The staff of the UGA Law Library welcomes all new and returning law students. We hope your use of the library is pleasant and successful. It will be if you memorize the one cardinal rule of library use: if you don't find what you want, ASK! To make asking convenient, we put the Reference Desk near the entrance to the library where you can't miss it (visual cue: foot-high all-caps sign reading REFERENCE). It is staffed most of the hours the library is open, and you can call the reference librarian on duty if you cannot come to the library in person (542-6591). All the professionals on the staff have advanced degrees in law, library science, or both. We all know secrets about this library and about legal research that took years to learn -- and we don't charge a penny extra for teaching you our secrets.
We ask that you observe a few standards of conduct that will make using the library more pleasant for you and your classmates. Food and drink residue attract insects which stay to eat the books. Please, go outside the library to eat and drink. Smoking is prohibited in all UGA buildings. We also prohibit the use of smokeless tobacco in the Law Library because, well, the spitting just makes us nauseated. Please keep unnecessary noise to a minimum in study areas. We have designated the first floor of the Annex for ultra quiet study where all talking is banned; in other areas, if you find it necessary to talk to classmates, professors, librarians, etc., in furtherance of educational purposes, do so quietly. Please reshelve the books you use if you are certain you know where they go. Hiding or hoarding library materials is unethical conduct and could lead to disciplinary action.
Those who were here last year will notice some changes. The copy room is now larger and much more conveniently located. It's in the glass walled room across from the Circulation Desk. We also put the hole punch, staplers, and other assorted office gadgets in there where you have more room to work. A brand new added computer lab has been built into what was formerly a librarian office, Room 274. It has several Pentiums that will even play audio CD's (we've ordered ear phones, but you have to bring your own CD's). This year we hope to rehab the old computer lab to make it into a better computer classroom. It will still be available as a lab when not in use for teaching. Upstairs where the old copy room was, we are putting low bookshelves for an informal book exchange. It will be primarily for leisure reading, but feel free to leave your old casebooks there if they don't sell in the bookstore (or if you're philanthropically minded). For those of you who like a peek behind the scenes, go see the new library staff offices on the first floor of the Annex where faculty offices used to be. The technical services departments (those unsung heroes who order, process, pay for, check-in, and catalog all the library materials) were relocated from scattered locations on two floors of the main law library building.
By the end of this calendar year we expect to have completed GAVEL, the Law Library's on-line catalog. Right now, just about half the library's records are in GAVEL, so you need to check the card catalog if you don't find what you want in GAVEL. We are also undertaking a massive shifting project to make room for new and reclassified materials on the shelves. In the long run, the result will be a more logical shelving plan, but in the short run, you will probably experience some frustration locating materials. I end this column as I began it: if you don't find what you're looking for, ask.
Best wishes for a wildly successful year!
Greg is a student in the Computer Science deparment here at UGA, but as hard as he works for the Law Library, he might as well be a full-time staff member. This summer Greg worked long hours with Computer Services Librarian, Carol Watson, to relocate many computer work stations when the cataloging and acquisitions departments moved to the Annex. He has also been instrumental in setting up the new computer lab on the main floor, all the while performing his regular duties of trouble-shooting staff computers, maintaining lab and staff equipment, and assisting students in the existing annex computer lab.
Does he have a life outside the Law Library? Greg is married to 2nd year law student Adrienne Howard. Before coming to school here, he earned a B.A. in English Lit at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He says he plays guitar in his closet often, and in Huntsville he was devoted to writing songs for his band. When asked why he chose to go back to school, he replied, "I felt like I had neglected the math and sciences," adding that he really enjoys the computer science field. This fall, Greg will be chairman of the Association for Computing Machinery here on campus.
During the year that Greg has worked in the Law Library, he has noticed some criticism of the computer lab, especially in the infamous "comment book" which sits at the entrance to the library. Greg's response: "Legitimate complaints with signatures are expected...I understand that people need a place to vent. We are doing the best we can with the staff and budget we have...we get no support [financially] from UCNS [University Computing & Networking Services)." Greg offers two helpful hints to lab users:
Some law students who have developed their own web pages are linked on the Law School web page. If you have your own web page and would like to have it linked on the Law School web page, please e-mail the URL to cwatson@uga.cc.uga.edu.
STUDENT ORGANIZATION WEB PAGES
If you are a leader in a law student organization or publication, you may wish to consider having your organization develop and maintain a web page on the Law School web server. There is a handout available which describes the steps in creating a web page. If you'd like a copy of the handout, contact Carol A. Watson, Computer Services Librarian, Law Library Annex A204, 542-7365, cwatson@uga.cc.uga.edu. Be sure to include your name and student mailbox number if you request a handout via email.
CONTAC AND WWW CLASSES
Have you ever noticed your classmates cruising the web on the Main Floor PCS and wondered what they were doing? Have you wondered how they did it? Come to an Intro WWW class and you can be cruising the web too. These 30 minute classes are for students who have never surfed the web and would like a basic introduction to the rules of the road.
Have you signed up for a CONTAC account, but haven't really used your account? Or have you used your account but still have questions? Sign up for a basic CONTAC class and get some of your questions answered.
Sign-up sheets will be posted on the door of the lab in the Annex. Please sign up if you plan to attend the class. Also, if you are signing up for a CONTAC class, be sure you allow enough time for your account to be activated. It takes 7-10 days from the time you turn your form in at the Circulation Desk for your account to be activated.
We still are facing challenges stemming from our commitment to serve you better. A recurring suggestion by our patrons as stated in the Comment Book (by the entrance to the Law Library) relates to air conditioning in both the main building and the Annex. We are striving to keep it regulated as much as possible, considering that we have old equipment, such as the air conditioning unit in the main building.
Your comments and suggestions are among the first steps to problem- solving in the upkeep of library settings. Your understanding when some time is needed to work things out, and your cooperation in keeping the library a nice, safe place to study and work are appreciated.
It's the new book exchange on the third floor of the library (old copy room). The book exchange is open to all law school students, faculty and staff. Now you can rid your cluttered bookshelves at home of all those oft-read Harlequin romance novels and fill up on some juicy murder mysteries or a spine-tingling thriller or a nostalgic western or...you get the idea. Just leave any books you'd like to donate on the shelves, and take any books you'd like to read. Although intended primarily for "leisure" reading, please feel free to leave law-related books for others to use.
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