Welcoming Zief’s New Research Librarian

Zief Law Library is pleased to introduce you to its newest team member, Tim Sanzi. Tim joined us as a Research Librarian and Assistant Professor of Law. He earned his JD from Roger Williams University School of Law in Rhode Island in 2023, where he was the recipient of a Presidential Scholarship and received recognition for providing pro bono legal services. Tim demonstrated an interest in the library profession as an undergraduate and during law school, and completed an archival internship at Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland.

Throughout law school, Tim gained legal experience in a variety of positions, including: intern at the U.S. Air Force, Judge Advocate General’s Corps Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; Rule 9 Student Attorney for the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General; Rhode Island Sea Grant Law Fellow with the Marine Affairs Institute; and judicial intern for the Honorable Brian P. Stern, Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court.

In his free time, Tim is an avid longboard surfer, road race runner, and hiker.

We’re excited to have Tim join our team of research librarians! Please stop by to say hello next time you’re in the library – you’ll find him in Z103.

 

 

Law Library Hours: Spring Semester

Welcome back, everyone! The Zief Law Library team hopes you had a wonderful and restful winter break. The library resumes regular services on Monday, January 9th and will have the following hours:

  • Monday – Thursday: 8:00am – 11:00 pm;
  • Friday: 8:00am – 8:00pm;
  • Saturday: 9:00am – 8:00pm;
  • Sunday: 10:00am – 11:00pm.

Zief Research and Reference services:

  • Monday – Friday: 10:00am – 5:00pm.

Have a great semester!

Law Library Hours: Thanksgiving

Hi all!

Please note that the law library will have the following adjusted hours for Thanksgiving 2023:

Wednesday, Nov. 23: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (Research Help until 12:00 pm)
Thursday / Friday, Nov. 24-25: CLOSED
Saturday / Sunday, Nov. 26-27: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

For a full calendar view of our current and upcoming hours, visit our Law Library Hours of Operations website. We hope you all have a safe and restful holiday!

See you then!

Zief Pets Presents: Halloween Costume Gallery!

Celebrate the spooky season with Zief Law Library as we introduce Zief Pets Presents: Halloween Costume Gallery! Whether a dog, cat, iguana, or even a pet rock, Zief Pets wants to see your pets’ best Halloween looks!

Submit pictures of your pets in their Halloween costumes or festive attire, and we will display them on the Zief Pets wall in Zief Law Library from Monday, October 30th to Monday, November 6th. To participate, please fill out the Google Form by October 30th, using the QR code on the image below or visit bit.ly/ZiefPetsHalloween23.

Advertisement flyer for Zief Pets with a cartoon cat and dog in ghost costumes.

 

 

Law Library Hours: Fall Semester and Labor Day Holiday

Hi All!

Please note that the law library will have the following hours for Fall 2023 and adjusted hours for the Labor Day Holiday:

Fall 2023 Hours:

Saturday-Sunday: 9:00am – 8:00pm

Monday-Thursday: 8:00am – 11:00pm

Friday: 8:00am – 8:00pm

Adjusted Labor Day Hours:

Saturday-Sunday, September 2-3: 10:00am-6:00pm

Monday, September 4: Closed

See you then!

Welcome Back!

The Zief Law Library team welcomes our new 1Ls and returning upper-level law students to a brand new school year! We hope you’ve had a restful summer and are ready to start the semester off strong. Stop by and let us know what you were up to!

We’ll post regular updates here on ZiefBrief every Monday morning, so check back regularly for news and updates from your law library!

Have a great year!

Summer Access to Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg

Hi all! Summer is upon us, and you’re probably gearing up to tackle your summer internship placements. As an important reminder, there are certain limitations on using certain research platforms over the summer. Here, we’ll take a look at the big three  – Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg – and run through what you’ll be able to use them for. And don’t forget, your librarians are also here to help support you throughout the summer

Westlaw

Westlaw can be used over the summer for non-commercial research — you can’t use it in situations where you are billing a client. Examples of permissible use include: Continue reading “Summer Access to Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg”

Law Library Hours: Final Exams

Hi, everyone! The Zief Law Library team wishes you luck on all of your final assignments and exams for the semester. To help support your studying, the law library will have regular hours and research help during the final exam period:

Monday – Thursday: 8:00am – 11:00 pm;

Friday: 8:00am – 8:00pm;

Saturday: 9:00am – 8:00pm;

Sunday: 10:00am – 11:00pm.

Zief Research Services:

Monday – Friday: 10:00am – 5:00pm

Good Luck!

UN World Day of Social Justice 2023

This week, ZiefBrief celebrates the UN World Day of Social Justice and reflects on our commitment to social development, well-being, equity, and equality. As part of the USF community, Zief Law Library shares in the university’s and law school’s Jesuit mission towards creating a more just world for everyone, which requires pursuing social justice from multiple angles and perspectives. Here, we take a look at how the law library contributes to social justice work, and invite you to consider how you might pursue social justice causes too.

