Finals Study Break: Wednesday, Dec. 13

Come out this Wednesday for a study break during finals!  Grab coffee and tasty fresh-baked donuts outside the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center.

When: Wednesday, December 12, 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Where: Outside the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center (N30 - on the sub-plaza past Sullivan Cafe)

What: Coffee and donuts!

Good luck on finals, and best wishes for the holidays from the Law Library!

New Acquisition: Judge Diana Murphy's Papers

The papers of Judge Diana Murphy ’74—the first woman to serve as a federal district judge in Minnesota and the first woman appointed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit—have been generously donated to the Law Library by her sons, John and Michael Murphy. Judge Murphy passed away in May at 84, having served as a federal judge for 38 years. She left an indelible legacy as an outstanding member of the federal judiciary and as a trailblazer and leader in the local and national legal communities. 

After completing undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, and raising a family at home, Diana Murphy returned to attend the Law School, where she was an editor of the Minnesota Law Review and graduated with honors. She began her legal career with the Minneapolis law firm of Lindquist & Vennum and later served as a Hennepin County judge. Murphy was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in 1980, and to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in 1994.   

On the bench, Murphy was universally lauded for her fairness, her comprehensive understanding of the issues, and her untiring efforts on behalf of law and justice. As Professor Carol Chomsky has written: “Judge Murphy stood with ordinary people against the sometimes arbitrary hand of bureaucratic decision-making.” Her career was marked by important rulings, including Lewis v. Heartland Inns (2010), a Title VII civil rights case, in which Murphy authored a panel opinion that disallowed the use of gender stereotypes to deny promotion to a woman. In Nelson v. Correctional Medical Services (2009), Murphy wrote the en banc opinion finding that shackling inmates in the late stages of labor constituted “cruel and unusual punishment.” She was also involved in key cases relating to American Indian law throughout her career, including Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians v. Minnesota (1994) and Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Company (2007).

Murphy’s service in judicial and educational organizations was exemplary as well. She was chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission from 1999 to 2004 and chaired the 8th Circuit Gender Fairness Implementation Committee. She served on the board of directors of the Federal Judges Association, as its president from 1989 to 1991, and as chair of the American Judicature Society. She was active in the American Bar Association and served on the Minnesota Constitutional Study Commission and board of governors of the Minnesota State Bar Association. Beyond the bench, Judge Murphy served as chair of the board of regents of St. John’s University, trustee of the University of Saint Thomas, national president of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, and trustee of the University of Minnesota Foundation. Murphy also received numerous honors during her career: she was named a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, received the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award, and was named Honoree of the Year by the National Association of Women Judges, among many others.

The papers that the Law Library has received constitute a full record of Murphy’s career on the 8th Circuit bench. The large collection includes case files, conference notes, annotations, memoranda, and other correspondence between judges; subject and other files related to Murphy’s judicial service—including her work on the Sentencing Commission—and documents reflecting a wide range of her civic service. 

“The Law Library is very grateful to be able to add Judge Murphy’s papers to its collections,” said Professor Joan Howland, associate dean for information and technology and director of the Library. “They offer a fascinating window into the working life and judicial thinking of a pioneering woman jurist during an important era in recent legal history. In addition to its value for studying Judge Murphy’s career, the collection represents a rich trove for the study of the federal judiciary, and will be of great benefit to future students and scholars.”

In spring 2019, the Library will mount an exhibit commemorating the career and legacy of Judge Murphy and highlighting achievements of women in the law, drawing from the new collection of papers and from the Library’s extensive archives and special collections.  

  - Ryan Greenwood, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections

Halloween, Oct 31: Rare Books Open House!

All are invited to the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center's special Halloween Open House on Wednesday, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.! 

Come out on Halloween to see spooky treasures from our collection (including witch trials and other sensational trials) - and pick up free snacks, drinks, and Halloween candy!

Come out in costume and get a picture on our Tumblr page!

When: Wednesday, Oct. 31st, 12 p.m - 3 p.m.
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Center
What: Rare books, snacks, drinks, candy and costumes!


(The Center is in N30, sub plaza on the hallway past Sullivan Cafe and N20.)

Wednesday, Oct. 3: Rare Books Open House

All are invited to the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center's first rare books open house of the semester, next Wednesday, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.! 

Come out and enjoy free snacks and drinks, and see treasures from the library's rare books and special collections.

