Format of Materials Found in Law Library Catalog

Now that you know how to access materials both in our Law Library and in other Rutgers University & participating libraries, we want to tell you what you can expect.

As you are probably aware, more and more legal materials are being made available online, usually within some commercial database, like Westlaw or HeinOnline.  While not everything within a law library can be found online, likewise, not everything online can be found in a law library.

If a catalog item is available online, there will be a link to connect you to that item online.

Any given catalog entry will tell you where, if available, that item can be found in the library.  The entry will give you the call number and tell you on which floor of the library you will be able to find that call number.  For an increasing number of  materials, there will be an additional entry at the top of the catalog record; above the call number location, you will see “Connect To” followed by a “View Online” link.  By clicking the “view online” link, you will be taken to the electronic version of that item.  For items that are available only through limited-access databases, you will be prompted to use your school- or indivudually-created IDs to log in to view the material.

Written by CDS.

Victory for the Children’s Justice Clinic

Prof. Meredith L. Schalick has announced that Prof. Sandra Simkins and the Children’s Justice Clinic have succeeded in invalidating a regulation that unconstitutionally denied due process to a client in the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC).  The regulation had permitted the JJC to transfer a developmentally disabled youth from a juvenile facility to an adult prison shortly after his 18th birthday. While the court recognized that the JJC has the right to transfer youths between juvenile facilities without review, the transfer to an adult prison governed by the Department of Corrections (DOC) will now require:

“At a minimum, before a juvenile can be transferred to custody of the DOC, there must be written notice of the proposed transfer and the supporting factual basis, an impartial decision maker, an opportunity to be heard and to present opposition, some form of representation, and written findings of fact supporting a decision to proceed with the transfer.”  (p. 25)

Full text of the opinion can be found here (via the NJ Judiciary).

Written by CDS.

Finding Materials Outside the Rutgers University Libraries System

The last post on Finding Materials Within the Rutgers University Libraries System (RULS) explained how to use the Law Library catalog  as well as the Rutgers University Main Library catalog (IRIS) to find materials that you might need for your research.

On occasion, the item that you are looking for may not be within the RULS.  Rutgers University is part of a library consortium that participates in lending materials to other participating institutions, and vice versa.  If the book that you are looking for is not within the RULS, E-Z Borrow is the next step in trying to locate the book.  (Note for users: “Journals or journal articles, e-books, films, videos, CDs, and rare materials are generally not eligible” for circulation using this system.)

If you still can’t find what you need through the RULS or E-Z Borrow, you may place a request through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).  First time users must create a unique username and password.  If you are looking for an item on behalf of one of the Rutgers law journals, please use your journal login and password information. After that, it’s a simple matter of filling in the form provided.  The more information you can provide about the item you’re looking for, the better it will help our staff find what you need.  Please be aware that all ILL requests are processed by humans, not by computers, so please do try to use the designated fields on the form.  Please also be aware that it may take several days to fulfill your request.

If you’ve requested an item through RULS or E-ZBorrow, you will receive an email when your item has arrived, and you will be able to pick it up from the circulation desk at Robeson library.  Items requested through ILL will be delivered to the Law Library circulation desk.

The content of this post was inspired by Genevieve Tung.

Written by CDS.

Finding Materials within the Rutgers University Libraries System

As members of the Rutgers University system, law students  have access to materials available from all of the Rutgers University system libraries, spread out among the three  campuses: Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick.

Our Law Library catalog is a good place to start your search, whether you’re looking for something school- or research-related, or if you’re after some downtime reading material.  There is a direct link to the catalog from the Law Library’s main page.  Using our catalog, you can search for materials by keyword, title, author, subject, or call number.  The entry for the item you’re looking for will tell if that item is available, and if so, where it is located.  If the item is available electronically, there will be a direct link to the material.  (Quick tip: if your search is returning too many results, check out some Search Tips offered from the Advanced Search page.)

