Library Tips and Tidbits for a Successful Exam Period


November 28, 2016

Exams are almost upon us and the Law Library has various resources to assist you during finals! Below are several useful tidbits and tips to help you prepare for a successful exam period.

Library Hours

Library hours including Reference Desk Hours are available on the left-hand column of the Law Library Homepage.

Exam Archive

Past Exams are available for viewing at this link. You will need to log in using your ONYEN credentials. Please note that not all professors place their exams in the exam archive.

“Power Tables” & Carrels

Check out the Power Tables in the window areas of the fourth floor reading room that have electrical outlets. Additionally, all of the carrels in the Law Library have electrical outlets. Plug in your laptop and extend your battery life.

Study Rooms

Use of study rooms is restricted to UNC law students.   Study rooms may be reserved up to three days in advance.

Law students may reserve rooms directly using the Law Library’s online room reservation system, available via My Carolina Law. Law students may also visit or call the Circulation Desk (919-962-1191) to reserve a room.

  • Students are limited to one signup per day. Library staff will cancel reservations made in excess of this policy.
  • Selected study rooms include DVD and VCR players, noted in the room descriptions in the online reservation system. Library staff may reschedule reservations as needed in order to provide access to this equipment.
  • The library food and drink policy also applies to the study rooms.
  • The library staff reserves the right to reserve study rooms at any time for library or law school business regardless of room reservations. Every effort will be made, however, to schedule room use well in advance.

A tutorial on how to reserve a study room is available here.

Study Aids

The Law Library has a wide selection of study aids on the fourth floor shelves between the Circulation and Reference Desks. Our collection includes hornbooks, nutshells, current editions of Examples and Explanations.

Topical Research Guides

The Law Library provides research guides created by librarians and designed to help library users locate materials on specific topics such as North Carolina Administrative Law and Federal Banking Law. Copies of the research guides are available here.

Additional information on the Law Library’s selection of study aids and research guides is available at this link.

West Study Aids Collection

The Law Library provides access to more than 500 online study aids to Carolina Law students and faculty. The West Study Aids collection includes study aids from most areas of the law. you can view the entire collection from any law library computer by visiting this URL. If you are using the eduroam wifi connection or are accessing the study aids from any other computer, you will be prompted to enter your Onyen and password and will then be granted access to the entire collection.

If you are interested in adding notes or annotations to a particular resource, you’ll need to create a separate login ID from within the West Academic site. The process for doing this is pretty straightforward and can usually be completed in under five minutes.

CALI lessons are interactive, computer-based tutorials provided by the non-profit Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction. There are over 600 lessons available in 32 different legal subject areas. Lessons are free to all law students at our school because UNC Law is a CALI member.

In order to access the lessons via the website, you must use our school’s authorization code, which can be found on My Carolina Law.

Reference Desk Assistance

The staff at the Reference Desk help users engaged in legal research to locate materials, use legal resources effectively, and answer questions about the collection. For times when the reference desk is closed, please use the Ask a Librarian Form or send email reference inquiries to the reference librarians at lawref@unc.edu.

Quiet Floors

The lower you go in the library, the quieter it becomes. The first floor is the quietest floor, whereas the fourth floor is designated a conversational/ normal voice floor.

Cell Phone Usage

In order to preserve a quiet study environment, the Law Library requires library patrons to set cell phones and pagers on non-audible signals. Patrons must exit the library before using cell phones.

Food & Drink

The Law Library is committed to providing a comfortable environment that is welcoming and conducive to study. Library users who consume food or drinks in the Library should do so in a manner that maintains a clean, safe library and minimizes the risk of damage to library books, equipment, and other property.

Food and drinks are not permitted at all in the computer labs or in the vicinity of other computer terminals, printers, copiers, or other electronic equipment.

Beverages are otherwise permitted in the Law Library so long as they are in containers with tops, lids, or caps.

Snack foods are also allowed in the Library. Please consume hot or messy foods (including meals and dishes requiring utensils) in the snack bar adjacent to the entrance to the Library and be respectful of others with regard to food scents and noises.

OK: candy, chips, cookies, crackers

Not OK: burritos, pizza, salads, sandwiches, soup

Please discard all wrappers and empty containers, clean up after yourself, and report any spills to library staff.

Final Note

The Law Library Staff wishes you the best of luck during your exams!