Friday, April 27, 2012

Library Services for the Class of 2012


Congratulations to our newest graduates! If you plan to remain in the Triangle area this summer for bar exam study, please note the following information about Duke Law building access, library services, and access to electronic resources. More details can be found on the library’s page Services for Law Alumni.
  • Building Access: Although your law student IDs (which provide 24-hour access to the Law School and Law Library) are deactivated shortly after graduation, you are eligible for a free alumni card from the DukeCard Office. E-mail your alumni card number to the Law School's Building Manager, Catherine Hall, in order to activate 24-hour access for the summer. The access will continue until August 15.

    If you are leaving the Triangle area, and hope to visit another law library for regular bar exam study, be aware that many private law schools require a letter of introduction from your "home" institution in order to grant access. Check the access policies of the individual law library, and Ask a Librarian for assistance with obtaining a letter of introduction.
  • Borrowing privileges for Law Library materials generally expire very shortly after graduation, although exceptions can be made for recent graduates who remain in the Triangle area for bar exam study. Please speak with a Circulation Desk staff member to borrow Law Library materials. (Note that we are unable to offer interlibrary loan services to recent graduates.)

    For fuller borrowing privileges across all Duke campus libraries, alumni may purchase a Campus Borrower's Card from the Perkins Library at the discounted price of $75/year. See http://library.duke.edu/services/borrow/privileges.html for more information.
  • LexisNexis and Westlaw passwords can be extended over the summer for the purposes of bar study. To extend your passwords, log into the sites and look for the link on the welcome screen. Some other legal research databases, including Bloomberg Law and Loislaw, continue automatically for 6 months after graduation.
  • Other library databases (such as HeinOnline and LegalTrac) require a current NetID and password for off-campus access. Off-campus access to subscription databases will expire at the same time as library borrowing privileges. The Duke University Libraries offer remote access to selected databases (including Academic Search Premier and ABI/Inform) to registered members of the Duke Alumni Association (details). However, alumni may also use Law Library and campus library databases on-site at the library’s public computer workstations.
  •           For help with post-graduation technology issues (printing, wireless network, email, network file storage), check out the Academic Technologies page for End-of-Year Information: Graduating Class 2012. Academic Technologies especially recommends purchasing physical copies of Duke-licensed software, such as Microsoft Office or Adobe Acrobat Pro, from the Duke Computer Store before graduation. (Free versions which were downloaded through OIT with your NetID will eventually expire after you leave Duke.)
The Goodson Law Library congratulates the class of 2012, and we look forward to hearing about your many achievements in the future (including any exciting publications)...