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Help for Newly Online Classes: Home

Some useful resources, news and more

All UNH Franklin Pierce Law School residential classes are moving to an online or other non-face to face format starting Monday, March 16.  Here are some specifics Dean Carpenter shared about building operations: 

Please be advised that starting on Monday, March 16:

  • The building will be open from 8:00-4:30 Monday through Friday, and from 10-2 on Saturday and Sunday. 
  • The library will be open during these hours, and is the only part of the building that will be open to students. 
  • Faculty and staff will continue to have 24/7 access to the building. 
  • Individual student workers who are deemed “essential” by supervisors will continue to work. 
  • All classes will not meet face-to-face.  This includes clinical courses.
  • The Jury Box will be temporarily closed.
  • Students who need assistance should reach out to Lauren Berger or Dan Cwynar, or, in the alternative, to call UNH Police Dispatch at 603-862-1427. 

Please note - The library and building will maintain normal hours this weekend (March 14 and March 15).  This is a quickly evolving situation and Dean Carpenter will update the law school community with any further information.

 

Casebooks

Please note that free digital access to these casebooks ended May 25, 2020

The Law Librarians are working with the various casebook publishers for access to digital versions of casebooks. If you are uncertain who publishes the casebook for your class, the file at the end of this listing may help. 

West Academic is offering complimentary digital casebooks to students

  • Students please call West Academic at 877.888.1330 (ext.4) to setup their eBook
  • Please setup a West Academic account before calling.  Account setup at https://eproducts.westacademic.com/
  • With Emphasis - this offer is only for required textbooks and students who don’t have access to their print books

Wolters/Kluwer/Aspen is partnering with VitalSource to provide you with digital casebooks through May 25th (limit to 7 downloads).  

  1. To get started, students should visit bookshelf.vitalsource.com and create a Bookshelf account with their UNH Law email address. 
  2. Here are instructions on creating a Bookshelf account for both students and instructors.
  3. After creating the account, log in and click on the “Explore” tab in the upper left corner of the screen. This tab provides access to the freely available e-textbooks.

FAQ page - https://support.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us/categories/360003328673-VitalSource-Helps

Please note that at this time, student downloads are limited to 7 titles and trial access will expire on Monday, May 25th, 2020.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

For courses where a Connected Casebook has been adopted Wolters Kluwer/Aspen will provide students access to the e-book, learning tools, and study center for their textbook on CasebookConnect.com. Student access will include:

  • Digital e-textbooks with search, highlighting, and note-taking capabilities
  • Additional learning materials and practice questions from leading study aids such as Examples & Explanations and Glannon Guides, including Video explanations; Flashcards; Multiple choice; Hypothetical short answer; Essays; Issue-spotting exercises; Outlining and Case-briefing tools to help students work more efficiently

Students can sign up for a complimentary code here:

https://support.wklegaledu.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

Access to these resources will be until May 25th.

Carolina Academic Press (CAP) is also partnering with VitalSource to provide you with digital casebooks through May 25!  Limit to 7.

  • Create a VitalSource BookShelf account at https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/user/signin (use your UNH Law email)
  • Login to the account and look for the "Explore" tab in the upper left corner of the screen.
  • Look for your ebook  

FAQ page - https://support.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us/categories/360003328673-VitalSource-Helps

Please note that at this time, student downloads are limited to 7 titles and trial access will expire on Monday, May 25th, 2020.

LexisNexis - UNH Law students now have virtual access to the LexisNexis Digital Library Trial Site.  This service gives you access to a collection of treatises, practice guides, study guides and more in eBook format.  It’s easy to use and available at any time, day or night during this 59 day trial period.  Follow the steps below to access this virtual library:

A LexisNexis Digital Library app is also available for Android and iOS.  Simply download the app and enter lndltrial  (copy and past this code) as the organization code, then sign in with your email address.

The LexisNexis Digital Library is easy to use, but basic training guides (such as the Getting Started Guide) and instructional videos (all 3 minutes or less!) are available on the LexisNexis Digital Library Support & Training site.