Also: enter a contest to win a Supreme Court bobblehead! (The Center has a complete collection, and some will be on display.)

When: Wednesday, October 3rd, 12 p.m - 3 p.m.
Where: *Riesenfeld Rare Books Center
What: Rare books, bobbleheads, snacks and prizes!

(*The Center is in N30, sub plaza on the hallway past Sullivan Cafe and N20.)

Wednesday, Sept. 26: Fall Exhibit Open House

Come out to an open house in the Riesenfeld Center next Wednesday, September 26, for the Law Library's 2018 exhibit:

"A Foundation in the Law: Celebrating 40 Years at Walter F. Mondale Hall"

Open House: Wednesday, September 26, 2018
                         12 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
                         Riesenfeld Rare Books Center (N30, Sub-plaza)

                         Snacks and refreshments will be served.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Law School building, Walter F. Mondale Hall. Dedicated in the spring of 1978, the building and the vision behind it have provided the foundation for numerous achievements in the past four decades, enhancing the life of the Law School and its success.

The Library and Riesenfeld Center's current exhibit, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Walter F. Mondale Hall, highlights the development of plans for a new Law School building and its 2001 addition, and pays tribute in photographs to the Law School's great friend, Walter Mondale ('56), and his deep involvement in the life of the Law School for over six decades.

The exhibit was created by Ian Moret, Patrick Graybill and Ryan Greenwood.

The exhibit is open in the Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center through December 10. For more information or directions, please contact Ryan Greenwood (rgreenwo@umn.edu; 612-625-7323).

Monday, September 17: Constitution Day Donuts!

Come out and celebrate Constitution Day in the Law Library!

Stop by and grab donuts and coffee, as well as a crossword puzzle about the US Constitution for prizes.  And don't forget to take a selfie with James Madison!

When: Monday, September 17, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Where: The Library Lobby
What: Donuts, Coffee, and Prizes! 

Recent Rare Books Acquisitions: Criminal Law

Over the late spring and summer, the Riesenfeld Center has added notable titles to its collection, several of which fall in the area of criminal law. Our most important active collecting area related to criminal law is the Clarence Darrow collection, which not only includes the nationally preeminent trove of Darrow letters, but writings by and about the famous American trial lawyer, who championed criminal defendants facing great odds throughout his career. At the same time, other areas of the collection touch significantly on notable criminal trials, criminal law reform, and the philosophy of punishment. 

Among works of philosophy, we recently acquired the Essays (1824) of the English barrister and jurist Basil Montagu (1770-1851), a friend of William Wordsworth and James Mackintosh, who rejected the harshness of the death penalty in England, wrote to reform bankruptcy law, and advocated for his beliefs in a range of published works and as a member of several societies. Montagu's essays add to key reformer Jeremy Bentham's Traités de législation civile et pénale (1802), a recently-acquired first edition published first in French, which lays out Bentham's revolutionary utilitarian views on law and punishment. 

Another acquisition, a copy of the Report from the Select Committee on the Criminal Law of England, bound together with the Further Report (London, 1824), is among the very few copies listed in institutions. The parliamentary committee that authored the reports contributed importantly to the movement for 19th-century English criminal law reform, begun under the influence of Cesare Beccaria, Jeremy Bentham, and figures like Samuel Romilly and James Mackintosh in Parliament. In 1819-20, popular support for reform led to a more urgent awareness among lawmakers, and in 1823 the death penalty was made discretionary in cases not involving treason or murder for the first offense. In 1824, Parliament took up forgery, which became the focal point of death penalty reform efforts and of our reports. The committee treated in an analytic way what kind of crime forgery was, and its relation to fraud; and surveyed the history of forgery legislation in England. The work was the product of extensive legal expertise, and the reform of forgery law became a key precedent for 1830s reforms, which saw many of the over 200 capital offenses in England abolished by the end of the decade. 

A more recent work, the Hand Book of the Minnesota State Prison (1910), is a very rare edition of a handbook published to describe and tout Minnesota's new prison complex in Stillwater, then still under construction. The pamphlet outlines the prison's principles and objectives, organization, features, and finances, and is based generally on a utilitarian approach to the rehabilitation of its inmates. Arguing for the necessity of the new prison, it proclaims that the prison will be one of the most modern in the country, if not the world. Adding to the interest of the manual, and certainly meant as an additional advertisement, are two fold-out illustrations of the floor plan of the prison and an artist's bird's eye view of the prison and its grounds.

