Welcome to the TJSL community! We’re please to have you as entering/returning students. This issue is dedicated to providing you with the most useful information to ensure your success. So read on in order to find information that will help you make this the best year that you can.
Check Out The Library’s Study Aids Section
Check out our valuable Study Aids section just past the reference librarian office on the first floor. Here you’ll find the most popular and useful study aid materials on a host of subjects — including materials for all first year classes! Materials include multiple choice and essay questions, subject outlines and topical narration. As a means keeping these materials available to our whole student body, the check out period for all materials in this section is limited to 48 hours.
Find Strategic Help In Your First Year
The Library’s “Succeed! Your First Year” display has a number of helpful books with self explanatory titles such as Surviving Law School; 1L Of A Ride; Stress, Tests, and Success. The Ultimate Law School Survival Guide; and our own Professor Vandvelde’s Thinking Like a Lawyer. There’s even a DVD: All About Law School. TJSL Professor Slomanson helps out with his own Website titled Intro. to Law: First Year Survival and our Professor Steinberg presents Surviving Law School on YouTube.
Keep Updated With The Library Blog & RSS Feeds
The library blog, ThomChat, focuses on technology and legal developments. Recent posts include a description of library purchases in the areas of immigration law, law and social justice, law and technology and a comparison of legal research texts in the library. 
If you want to see recent news on many different legal topics, then the Current News/Recent Cases RSS page is for you. We’ve done all the work for you! Just click onto your topic from the left side table of contents and multiple RSS feeds will populate the right side of the screen.
Study Efficiently: Use Our Course Reserve Materials & Study Rooms
We purchase copies of your required and recommended course books and place them behind the circulation desk in the Course Reserves section. This section exists to benefit every class member, so checkout is limited to two hours. Just ask at the circulation desk for the book by title and by course name.
The library also provides group study rooms on the second floor. These popular rooms are available for same day use. You may reserve a room for two hours either in person at the circulation desk, or by phone at 619-297-9700 x1100. Only same day reservations are available.
Interactive CALI Exercises Are Invaluable
CALICALI provides hundreds of interactive lessons on most legal subjects, including all first year course subjects. If you’ll recall, the library orientation packet contained a CALI disk and an online access instruction sheet. Use the sheet to register at CALI. You may also access the lessons from the CALI DVD from your orientation packet, which requires no registration or password.
Relax With Our DVD & Popular Books Collections
Legal-themed movies can be a stress reliever, and are also a practical and entertaining way to learn the law. Faculty often assign legal-themed movies, with titles such as My Cousin Vinny, Kramer v. Kramer, and A Civil Action, as mandatory course viewing. Additionally, we have several educational DVDs. You can review the whole list of DVDs in the binder at the Circulation Desk, or you can conduct a search on ThomCat.
The library’s popular reading section offers another chance for you to unwind. This section, located in the soft seating area in the north west corner of the first floor, offers titles such as The Bourne Deception, The Prosecution Rests, Get Real, and Irish Tweed. Many students read a book in the soft seating over the course of several weeks, but you may also check out these books for a two week period.
ThomChat 