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Archive: November 2010 (25 Posts)

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

A Look Inside the Vault

Posted by: Kurt Carroll

Some of the real gems of the Law Library’s collection require special handling and cannot be shelved in the open stacks.  For these materials, we have the Rare Book Collection.  The Law Library’s collection of rare books consists of approximately 60,000 volumes of books and bound manuscripts. The collection is a great place for researchers …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

The Romance of Language

Posted by: Andrew Weber

The following is a guest post by Taru Spiegel, Reference Specialist in the European Division. A lawyer I know who does legal drafting says that there is no need to use archaic terms such as “aforethought,” “forthwith,” “wherefore,” or “to wit.”  Legal language should be clear, concise, and unambiguous.  Everybody should be able to understand …

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What Does This Symbol Mean?

Posted by: Christine Sellers

Sometimes, the online questions we get through “Ask A Librarian” are harder to answer than others, as my previous posts can attest.  A couple of weeks ago, someone* inquired about a reference notation in the Internal Revenue Code of 1939, Public Law 76-1, 53 Stat. 1.  At the end of Section 22 on page 9, …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Legal Treasures of Mexico’s Past – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Andrew Weber

After entering our Reading Room, you will see our exhibit of legal treasures from Mexico’s past.  A selection of the items on display are also incorporated on a poster. The poster was done in part to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, which coincided this year with the commemoration of the Bicentennial of the Independence of …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

Although I’m from New Zealand, my mother is American and my family gets together with other American Kiwis to celebrate Thanksgiving each year.  However, as there is no public holiday for this day, we tend to need to improvise with dates, with Thanksgiving dinner generally occurring on a weekend some time between October and January.  …

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Welcome to a Sea of Blawgs

Posted by: Christine Sellers

The following is a guest post by Matt Braun, Legal Reference Librarian in our Public Services Directorate. Over the last five years, legal blogs (or “blawgs” = law + blogs) have increasingly become vehicles for legal scholars, practitioners, and observers from across the globe to share information on developments in various areas of law, as …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

The Man of Mystery Revealed!

Posted by: Andrew Weber

The following is a guest post by Taru Spiegel, Reference Specialist in the European Division. A few weeks ago, I asked if anyone knew who the distinguished man of mystery was on the left side of the photo. Thanks to Law Library’s Dr. Janice Hyde, we now know he’s Senator Felix Grundy, also instrumental in …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Microform Reading Room – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Christine Sellers

You’ve seen the entrance to our Reading Room in a previous Pic of the Week. This week features some of the cabinets in the Microform Reading Room, which is right off the main Reading Room. Because of the volume of materials in the Law Library, many items are in microfilm or microfiche format. The microfilm …