Library News:  

Library’s Financial District Branch to Close March 5, 2012

The Law Library will close its branch library in the Monadnock Building at 685 Market Street as of March 5th. Comprehensive library and reference services will continue to be provided at the main Law Library located in the Veteran’s War Memorial Building near City Hall. Hours at the main Law Library at 401 Van Ness Avenue will be extended to provide the same hours as currently available at the branch. Additional computer terminals dedicated to legal research will be added in the main library, along with new work tables to accommodate former users of the Financial District Branch.
Library trustees and staff deeply regret that the Financial District Branch must close, but the lease for the space is up this spring, and the Law Library simply cannot afford current market rental rates, while income continues to decline and legal information costs soar. The Law Library is financed by court filing fees, which have declined 14% since last year and 20% since 2009. The Law Library’s commitment to serving the public hasn’t changed, but closing the branch will enable it to conserve resources to provide comprehensive services at the main library.
Click here to read the complete Press Release.

In Observance of Presidents' Day
the Civic Center and Financial District Branch
will be Closed on Monday, February 20th.

Attorney News:

New MCLE Audio Programs Available!

The Library has 25 new self-study audio CD programs from Versatape, which were recently recorded at State Bar educational forums. Choose from over 50 programs to help meet the Bar’s MCLE requirements. Topics include legal ethics, family law, taxation, employment law, lawyering skills, elimination of bias in the legal profession, prevention of substance abuse, and others. CDs may be rented by library card holders for one week for $5. CDs are available at both the Financial District and Civic Center Law Libraries. Click here for a list of programs available and more information.

 U.S. Department of Justice Releases Legislative Histories

The U.S. Department of Justice has released digitized legislative histories to the public. Formerly, they were available in print exclusively for DOJ staff. Digitized legislative histories for more than two dozen federal acts are available here.

U.S. Office of Law Revision Counsel Rolls Out New Website for U.S. Code

The Office of Law Revision Counsel has released a beta version of its new U.S. Code website for public testing and feedback. It features a new search engine with advanced capabilities, access to USCprelim, and a new Cite Checker to search for recent amendments, among other features. Check out the new website here.