What is the World Day of Social Justice?

In 2007, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolution 62/10, declaring February 20th as the UN’s World Day of Social Justice, recognizing, among other things, that “social development and social justice are indispensable for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security within and among nations and that, in turn, social development and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace and security or in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Building on the 1995 World Summit for Social Development, which recognized social justice, equity, and equality as major development goals, this resolution ultimately invites the UN Member States to promote concrete national activities and greater international unity towards eradicating poverty, promoting work opportunities and gender equality, and increasing access to well-being and justice.

This year’s theme, “Overcoming Barriers and Unleashing Opportunities for Social Justice” aims at strengthening global solidarity and trust in government,  and initiating conversation on “actions needed to strengthen the social contract that has been fractured by rising inequalities, conflicts and weakened institutions that are meant to protect the rights of workers.” It hopes that this dialogue results in greater investment in decent labor opportunities for young people and in green, digital, and care economies.  It poses the following questions to consider:

  • What are the key bottlenecks and challenges to overcoming rising inequalities, decent work deficits, including lack of access to social protection, digital exclusion and disruption of trade?
  • What are the opportunities in the green and digital economy to reduce inequalities and promote social justice, in particular for youth?
  • What actions are needed by governments, the UN system, international financial institutions, employers’ and workers’ organizations, civil society and other stakeholders to increase investments for social justice?

Social Justice at USF, USF Law, and Zief Law Library

The USF Community, home to the Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice and multiple public interest legal opportunities, is no stranger to social justice work. The law school’s clinics, for example, allow students to participate in social justice-related legal work across various practice areas, such as racial justice, immigration, and human rights. While Zief Law Library supports that work by maintaining research resources, the librarians – and indeed many other law librarians – incorporate social justice across many aspects of our work with students, faculty, and the public, whether it’s in the classroom, in the library, or even behind the scenes. Looking toward the year ahead, the Zief librarians and staff already have more exciting social justice-related ideas to put into action, but some highlights from this past year include:

  • creating a diversity, equity, and inclusion resource guide for law school faculty and staff;
  • incorporating more critical legal research-related discussions into our legal research instructional sessions, reflecting on power dynamics represented in legal systems and research tools and access to justice;
  • creating and revising instructional learning materials with accessibility at the forefront;
  • participating in creating a harmful language statement for USF Gleeson and Zief libraries to recognize potentially harmful materials and outdated descriptions;
  • maintaining knowledge about and promoting access to free and low-cost legal research resources;
  • expanding our collections of legal research materials, including social justice-related books, media, and databases; and
  • attending law librarian workshops, conferences, and panels where we share ideas and learn from other social justice-focused law librarians.

With all of the opportunities to further social justice through our work in the law library, it’s hard to imagine setting aside only one day for them all. So, while the UN’s World Day of Social Justice may only be just one day out of the year, Zief Law Library hopes you’ll join us in celebrating social justice every day.

 

Level Up Your Studies with Resources From CALI!

While Zief has many traditional study aid books and eBooks, like our Examples & Explanations or Glannon Guides, it also provides you with access to the CALI (the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction) website. Built by law professors and law librarians, it has 1,200 interactive lessons on law school topics, podcasts, outlines, and open-access casebooks. While your professors may assign material from CALI, you can also take full advantage of this resource on your own! This week, we’ll explore some of its resources, when you might need them, and how to access them.

CALI, who also sponsors the law school’s CALI Awards (awarded to the top earners in each law school course), is a non-profit consortium of most U.S. law schools and legal educators. For over 40 years, the organization has helped research and develop computer-mediated legal education and, today, it provides law students with a wealth of materials to help with law school success.

CALI’s most popular resource, CALI Lessons, bring you interactive lessons and quizzes on specific topics from your 1L and upper-division classes. In addition to helping you fortify your knowledge of the black-letter law, the CALI lessons also cover law school skills, with topics such as “Law School Success,” “Legal Research,” and “Bar Success and Planning.” For example, its newest lesson, “Cases & Outlining: The Basics,” offers 1Ls a step-by-step lesson in creating a course outline with content from case law. Not sure which lessons might be helpful? Check out their handy Lessons by Subject Outline to see which lessons correspond to your topics.

So, whether you’re a 1L or upper division law student, CALI’s lessons, podcasts, and open-access eBooks offer you a broad selection of resources to help you succeed in law school. While you can always check them out throughout the semester, now that we’re in a new semester, it may be most helpful to see which resources they have for your new course load. That way, you’ll be ready with access to the materials you need.

Interested in learning more? See the Zief staff to get your CALI access code, or chat with one of the research librarians for more tips on how to use CALI alongside your other favorite learning materials!