Celebrate Pride Month

Click the image to view this timeline of LGBTQ+ history in a new window.

By Rachel Evans, Geraldine Kalim, and David Rutland

What better way to celebrate Pride Month than to take a look at some of the coverage of last week’s SCOTUS decision affirming that Title VII protections extend to discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity:

• SCOTUSblog – Special Feature: Symposium on the court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County and Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC
• NBC News – LGBTQ workers are protected from job discrimination
• Law.com – Landmark SCOTUS Ruling Is Only the Beginning for Bostock’s Discrimination Claims
• Vox.com – The Supreme Court’s landmark LGBTQ rights decision, explained in 5 simple sentences
• NPR’s Ailsa Chang Interviews Gerald Bostock

You can also read the opinion itself from the Supreme Court’s website here.

You also may want to check out the array of digital resources that the Library of Congress has to offer to celebrate and commemorate Pride Month.

Pride Celebrations

Due to the pandemic, Pride celebrations across the country have been cancelled or transformed into digital events. Check out HuffPost’s Guide to Pride Reimagined for activities for almost everyday through the end of June.

• Athens PRIDE
• Atlanta PRIDE

In Memoriam

The LGBTQ community sadly lost two pioneers in the last few months. Phyllis Lyon and her partner formed the first gay union in California in 2008. She passed away on April 9th at the age of 95. Larry Kramer was an influential AIDS activist who helped sound the alarm in the 1980s about the growing public health crisis. He passed away on May 27th at the age of 84.

UN World Refugee Day is June 20

The United Nations celebrates World Refugee Day on June 20. The UN’s theme this year is “Every Action Counts,” with the reminder that all of us, including refugees, contribute to  the effort to create a more just, inclusive, and equal world.

The UN’s 2020 commemoration page  provides an overview of the UN’s work regarding refugees, including links to relevant conventions, resolutions, related UN web sites including the UNHCR, relief organizations, definitions, and related observances.

On June 19, the Kennedy Center and the UN Refugee Agency streamed a Couch Concert live with Danny Ocean + GianMarco to celebrate World Refugee Day.

In the United States, this year marks the fortieth anniversary of the Refugee Act of 1980, which brought the definition of “refugee” into line with the standard set forth in UN conventions and dramatically raised the annual ceiling on the number of refugees who could enter the U.S.

Check GAVEL for the Law Library’s recent acquisitions re refugees, including ebooks and government documents.

Journals of interest include:

• International Journal of Refugee Law
• Journal of Refugee Studies

Additional resources about World Refugee Day:

• Refugees International shares the stories of three refugees: an Iraqi dental surgeon and refugee supporting his community in Illinois, an Afghan asylum seeker working as a cultural mediator in Greece, and a Rohingya refugee working as a medical translator in Wisconsin.
• The American Library Association is #withRefugees and provides resources for libraries serving refugees and asylum seekers

For social media posts, look for #withRefugees #WorldRefugeeDay2020  #LibrariesStandWithRefugees #RefugeesWelcome

 

Learn More About Juneteenth

By Geraldine Kalim

“Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as ‘Juneteenth,’ by the newly freed people in Texas.” – from the Smithsonian

The National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. houses the original decree, entitled General Order No. 3, which was handwritten by an aide to U.S. Major General Gordon Granger. The Washington Post reported yesterday that the original was just discovered after renewed interest in finding the document. It is just two paragraphs in a larger volume labeled, “Headquarters District of Texas, Galveston . . . General Orders No. 3.”

Resources for further learning . . .

• Congressional Research Service (CRS) – Juneteenth: Fact Sheet
• The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture – The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth
• blkfreedom.org – 6 Black museums have joined forces to digitally commemorate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth.
• PBS – Reconstruction: America After the Civil War
• Washington Post – Juneteenth programming on TV and streaming

If you are interested in learning more about the history of freedom for enslaved people locally here in Athens, we would recommend:

• The Lived Experiences of Enslaved People in Athens, GA
• Michael Thurmond: Men and Women in Athens History

Congrats UGA Law Grads!

This week marked the end of our School of Law exams, and tomorrow morning graduates will share in a celebratory virtual commencement ceremony. Earlier today the law school shared a compilation video of best wishes with the world. Many members of the Law Library can be seen shouting a group congrats message at 19 minutes and 19 seconds into the video:

Tomorrow, following online commencement proceedings, the Law Library will also host a Zoom room of our own. We encourage members of the law school community to stop by our room and chat with us just as we all would have in real life before and after face-to-face graduation. Check your email for the library’s Zoom room link! We hope to see you there.