Also available from the Law Library’s main page is a direct link to the main Rutgers University Libraries catalog page.  From the menu on the left, there are links to find articles and to browse through other Research Resources.  Check out the research guides and electronic databases, including specialty legal research tools.

Still haven’t found what you need?  Stay tuned for the next post: Finding Materials outside of the Rutgers University Libraries System.   Or stop by the reference desk and ask a librarian for help!

The content of this post was inspired by Genevieve Tung.

Written by CDS.

Welcome New and Returning Students!

Entrance to Law Library

The Law Library would like to take a minute to welcome you to Rutgers School of Law – Camden.  Whether you are new to campus or would just like to get reacquainted with the Law Library, we would like to invite you to come in for a tour.  We can point you towards research materials, study carrels and tables, study rooms, and printers on different floors of the library.   We can even show you how to reserve those study rooms online and how to release your pending print jobs to the printer of your choice.   You can find information regarding all of our Student Services from the drop-down menu for the Law Library.

We have 5 reference librarians as well as a friendly a helpful staff ready to assist you with any question that you might have.  For both the new and returning students, we encourage you to bring your questions to any one of the librarians.  Here is a great (and short) article on making friends with a law librarian.

The library has a fantastic selection of resources, both online and in print, at your disposal.  From the Law Library’s main page, you can find a link to databases that might be very helpful to you (please note that you will need to log in using your netID or individually-created ID and password to access these databases, either at home or on campus).

We also encourage you to follow our blog so that you can stay up-to-date with new content that we may post.  This content could be anything from Law School or Law Library announcements or happenings, research-related posts, and anything that may be of interest to our audience.  We also encourage you to contact us if you have any suggestions for content that may be useful or of interest to you!  You can also follow the blog through our Twitter feed (@RutgrsCamLawLib) or by “Liking” us on Facebook (Rutgers-Camden Law Library).

Written by CDS.

Law Faculty Member (and Jurist) in the News: Appellate Division Hands Down Significant Ruling on Damages.

Several years ago, Plaintiffs from around the country filed products liability suits in New Jersey state courts against local pharmaceutical manufacturer Hoffmann-La Roche.    Hoffmann-La Roche was the maker of Accutane, a drug used to treat severe acne.  This drug has since been discontinued in the wake of allegations that the drug caused gastrointestinal harm, and other medical complications.  The case before the New Jersey Appellate Division, Kendall v. Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., No. A-2633-08, focused on three Florida residents who were previously awarded compensatory damages totaling nearly $12 million.

The Appellate Division Judges, including Rutgers School of Law-Camden professor Hon. Jack Sabatino, rendered a decision based on the controlling Florida law of proximate causation that “entitled [] La Roche [] to judgment as a matter of law” (New Jersey Law Journal, 206 N.J.L.J. 554, Vol. 209 No.7).  The application of Florida’s proximate causation law was based on several factors: where the plaintiffs live, where they were prescribed the drug, where they took the drug, and where they suffered any resulting harm—Florida.

For those of you interested in reading the full article in the New Jersey Law Journal, please stop by the Law Library Circulation Desk and request the August 13, 2012 (Vol. 209 No. 7) edition.

Written by CDS.

We’re Back!

Greetings, readers!

Quo Vadis, the official blog for the Rutgers School of Law – Camden Law Library, is back!

This is a very exciting time for the law library.  If you have been keeping up with the news, you know that Rutgers – Camden fought hard to remain a part of the Rutgers University system.  The entire Camden campus community, including the law school, its faculty, the library and its librarians banded together and emerged victorious.  Kudos! And thank you!

As we get closer to the start of a new academic year, we will be posting current events of interest to members of both the law school and legal community, updates to some of the library’s resources, research questions and answers that may be of interest to both our readers and our patrons, and so much more.

For now, I would like to invite you to follow us on Twitter (@RutgrsCamLawLib) and “Like” our new page on Facebook (Rutgers-Camden Law Library).

 

Written by CDS.