Author: Kate Boudouris

Kate is the Research, Instruction & Outreach Librarian at Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

Welcome, New Students!

To new students arriving for orientation: Welcome! The Law Library staff looks forward to working with you throughout your law school career. From personalized research consultations to exam-time grilled cheese breaks, the library offers services to make your time at UVA more enriching, efficient, and enjoyable. This post describes some key resources that will help you hit the ground running this academic year.

Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg Law Accounts

The Law Library provides you with access to Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg Law, three leading legal research databases. First-year J.D. students will receive sign-up instructions in Legal Research & Writing class; L.L.M. and international students will receive them via email. Please email us at Refdesk@law.virginia.edu with any questions.

News Subscriptions

As a UVA law student, you’ll receive free access to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the Financial Times. Sign up for newspaper subscriptions on LawWeb under Other Services >> Library Services >> News Access.

LR&W Help

Not sure how to tackle your Legal Research & Writing assignment? The Law Library is here to help! Each section of LR&W has a dedicated librarian—or “Library Liaison”—to help students get comfortable with legal research methods. Once classes start, your LR&W instructor will provide more information about meeting with a Library Liaison. For additional research tips, check out this guide to legal research for law students.

Reserve Materials

Some materials in our collection have been placed “on reserve,” which means that they can be checked out for three hours at a time. Study guides, some textbooks, and popular legal treatises are likely to be held on reserve so that more students will have an opportunity to use them. (We only place course materials on reserve if your professor specifically asks us to do so.) You can find these materials in the Klaus Reading Room near the first-floor circulation desk.

Guide to Student Services

As your studies progress, we hope that you’ll find the Law Library to be a valuable partner in your academic efforts. You can learn more about the library’s offerings in this guide to student services. And remember, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact a staff member!

Once again, a warm welcome to all incoming students!

Written by

Kate Boudouris

Kate Boudouris

Kate is the Research, Instruction & Outreach Librarian at Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

View all posts by .

Updates and Reminders for All Students

The Law Library staff is excited to welcome new and returning students to Grounds this fall! We look forward to supporting your research projects and helping you take advantage of all the library has to offer. To get you started, here are a few updates and reminders about our services.

Hours

The Law Library is open from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. every day of the week.

Research Assistance

If you need help finding a source or planning a research project, our reference librarians will be happy to assist you. The second-floor Reference Desk is staffed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. You can also get in touch with us via email at Refdesk@law.virginia.edu or by scheduling a consultation.

Getting Materials from Other UVA Libraries

You can request books from other UVA libraries using the Virgo catalog (https://search.lib.virginia.edu/). To request a particular book, find it in the Virgo catalog, click on the “Request Item” button, and choose “Law Library” as your Preferred Pickup Location. Note that you’ll need to be logged in to Virgo to make a request.

Requesting Scans

If you would like us to scan an article or book chapter for you, please request the scan through Virgo. On the Virgo record for the item you need, click on the “Request a Scan” button and fill out the form that appears.

News Subscriptions

Be sure to take advantage of our subscriptions to news websites! Sign-up instructions for FT, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post are available on LawWeb under Other Services >> Library Services.

CALI Sign-up

The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction, known as CALI, offers a collection of interactive legal tutorials to help you study. You can register for CALI using the activation code on LawWeb.

As you embark on a new academic year, remember that the library is here to help you! Please don’t hesitate to contact us at Refdesk@law.virginia.edu or to stop by and ask us a question.

Written by

Kate Boudouris

Kate Boudouris

Kate is the Research, Instruction & Outreach Librarian at Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

View all posts by .

New LibGuide: Thinking About Equity and Justice

The Law Library is pleased to announce the publication of a new LibGuide, Thinking About Equity and Justice. The guide highlights sources that provide good starting points for reading and thinking about the law’s relationship with equity and justice. It also includes research suggestions for those who would like to dig deeper into selected topics. Our intention is to help readers learn more about issues that arise in contemporary discourse, recognizing that conversations about equity and justice are constantly evolving. If you would like to suggest an addition to the LibGuide, please use this form.

Written by

Kate Boudouris

Kate Boudouris

Kate is the Research, Instruction & Outreach Librarian at Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

View all posts by .

Celebrating the End of a Successful Academic Year

It seems like just yesterday that we welcomed a new class of students to the Law School, but the evidence of change is undeniable: flowers are blooming in Spies Garden, students are heading off to their summer internships, and the 2022-23 academic year is drawing to a close. Time flies when you’re having fun!