Even more recently, in the late 1940s and early 50s, the trials of the "Trenton Six" raised key issues of due process, in a murder trial that captured national attention and helped to catalyze the civil rights movement. Six young African-American men were convicted in 1948 of the murder of an elderly shop-keeper in Trenton, New Jersey, and sentenced to death. The men came to trial based on coerced confessions resulting from days of interrogation without access to attorneys, and were arrested without warrants in a wide sweep of the city. After a publicity campaign, the convictions were reversed on appeal in the New Jersey Supreme Court, for failing to specify what degree of murder the defendants were guilty of. After a new 13-week trial, four of the six defendants were acquitted, while circumstantial evidence resulted in convictions for the remaining two, one of whom died soon after, while the other was paroled in 1954. From these significant trials, we acquired a pamphlet published by the NAACP that formed part of the publicity effort to bring the case to a national audience; and a typed, signed censure by the judge in the first trial, which faults several of the defendants' attorneys for violating the New Jersey Bar's code of ethics. The censure sheds light on contemporary issues: the attorneys were reprimanded for speaking publicly about their clients' innocence and campaigning for it locally and nationally during the trial. Among other things, the judge also suggested that the attorneys, from New York, were raising money through their representation for other causes. The documents vividly bring the circumstances and sensation of the case to life, and encourage discussions about defendants' rights and the role of the media in trials, issues that are of continuing importance.

- Ryan Greenwood, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections
                   

           

Rare Book School: "Law Books: History & Connoisseurship"

Recently I had the great opportunity to assist Mike Widener with his terrific Rare Book School course, "Law Books: History & Connoisseurship," taught in New Haven, Connecticut, from June 11-15. Rooted in Mike's incredible knowledge of rare law books and drawing from the Rare Book Collection at Yale Law Library, the course familiarizes participants with the wide variety of historical legal books that have been produced in Europe and the Americas, and offers excellent insight into how and why these important books should be collected. 

As Mike's course description says directly: "[t]his course aims to teach collectors and librarians how to build focused, interesting, and useful collections of historical materials in Anglo-American, European, and Latin American law. It is aimed at individuals and librarians who collect historical legal materials, and the book dealers who supply them." 

On all of these points, the course offers rich material. During our week together with the class, Mike and I reviewed a spectrum of historical legal materials that may be collected. Mike then invited participants to examine and describe a historical law book in detail, as they might find it described for sale in a rare bookseller's catalog. The aim was to encourage a closer engagement not only with various physical parts of historical books, but with the condition in which books are often found on the market, along with price ranges and special or unique features that may heighten an item's historical interest and its connection to other works within an existing collection. Participants were later asked to draw up a collection development plan for their own collection. Here Mike elaborated on an important virtue: interesting and focused collections (of which there are many kinds) should be preferred over simply valuable ones. Bearing that directive in mind, the participants came up with excellent ideas for their real (and prospective) collections, which were discussed and critiqued together.

Beyond the class's formal structure, Mike imparted much valuable advice on how to use rare law collections and take care of them, with an eye to the kinds of student and faculty interactions with rare materials that can enhance any learning experience, deepen an appreciation for physical and artifactual book history, and expand the scope of historical studies. In addition, the course was packed with opportunities to engage directly with rare law books and with the experience of collecting. These included two live and extended book tours of selected books, pamphlets, broadsides and other rare legal material, and two trips to local rare book dealers' shops (both of which have extensive law-related stock). A bonus in the middle of the week was watching and commenting on a live rare book auction, a real thrill even for us causal observers.

Before assisting with the course this year, I had participated in Mike's course as a class member, and the participants this year seemed to enjoy it as much as I did several years ago (Professor Mitra Sharafi at Wisconsin has posted a very nice review of the course already on the Legal History Blog, with discussion of some of the ways the course can impact teaching). The course is a wonderful testament to Mike's knowledge about and passion for rare law books, and I was grateful to be a part of it. In adding my own perspective as a rare law book and special collections curator at Minnesota, I was able to offer insight not only into our own collection, but some of the various approaches we have taken to collecting, maintaining and presenting our books.  

In all - though I am certainly biased - the week-long course represents a unique and wonderful experience for anyone interested in working further with rare law books, and certainly earns its billing as an intense and immersive experience. More importantly, it fills its participants (and the instructors!) with inspiring ideas that are built for practical application in law-related special collections. 

For all those who may be interested in this field - or whose curiosity might have been piqued in reading this - Mike's course will be offered again in two years through Virginia's Rare Book School. As usual, it is taught in the summer and requires prior application. Please keep your eyes out for it, and keep in mind that there are scholarship and fellowship opportunities available, with earlier deadlines, that can help participants with costs.

 - Ryan Greenwood, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections

The Celebrated Marquis: Cesare Beccaria at the Riesenfeld Center

Professor John Bessler, a visiting researcher at the Human Rights Center, recently gave a great book talk at the Law School on his new monograph, The Celebrated Marquis: An Italian Noble and the Making of the Modern World (2018). During the talk, Bessler discussed the subject of his new intellectual biography, Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794), and his Essay on Crimes and Punishments, a pioneering Enlightenment text that rejected judicial torture, the death penalty, and religious intolerance. First published in 1764, Beccaria's book sent shockwaves through Europe, pushing governments towards penal law reform and paving the way to modern criminology. An important point of the talk, and Bessler's book, was to highlight the myriad connections between Beccaria and the French philosophes who first championed his work, and jurists and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic. In fact, the book was received enthusiastically in the American colonies, where it was read by the likes of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, and absorbed by other leading colonial figures.


Some wonderful evidence of this influence can be found in the Riesenfeld Center's collections, which include early copies of Beccaria's key work. In all, the collections hold seven interesting editions published before 1800. One of these, our earliest edition, was published in French in 1766, just two years after the original publication in Italian. The title page of the work omits the name of the author and publisher, but gives the place of publication as 'a Philadelphie.' In fact, the work is a false imprint, in this case a work that disguised its real place of publication due to a climate of censorship. The early editions of Beccaria's work in Italy and France all conceal its author and other publication information, in an effort to avoid penalties under conservative monarchs and the Catholic Church, which made legal reform dangerous and (somewhat ironically) often criminal. Our French copy was presumably published in Paris, and it features a beautiful, mottled calf binding with decorated gilt compartments to the spine. In addition, attractive, marbled Turkish endpapers help to locate the publication in France, far from the more humble beginnings of printing in the American colonies.         

On the other hand, our first true American printing of Beccaria's Essay on Crimes and Punishments is one of a kind, produced in Philadelphia by the notable (and rather notorious) Scottish-born printer Robert Bell. This edition was produced in 1778 in Bell's shop in Third Street near St. Paul's Church, a short walk from Independence Hall, where the Continental Congress sat in session in the midst of the Revolutionary War. Bell had already printed works related to law, including the first American edition of Blackstone's Commentary on the Laws of England (1771-1772), and had printed the first edition of Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), which provided a spark for the rebellious patriots and is still the best-selling pamphlet in American history. In 1778, Beccaria's ideas on penal law reform were available in English from earlier European editions, but Bell must have believed that the time was ripe for an edition printed steps away from the colonies' most influential lawyers and lawmakers.

Among these were two brothers, Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794) and Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734-1797), both signers of the Declaration of Independence and members of a prominent Virginia family. They were active in the Virginia House of Burgesses, and Richard Henry Lee became a particular firebrand of revolution: at the Second Continental Congress, he introduced the motion for a declaration of independence. It is known that both brothers read widely, and our copy of Bell's 1778 edition of Beccaria's Essay appears to come from this notable family. The title page of our copy shows the name 'Frans. L Lee,' which likely refers either to Francis Lightfoot Lee, the signer of the Declaration, or a son of Richard Henry Lee, also named Francis Lightfoot Lee. That the work may have been owned by the latter is suggested by another name on the title page: 'James Kingsley,' who appears to have been a tutor employed by the family. Both Richard Henry Lee and another brother, Arthur Lee, quoted from Beccaria's work and were associated with figures like Jefferson, who introduced legislation in Virginia, based on Beccaria's views, to restrict the death penalty and reduce the severity of criminal punishments. Although his influence in the new republic eventually waned, Beccaria and his book had important purchase in its early days, where his ideas were taken up by reformers from Louisiana to Pennsylvania.

 - Ryan Greenwood, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections     

Thurs. April 26: Book Talk by John Bessler

The Celebrated Marquis: An Italian Noble and the Making of the Modern World

When:  April 26, 2018 - 5:00-7:00 p.m., Room 50

​

A reception will follow in the Law School’s Lindquist and Vennum Conference Room.

John Bessler will give a book talk on his new book, The Celebrated Marquis: An Italian Noble and the Making of the Modern World (2018), a fascinating account of Cesare Beccaria and his landmark book that castigated judicial torture, the death penalty, and religious intolerance. Beccaria's Dei delitti e delle pene (1764) was translated quickly into French and English (as An Essay on Crimes and Punishments) and despite its controversial and prohibited ideas became a runaway bestseller. Beccaria and his book provided the spur to 18th-century penal law reform and modern criminology, and deeply influenced the likes of Jeremy Bentham, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. 

A leading scholar on Beccaria, Bessler will discuss the importance of Beccaria's views in a trans-Atlantic context in which ideas flowed freely through France and Italy, England and America, and back again. Beccaria's ringing calls against torture and the death penalty, and his utilitarian views on punishment, resonated throughout Europe and proceeded to shape constitutions and laws around the globe. 

In addition, the talk will highlight several copies of Beccaria's key work in the Law Library and Riesenfeld Center's collections, as well as works that influenced and were influenced by the Essay on Crimes and Punishments.

John Bessler is a Professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a Visiting Researcher at the Law School's Human Rights Center.  

Wednesday, April 18: Clarence Darrow's Birthday!

Come out this Wednesday, April 18, for Clarence Darrow's birthday in the Law Library lobby!

Grab cupcakes, cookies, cake, and coffee in celebration of Darrow, the great American trial lawyer, whose letters the Library holds in the Riesenfeld Center. Don't forget to take a quiz for prizes, and a selfie with a life-sized Clarence (for good luck)!

When: Wednesday, April 18th, 11 p.m - 1 p.m.
Where: Law Library Lobby
What: Cupcakes, cookies, cake and coffee!

Wednesday, April 4: Rare Books Open House!

All are invited to the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center's April rare books open house, this Wednesday, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.! 

Come out and enjoy free cookies, snacks and drinks, and see treasures from the library's rare books collection - including items related to Minnesota, to Native American tribes and other highlights.

When: Wednesday, April 4th, 12 p.m - 3 p.m.
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Center*
What: Rare books, drinks, cookies and snacks!

*The Riesenfeld Center is in room N30 on the Sub-Plaza, at the end of the hall past Sullivan Cafe.

Wednesday, March 21: Rare Books Open House!

All are invited to the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center's March rare books open house, rescheduled for this Wednesday, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.! 

Come out and enjoy free cookies, snacks and drinks, and see treasures from the library's rare books collection - including items for Women's History Month and Irish law in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

When: Wednesday, March 21st, 12 p.m - 3 p.m.
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Center*
What: Rare books, drinks, cookies and snacks!

*The Riesenfeld Center is in room N30 on the Sub-Plaza, at the end of the hall past Sullivan Cafe.

Alumni Weekend Open House, April 20

“A Foundation in the Law: Celebrating 40 Years at Walter F. Mondale Hall”

The Law Library's 2018 spring exhibit marks the 40th anniversary of Mondale Hall. Currently open in the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center, the exhibit showcases building designs, public campaign materials, letters and photos - as well as a scale architectural model and other memorabilia related to the construction and dedication of Mondale Hall - that have been drawn from the Law Library's archives and special collections.  

Before and during the Alumni Weekend Law School Community Reception, on Friday, April 20, from 4:30 - 5:30, stop by for the open house and tours of the exhibit. Curator of rare books and special collections, Ryan Greenwood, will guide visitors on tours of Mondale Hall history and the development of building plans that culminated in 1978 and again in 2001.

What: Alumni Weekend Exhibit Open House and Tours
When: April 20, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. 
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center (N30 on the Subplaza past Sullivan Cafe; signs will lead you to the Riesenfeld Center from the main reception area)

Wednesday, March 7: Rare Books Open House!

All are invited to the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center's rare books open house this Wednesday, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.! 

Come out and enjoy free cookies, snacks and drinks, and see treasures from the library's rare books collection - including items for Women's History Month and St. Patrick's Day.

