Cleveland Law Library Weblog

Star Wars Day: May the 4th be with You

Did you know that a standard lightsaber is approximately 3 feet long? We didn't know that either.

As we celebrate Star Wars Day and prepare to return to a "new normal" following the Coronavirus outbreak, this may be an important measurement to keep in mind, remembering to keep two lightsabers of distance between yourself and others at all times. 

Although we are unable to celebrate Star Wars Day in person with our patrons, or enjoy other in person programming with you at this time, the librarians and staff members of the Cleveland Law Library are amping up to continue providing remote services and programs, and when it is safe, programs that adhere to social distancing guidelines, for the foreseeable future.

While the stay at home order has left many of us feeling as if we are in a galaxy, far far away, we want to assure you that we will continue to be here to serve you. We look forward to the day when we can safely reopen our doors to our patrons. 

Until then, may the force be with you. 

Cleveland Law Library Celebrates Virtual Law Day

Today, is the American Bar Association’s Annual Law Day, and this year’s theme is “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Democracy: The 19th Amendment at 100.” It is a day to celebrate the right of all people to vote, but especially women, who were unable to vote until the 19^th Amendment was passed 100 years ago. This year’s theme was put to a considerable test in Ohio in early Spring when the Coronavirus pandemic jeopardized the rights of people who had planned to vote in person in the primary election on March 17^th before or after celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. It also tested the separation of powers doctrine when a Franklin County, Ohio Judge denied an order to delay the election, the Ohio Department of Health closed the polls due to public safety concerns, and the Ohio Supreme Court denied a candidate’s challenge to keep the polls open. Thankfully, Ohio decisions to keep poll workers and voters safe also preserved voting rights and Democracy through extended absentee voting.

Cuyahoga County Law Library Resources Board Public Meeting-4/29/20

The Cuyahoga County Law Library Resources Board will convene an online/telephonic public meeting at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. If you wish to attend, please register here: https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/5815172269834603521

50 Years of Earth Day

On this 50th anniversary of Earth Day, celebrations look a little different. With the spread of Covid-19, many of us are keeping a safe social distance from those whom we normally interact with by learning to do our jobs from the comfort of our homes. In many cases, working remotely is having an indirect, positive effect on our environment. 

The staff of the Cleveland Law Library has been working from home since mid-March. Indirectly, we have continued our green initiatives through a diminished use of electricity in our offices. Our paper waste has slowed, as we are not printing documents in the capacity that we are used to. Additionally, those who commute to work in a personal vehicle are no longer making the trek, contributing to a reduction of air pollution.

While we await the return of our normal lives and routines, jobs that once seemed impossible to perform at a distance are becoming second nature. Waste that seemed essential in our day-to-day is becoming inessential. This change in operations has shown us that there are still many ways to reduce our footprint, an initiative that the Cleveland Law Library will continue to strive for after we return to normal operations. 

Temporary LexisNexis remote patron access is finally available to our members!

Dear Members:  Due to the impact of Covid-19 on regular business operations, LexisNexis has graciously offered temporary remote patron access privileges to members of the Cleveland Law Library. This option will allow you to log in from your home or office to use Lexis databases that the Cleveland Law Library is ordinarily only able to provide for members on-site at the Courthouse.

Registration is required, but the process is pretty simple, and privileges will last for 30 days or until May 31, 2020 (whichever is shorter). Your 30 days of access all depends upon the date when you sign up.

Members who wish to take advantage of this new benefit should follow these steps:

                    Sign in to the Law Library's Members Only page at this link: https://clevelandlawlibrary.org/Public/Misc/narrative.html

(If you need your User Name and Password, please email the law library at lawlib@clelaw.lib.oh.us)

Click "Electronic Resources Library"
Click "New Version"
Click the link in red at the top of the page to sign up for Lexis remote access.
Start enjoying your new member benefit!

Cleveland Law Library Closed Pursuant to Order from the Ohio Governor

Pursuant to the Ohio Governor's Order, the Cleveland Law Library's 4th floor offices are closed. Please check back here on our blog for further updates. 

Although the Library will be closed, staff will still be providing Email Reference Service
for our Members. To contact us, please send an email to lawlib@clelaw.lib.oh.us

We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Cleveland Law Library Welcomes CLEVNET Directors Today, 1/31/2020

Today, the Cleveland Law Library is hosting its first meeting of the Directors of CLEVNET, a consortium of libraries in NEO. Welcome Directors!

