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Law Library User Guide for Cleveland-Marshall Alumni

The Law School Community takes great pride in its state-of-the-art Law Library. The Law Library is the largest academic law library in Ohio and is acclaimed for its beauty and comfort. The collection consists of over 500,000 bound and microform volumes including copies of all the published reports of United States federal courts, the statutes from all fifty states, all available codified federal and some state administrative rules and regulations, periodicals, treatises and other Anglo‑American legal materials. Each year, we add about fifteen thousand volumes to the collection: serials and continuations, newly published works, and retrospective materials to round out subject collections. It is our goal to provide the highest quality of service possible. We constantly strive to evaluate and improve our procedures and services. Any suggestions you offer are greatly appreciated. The Law Library staff members are well trained to provide service to the faculty and students of the College of Law while also serving other members of the University community, alumni, and members of the bar. If we can be of assistance please don’t hesitate to call upon me or any other member of our staff. Please think of us as a continuing resource for you.

We look forward to seeing you.

Michael J. Slinger

Associate Dean, Law Library Director, Professor of Law

May 2004

GENERAL INFORMATION

STAFF DIRECTORY

HOURS

TELEPHONE NUMBERS

SERVICES AND POLICIES OF INTEREST TO ALUMNI

ALUMNI WEB PAGE

ACCESS/CIRCULATION SERVICES

COMPUTING SERVICES FOR ALUMNI

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

LAW LIBRARY PUBLICATIONSLEGAL RESEARCH WORKSTATIONS

MICROFORM AND MEDIA SERVICES

OHIOLINK

OHIO ROOM

ONLINE CATALOG

PHOTOCOPIERS

POLICIES AND ACCESS

RESEARCH SERVICES

RESERVE COLLECTION

LIBRARY HOURS

Law Library hours during the regular academic year are as follows:       

                         

Monday - Thursday     8:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Friday     8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday     9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday  12:00 noon - 11:00 p.m.

Special hours for holidays, examination periods, inter-sessions and summer semester are posted   in advance at the Information Services Desk, at the main entrance to the library and may be obtained by calling (216) 687‑-2250. The library may change hours with short notice. If there is inclement weather that results in the closing of the University, the Law Library closes also. All changes are posted prominently in the library. Closing procedures begin 15 minutes before closing time.

RESEARCH SERVICES HOURS

Research Services hours during the regular academic year are as follows:

 

Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Friday 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

                           

TELEPHONE NUMBERS                    

  On Campus Outside University
Administration 2253 216-687-2253
Information Services Desk 2250 216-687-2250
Research Services Desk 6877 216-687-6877
Automation 7555 216-523-7555
Technical Services 2252 216-687-7329

                                                                                                   

                 

ALUMNI WEB PAGE

The Law Library maintains a web page of information resources particularly targeted to the needs of alumni. The Law Library Services for Alumni site includes links to College of Law services as well as a resource guide for new graduates, and links to sites of particular interest to practitioners.

BAR EXAM PREPARATION GUIDE

The Bar Exam Preparation Guide highlights important information and services for Cleveland-Marshall students and alumni as they prepare to take the bar examination in Ohio or elsewhere. The guide includes Ohio Bar Exam Information, Bar Exam Information for Other States, the Patent Bar, the Multistate Bar Examinations, Commercial Bar Review Courses & Programs, and Examination Preparation Resources at the Law Library.

ACCESS/CIRCULATION SERVICES

The Law Library is primarily a research and reference collection of law and law‑-related materials to be used within the library. A valid CSU I.D. card, a valid Cleveland-Marshall Alumni Association card, or an Ohio Supreme Court Bar card are the forms of identification required for circulation privileges in the Law Library. Library users without one of the above I.D. cards are not eligible for circulation privileges. A driver's license is acceptable identification for use, within the library, of reserve materials. 