When: Wednesday, March 7th, 12 p.m - 3 p.m.
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Center
What: Rare books, drinks, cookies and snacks!

*The Riesenfeld Center is in room N30 on the Sub-Plaza, down past Sullivan Cafe.

UMN Crowdsourcing Project to Decipher Supremes' Notes

A very interesting project has recently gotten underway that seeks to crowdsource the transcription of Supreme Court Justices' handwritten notes. SCOTUS Notes seeks to transcribe "a collection of 12,600 pages of notes taken by Justices Harry A. Blackmun and William J. Brennan. This extraordinarily rare collection of papers housed at the Library of Congress provides insights into the Court’s conference in cases decided between 1959 and 1994 with overlapping notes taken by Blackmun and Brennan between 1970 and 1990." As interesting, the project was developed in part by Timothy Johnson, a political science professor at the U, using the Zooniverse platform, also pioneered at the University of Minnesota.  

You too can join in the transcription fun!

Exhibit Open House: Weds., February 14

All are invited to an open house next Wednesday, February 14, for the Law Library's 2018 spring exhibit:

"A Foundation in the Law: Celebrating 40 Years at Walter F. Mondale Hall"

Open House: Wednesday, February 14, 2018
                         12 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
                         Riesenfeld Rare Books Center (N30, Sub-plaza)

                         Snacks and refreshments will be served.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Walter F. Mondale Hall and gives occasion to celebrate the rich tradition of legal education that thrives within its walls. Dedicated in the spring of 1978, the Law School building and the vision behind it have provided the foundation for numerous achievements in the past four decades. During this time, the growth and diversification of the student body and faculty, the inception of new student programs and journals, the growth of the library, and the development of the Law School's clinics, centers and institutes, among other achievements, have contributed in transformative ways to the life of the Law School and its success.

In 2001, with the completion of a major addition, the Law School building was rededicated as Walter F. Mondale Hall, in honor of the Law School's most illustrious graduate and great friend, The Honorable Walter Mondale ('56). The expansion added new spaces for research, teaching, student activities and library collections, in support of the Law School's tradition of advancing and applying challenging, important ideas at the forefront of legal education. This tradition, both practical and theoretical, guided the architects of the project from its early stages, just as it animates the Law School's commitments to education, justice and service today.

This exhibit, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Walter F. Mondale Hall, highlights the development of plans for a new Law School building and its 2001 addition, and pays tribute in photographs to Walter Mondale and his deep involvement in the life of the Law School.

The exhibit was created by Ian Moret, Patrick Graybill and Ryan Greenwood.

The exhibit will be open for viewing in the Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center from February 14 through June 8, 2017. For more information or directions, please contact Ryan Greenwood (rgreenwo@umn.edu; 612-625-7323).

Wednesday, Feb. 7: Rare Books Open House!

All are invited to the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center's first rare books open house of the semester, next Wednesday, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.! 

Come out and enjoy free cookies, snacks and drinks, and see treasures from the library's rare books collection - along with gems from the archives on the history of the Law School.

When: Wednesday, February 7th, 12 p.m - 3 p.m.
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Center
What: Rare books, drinks, cookies and snacks!

*The Riesenfeld Center is in room N30 on the Sub-Plaza, down past Sullivan Cafe.

9th Annual Morris L. Cohen Student Essay Competition

The Legal History and Rare Books (LH&RB) Section of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), in cooperation with Cengage Learning, announces the Ninth Annual Morris L. Cohen Student Essay Competition. The competition is named in honor of Morris L. Cohen, late Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale Law School, a leading scholar in legal research, rare books, and historical bibliography.

Essays may be submitted on any topic related to legal history, rare law books, or legal archives. The winner will receive a $500.00 prize from Cengage Learning and up to $1,000 for expenses to attend the AALL Annual Meeting. 

The purpose of the competition is to encourage scholarship in the areas of legal history, rare law books, and legal archives, and acquaint student with the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and law librarianship. 

Winning and runner-up entries will be invited to submit their entries to Unbound, the official journal of LH&RB. Past winning essays have gone on to be accepted by journals such as N.Y.U. Law Review, American Journal of Legal History, University of South Florida Law Review, William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law, Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities, and French Historical Review.

The entry form and instructions are available online at the AALL website: www.aallnet.org/sections/lhrb/awards 

Entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m., April 16, 2018 (EDT).