It’s been a busy year in the Law Library, and our biggest project was emptying the former Government Documents Room to make way for other uses. This herculean task required us to relocate some 107,000 government documents, 18,000 books, and 39 cabinets full of microfiche and microfilm. Before declaring “mission accomplished,” we used the newly cleared space to host a study break for students–complete with coffee, donuts, lawn games, and the famous Law Library dinosaurs!

Our farewell event in the former Government Documents Room.
Rebecca Owen, Tim Breeden, and Addie Patrick, beside shelves that were cleared to allow for the shifting of materials.

You may be asking yourself: Where did all those documents go?

Some of them were relocated within the Law Library, while others were sent to UVA’s impressive offsite storage facility, Ivy Stacks.

Law Library materials in the Ivy Storage Facility.

But that’s not all we did in 2022-23! For the Law Library staff, no academic year would be complete without the United Way Day of Caring. This year’s project had the team in Crozet sprucing up Innisfree Village, a voluntary community for adults with intellectual disabilities, ahead of their 50th anniversary celebration. By the end of the day, doors and windows had been cleaned, art studio supplies sorted, and the woodshop organized, along with other assorted tasks. 

Lib

And of course, we still found time for one of our most popular services, preparing grilled cheese sandwiches for students during exams.

Rebecca Owen and Ben Doherty prepare hot sandwiches for students.

As the exam period ends and Arthur dons his graduation regalia, we extend hearty congratulations to the Class of 2023. May the coming years bring success in all your endeavors!

A bust of Arthur J. Morris dressed in graduation regalia

Written by

Kate Boudouris

Kate Boudouris

Kate is the Research, Instruction & Outreach Librarian at Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

View all posts by .

Banned Books Week 2021

It’s Banned Books Week! Traditionally observed the last week in September, Banned Books Week is a time when the American Library Association, the Association of University Presses, and other organizations draw attention to past and present attempts to censor books.

Banned Books Week also highlights the ALA’s annual list of the top 10 most challenged books. When we say that these books were “challenged,” we mean that someone tried to have them removed or restricted in a library or school. Common reasons for challenges in 2020 included LGBTQIA+ content, perceived anti-police sentiment, and issues having to do with race.

You’ll find several of the ten most challenged books of 2020 in the Law Library’s collection. They include:

For librarians in schools and public libraries, responding to challenges can be a complicated part of the job—one that implicates professional values like intellectual freedom and social responsibility. Thus, Banned Books Week is more than a chance to speak out against censorship; it’s also an opportunity to reflect on the values that animate our daily work.

For those of us in the legal field, Banned Books Week is an occasion to celebrate free speech, and perhaps to consider its benefits, limitations, and potential for change. Here at UVA, we’re lucky to work with scholars who have written thoughtfully on these topics. For example:

In honor of Banned Books Week, we’ve created a pop-up display highlighting some of the works mentioned in this post. We encourage you to take a look and enjoy your freedom to read!

Written by

Kate Boudouris

Kate Boudouris

Kate is the Research, Instruction & Outreach Librarian at Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

View all posts by .

Updates and Reminders for All Students

The Law Library staff is excited to welcome all UVA law students to Grounds this fall. Whether you’re new in town or returning from summer break, we look forward to getting to know you better and helping you take advantage of everything the library has to offer. To get you started, here are a few updates and reminders about our services.

Hours

The Law Library is now open from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. every day of the week.

Research Assistance

If you need help finding a source or planning a research project, our reference librarians will be happy to assist you. One of us will be at the second-floor Reference Desk from 9am to 5pm on weekdays. You can also get in touch with us via email at RefDesk@law.virginia.edu or use our website to schedule a Zoom consultation.

Getting Materials from Other UVA Libraries

The University has developed a system that allows you to request books from other UVA libraries using the Virgo catalog (https://search.lib.virginia.edu/). To request a book, find it in the Virgo catalog, click on the “Request Item” button, and choose “Law” as your Preferred Pickup Location. (If you’re unable to pick up the book in person, a form is available for making alternate arrangements.) Note that you’ll need to be logged in to Virgo to make a request.

Requesting Scans

Last year’s scanning service was so popular that we’ve decided to keep it! If you would like us scan an article or book chapter for you, please request the scan through Virgo. On the Virgo record for the item you need, click on the “Request a Scan” button and fill out the form that appears.