In order to obtain a Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Library alumni borrower's card please stop by the Law Library's Information Services desk and fill out an application. Or you may call us at 216-687-2250 and we will fax you an application.  Once your application has been processed, we will send your borrower's card to you through the mail. You should receive your card within five business days of your application.  In order to check out materials or use the alumni computer room, you must present your borrower's card to a member of the Access Services department.  If you have any questions, please contact Amy Burchfield at 216-687-6885.

Circulation rules are available at the Information Services Desk. Circulating materials may be renewed online or by a phone call to the 216-687-2250.  All library materials in circulation are subject to recall. Users with circulation privileges are subject to penalties for overdue materials and loss of materials. Possible loss of library privileges may occur because of misuse of these privileges .

We conduct searches regularly for items reported missing from the collection, and the requesting patron is notified when we locate them. Please ask a member of the Access Services staff for assistance if you cannot locate an item on the shelf.

COMPUTING SERVICES FOR ALUMNI

We provide two PC workstations with attached laser printers for Alumni use in the Alumni Computer Room, where Alumni can access electronic resources such as the Internet, OhioLINK, SCHOLAR (the Library's online catalog) and word processing software. The printers are equipped with copy card readers and charge $.10 per page. The Alumni Computer Room is located on the Library's 1st Level.

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

The Law Library is a selective depository for U.S. government  documents. The Law Library welcomes members of the general public to use our U.S. government depository collection. Important legal publications received through the depository program are cataloged in SCHOLAR and shelved either with other legal materials, according to subject and form, or by call number in the treatise collection. Another portion of this collection is located on the second floor of the Law Library in Superintendent of Documents classification number order, arranged primarily by issuing agency.

LAW LIBRARY PUBLICATIONS

The Law Library staff prepares many research and resource guides for faculty and staff which alumni are welcome to access at the Law Library Publications page on our web site. Titles such as our Ohio Legal Research Guide, Searching the World Wide Web, Resource Guide for New Law School Graduates, Internet Legal Research, and Form Bibliography provide valuable information to students and practitioners alike.

LEGAL RESEARCH WORKSTATIONS

Workstations with several useful legal research sources on CD as well as links to web based free and subscription legal resources are available for your use in the Reference Area on the 1st Level of the Law Library. Among the titles accessible from  these workstations are federal and state case and statutory law through LexisNexis Academic Universe, Shepard’s Citations, and Premise Ohio CDs (West). You can print to the attached laser printer for $.10 a copy using dollar bills or change or you can download your results to your own formatted 3.5" diskette.       

MICROFORM & MEDIA SERVICES

The Law Library's extensive collection of audiovisual and microform resources can be accessed through SCHOLAR, as well as the Microform Title and Location List located in the Microform Collection on the Base Level. Microform readers and reader-‑printers are available.  Microforms do not circulate. Microform materials include complete United States Supreme Court Records and Briefs from 1832, complete back run of the Congressional Record, Federal Register, and Code of Federal Regulations,  legal newspapers, and CIS Congressional legislative history documents. Two of the microform reader printers are equipped with copy card readers. Copies made on microform reader/printers cost $.10 each.

The Law Library's 1/2" and 3/4" videocassette players are located in the Audiovisual Viewing Room. Audiovisual materials circulate for one week. We shelve most of our AV titles on the rotating stands on the Base Level in the Casual Reading Area. Accompanying print materials can be requested at the Information Services Desk.  In addition, on the Law Library home page, there is a link to our Audiovisual Catalog. Please ask at the Information Services Desk for assistance in locating and/or viewing audiovisual materials.

OHIOLINK

OhioLINK, the Ohio Library and Information Network, is the shared network created by the Ohio Board of Regents to increase information resources available to those at Ohio's state and private institutions of higher education. It can be accessed from the library PCs. If Cleveland State University's online catalog, SCHOLAR (which includes both the Law and University Library holdings), does not show a particular title, you can search the combined OhioLINK Central Catalog, which includes the items held by its member libraries. If a circulating item is available, you can follow the steps indicated on the screens to request that it be sent to you here at the Law Library.   Delivery for these materials generally takes two to three workdays.  You must have a Cleveland-Marshall Law Library borrower’s card in order to request materials via OhioLINK.  For more detailed information about OhioLINK services, see the Research or Access Services staff at the Information Services Desk.

