We're Back!

Starting Sunday, the Library is back to our regular hours, which are listed below and available on the Library's website . For hours when a reference librarian is available, scroll down for the Reference Librarians' Hours link on the right side of this page. Also, visit me regularly for any updates.

LIBRARY'S REGULAR HOURS
Sunday: 10 A.M. - Midnight
Monday - Thursday: 8 A.M. - Midnight
Friday: 8 A.M. - 9 P.M.
Saturday: 10 A.M. - 8 P.M.

Exceptions:
Monday, September 4 (Labor Day) 10:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.

REFERENCE LIBRARIANS' HOURS
Sunday: 12pm - 8pm
Monday - Thursday: 8am - 9pm
Friday: 8am - 5pm
Saturday: 10am - 6pm


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

And then there were 8

As promised last week, I report back to you on Pluto's fate. Sadly, Pluto has been "deplanetized" and now has a newly created status of "dwarf planet."

For more detail, try NASA or your favorite news site. (I like NPR's coverage.)

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Global Legal Monitor

Begun in 2006, the Global Legal Monitor is a PDF-based publication of the Law Library of Congress. It is intended for those who are interested in keeping abreast of legal developments world wide. Sources for the Global Legal Monitor include the Library of Congress's Global Legal Information Network database, as well as official national legal publications and press sources.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Fulltext Sources Online

As all law students discover, online legal research involves much more than using Lexis and Westlaw. When the article or information you need is available online, but only in a specialized news or non-legal database, or on a journal publisher’s Web site, Fulltext Sources Online is a great reference source to know about. Updated every six months, this 2-volume directory lists over 32,000 journals, newspapers, newsletters, newswires and TV and radio transcripts that are accessible online in full text in 27 major databases and aggregator products (including ProQuest, Factiva, HeinOnline, InfoTrac, Lexis, Westlaw and others available to Hofstra law students). Fulltext Sources Online tells you which databases include the title you need, the coverage dates for each database, and the publisher’s Web site. This valuable resource is found on shelves immediately behind the Reference Desk (call number Z6941 .F85).

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Stop and say Hello

We want to get to know you. Who you are, where you are from and what you expect from law school. We enjoy chatting with you when we can. A smile and a few words can make the day better for all of us. So, stop, say hello and let us know how your day is going.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Welcome to the Library Tours

WELCOME NEW STUDENTS!!!

As the official Virtual Library Cat, it is my job is to prowl the Library to let you know what's happening. One great way to get to know the Library and at least one of the Librarians is to take a Library tour. The schedule is copied below.

Library Walking Tours - ½ hour tour will meet inside the Library at the front desk

Week of 8/21

Tues. 8/22 - 8:10pm

Thurs. 8/24 - 6:10pm, 7:10pm

Fri. 8/25 - 12:10pm, 1:10pm, 2:10pm

Week of 8/28
Mon. 8/28 - 12:10pm, 4:10pm, 5:10pm

Tues. 8/29 - 12:10pm, 4:10pm, 8:10pm

Wed. 8/30 - 11:10am, 2:10pm, 5:10pm

Thurs. 8/31 - 2:10pm, 4:10pm, 5:40pm

Fri. 9/1 - 12:10pm, 2:10pm

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Time 50 Coolest Websites

Time magazine recently came out with its choice for this years list of 50 coolest websites. There are sites in the following categories:

Entertainment, Arts & Media
Shopping, Lifestyles & Hobbies
News & Information
Staying Connected
Time Wasters
Travel & Real Estate
Web Search and Services

Most of these sites are new, cutting-edge and very interesting.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

"Web Roundup" of Advice for New Law Students

With First Year Orientation about to begin, Ernster has been busy prowling the Web for some online practical advice for new law students. 1L’s might want to check out a posting on CALI’s Pre-Law Blog--a “Web Roundup” of advice for new law students gathered from a variety of professor and law student blogs. Podcast interviews of law professors provide additional words of wisdom as you start out. CALI’s Pre-Law Blog is maintained by a law student who also works for CALI (the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction), a consortium of law schools that develops interactive computer-based lessons keyed to law school courses. For more about CALI lessons (and free access for Hofstra law students), see Ernster’s post for November 26, 2005, or ask at the Law Library Reference Desk.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Hooray for Pluto

Despite being an underDOG (pun somewhat intended), I am rooting for Pluto to keep its planetary status. Next week, the International Astronomical Union, which oversees astronomical rules and conventions, will vote on a proposed new definition of "planet." This proposed new definition would expand the number of planets from 9 to 12, allowing Pluto to keep its godly planetary status.

Check back here after next week's meeting to find out if you have to learn a new mnemonic to remember the planets. (My mnemonic is "Mary's Violet Eyes Make Jack Stay Up Nights Pining." What's yours?)

Register your vote by posting a comment. I'll report the results. For background on the controversy and proposed definition go to http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/whatsaplanet/ .

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Irregular Webcomic

Not quite sure what to think about this site except that it is different. Irregular Webcomic is a web-only strip comic from Australia done entirely with photographs, usually of Legos figures or minatures. These are some of the early "strips", but in time the author, an engineer, attempts to explain conservative vector fields, trepanation, the Carnot heat engine, or in this case, the CIA World Factbook. Offbeat and geeky funny.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat