If the Supreme Court can create a Facebook page, so can we. As part of our efforts to stay in touch with our members, we have created a Facebook page called the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Law Library. To inaugurate this new service, we have posted several pictures, our Fall CLE events, and an opinion poll. We encourage you to “Like” us on Facebook now, and check back often for regular updates.

Skype: With the release of this Newsletter, we are launching a brand new service that enables our members to Skype with us every business day between 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Skype is a free software application that you can download from the Web that allows you to make video and telephone calls over the Internet. You may already be using Skype to communicate with colleagues and family members, and now you can use Skype to contact us with your reference and research needs. Skype’s face-to-face communication can help eliminate any confusion over the substance of requests that might otherwise get lost in the text of an email or over the telephone. The only equipment that you will need to get started is a computer, a camera, and a microphone. If you have a newer laptop, your camera and microphone are probably already built in. You can also Skype from an iPad. You can find us on Skype by searching our Skype Name of clelawlib or our main email address of lawlib@clelaw.lib.oh.us. Once you find us, either call us via Skype directly, send us a message so that we can make you a permanent contact, or prearrange a Skype call with us by emailing lawlib@clelaw.lib.oh.us. We look forward to providing this new service to our members.

For more information about Skype, how to use it, and what it can do for your legal practice, check out the written materials from our August 2011 program: http://clevelandlawlibrary.org/Public/Misc/Skype.html

Kick off the fall CLE season at the Law Library. This year, we are offering six (6) CLE programs for you to choose from. Click on the links below for more details and registration forms, which will also be available on our web site.

• Entertainment Law, Friday, November 9, 2012

• Practical Probate Practice for the Local Practitioner, Friday, November 16, 2012

• Acquiring, Building & Leasing Commercial Real Estate, Thursday, November 29, 2012

• Games of Chance: Business & Commercial Litigation, Thursday, December 6, 2012

• Ethics, Professionalism & Substance Abuse, Tuesday, December 11, 2012

• Offense & Defense in Commercial Debtor-Creditor Relations, Friday, December 14, 2012

If you already have an iPad or plan to buy one later this year, you will definitely want to bring it with you to the Law Library next year. That is because we are offering two (2) Free, hands-on training sessions to help you use your iPad more effectively and efficiently. All lessons will be held in the Law Library’s Main Reading Room. See the schedule below.

Although some of what we will cover does not cost anything, some iPad Apps carry a small fee. As a result, make sure you have your credit card information handy so that you can purchase the helpful Apps that we discuss and continue to work along with us.

If you cannot make it to a lesson, we plan to record them and save them on DVDs that you can check out, just like a book.

Space is limited, so please register for the events you would like to attend by calling the Law Library at 216-861-5070 or emailing us at lawlib@clelaw.lib.oh.us.

For several years now, the Law Library has offered Chat reference to members through a service called KnowItNow24x7 (“KIN”). KIN is a state-wide service managed by the Cleveland Public Library and funded by a grant from the State Library of Ohio. Although KIN is primarily used by members of the public who have reference questions, we have extended the service to our members for law-related inquiries. If you are interested in using this service to connect with our librarians, please log in at the following page on our web site: http://clevelandlawlibrary.org/lawkin.html

The Eighth District Court of Appeals was honored to host a session of the Ohio Supreme Court at the Cuyahoga County Courthouse on Wednesday, September 26, 2012. Public, private, and home-schooled students from Cuyahoga County were invited to attend and participate. After a Q & A session with the Justices, the students listened to one (1) of four (4) oral arguments scheduled for the morning and then met with the case attorneys for a debriefing. The Librarian then provided tours to the students and their teachers to showcase the Courthouse treasures being featured this year in honor of the building’s centennial.

During their visit to Cleveland, the Justices also held session at Case Western’s Law School on Tuesday, September 25th and enjoyed a reception at the Courthouse Rotunda on Monday night hosted by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. Not surprisingly, most of Cuyahoga County’s judges were in attendance. The Librarian was fortunate to be able to attend and meet the Justices.

For members with an interest in history, the Ohio Supreme Court has been touring Ohio since 1987, when Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer initiated the Off-Site Court Program in honor of the bicentennial of the United States Constitution. The last time the Ohio Supreme Court came to Cuyahoga County was in 1997, when the Court held session at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, but the Justices have not been to the Cuyahoga County Courthouse since 1988. To date, the program has allowed almost 30,000 students to observe Ohio Supreme Court proceedings and meet the Justices.

The Law Library gets more ‘green’ every day. Some of the latest changes we have made include recycling all of our used cardboard, creating electronic-only bills for services such as emails and research, and adding more recycling bins for our patrons to use. We have also applied to renew the Law Library’s Green Certification with the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association for the next biennium from 2012-2014.

If it has been a while since you visited the Law Library’s home page, or if by chance you have never looked at the Library’s website, now may be a good time to do so. We have recently updated our “Frequently Asked Questions” segment of the site, and, with the addition of several new topics, now offer 65 FAQs on a variety of legal topics from “Adoption Law” to “You and Your Lawyer.” As noted in the introduction to each, these FAQs have been prepared “for the convenience of our users to provide access to a variety of sources addressing particular points of law.” Where possible, they are geared toward Ohio law and provide links to relevant statutes, appropriate agencies, and online articles from the ABA, OSBA and many others. Our FAQs also offer suggestions for relevant print materials to help research particular legal topics. If you are stuck trying to figure out where to start looking for general information on an area of law you might be unfamiliar with, our FAQs just might be the ticket. We would also welcome suggestions for new FAQ topics any time. Be sure to check them out @ http://clevelandlawlibrary.org/Public/Misc/FAQ.html

The Law Library will be closed these days in 2012/13:

As you may already know, the Law Library created a Strategic Planning Subcommittee last year to create a new vision that will guide us in the future and ensure that we meet your expectations and the challenges of delivering legal reference and research services in a digital world. As part of this initiative, the Law Library recently engaged the services of a professional to facilitate discussion and exploration among the Library’s private and public Boards, our private and statutory members, and other law-related constituencies. As a result, we may be contacting you to participate in this process and provide your opinions and feedback about what you need and want from your Law Library. The entire process will result in an updated mission and core values that include the establishment of both short-term goals and a long-term strategic direction. From there, we will build the Law Library’s future, enhance the services we provide to you, and create sustainability in an ever-changing technological environment.

to Kelly S. for winning our National Library Week Trivia Contest. She correctly answered “Cleveland Municipal Court” to the question: What local court is celebrating it’s 100th anniversary this year? Kelly won a sturdy American Tourister suitcase.

We have recently completed an update to our wireless service. Two new access points were added to bring full coverage to the North and West hallways, the latter of which houses the Law Library’s conference room and Lawyer’s Lounge. Please feel free to bring your laptop or smartphone and take advantage of this service.

• Cloud Computing for Lawyers (ABA, 2012)
• Discipline, Documentation and Discharge of Problem Employees (OSBA, 2012)
• Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples (ABA, 2012)
• Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers (ABA, 2012)
• Formulas for Calculating Damages (ABA, 2012)
• iPad Apps in One Hour for Lawyers (ABA, 2012)
• Jury Signs: Coded Messages From the Jury Box (OSBA, 2012)
• The Little Book of Foodie Law (ABA, 2012)
• Locked Down: Information Security for Lawyers (ABA, 2012)
• The Paperless Law Office: A Practical Guide to Digitally Powering Your Firm (ABA, 2012)
• Pulled Over: Will It Be A DUI? (OSBA, 2012)
• Updating the Ohio Trust Code (OSBA, 2012)