In 1985, the Cleveland Law Library became the first and still the only law library to join CLEVNET, a consortium of public and special libraries in Northeast Ohio which has been recognized as a nationwide leader in library innovation The Cleveland Law Library's decision to join CLEVNET has since enabled the Law Library to share in the same advanced technologies that public libraries have offered to their patrons. The Law Library got its first taste of online research through an “Information Gateway” that was provided by the CLEVNET Consortium. Through a simple interface, the Law Library was able to search the catalogs of Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University, Oberlin College, Cleveland State University, and the Cuyahoga County Public Library. In 1990, the Law Library’s membership in CLEVNET enabled the Law Library to begin archiving the opinions of the Eighth District Court of Appeals on the Law Library’s website.

The Law Library’s membership in CLEVNET continues today and has provided the Law Library with a state-of-the-art online catalog since 1987, a sophisticated Integrated Library System for tracking materials and patrons, and high-tech library support services.

Thanks CLEVNET!

 

Happy 150th Birthday to the Cleveland Law Library Association

Today is a day to celebrate at the Cleveland Law Library Association. One hundred and fifty years ago today on December 18, 1869, sixty-six local attorneys and judges met in a prior Cuyahoga County Courthouse to create a law library dedicated to legal research, education and the “promotion of the science of the law.” See our Charter. Five prominent attorneys named Jesse P. Bishop, John Hutchins, Seneca O. Griswold, William J. Boardman, and Samuel Williamson served as the CLLA’s first Board of Directors. The CLLA’s current Board has grown to include fourteen members that represent a cross-section of local practitioners at large and small law firms, as well as judges from the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas and Eighth District Appellate Courts. Since 1912, the CLLA has been located on the fourth floor of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in downtown Cleveland.

The CLLA’s collection began with donations and purchases from its founding fathers. By 1901, the CLLA’s collection was growing by 1,000 volumes per year, and by its centennial in 1969, the CLLA could boast to owning substantially all of the world’s law available in the English language. Today, the Law Library’s print collection stands at 117,550 legal treatises, form books, practice guides, law journals, statutes, rules, and other materials. More importantly for modern attorneys, the CLLA maintains a large collection of online legal research databases in-house and over 1,100 eBooks that members can access anytime from anywhere.

Throughout its history, the CLLA has always embraced new, legal research technologies to enhance its patron services. Almost 50 years ago the CLLA installed its first stand-alone computer terminal from OBAR/Mead Data Central Inc., and in 1992, it purchased dial-up services and bar-coded all of its books so that they could circulate more efficiently to members. After creating a Local Area Network for its 125^th anniversary, the CLLA launched its first web page at www.clelaw.lib.oh.us in 1995. Before the end of the last Century, the CLLA had posted its first online Research Guide Series, purchased legal research CD-ROM’s from West (now Thomson Reuters), and created its flagship Members Only page. This cutting-edge portal offered members their first taste of remote access to online legal research databases and served as a model that other law libraries in Ohio have both envied and copied. Today, the Members Only page provides an online, self-serve gateway where members can access even more valuable legal research databases from their offices and homes.

Please join our staff for cup cakes today at noon to celebrate our 150th birthday!

Move Over Bluebook-There's an Indigo Book in Town

Every lawyer knows about The Bluebook, the gold standard in citation formats from the Harvard and Columbia Law Reviews. However, an NYU professor and a group of law students created a new citation manual called The Indigo Book. According to a recent Press Release, The Indigo Book was released in beta version in 2016, and it is free and "open" with "No Rights Reserved." Compared to The Bluebook, "The Indigo Book was created with a more flexible, arguably practical, citation system in mind." Check it out for yourself..

Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation Changes Its Name

A recent article from Court News Ohio recently stated that "The Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, the largest funder of civil legal aid in Ohio is changing its name to the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation. Its mission is to "The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation is committed to improving access to justice and ensuring that legal aid societies and other resources, programs and services address the unmet civil legal needs of low-income and underserved Ohioans.The name change reflects the Foundation’s broader commitment to access to justice initiatives." With this change, OLAF is changing to OAJF, and it also has a new website.