Sacramento County Law Library News
By Shirley H. David, Sacramento County Public Law Librarian

Welcome new lawyers! We hope that you take advantage of the "Bridging the Gap program" sponsored by Daily Recorder. This program introduces you to key courthouse functions and the Sacramento County Public Law Library services. The program is usually scheduled for a Saturday in mid-January.

New at the Sacramento County Public Law Library are two public services librarians Mary Pinard and David McCusker. Mary Pinard recently moved to Sacramento from Santa Rosa. She holds a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Texas and a B.A. in history from Northwestern University. Mary's previous library experience includes an eight-month temporary position at the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training and an internship at the Sonoma County Law Library. She also volunteers at the Internet Public Library. David McCusker recently moved to Sacramento from Pittsburgh. He holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a B.A. in management from Antioch College. David's library experience is as a reference librarian in the Humanities Department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He is also fluent in Spanish.

New on library computers is free access to Westlaw and Hein-Online. The Westlaw public law library license gives researchers access to a substantial portion of the Westlaw databases including: standard, basic, combination, premium, allfile, multi-search and super allfile databases, Search, online citation checking, QUOTE, FIND, printing and downloading, and images. Hein-On-Line is a continually expanding searchable full-text database of high-resolution images of law reviews and other documents. Both Westlaw and Hein-On-line greatly expand the legal information available at the main and branch libraries.

Upcoming MCLE approved classes at the library training center include: Real Property 1031 Tax Exchanges (December 4), Becoming a Digital Lawyer: Essential Internet Skills (December 11), Substance Abuse (January 28), Legal Research on the Internet (January 31). Call 874-8541 for more detail.

During the holidays the main library hours are December 24 and December 31, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., and closed December 25 and January 1. The library is also closed on the Martin Luther King holiday, January 20. The branch library follows the same schedule except that it is also closed from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

For those who have been requesting convenient library parking, valet parking is available in the Hall of Justice garage beneath the building. Parking is available from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The charge is $2 per twenty minutes with a daily maximum fee of $20. Enter from H Street between Sixth and Seventh Streets.

Last, but not least, among the increases in the civil filing fees that go into effect January 1, 2003 is a $3 increase for the benefit Sacramento County Public Law Library. The Sacramento County Bar Council passed a resolution of support to the County Board of Supervisors. The Law Library Board of Trustees and library staff are grateful for your considered support of the library. A share of the civil filing fee is our primary source of funding. We use the funds to continuously improve our services to the entire community.

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