 

Meet the Staff

Jon Cavicchi

Jon Cavicchi - IP Librarian and Professor of Legal Research

Professor Cavicchi is your guide to Intellectual Property information.  As the Intellectual Property Librarian, he oversees the IP Library and its print and digital collections.  He is also the PTRC coordinator and can assist inventors and other members of the public on doing a patent search using materials from the PTO.  

Professor Cavicchi is available via email at jon.cavicchi@law.unh.edu or by phone at 603-513-5139.

Melanie Cornell, Librarian, Head of Collection Management

Melanie manages the law library's computer systems, cataloging, collection maintenance, and acquisitions areas.  

She can be reached via email at melanie.cornell@law.unh.edu or by phone at (603) 513-5135

Kathy Fletcher - Reference and Public Services Librarian

Kathy Fletcher supervises all students that work at the circulation desk and oversees all circulation desk transactions as well.  She also coordinates the Library Attorney Membership Program, oversees all the reserve materials and answers reference questions. 

Contact Kathy via email at Kathy.Fletcher@law.unh.edu or by phone at (603) 513-5131

Sue Zago

Sue Zago, Law Library Director and Professor of Law

Cindy Landau

Cindy Landau - Professor Emerita

Professor Landau is currently as Adjunct Professor, teaching Legal Research and Information Literacy: Traditional Practice in the Fall Semester.  

She can be reached via email at cindy.landau@law.unh.edu  

Getting more help

The Law Library staff will be able to help you and answer questions during this time.  We'll be offering chat research help during our open hours. You can also fill out the form if we're away, after hours or if we're helping someone else.  We will get back to you with an answer as soon as we can.

Please explore the Law Library's website to search our print and digital collections using Library Search, check out our subject guides, and explore our A-Z list of databases that you can access from anywhere to find cases, statutes, regulations journal articles, treatises and practice guides and  much more. 

If you need something in the print collection, please do use the chat feature to let us know what you need and we'll do our best to get you what you need. 

 

Procertas training

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Procertas produces a series of trainings and assessments to get law students up to speed with the basic technology tools of their trade: Word, Excel, Powerpoints and PDF. Check out modules on Word skills that make writing legal memos and Tables of Authorities less stressful.

Taking the LTA allows you to get a clear understanding of your current skill level.  It then provides training videos to build your skills and then you'll take the test again to see how you've improved.  

Tips for Online Course Success

  1. Treat your online courses like in-person classes. Block off time (2-3 hours) each week to go through online course material, review weekly assignments and do any online activities. To do actual assignments, readings, homework, etc., you will need to schedule additional study time. Be sure you are online and on time for each of your synchronous online classes so that you don’t miss out on any valuable information.
  1. Create a study plan by outlining on a calendar all of your assignments, readings, tests, quizzes, etc. that are due for the rest of the term. Your study plan should include a monthly calendar, reading list and weekly schedule.
  1. Ensure that you have the necessary materials and technical equipment (hardware and software) to do the course(s). If not, contact UNH Law IT for assistance.
  1. Participate in all of the online activities for each course. This helps you to keep engaged. If you don’t know how to participate, get some help from your instructor(s).
  1. Avoid digital distractions. Turn off social media, email and any other online applications or websites that can distract you from focusing on your studies. Since online courses require independent study, it’s easy to get distracted and not focus on the course requirements.
  1. Create a dedicated, distraction free study space with all of the necessary materials needed to study.
  1. Access online resources to help you study effectively.  West and Lexis study aids are available to you electronically for the rest of the semester.
  1. Think positively and stay healthy. Try your best to remain positive and focused on your studies.  Also remember to practice good self-care habits such as adequate sleep, exercise, nutritious foods, and lots of water. Taking care of yourself will help to keep you healthy AND optimize your brain for learning!
  1. Seek support if you need it. If you find that you are having a hard time keeping up, reach out to Academic Success.  They are there to help. If you need emotional support (and who doesn’t?) you can reach out to Dan Cwynar, the Acting Dean of Students.
  1. Wash your hands.

Chat

Ask Us! is a chat service offered by the Law Library for the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law students, faculty and staff. 

Chat service will not be offered during the summer months.  You can still type a question in the box.  The box will be regularly checked and answered.  You can also email any of the law librarians with your question, and we'll get right on it.