BLS Library Blog

This new resource highlights current editions of BLS Library’s casebooks, study aids and guides for law school courses and bar exams.  It describes sources on: Doing Well & Being Well; Preparing for Law School Exams & Bar Exams; Administrative Law; Civil Practice & Procedure; Conflict of Laws; Constitutional Law; Contracts; Corporations & Other Business Associations; Criminal Law & Procedure; Evidence; Family Law; Professional Responsibility; Property; Sales; Secured Transactions; Torts; & Wills, Trusts & Estates.  Sources are categorized by type and are listed “newest to oldest.” The home screen also includes BLS Library’s hours of access for BLS students. 

TIPS: Our librarians continue to develop this research guide and Brooklyn Law School Library’s collection. When you access this guide in future, please reload the web page. If you need help accessing e-resources like CALI casebooks/exercises or study aids in the Understanding and Q&A series, please email us at askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu or text us at 718-734-2432.

Current editions of print casebooks adopted by BLS faculty and many print study aids are in BLS Library’s first-floor Reserve collection.  Students can request these sources at BLS Library’s first-floor Circulation desk.  These sources circulate for two hours.  Many sources in BLS Library’s Cellar-level Main collection circulate for the semester.  

Good luck completing end-of-term work and preparing for exams! 

In its first-floor Reserve collection, BLS Library provides current editions of casebooks/textbooks that are required for classes.  There also are current editions of many treatises, hornbooks and other study aids in the Reserve collection.  Note: Study aids are only supplements to required course readings.  These print books circulate for two hours.  You can search for a specific source by title, author or keywords in SARA catalog.  Feel free to email askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu or to text (718) 734-2432 if you have questions about finding or accessing specific sources.

BLS Library’s guide 1L Resources, Tips and Tools highlights 1L casebooks and study aids available through BLS Library in both print and digital formats.  The top-level guide tab: 1L Course Study Aids provides a pull-down menu of subjects.  Click a subject, like: Civil Procedure.  There are “quick links” to boxes highlighting:

• Selected CALI Lessons (online lessons on specific legal topics created by law professors/librarians – these lessons include review questions)
• Casebooks
• Treatises & Hornbooks
• Study Aids Containing Multiple-Choice Questions
• Additional Study Aids

In the 1L guide, sources in a box appear in reverse chronological order (“newest first”).  Guide pages also include a search feature (top right).  Recently, vendor EBSCO began supporting BLS Library’s desire to circulate Reserve copies of ebooks for two hours.  So, EBSCO ebooks like Mastering Multiple Choice for Federal Civil Procedure and A Short & Happy Guide to Torts circulate for two hours.  BLS Library’s e-copies of study aids in the Q&A, Understanding and Gilbert Law Summaries series (available through Lexis Digital Library) circulate for three days. 

Additionally, the 1L guide identifies print sources and online tools to support legal research and writing.  Top-level guide tab: Research, Writing & Citation provides a pull-down menu of resource pages on:

• Legal Research
• Legal Writing & Analysis
• Legal Citation

Please reload the 1L guide’s web page when you visit this guide – BLS Library frequently adds new sources.  Reference librarians are happy to help you identify BLS Library’s sources!  

Getting Ready for Exam Time? – Check Out the Study Guides Available from BLS Library

Exam Resources

It’s that time of year! As exam season approaches, there are several resources that the library offers to assist you in your studying. The library’s 1L Resources, Tips and Tools: Library Information Guide has links to study aids and other resources to help you succeed on your law school exams. Both 1L and upper-class students may want to check out the Nutshell series of study guides or the Examples & Explanations study guides.

If you are not on campus, you can access several digital resources such as the Lexis Digital Library which includes the Understanding study aid series.  As you can see below, this series contains study aids for both first year and upper-level courses. 

Keep in mind, that if you want to access digital resources off-campus, you will need to install the proxy server. If you would like to study in the library, you will need to reserve a seat beforehand. Remember that you will need to submit a negative COVID test and abide by the law school’s safety procedures in order to enter and use the library.

Finally, if you have any questions, please reach out to us at askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu or use the chat feature on the library’s homepage.

Stay safe and good luck on your exams!

It’s that time of year! As exam season approaches, there are several resources that the library offers to assist you in your studying. The library’s 1L Resources, Tips and Tools: Library Information Guide has links to study aids and other resources to help you succeed on your law school exams. For upper-level students, the library has created several research guides to aid you in your research: Library Research Guides.