Online Study Aids

We offer various study aids and other resources to help you learn. For example, the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction, known as CALI, offers a collection of interactive legal tutorials. You can register for CALI using the activation code on LawWeb. And you can sign up for free online Bluebook access using this form.

Renew Your Subscriptions!

Finally, a friendly reminder for returning students to renew your online subscriptions: Once each year, you will need to reactivate your NYTimes.com account and get a fresh registration key for the Bluebook Online. (In order to renew your NYTimes.com account, you must be on-grounds or using a VPN.) If you’re having trouble accessing WSJ.com, please visit the registration page (also while on-grounds) and click “Register or Renew.” First-time registrants can sign up for NYTimes.com, WSJ.com, WashingtonPost.com, and more by logging into LawWeb and following the links on the “Other Student Services” tab.

As you embark on a new academic year, remember that the library is here to help you! Please don’t hesitate to contact us at refdesk@law.virginia.edu or to stop by and ask us a question.

Written by

Kate Boudouris

Kate Boudouris

Kate is the Research, Instruction & Outreach Librarian at Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

View all posts by .

The Law Library Welcomes New Students

To new students arriving for orientation: Welcome! The Law Library staff looks forward to working with you throughout your time at UVA. From personalized research consultations to exam-time grilled cheese breaks, the library offers services to make your time here more enriching, efficient, and enjoyable. This post describes some key resources to help you hit the ground running this academic year.

Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg Law Passwords

The Law Library provides subscriptions to Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg Law, three major legal research databases. You’ll find sign-up instructions and registration codes on LawWeb (linked under “Other Student Services” >> “Library”). If you have questions or don’t find an assigned code listed there, please contact us at refdesk@law.virginia.edu. 

Newspaper Subscriptions

As a UVA law student, you’ll receive free subscriptions to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Sign up on LawWeb under “Other Student Services” >> “News Access.”

Reserve Materials

Some materials in our collection have been placed “on reserve,” which means that they can be checked out for three hours at a time. Study guides, some textbooks, and popular legal treatises are likely to be held on reserve so that more students have an opportunity to use them. (We only place course materials on reserve if your professor specifically asks us to do so.) You can find these materials in the Klaus Reading Room near the first-floor circulation desk.

LR&W Help

Not sure how to tackle your Legal Research & Writing assignment? The Law Library is here to help! Each section of LR&W has a dedicated librarian—or “Library Liaison”—to help students get comfortable with legal research methods. Once classes start, your LR&W instructor will provide more information about meeting with a Library Liaison. For additional research tips, check out this guide to legal research for law students.

Guide to Student Services

As your studies progress, we hope that you’ll find the Law Library to be a valuable partner in your academic efforts. You can learn more about the library’s offerings in this guide to student services. And remember, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at refdesk@law.virginia.edu!

Once again, a warm welcome to all incoming students!

Written by

Kate Boudouris

Kate Boudouris

Kate is the Research, Instruction & Outreach Librarian at Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

View all posts by .

Kent Olson Set to Retire

Kent Olson will retire in August after more than 35 years at the Law School, and we’re taking the opportunity to reflect on his many contributions to our community. But where to begin? Since Kent dedicated his career to research services, we decided it would be fitting to do some research of our own—about Kent’s scholarly publications, his appearances in student publications, and all the ways in which UVA Law  faculty have acknowledged him in their publications. Here’s what we found.

Kent Olson, undated (CC BY Image courtesy of University of Virginia Law Library)

As you may already know, Kent is a star of the legal research field. He has twice won the American Association of Law Libraries’ Joseph L. Andrews Bibliographic Award for making “a significant contribution to legal bibliographical literature”—first in 2000 for Legal Information: How to Find It, How to Use It, and again in 2010 for Principles of Legal Research, which is now in its third edition.[i] Kent worked on ten editions of Legal Research in a Nutshell, starting in 1992 with co-author (and Nutshell creator) Morris Cohen and continuing through the just-published fourteenth edition. He has published various articles and book reviews over the years, including one that led Bob Berring, another eminent legal bibliographer, to call Kent “the author of my all time favorite book review.” (Berring was referring to Kent’s review of a volume of the federal reporter, “Book Review of 750 F.2d.”)