Resource Spotlight: Relax & Escape with Stress Busters

With only a few days of exams remaining, we wanted to highlight two specific areas of our stress busters LibGuide to help get you through the final days: the relax and escape pages. In our resources for relaxation you will find links to mindfulness apps, meditation and yoga videos, and even calming sound and background noise generators. On the escape page you will find a selection virtual tours to destination locations, art museums you can visit from your couch on any device, and even YouTube train rides. Below are a few of our favorites:

Relax

Sound Baths & Background Noises

Join us tomorrow, Tuesday May 12th at 9 AM for a live ten minute sound bath led by law school web developer Leslie Grove and metadata services librarian Rachel Evans. The two will collaborate from their separate homes via Zoom. Find the link in the 6 ft. Together section of the student portal, or in your email just before the event. If you miss the event, you can create your won sound bath using drone and background noise generators from our guide, including this Indian Drone: Frequency Shaped Noise Generator, Online Background Noises, and Background Noises & Interactive Soundscapes.

Mediation & Yoga Videos

Throughout the semester we have facilitated a few live zoom’s for mindfulness, mediation, yoga and pilates. Although the live events have passed, there are still lots of resources for this type of content online that is free to watch from anywhere, anytime you need it. Two of our favorites include the State Bar of Georgia’s Guided Meditation with Attorney Dani Berry and a Stress Melt session on Yoga with Adriene’s channel.

Escape

Visit a Museum from Your Couch

Do you really wish you could get away from wherever it is that you are now? Although we are all limited in where we can go, if you feel a little stir-crazy try some of these options out! In our LibGuide you will find direct links to the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City, and The Olympic Museum. Do you have a favorite museum? Many have partnered with Google to bring virtual experiences of their spaces and collections to the public. Search for More Museums via Google Arts & Culture.

Tours, Destination 360’s, and Virtual Train Rides

Whether you wish you could see the Ancient Monuments of Egypt or visit Earth’s moon, there is something for everyone online to take you to destinations across the globe and beyond. Full Screen 360 is an excellent resource for viewing locations from across the Universe as full screen, 360-degree images. Stand on Mars, in Machu Picchu, on top Mt. St. Helens. Do you miss our Virtual Reality Gaming events from last fall? Recreate that them with video’s like this 20 Minute Underwater Experience. If underwater isn’t your thing, try a train ride along Pikes Peak Cog Railway (Colorado, United States), a Cab Ride of Bernina Pass (Switzerland to Italy), or ride on the Noto Railway Japan (Anamizu to Wakura Onsen).

A Very 2020 Europe Day

image from https://eeas.europa.eu/, reuse pursuant to Commission Decision 2011/833/EU

The European Union celebrates Europe Day, tomorrow, May 9, to commemorate the 1950 Schuman Declaration proposing consolidated European coal and steel industries, binding the member nations so closely together that renewed war would be unthinkable. The Schuman Declaration is considered to be the genesis of what is now the European Union of 27 Member States (down from 28, with the Brexit of the United Kingdom earlier this year) and a combined population of around a half billion people.

We often celebrate Europe Day here at the Law Library with a colorful bowl of European candies at the Reference Desk, and we look forward to returning to that tradition in 2021.

This year, however, let’s take a quick glimpse at our transatlantic partner’s response to the novel coronoavirus crisis.

The Common EU Response to Covid 19  highlights some of the efforts by the EU and its member states in battling the novel coronavirus:

• a coordinated temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU
• joint procurement of medical equipment by member states
• support for research for treatments and vaccines in the form of funding and shared platforms
• economy boosts from the European Central Bank’s €750 billion pandemic emergency program and the European Investment Bank’s €40 billion emergency support package for small and medium-sized businesses
• support between member states:

• • France has donated 1 million masks to Italy
  • Germany has delivered 7 tons of medical equipment to Italy, including ventilators and anesthesia masks
  • the Czech Republic has delivered 10,000 protective suits and 3D-printed respirators to Italy
  • Austria, Germany and Luxembourg have taken in patients from Italy and France
  • Poland, Romania and Germany have sent teams of doctors to Italy’s hospitals

Not all is rosy regarding the EU’s response to the pandemic, however, and its very structure can make mobilizing in such a crisis less than nimble. Many question what they see as a slow response, opening the door to influence by China and Russia in Member States. See Covid 19 and a Splintered European Union.  In addition, the head of the EU’s top science panel quit over the response to the virus in early April, and the President of the European Commission has offered a heartfelt apology to Italy for letting it down at the start of the coronavirus crisis.

Unsurprisingly, the EU has moved its Europe Day celebrations online this year. See the Europe Day 2020: Together We Are Europe page for links to a number of celebratory virtual concerts, art exhibits, panel discussions, a “Europe in the World quiz,” and more.

The School of Law has a long history of programs and courses focusing on the European Union, and the Law Library supports these programs with access to a rich collection of online and print resources. The library has served as a depository for official EU documents since the 1980s, with a special focus on EU legal documentation. See our Guide to EU Documents in the Law Library and learn more about the EU on its official site Europa as well as the transatlantic partnership on the site of the Delegation of the European Union to the United States.

Please contact Foreign and International Law Librarian Anne Burnett  for assistance with using our EU depository material and the supplementary material we acquire to support your EU legal research.

Congrats to Librarians & Staff for Recent Accomplishments

David Rutland

Jason Tubinis

Stephen Wolfson

Carol Watson

It has been too long since we recognized our own librarians and staff for the awesome work they do. This spring several individuals were nominated for awards, promoted in their position, or have taken on leadership roles both near and far. In this post we highlight four of the most recent examples. Way to go!

David Rutland, Collection Services Manager elected Chair of LSRG:

David was very recently elected to serve as Chair of the Law School Staff Representative Group! He started these responsibilities May 7, 2020, and will serve a 2 year term. Learn more about LSRG from their webpage. Get to know David better in our blog post interview with him from 2018 or his web profile.

Jason Tubinis, Information Technology Librarian elected SEAALL Secretary:

Jason was very recently elected to serve as Secretary for the Southeastern Association of American Law Libraries executive board. The announcement was made at the recent virtual SEAALL business meeting. For more information about SEAALL visit their webpage. Get to know Jason better by visiting his faculty profile.

Stephen Wolfson, Research & Copyright Services Librarian promoted to Librarian II:

This spring it was announced that Stephen has been appointed the rank of Librarian II. Stephen has taught multiple courses since his arrival in 2018, including undergraduate courses about copyright and privacy. Get to know Stephen better in our 2018 interview with him, or his profile.

Carol Watson, Director of the Law Library inducted into AALL Hall of Fame:

Carol is being inducted into the American Association of Law Libraries Hall of Fame! Announced in mid-April of 2020, this award honors members whose contributions to the profession and service to AALL have been significant, substantial and long-standing. Get to know Carol’ achievements more by exploring her faculty profile. Read more about AALL Hall of Fame on their website.

Pet Therapy in Zoom TODAY!

Today at 3 PM we will host our 4th pet therapy, live in Zoom! Everyone in the law school community is invited to join anytime between 3 and 3:30 PM. The stars of the show will be all of our pets (aspiring therapy dogs, cats, and any others – all are welcome!), but humans without pets are welcome to join too. Last week’s session saw visits from Matthew Hall’s cockroaches, marking the most exotic pets to grace our zoom therapy sessions so far. We also had a visit from Anne Moser’s dog Nutmeg who was recently named Law Dawg of the Month for January! As you can see from the smiles and laughs in the photos above (taken at last week’s session) students, faculty, and staff are having a blast in these online events.

Visit 6 Ft. Together or see your email for the zoom link.

If you have any questions, technical difficulties during the Zoom (or general ideas or feedback) please don’t hesitate to reach out to Heather Simmons, the Law Library’s Associate Director for Instruction & Access Services, at heather.simmons@uga.edu.

Art From the Archives: Pericles & Demosthenes

By Rachel Evans & Marie Mize

In our newest installment of this series highlighting works of art from our Law Library Archives collection we will share about the two marble busts located on the second floor of the Law Library annex: Pericles and Demosthenes.

More About the Art Objects

Mount Pentelicus, northeast of Athens, Greece is the source of “Pentelic Marble”, the material Pericles & Demosthenes are sculpted from.

The two works are noted in our accession records with a date of 1981. Both busts were crafted from “pentelic marble”. This is very special and adds to the uniqueness of these two busts because this type of marble comes only from a Mount Pentelicus, a mountain just north of Athens, Greece. The white fine grain marble from this mountain is said to be the source of most of the marble for the buildings and sculptures of Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. At the summit of this mountain is a sanctuary to the goddess Athena. Over time there have been more than 25 quarries, mostly on the south slope of the mountain. The Pericles bust design dates back to 425 BCE, when Greek artist Kresilas first sculpted the idealized portrait statue copied throughout antiquity until modern times, the very same which lives in our annex today. It measures 25 5/8 inches by 11 3/16 inches. The Demosthenes bust is also a copy of a Greek original, sculpted by Polyeuktos in the 5th century. It measures 21 7/8 inches by 11 7/8 inches. Names plates accompanying each piece note that the pair of busts were gifts to the Law Library from donors Mr. Nickolas P. Chilivis and Dr. John E. Skandalakis.

