep our library peaceful, clean, and safe, here are a few gentle reminders: Use of Carrels Be considerate of your colleagues by making carrels available when you are not actively using them. Please place books or other personal materials on the upper shelf, or take them with you if you leave a carrel for any extended period of time. Items left in a carrel for a long period of time are subject to removal to the Law School's lost and found. Want to store books in a carrel for a longer period of time? Bring the items and the carrel number to the Circulation/Reserve Desk-- by checking out items to a specific carrel number, this will prevent staff from removing and reshelving items. (Note, however, that this doesn't give you property rights to the carrel if you return to find the space occupied.) Safety First Exam season is prime...

Westlaw just announced an upcoming change to its password policy: beginning May 31, Westlaw users will see a prompt to create a OnePass account (username and password) in order to access the research sites, rather than use the 11-digit “Westlaw Password” from your original registration card. A separate username and password has always been an option for accessing Westlaw, but it’s soon to be a requirement: by mid-July, all Westlaw users at Duke will need to create a OnePass account, or update an existing one, in order to conform to password security standards . The only real surprise about this announcement, though, is how long it took to arrive. A separate username and password has been required by LexisNexis for several years, following a high-profile security breach in 2005 ( http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/13/technology/13theft.html ). Many other websites, such as online newspapers, also require usernames and passwords. Unfortunately, this desire for added security can often have...

The reading and examination period marks the beginning of changes to library service hours. Beginning on Monday, April 20, the Reference Services Desk will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday . Night and weekend reference services will resume at the start of fall 2009 classes. The Circulation Desk will maintain regular hours during the reading and examination period, and will begin operating under summer hours (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.) effective Friday, May 1 . The Academic Technologies Help Desk will remain fully staffed during reading and exam period, as well. As always, current members of the Duke Law community will retain 24-hour access to the Law School and Law Library with a valid DukeCard. For the latest information, see the Library's Hours & Directions page.

While The Bluebook remains the style manual of choice for most law reviews and legal journals, there are times when it does not answer a particular citation question. Often, journals and law reviews will designate a non-legal citation manual, such as the Chicago Manual of Style , to control citation of document types (or other matters) not covered by Bluebook . Other, more interdisciplinary, journals may use a non-legal manual exclusively, such as the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . This means that academics who are preparing manuscripts for publications (as well as the student research assistants or journal editors who are helping to format citations correctly) need to be aware of citation manuals beyond The Bluebook . The Goodson Law Library maintains a collection of selected non-legal citation manuals in its Reference Collection (Level 3). Their locations, as well as electronic access through the University, are noted below: • Chicago Manual of Style ...

Over the summer, LexisNexis and Westlaw traditionally cut off access to student passwords, as law students will use their summer firm’s commercial Lexis and Westlaw accounts. However, students with academic research needs (summer classes, moot court/journal work, research assistantship, etc.) may request an extension of their passwords. LexisNexis passwords may be extended for the following “academic purposes”: "class preparation and assignments; research associated with moot court or law review/law journal; research associated with pursuing a grant or scholarship; service as a research assistant to a professor (either paid or unpaid) ; an unpaid internship, externship or clinic position for school credit " Request a summer extension for LexisNexis at http://www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool/content.aspx?articleid=308&topicid=50 . Westlaw passwords may be extended for the following purposes: “Summer law school classes; Law Review and Journal work; Project for a professor; ...

The Institute for Advanced Legal Studies recently launched the Flare Index to Treaties ( http://ials.sas.ac.uk/treatyindex.htm ), a free database of more than "1,500 of the most significant multilateral treaties concluded from 1856 to the present." What makes FIT different from the many other treaty indexes out there? It is searchable by the treaty’s popular name as well as official; the conclusion date, year, or place; and various subject keywords. This makes FIT a great starting place for researchers who can only remember selected details about a particular treaty. Each treaty entry in the database provides its citations from official and unofficial publications, links to full text online; the location of the treaty depository and the official languages in which the text was published. Keep in mind that FIT’s search engine lacks the sophistication of Google or Lexis/Westlaw: when it comes to searching, single-word queries seem to work best. For example, a title search for ...