But Kent’s professional service extends well beyond his publications. He launched the Law School’s Advanced Legal Research course in 1993, and as evidenced in the annals of the Virginia Law Weekly, he has been liked and admired by class after class of law students. Kent racked up an impressive streak of VLW “thumbs ups” ratings from 2002 to 2004, beginning on April 26, 2002, when the editors recounted how, “[o]n the last day of Advanced Legal Research, he went through the entire class (100 plus), row by row, and named every single person without using notes or a facebook.” VLW later recognized Kent “for showing Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in Advanced Legal Research” (January 23, 2004) and giving gifts to the students with the highest grades in Advanced Legal Research (April 23, 2004).

In addition to Kent’s human touch as an instructor, VLR praised Kent’s fearless stewardship of the library space:

[I]n the library, brave Librarian Kent Olson responded to the distress call of a woman who noticed that a garbage can in the law library was rustling. Olson stuck his arm in the can, retrieved a real live bat, and disposed of it appropriately.

And students appreciated Kent’s sense of fun. A 1994 issue of VLW presented this vignette of Kent playing softball:

During a recent game at Copeley, Kent Olson (the captain of the Law Library team) was seen behaving remarkably like someone who actually enjoys the game. He took a full-fledged slide into home plate, ensuring jeans with orange clay stains for years to come, and was heard cheering his teammates, including Anne H., the Westlaw rep., with slogans like: “Come on, Annie! Give ’em a password!”

Kent’s accomplishments as a softball teammate, an author, and an instructor would be enough to constitute an exemplary career–but there’s more. Kent has provided decades of top-tier service the UVA Law faculty. His keen grasp of scholars’ research needs was on display in a 1999 issue of VLW:

If vodka is made from potatoes, why don’t the Irish make vodka? . . . “This is the kind of question that professors come up with when they go to lunch together,” explained Kent Olson, Director of Reference Research and Instruction.

Wry comments aside, Kent’s approach to faculty research has been marked by a commitment to service and remarkable skill as a researcher. Here’s how he described his philosophy:

“We don’t want [faculty members] to ever have to enter the library; we want them to be able to sit at their desks and wish for things.”

And what have those faculty members who “wished for things” said about Kent? They’ve praised his “superb,” “generous,” and “exceptional” research assistance. They’ve told readers how Kent “helped track down an elusive quotation,” “bent rules and beat bushes to find what I needed,” and “answer[ed] even the [questions] I didn’t know enough to think of.” And they’ve expressed the extent to which they “utterly depend” on his “skill and patience.”

The Law Library staff will miss Kent’s skill and patience, not to mention his sense of humor, his Halloween costumes, and his fantastic blueberry muffins. But after more than 35 years of scholarship, instruction, research assistance, and mentoring, we know that Kent has more than earned his retirement. We wish him all the best in his coming adventures.

[i] Co-authored with Aaron Kirschenfeld and Ingrid Mattson.

Written by

Kate Boudouris

Kate Boudouris

Kate is the Research, Instruction & Outreach Librarian at Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

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Summer in the Law Library: FAQs

To all of our students, congratulations on completing a challenging academic year! Remember that as you turn to bar prep or your summer job, the Law Library is still here to support you. Read on for answers to some of your top questions about using the Law Library over the summer.

I’m staying in Charlottesville to get ready for the bar exam. Can I study in the Law Library?

Yes! We’ll be open this summer for bar studiers, RAs, and any other law students who need a place to work. From May 15 through July 27, our hours will be:

Monday to Thursday: 8am-8pm
Friday: 8am-5pm
Saturday: Noon-5pm

(As often happens in the summer, there may be days with a little extra noise due to facilities upgrades, but we’ll post signs to warn you.)

Can I use Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg over the summer?

Each service’s summer use policy is summarized below.

Lexis

The Lexis Summer Access program starts when classes end and continues through August. During that time, you can use your Lexis ID at any law firm, government agency, court, or other legal position. If you’re graduating, you’ll have access for six months after graduation.

Bloomberg

You can use your Bloomberg Law account over the summer in any capacity you’d like. You’ll also have access for six months after graduation.

Westlaw

You can use your Westlaw ID (including Practical Law) for non-commercial research, but you can’t use it in situations where you’re billing a client. Acceptable uses include:

  • Summer coursework
  • Research assistant assignments
  • Law Review or Journal research
  • Moot Court research
  • Non-Profit work
  • Clinical work
  • Externship sponsored by the school

After you graduate, you can maintain your Westlaw access for six months by opting into the “Grad Elite” program. The program provides 60 hours of access per month and is limited to non-commercial uses. There are two registration options: (1) Go to www.lawschool.tr.com, log in, and use the drop-down menu by your name to go to Grad Elite Status; or (2) use this Grad Elite link.