If you are not on campus, you can access several digital resources such as the Lexis Digital Library which includes the Understanding study aid series in first year and upper level courses.

To access digital resources off-campus, make sure you install the proxy server. If you would like to study in the library, you will need to reserve a seat beforehand. Remember that you will need to submit a negative COVID test and abide by the law school’s safety procedures in order to enter and use the library.

Finally, if you have any questions, please reach out to us at askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu or use the chat feature on the library’s homepage.

Stay safe this holiday season and good luck with the remainder of the semester!

Need a little extra help with your classes? The library has a robust collection of study aids to assist with your mid-semester cramming. Check out the following resources: 

“Understanding” Series from LexisNexis  
Check out the LexisNexis e-Book library at the link above for practice guides and study aids, including the “Understanding” series which covers a range of topics including Administrative Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Civil Procedure, Torts, Evidence, Property, International Law, and the First Amendment. 

“Nutshell” Study Aids 

Constitutional Law in a Nutshell
Civil Procedure in a Nutshell
Contracts in a Nutshell
Criminal Law in a Nutshell
Property in a Nutshell
Torts in a Nutshell

Examples & Explanations Series
Civil Procedure
Constitutional Law
Contracts
Criminal Law
Property
Torts

This is just a sample of the available study aids. The Nutshell and Examples & Explanations Series also cover upper level courses such as Conflict of Laws, Bankruptcy and Corporations.

1Ls: Remember to refer to the 1L Research Guide for links to study aids and library resources. And remember you can always stop by the reference desk for assistance in finding study aids to help you get through the semester.

The library has dozens of study aids available to help you ace your finals!  Just come to the circulation desk and you can check out a study guide to help you create an A+ outline.  Did you know that the library also has study aids in the ebook format?  For example, if you want to borrow a study aid from the “Understandings” series, you can go here: http://brooklyn.law.overdrive.com/A277C1C7-3692-4CF7-BE2A-4E65154FAC2F/10/1334/en/Default.htm.

To find out more about the study guides BLS library has available for you, visit here: http://guides.brooklaw.edu/c.php?g=330909&p=2222538

Are you feeling nervous about exam preparation?  Come to the library and take a look at our 1L study aid collection.  Along with your own class outlines, these study aids can be very helpful with exam preparation.  Our collection includes Examples & Explanations, Nutshells, Understandings Series, and more.  Most of our study aids are on reserve behind the circulation desk.  See any member of our circulation staff to check out a study aid.

Want more information about the BLS study aid collection?  Visit our 1L Resources, Tips, and Tools legal research guide here: http://guides.brooklaw.edu/c.php?g=330909&p=2222538

Also, even though classes are over, keep in mind that reference librarians are still available at the reference desk to answer any of your research questions.

From all of us at the BLS library, best of luck on your exams!

Brooklyn Law School students preparing for final exams during the reading period may want to consider listening to some study aids rather than reading them. Sum & Substance is a popular series of study aids  available on CD-ROM from the BLS Library. See for example, Sum & Substance Audio on Civil Procedure, 7th Edition by Arthur R. Miller (Call #KF8841 .M56 2010) in the library’s AV Collection. It provides the essentials of civil procedure in a clear, succinct, timesaving format and has a quick-reference indexing to easily locate all topics in the recording, and informed exam tips to help maximize your performance. Sections discuss clusters of procedure, citizenship, traditional basis of jurisdiction, constitutional principles, illustrative application, federal court jurisdiction, service of process, venue principles, pleading, sanctions, joinder, counterclaims, class actions, discovery, summary judgment, trial, jury trial, post-trial motions, new trial motions, motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, collateral estoppel, and appeals. 

The BLS Library has other Sum & Substance CD-ROMs on constitutional law, federal income tax, and legal research. They are all located in the AV room 111 on the ground floor level next to the reference desk. Students can check them out for a 48 hour period, with renewals. It is possible that the one you want may be checked out. If so, stop by the reference or the circulation desk and request a staff person place a hold on the item. Then you will be notified when the item has been returned, and you will be next in line for it.

Law student who are iPhone users can purchase some titles from the Sum & Substance series from the App Store. Currently, the following titles are available: contracts, criminal law, constitutional law, criminal procedure, and real property. Prices range from $49.99 to $59.99. See details at this link