OHIO ROOM

The Law Library maintains a special collection of current and historical Ohio legal research materials in the Ohio Room on the 1st Level, on the left, past the Law Student PC Lab. Among the titles in the collection are the Laws of Ohio, the Ohio Revised Code, Ohio Administrative Code, Ohio Jurisprudence, 3d, Ohio reporters, and Ohio treatises.  

ONLINE CATALOG

The Law Library, in cooperation  with the University Library, maintains an online catalog  named SCHOLAR, which provides bibliographic information about the Law and University Libraries' collections. SCHOLAR is searchable by author, title, subject, or keyword. Point your web browser to: http://scholar.csuohio.edu/.  The Law Library is  part of the OhioLINK system, a network of Ohio university libraries. To access OhioLINK's Central Catalog or individual member's catalogs, point your web browser to: http://www.ohiolink.edu/

                                       

PHOTOCOPIERS

Photocopiers are available on all floors of the Library. Copies can be purchased with coins at each photocopier for $.10 per copy. Copycards can be purchased (for 80 cents) with a $1 bill from one of the self-service copy card dispenser/encoders located near the Information Services Desk. Copies made with a copy card also cost $.10 per copy. $1, $5, $10, or $20 bills may be used to add value to your copy card. If you require assistance with the copy dispenser/encoder, please ask a library staff member. The library cannot give refunds.

Purchasing a Copy Card:

  1. The Display Window should read: READY.
  2. Insert a $1 bill. The amount of money inserted is shown in the Display Window.
  3. When the appropriate amount of money is inserted ($1), the unit ejects one card.
  4. The RECHARGE feature can be used to increase the dollar value encoded on your card.

NOTE: In order to purchase a copy card, you will need to have a one dollar bill. The copy card costs 80 cents, so after inserting your one dollar bill into the machine you will receive a card with 20 cents on it.

Recharging a Copy Card:

At any time after you purchase a copy card, you can increase the cash value encoded on the card by using the RECHARGE feature. The Dispenser accepts $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills for RECHARGE up to the card maximum of $100.

  1. The Display Window on the front of the Dispenser should read:

    READY OR ADD ONLY.

    Insert your copy card into the Card Slot on the upper left corner of the Dispenser
  2. The system will now display the cash value currently encoded on the card. Insert bills into the Dispenser.
  3. The system will display the increasing cash balance as you add currency. When you are finished adding value to your copy card, press the red COMPLETE button.
  4. Your copy card will now be ejected from the Card Slot.

The Law Library does not accept checks for the purchase of copy cards. All purchases must be made with cash. Please report any problem with the copiers or copy card to the Information Services Desk.

POLICIES AND ACCESS

RESEARCH SERVICES

Research Services librarians provide research assistance and information to law library users. You may consult with a Research Services Librarian in person during their regularly scheduled hours, by appointment, by telephone (216 687-6877) or by email: research.services@law.csuohio.edu.

The Reference Area collection includes the Ohio Revised Code, Ohio Administrative Code, Index to Legal Periodicals, Current Law Index, general and specialized dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias handbooks and current Ohio treatises and form books. Materials in this collection are labeled "REF" on the spines of the books and "Law Reference” on SCHOLAR. If you are unable to locate a publication, please ask for assistance at the Information Services Desk.

RESERVE COLLECTION

The Reserve (RR) collection is located behind the Information Services Desk. It includes  hornbooks, handbooks, nutshells and study guides, and a current Ohio practice collection, and materials placed on reserve at the request of faculty to meet curricular needs. Reserve Room materials are available for use within the Law Library for a two ‑hour period. The library may recall overdue reserve room materials to make them available to other patrons. Materials located in the reserve collection are indicated by the designation “RR” on the spines of the books and “Law Reserve” on SCHOLAR.  

JRN 3/2005; MR8/13/07

 

 

 

             

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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