How can I get books from the Law Library over the summer?

As always, students are welcome to stop by the library and check out books. If you’re out of town or prefer to spend less time in the Law Library, you have a few options:

1. Ask us to retrieve the book and hold it at circulation for you. Please use the ‘Request item’ button in Virgo and choose ‘Law’ as your Preferred Pickup Location. You’ll receive an email when the book is available for pickup. (Note: You’ll need to be logged in to Virgo to make a request.)

2. Ask us to make a scan for you. We’ll be happy to scan chapters, articles, or pages from any Law Library book. To request a scan, use the “Request a Scan” button in the Virgo catalog. You can use the same procedure to request scans from other UVA libraries. (Note: If you don’t see a “Request a Scan” button, that means your book is available to read on HathiTrust.)

3. Ask us to send you a book. If you’re out of town, we’ll be glad to mail any books that you need (except for reference and reserve books). For full books from any UVA Library (including Law), please use this form and UVA Libraries staff will contact you about mailing arrangements or other options for accessing the book.

I’m studying for the bar exam and I need a break. Help!

Your bar preparation will be more successful if you make time to exercise, see friends, and take care of yourself—we promise. At the Law Library, we have lots of materials to help you recharge, including board games, DVDs, mindfulness resources, and our newest acquisition, outdoor games. Stop by the circulation desk to check out Cornhole, Kubb, Ladder Toss, Giant Jenga, or another game, and forget about the bar for a few hours. Just be sure to stay 6 feet apart while you play!

I’m looking for something to read over the summer. Any ideas?

The common read display.

Visit the reserve room to check out our collection of non-law books! We’re especially excited about our display of the books recommended by UVA Law affinity groups to help build understanding about diversity. We also provide electronic access to many of these recommendations.

How can I stay in touch with the Law Library over the summer?

As always, you can send research questions to RefDesk@law.virginia.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @UVALawLibrary for the latest news!

Written by

Kate Boudouris

Kate Boudouris

Kate is the Research, Instruction & Outreach Librarian at Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

View all posts by .

Library Services to Get You Through Exams

The Law Library’s student services are designed to support academic study and self-care. Here are some services that we hope will make your life a little easier during this fall’s end-of-semester crunch.

Longer Hours

The Law Library has extended its hours through the end of the semester. We’re now open from 8am to 8:45pm Monday through Friday. Please remember to wear your mask at all times while in the library, including during evening hours. If you forget your mask, please stop by the circulation desk for assistance.

Study Aids

Did you know that the Law Library provides free access to study aids? With a Lexis+ (formerly Lexis Advance) password, you can view BARBRI course outlines using the links in our database directory. Print study aids, including the popular Examples and Explanations series, are available in the reserve room, and we’re happy to scan excerpts for students who are learning remotely this semester. To request a scan, use the “Request a Scan” button in the Virgo catalog.

Courtesy Services

The Law Library offers many courtesy services, including some that you might not expect. At the circulation desk, you can:

  • Check out a power cord, a flash drive, headphones, or a book stand
  • Borrow an umbrella or a bike pump
  • Use our sewing kit and lint brush
  • Get a free envelope
  • Access our basket of emergency menstrual products
  • …and more!

And don’t forget—whether you’re taking classes on grounds or remotely, we’re here to assist you with more traditional library tasks like accessing books. Email us at Refdesk@law.virginia.edu for research assistance and Circ@law.virginia.edu for general library questions.

Outdoor Games

The Law Library’s Klaus Collection (in the reserve room) contains materials to help you recharge from your studies—including board games, DVDs, mindfulness resources, and non-law books. Starting this week, we’ll also be offering a selection of outdoor games, which we hope will provide opportunities for fresh air, sunlight, and socially distanced time with your friends. Stop by to check out Cornhole, Kubb, Ladder Toss, Giant Jenga, or another game from our collection. (Be sure to wear a mask and stay 6 feet apart while you play!)

Newspapers

To keep up with current events, take advantage of your free subscription to the online editions of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. You can sign up for these and other law-school-only resources via LawWeb. From the LawWeb homepage, just click on the “Student Services” tab, and then select the resource you’d like to access. (To sign up for your NYTimes.com and WSJ.com accounts, you must be on grounds or using a VPN.)

Written by

Kate Boudouris

Kate Boudouris

Kate is the Research, Instruction & Outreach Librarian at Arthur J. Morris Law Library.

View all posts by .