GMUSL students are invited to participate in an orientation session covering the resources and services at the Library of Congress and a special research-oriented tour.
The orientation will be held on Thursday, October 18 at 3:00 pm in the Arlington Campus Library’s Instruction room. The tour at the Library of Congress is Friday, October 19 at 2:00 pm.
Space is limited. Register for these programs here.
The Library of Congress has just announced (see live tweets of the announcement) that a new legislative website will replace Thomas. The new site, currently in beta, is Congress.gov. Features include the ability to search across content types, faceted searching to refine search results, persistent URLs, multimedia presentations on the legislative process, live video from the House and Senate Chambers when in session, and user friendly interfaces for mobile devices.
More information about this new site is available here.
Today is the 225th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Pursuant to 36 U.S.C. §106, September 17 is designated as “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day”, and under 36 U.S.C. §108, the President is requested to “designate the week beginning September 17 and ending September 23 as ‘Constitution Week.’”
Useful resources about the U.S. Constitution include:
The University Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives recently launched a digital exhibition exploring the history of George Mason University. The exhibit “contains seven exhibits representing eras in the University’s development, featuring digitized documents, photographs, video, audio, and other artifacts from the University Archives.”
Items of special interest to the law school community include documents and photographs related to the merger of GMU and the International School of Law that created GMUSL. And here’s a photo of Hazel Hall’s namesake attorney John T. “Till” Hazel in front of the old law school building, circa. 1987:
One of the many legacies of the tragic events of September 11, 2001 has been the expansion of law aimed at combating terrorism. As discussed in an earlier post, this legislative response included enacting the Patriot Act on October 26, 2001.
The Law Library of Congress has posted a list of Legislation Related to the Attack of September 11, 2001. Updated through the 107th Congress (2001-2003), the list cites 21 Bills and Joint Resolutions signed into law, including H.J. Res. 71 designating September 11 as Patriot Day (36 U.S.C. § 144). President Obama’s 2012 Patriot Day Proclamation is available on the White House Website here.
The library has purchased and installed white boards in all study rooms. With the addition of the new rooms on the fourth floor, students have a choice of 14 study rooms, including two large rooms accommodating at least 12 students. Study rooms may be reserved up to a week in advance at the library circulation desk.
One Ls—You may find helpful the short essay titled How to Read a Legal Opinion: A Guide for New Law Students written by GW Law Professor Orin Kerr. According to the abstract:
This essay is designed to help new law students prepare for the first few weeks of class. It explains what judicial opinions are, how they are structured, and what law students should look for when reading them.
