Category Archives: Technology News

Results of the 2018 Student Library Survey

We have concluded the 2018 Annual Student Survey for the Georgetown Law Library.
This year, 370 students responded. Thank you. We appreciate all feedback.

Here’s a quick overview of the representation of student responses:

Status of students who responded

2018 Survey – Status of Students who Responded

All students who completed the survey were eligible for a prize drawing.  Congratulations to our four student winners:  Valentine Carey (JD ’18), Robert Van Someren Greve (JD ’18), Garrett Windle (JD’18) and another law student (JD’21). Each student received either a $50 deposit to his or her GoCard account or a $50 Amazon gift card.

Thank you to all 370 students for participating in this year’s survey. We’ve already started reviewing responses, and we’ll use this input to inform decisions about services and resources.  You can view 2018 quantitative charts and a response summary on our website.

Here’s an overview of the reasons students visit our library:

2018 Survey: Reasons for visiting the Law Library

2018 Survey: Reasons for visiting the Law Library

The second-most frequent reason listed is to study in a group study room.  The library will once again provide additional group study rooms during the exam period.  From April 23 through May 15, unassigned Scholar Studies will be available for reservation in addition to our usual 22 group study rooms. Scholar Studies are smaller spaces that accommodate a limited number of students, 2 at maximum. These studies will require only one Law NetID and can be reserved up to 5 hours a day.  Go to the Group Study Room reservation page to reserve these study spaces.

 

Results of the 2017 Student Library Survey

We have concluded the 2017 Annual Student Survey for the Georgetown Law Library.
This year, 276 students responded. Thank you. We appreciate all feedback.

Here’s a quick overview of the representation of student responses:

Status of Students who Responded to the Survey

All students who completed the survey were eligible for a prize drawing.  Congratulations to our four student winners:  Gary Dreyzin (JD ’18), Cody Moshe Kermanian (JD ’18), Alexandra Katherine Rose (JD ’19), and another law student (JD ’19). Each student received either a $50 deposit to his or her GoCard account or a $50 Amazon gift card.

Thank you to all 276 students for participating in this year’s survey. We’ve already started reviewing responses, and we’ll use this input to inform decisions about services and resources.  You can view 2017 quantitative charts and a response summary on our website.

Here’s an overview of the reasons students visit our library:

Reasons for visiting the Law Library

The second-most frequent reason listed is to study in a group study room.  The library will once again provide additional group study rooms during the exam period.  From April 24 through May 15, unassigned Scholar Studies will be available for reservation in addition to our usual 21 group study rooms. Scholar Studies are smaller spaces that accommodate a limited number of students, 2 at maximum. These studies will require only one Law NetID and can be reserved up to 5 hours a day.   Go to the Group Study Room reservation page to reserve these study spaces.

We will publish a summary response at a later date.  Students and others are encouraged to give us feedback at any time.

 

 

Results of the 2016 Student Library Survey

We have concluded the 2016 Annual Student Survey for the Georgetown Law Library.
This year, 245 students responded. Thank you. We appreciate all feedback.

Here’s a quick overview of the representation of student responses:

2016-Survey-GeorgetownLawStudentStatus

All students who completed the survey were eligible for a prize drawing.  Congratulations to our four student winners:  Joshua D. Blume (JD ’19), Briana Rose Pigott (JD ’16), Christopher J. Balser (JD’18), and another law student (JD ’17). Each student received a $50 deposit to his or her GoCard account.

Thank you to all 245 students for participating in this year’s survey. We’ve already started reviewing responses, and we’ll use this input to inform decisions about services and resources.  You can view 2016 quantitative charts and a response summary on our website. For starters, here’s a view of the top items students are seeking on the library website:

2016-Survey-What-students-are-looking-for-when-visiting-the-library

The second-most frequent reason listed is to search for books. To facilitate searching in our stacks the library has recently installed new shelf guides in both the Williams and Wolff libraries. These guides protrude out from the end of the ranges to enable quick recognition of what is held in a particular shelving area. We hope that these guides will assist you in locating materials within the stacks.

Here’s an overview of the reasons students visit each of our two library locations:

2016-Survey-WhyDoYouComeToGLawLibrary

We will publish a summary response at a later date.  Students and others are encouraged to give us feedback at any time.

Announcing OneSearch

Library home page, featuring OneSearch

Click the second tab in the search box on the library website to quickly access OneSearch

The Georgetown Law Library is pleased to introduce OneSearch. OneSearch is a tool for discovering articles, books, databases, and other resources from many different places. It uses a massive search index that dives deep into our catalog, subscription databases, and other Georgetown libraries.

