School Without Walls Law Camp visit

Studying 19th-century maps in the Rare Book Room

On August 15th a team of staff members had the pleasure of providing a tour of the library to a group of students participating in the School Without Walls Law Camp. Exploring careers in law, they got to see first-hand the work it takes to run a large court law library - covering topics from book preservation to online databases, interlibrary loan, records and briefs, and the whole range of diverse job responsibilities here.

While discussing their areas of expertise, staff members were also happy to tell the students about their own career paths. A cataloger shared the memorable and instructive tale

of a work experience I had after earning a library degree but before landing my first professional library position. The keyboarding skills I learned in grade 10 (known then as typing) kept me housed, fed, clothed, and otherwise independent for 7 years. (Yes, it was 7 years between grad school completion and the start of my first position working as a librarian.) I was hired through a temp agency to do secretarial work in a yeast factory. Each new batch of yeast was tested on premises for quality by baking bread with it. Employees took fresh bread home, free of charge, on a regular basis. I gained a few pounds as a result. What a sensory delight – the smell of bread baking while I worked!

The kids seemed to really enjoy the hands-on learning opportunities in the Rare Book Room, the staff workroom, and elsewhere (moveable shelves!). Another librarian relates,

I told the students about the technology I manage here at the library: the public computer network, wireless network, staff computers, and public-use scanners. Interestingly, the students were much more interested in things one might consider 'low-tech.' For example, they were fascinated by our microfiche readers! They asked to see them in action, so I loaded up a piece of microfiche and showed them how it worked. As half the students looked on in wonder at the image projected on the fiche reader, the other half were holding pieces of fiche up to the light to see if they could read what was printed on them. It was then that I realized that they had probably never seen a piece of microfiche before. Heck, they probably never even knew it existed! The truth is, these students were likely born around 1997, and to them, things like computers, wireless networks and the Internet are just everyday things they’ve grown up with. Yet something as banal to me as microfiche is something completely new to them. Same goes for pocket parts. I answered several questions about how information was updated before the Internet Age, and they found the subject truly interesting. I was taken aback at what good questions they asked!

All in all, it was a great experience for me. I hope that it was interesting for them as well. I’m proud that I was able to introduce them to something completely new, even if it was something that seemed 'old hat' to me! I certainly look forward to the opportunity to do it again.

Thanks to everyone involved - staff, organizers, and especially the Law Camp students - for a lively afternoon.

If your group would like to schedule a tour of the library, please call the Reference Desk at 585-530-3251.

East End is looking up

We love working downtown. We love Java's, we love Golden Port, we love the Eastman Theatre and RoCo. Some of us follow restaurant openings and closings in the neighborhood the way others follow the Supreme Court. So you know we read with great interest a story in today's Rochester Business Journal that discussed the evolution of the East End into a vibrant entertainment district and downtown living hotspot. We were especially pleased to see that the Courthouse, "home of the state's 4th Appellate Division and a huge law library," got a mention.

Yes, we are huge! One of the largest court libraries in the nation. And we are unique, the only appellate-level court library in the state which serves both an active judiciary and practicing bar, and is also open to the general public.

We've been here in the East End almost fifteen years now. Watch this space in the coming weeks for reminiscences on what it's like to move a library!

August Mixer

The Rochester Black Young Professionals will be holding their August Mixer just down the block at Decibel Lounge, 45 Euclid Street, on Thursday, August 29, 2013. The event will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., with drink specials and finger foods served from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. All BYP members are free and can bring two guests for free. The event is $5 for non-members.

Celebrating the Nineteenth Amendment

Summer is festival time and a unique one is coming up August 18th: the Susan B. Anthony Festival, celebrating the 93rd anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. Of course there'll be food & music & artisans, but there'll also be appearances by "Susan B. Anthony" & famous suffragists throughout the day, as well as walking tours of the Historic Preservation District around Susan B. Anthony Square Park.

Please see the Susan B. Anthony House website for all the details.

For information on the Nineteenth Amendment, check out the new edition of From suffrage to the Senate and the many other wonderful resources in our Women in the Law collection.

Library catalog down for scheduled maintenance Wednesday, July 17

The library's online catalog will be unavailable for a portion of the day on Wednesday, July 17. As a part of ongoing improvements to the library's online services, we are upgrading the software which powers the catalog.

The catalog should be back online before the end of the day. We apologize for any inconvenience, and we thank you for your patience during this process.

New on the book shelf this month

The library prepares a monthly list of new books purchased the previous month. These new books are either requests from patrons or books that have recently come out. Sometimes, due to budgetary constraints, the new book selection committee cannot buy the books it has decided to purchase all at once. It has to make a decision on a hierarchy of books that should be purchased sooner than others. Some materials are put in the back burner for a while until funding is available - hence, the reason for older books on the list.

Check out our New Book List!

Judicial Portrait Collection

M. Dolores Denman

Have you ever noticed the large collection of portraits on display throughout the library? They are only part of the library’s ever expanding Judicial Portrait Collection. The collection is one of the best of its kind in the nation, and includes nearly every judge from the Appellate Division Fourth Department and dozens from the Seventh Judicial District and the Court of Appeals. The collection spans more than 150 years and includes individual as well as group photographic portraits. There are even a few oil paintings and engravings.

In order to make this unique collection available to all in its entirety, the portraits are being scanned or photographed, cataloged, and then added to the New York Heritage website. According to its website,

New York Heritage is a research portal for students, educators, historians, genealogists, and anyone else who is interested in learning more about the people, places and institutions of New York State. The site provides free access to more than 170 distinct digital collections, totaling hundreds of thousands of items.

At present a small percentage of the collection has been added, mainly consisting of portraits that have never been on display in the library. In the months to come the remainder of the collection will be added for all to enjoy.

Watch for an upcoming blog post on how the original photographic portraits are being preserved.

View the collection here.