Exam-Period Library Updates

As the spring 2019 exam period approaches, the Goodson Law Library has implemented some important changes based on user feedback, in order to improve your experience.

Restricted Access in Effect

During the Law School's Reading & Examination period (April 19 – May 3), access to the Goodson Law Library for study purposes is restricted to current Law School students, faculty and staff. Others who need to access the library for research purposes may visit the library when service desk staff are on duty (Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; contact the Circulation/Reserve Desk for assistance during staffed evenings and weekends).

Quiet Study in the Library

During the reading & examination period, the entire library (including the Reading Room on Level 3) will be converted to quiet space. Excessive noise and inadequate quiet space were the top themes in our Spring 2019 student survey. Please be quiet in the library and take all phone calls outside.

New Seating, Tables and Beanbags

The library has placed new full-size, sit-stand desks with task lighting on Levels 2, 3, and 4. Additional study tables and chairs have also been placed on Level 4. In addition, by student request, several beanbag chairs have been added to Level 2.

Unlocked Study Rooms After Hours

Study rooms are now unlocked after hours and weekends (when the library is unstaffed), and available to be reserved by Law students in the online calendar system. The library's Fite Room (Level 2) and Tech Hub (Level 3) are also available for after-hours law student use.

Food Policy Changes

With the exception of light pre-packaged or vending machine snacks, the library kindly requests that food be consumed elsewhere in the Law School.

Free Coffee

Starting Monday, April 22, free freshly brewed coffee, hot water and tea will be provided at the library entrance around 8am daily, Monday to Friday (until supply is exhausted).
 

Infographic summary of
exam-period changes

Thank you for helping us maintain the library as a comfortable and clean space, conducive to study and collaboration. If you have feedback or additional suggestions for library improvements, please contact libadmin@law.duke.edu or use the online Library Suggestion Box.

Summer Legal Research Access

Whether you're heading to a summer job or graduating this May, your access to legal research services like Westlaw, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law will change.

Continuing Students

For rising 2Ls and 3Ls, your Law School research access generally continues uninterrupted over the summer. Lexis Advance and Bloomberg Law both allow student usage over the summer for educational as well as for commercial purposes. (However, check with your employer before using your Law School accounts for paid work – many employers prefer that summer associates avoid using their school accounts for researching firm matters.)

Westlaw restricts continuing students' summer access to non-commercial/educational research purposes only. The eligible categories for summer access include:

• Summer coursework for academic credit
• Research Assistant assignments
• Law Review or journal research
• Moot Court research
• Non-profit or clinical work
• Unpaid externship

Continuing students will receive 60 hours of Westlaw research access during the months of June and July, and full access in August.

2019 Graduates

Before leaving Duke Law, check out the library's information page on Library Services for Recent Grads/Alumni, which contains helpful details about accessing legal research services, borrowing library materials, and extending building access for bar study.

For graduating 3Ls and LLMs, Lexis Advance and Bloomberg Law automatically extend educational accounts for 6 months.

Lexis additionally offers the ASPIRE program, providing 12 months of free access to graduates who work in public interest. Proof of work with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is required. To learn more about ASPIRE, visit http://www.lexisnexis.com/grad-access/.

Under Westlaw's "Grad Elite" program for Practice Ready schools, access continues for 18 months after graduation. Duke Law graduates are allowed 60 hours of usage per month for services like Westlaw and Practical Law, with no restrictions against using them for professional purposes.

For help with your summer access to these or other Duke resources, be sure to Ask a Librarian. The library's summer hours, which take effect at the end of final exams, are Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

West Academic Study Aids Now Available Online

The Goodson Law Library is pleased to announce a new institutional subscription to West Academic Library Study Aids, just in time for final exam preparation. This new database provides full-text access to online versions of hundreds of West Academic Publishing study aids, treatises, audio lectures, and flash card sets.
 
Which of the many available study aid series will you find in the West Academic Library? Here are a few key categories:

• Favorites from the Reserve Collection: Concepts and Insights, Concise Hornbooks, Hornbooks
• Quick Overviews: Acing… series, Nutshells, Quick Reviews, Short & Happy Guides
• Class Outlines/Exam Prep: Black Letter Outlines, Exam Pro, Flash Cards, Gilbert Law Summaries, High Court Case Summaries, Legalines
• Audio: Sum and Substance, Law School Legends
• Professional Skills: Building Skills Series, Career Guides, Developing Professional Skill

From 1L standbys like "the boat book" (a.k.a. Chirelstein's Concepts and Case Analysis in the Law of Contracts) to upper-level topics and bar exam or career preparation, there is likely to be a title of interest for you. The site provides menus to navigate through 1L subjects, 2L/3L subjects, by a particular series title, and even for the eleven titles written by Duke Law faculty authors. There are also options to search across or within the Study Aids library content, and to create an individual account that allows you to designate a favorites list, annotate or highlight within titles, and download titles to read offline. Printing and copy/pasting is permitted within the browser (web-based) view of a title. For users who create an individual account, a mobile app version is also available for Apple and Android.

Links to each online study aid title will soon be added to the Duke Libraries Catalog. In the meantime, you can access the West Academic Library Study Aids through this direct link or via Legal Databases & Links. For help with using this new database, be sure to Ask a Librarian.