OneSearch also has built-in tools to help you navigate this vast array of resources. “Best bets” and database recommendations steer you to popular resources. Facets let you refine your search. And OneSearch has numerous features to improve usability, such as auto-completion when you are entering search terms, spelling correction, and a responsive design for mobile device compatibility.

For now OneSearch is in “beta” release. All its features are in place, and we have gotten it as ready for you as we can. Now we need you to use it and let us know how it goes. Please use the feedback link in OneSearch to report any issues, send an e-mail to libraryers@law.georgetown.edu, or report your comments to any librarian. Also, stay tuned to Due Process and your student e-mail account for opportunities to participate in user testing of OneSearch and other library systems.

Pharos printer upgrades and unavailability 8/20/2015

The Pharos printing system will be undergoing an upgrade today. During this upgrade individual printers will be unavailable at times during the day. There will be signage to direct you to operational print stations. Between noon and 1:00pm will likely be the biggest disruption as the new software is activated. If you need any printing assistance please visit the circulation desk in either the Williams or Wolff Library.
hacked printer

Results of the 2015 Student Library Survey

We have concluded the 2015 Annual Student Survey for the Georgetown Law Library.
This year, 387 students responded. Thank you. We appreciate all feedback.

Here’s a quick overview of the representation of student responses:

2015-Survey-GeorgetownLawStudentStatus_1

All students who completed the survey were eligible for a prize drawing.  Congratulations to our four student winners:  A law student (L ’16), Margot B. (L ’17), Christopher W. (L ’16), and another law student (L ’17). Each student received a $50 deposit to his or her GoCard account.

Thank you to all 387 students for participating in this year’s survey. We’ve already started reviewing responses, and we’ll use this input to inform decisions about services and resources.  You can view 2015 quantitative charts and a response summary on our website. For starters, here’s a view of the top items students are seeking on the library website:

2015-Survey-What-students-are-looking-for-when-visiting-the-library

The second-most frequent reason listed is to book study rooms.  We recently announced a revision to the group study room reservation system, which we hope is easier to use.

Here’s an overview of the reasons students visit each of our two library locations:

2015-Survey-WhyDoYouComeToGLawLibrary_2

We will publish a summary response at a later date.  Students and others are encouraged to give us feedback at any time.

 

Organizing Your Research and Writing with Advanced Zotero Tools

If you use Zotero to help manage your research, you may be interested in two add-ons to the popular citation manager: Multi-Lingual Zotero (MLZ) and Zotfile.

Creative Commons image by futureatlas.com

Creative Commons image by futureatlas.com

MLZ is not just useful for people engaged in foreign and comparative law: it also has a much better Bluebook style parser than the three Bluebook styles that are available in the Zotero styles library.  Zotfile enables you to automatically rename attachments, store attachments in alternative services to make them easily accessible on mobile devices, and can extract your highlights and annotations into Zotero notes.

You can view a short video on the use and installation of these tools, or just head over to their respective websites to download MLZ or Zotfile.

Can’t Find It in the Library? Map It!

There’s an old joke about an out-of-town traveler who got lost in the back woods of Maine. The frustrated traveler noticed a farmer at work by the road and pulled over to ask for directions. The farmer pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head and said, “Well, you can’t get there from here.”

This is an all-too familiar scenario for Georgetown Law students who have gone hunting for books in remote corners of our two library locations. The library has over half a million print volumes spread out over 100,000 feet of shelves across seven floors and two buildings. Locating a book by its call number can be a challenge for even the most dedicated library dweller.

Our new Map It service, however, allows you to pinpoint a book’s location straight from the catalog. Look for the Map It Beta link below the call number when you’re viewing an item.

Catalog record with Map It button

The gray button will show the precise location for the item. Click it to highlight the shelf on the map for that floor.

Shelf highlighted on library map

Shelf information window

Tip: Click on a shelf to view its call numbers and subject information, if available

The Map It option is available for most of the library’s books, but don’t worry if it doesn’t appear. The system may have had trouble reading the call number and matching it to a shelf. You are always welcome to ask for directions at the circulation or reference desks. (Library staff are much more helpful than the legendary Maine farmer.)

Finally, please note that we’re beta testing the Map It service. We think it’s useful, which is why we’re sharing it now. But there may be some kinks to work out. Please let us know if you run into any problems or if you have any questions. There’s a feedback form below every map, and you can also submit comments via our online suggestion box.