 

More About Pericles (l. 495–429 BCE) 

 

Pericles: library annex

According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, in addition to being a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens was an orator. His speeches, one of the most famous being his Funeral Oration (e-access), and writings have had long lasting influence on later oration, political and legal works. Also known as “the Age of Pericles” this period of Greek history owes much to his legacy throughout the 5th century BCE. An early preacher of democracy (though “democracy” was very differed in ancient times than our modern day), Pericles’ reforms produced the groundwork for later development of democratic political systems. Of his most famous legal/political contributions in our library collection is The Citizenship Law of Pericles (print book) which you can read more about online in An Overview of Classical Greek History: The Citizenship Law of Pericles (Perseus Digital Library), as well as his Foreign Policy and The Breakdown of Peace following. It was under Pericles, known for supporting both literary and artistic works, that building programs including the construction of the Parthenon began. Much of that legacy still stands today, including the beautiful ruins of the Acropolis, as a symbol of ancient Athens. In 429 BCE Pericles witnessed the death of two sons and his first wife, before succumbing himself, to the plague.

 

More About Demosthenes (c. 384 – 322 BCE) 

Demosthenes: library annex

According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, Demosthenes famously prosecuted his guardians for wasting his inheritance, delivered his own speeches in court, and won the case at the young age of 18. His first experience in court beyond that was as a prosecutor’s assistant. Of his surviving works, 61 speeches (logographos) and rhetorical openings (prooimia) for 50 speeches and 6 letters have survived the ages. 4 of his remaining speeches are related to one of his largest cases against Philip II of Macedon who attempted to conquer Greece between 351 and 341 BCE. Accused of taking many bribes throughout his career as a statesman, he was eventually accused, found guilty and exiled in 324 BCE, and in 322 BCE committed suicide to avoid capture by the Macedonians. There are many works in our library’s collection related to Demosthenes including various case examples in Trails from Classical Athens (print book), Inscribed Athenian Laws and Decrees in the Age of Demosthenes (ebook), and the full 6 volume collection of speeches, openings and letters with English translation.

An excerpt from one of Demosthenes speeches includes:

“The private citizen should not be confused and at a disadvantage compared with those who know the laws, but all should have the same ordinances before them, simple and clear to read and understand.” – Demosthenes

 

Resource Spotlight: Fuel Up To Focus

We have already highlighted art and pet therapy resources from our Stress Busters LibGuide, as well as puzzles and other live zoom events. Today we want to share our “Fuel Up” section of the guide where librarians are sharing their favorite methods and recipes for what keeps them focused and feeling good when the weight of studying, teaching or working in general gets them down. Think of these resources as the virtual equivalent to last fall’s Peanut Butter & Jelly DIY Bar!

Making the Perfect Cup of Tea with Heather Simmons

Heather having afternoon tea in Philadelphia.

Associate Director for Instruction and Access Services Librarian Heather Simmons is so particular about her cups of English tea that she would not accept her husband’s proposal of marriage until he proved that he could prepare her tea properly. She has served tea to librarians and staff at our Law Library with all the appropriate serving ware and other tea essentials. This LIVE Zoom session was recorded! As with all of our other zoom sessions, instructions for how to join live including a link and password are available from the 6 Ft. Together Community Hub area of the UGA School of Law Student Portal. After the session we will add the video to our “Fuel Up” stress-busting resource guide.

Making the Perfect Cup of Coffee with Stephen Wolfson

Stephen & his son Clarke

Copyright and Research Services Librarian Stephen Wolfson is known around the office for being our biggest coffee connoisseur. While working from home Stephen has kindly created a video to share with the rest of us how he brews the perfect cup. Enjoy this tutorial while you stay home, stay safe, and home brew your own wake-me-up cups! To try this at home, Stephen suggests that you use about 25 grams of coffee for every 16 mls of water (a ratio of about 1.6 grams coffee, medium-fine ground, for every 1 ml of water), and recommends the water temperature be approximately 206 degrees F. Watch the video embedded above, in the guide, or on YouTube!

Making the Perfect Cookies with Rachel Evans

Rachel, her son Oscar, and Pickles

Metadata Services Librarian Rachel Evans has been baking even more than usual since working from home. With a 4 year old son who also happens to be an aspiring chef, the sweet treat recipes have been particularly popular. Here she shares her son’s favorite cookie recipe, complete with his own special ingredients and illustration. The “mystery” ingredients are generous, unmeasured portions of chocolate syrup and peanut butter, to taste! Oscar came up with the title of the recipe, inspired by his love of Scooby Doo and all things Halloween. For the recipe, visit the “Fuel Up” section of our Stress Busters guide: VAMPIRE BAT MYSTERY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES