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.

Why copy when you can scan for free?

For decades, the Appellate Division Law Library has provided patrons with the ability to make photocopies for a small fee. The copiers are still here, gobbling up dimes and using up plenty of paper. However, this is no longer your only option.

Over the last year, the library has purchased two scanners which can be used free of charge! One scanner works for paper documents (including books, magazines and newspapers) and the other works for microfilm and microfiche. Both scanners are easy to use, and both are capable of producing high-quality, text-searchable PDF files that can be emailed or saved to a flash drive.

Never used a scanner before? Not to worry; a staff member will be happy to show you how. Step-by-step instructions are also provided. So, next time you need a copy of an old bill jacket or a record on appeal, save your dimes and some trees and try out our new scanners!

First weekend of the 2013 Jazz Festival

The scene by our front entrance this past weekend -

festival goers enjoying a free concert on a fine summer night!

(Thanks, Jeremy, for the photo!)

Jazz Festival street closures

Tents and equipment trucks are springing up all around the library - yes, it's time for the Jazz Fest. The first block of Gibbs St. (in yellow) has already been closed off to traffic for the duration of the festival. Please note that our stretch of Chestnut St. (in orange, from East Ave. to E. Main St.) will be closed all day Friday, June 21, after 6 AM and again all day Friday, June 28 after 6 AM. Also note that East Ave. from E. Main St. to Scio St. (in blue) and Chestnut St. from East Ave. to Broad St. (in magenta) will close at 5 PM on Friday, June 21 and Friday, June 28. One last advisory for traffic in our immediate vicinity: beginning Friday, June 21 and continuing the duration of the fest, evenings after 5 there will be detours around the Big Tent venue on E. Main St. (in lilac).

For a complete list of street closures, please see the City of Rochester's Jazz Fest page.