This Week in the Law Library ... May 19, 2025

This week we’re congratulating our gradutates, covering library circulation desk hours, reviewing summer access to legal databases, looking at bar exam resources, reviewing basic legal research skills for summer, and continuing our celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

A heartfelt congratulations to all of our graduates! We’re so proud of you and excited for your journey ahead!

Circulation and reference are only available during certain hours. Hours vary during holidays. You can check Library hours at 556-0163 or at https://law.uc.edu/education/library.html. If you need circulation assistance, please contact the Circulation Manager, Justin Ellis.

Summer 2025 (May 19 - Aug. 24)

• Monday – Friday: 9:00am – 5:00pm
  
• Closed Saturdays & Sundays
  
• Closed for University Holidays:
  • Monday, May 26, 2025
  • Thursday, June 19, 2025
  • Friday, July 4, 2025

Take advantage of Reference Librarian expertise! Schedule an appointment and we’ll be happy to help with suggestions for sources and tips. Also, don’t forget the Library’s Web page and many research guides.

Post Graduation Access

Lexis

When you graduate, you'll automatically have seamless Lexis+ access for 6 months, excluding public records. Continue to use your law school username and password while you prepare for the bar exam and employment. Plus, access exclusive resources and a Rewards program for graduates. Note that Lexis points will expire. Students need to redeem their points. The transition from a regular law school ID to a graduate ID happens automatically on July 10st, 2025.

Lexis Aspire Program

Any graduating student who has verifiable employment with a non-profit organization can apply via Lexis ASPIRE program for 12 months of free Lexis access. The ASPIRE program provides 12 months of free access to federal and state cases, codes, regulations, law reviews, Shepard's® Citation Service and Matthew Bender® treatises to graduates who are engaged in verifiable 501(c)(3) public interest work. Please visit the Grad Access page to apply for an ASPIRE ID. You will need to provide verifying documentation of your employment with the non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

Westlaw Password Extension for Graduates

Access is “normal” until May 31. Starting June 1-Nov 30 graduates will have 60 hours of usage per month for 6 months. Go to the Westlaw law school portal; Log in; Use the drop-down menu by your name to go to Grad Elite Status or go directly to the Grad Elite page. You must opt in to Grad Elite to gain access.

All graduates will also automatically retain access to a number of job searching databases for 18-months following graduation for 1-hour a month. Please contact the Westlaw Representative for more information.

B-Law (Bloomberg Law) Access for Graduates

2025 Graduating students will have unlimited and unrestricted Bloomberg access for 6 months after graduation.

Summer 2025 Access

Lexis

If you’re already registered for Lexis, you don’t need to do anything else to get Summer Access.  Access is unlimited for any purpose.

Westlaw

You can use Westlaw over the summer for non-commercial research. You can turn to these resources to gain understanding and build confidence in your research skills, but you cannot use them in situations where you are billing a client. Examples of permissible uses for your academic password include the following:

• Summer coursework
• Research assistant assignments
• Law Review or Journal research
• Moot Court research
• Non-Profit work
• Clinical work
• Externship sponsored by the school

B-Law

If your workplace has a Bloomberg Law account, you are expected to use that, but there are no restrictions on your student Bloomberg accounts over the summer.

Congratulations! You have made it through law school but now the bar exam looms. Don’t worry, the Law Library’s got your back. When you’ve caught your breath and you’re ready to start your bar studying, we have resources that can help. Check out our Bar Exam Research Guide.

The July 2025 bar exam will be held in three locations: Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland. 

Examinees will be tested at the following locations:

• Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati College of Law, 2925 Campus Green Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45221
• Columbus: Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43210
• Cleveland: Cleveland State University College of Law, 1801 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115

Accommodations testing will be located at OSU Moritz College of Law (Drinko Hall, 55 W. 12th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210).

Learn more: Ohio Bar Exam

5 Bar Exam Resources to Help You Study

• Bar Exam Basics: Discussions in Law School Success (Podcast)
  • Available via CALI, this podcast provides critical information that you should consider before you begin to study for the bar exam. There is a lot to think about even before you start your bar review, whether that’s meeting deadlines or preparing for hurdles. This podcast offers tips and considerations to help you navigate the process more smoothly. If using CALI, you will need to create an account (if you have not already done so) using a Cincinnati Law authorization code. You can obtain this code from a reference librarian.
• The Bar Exam in a Nutshell
  • Available via the West Academic study aid subscription, this edition walks you through the entire bar preparation process from getting a head start during your last year of law school to taking the exam. It features comprehensive coverage of the Uniform Bar Exam, including an explanation of each component and how to prepare for it, to the larger question of what “portability” really means for the bar candidate. This edition also provides guidelines for selecting a bar review course, bar planner checklists, advice on how to manage the material you cover in bar review courses, and advice on how to learn the law so you can remember it and use it to answer exam questions. It identifies the basic skills that the bar exam tests and the precise manner in which they are tested, showing you how to target your study efforts to maximize results. Importantly, it includes structured study schedules so you can plan your time by the day, the hour, and the task for each week throughout the bar prep period. An Appendix provides sample MPT and MEE materials including guidance in outlining whether writing or typing your answer. The 4th Edition includes the following: (1) A description of the bar exam landscape since COVID, including an introduction to the “NextGen” Bar Exam; (2) Integration of technology into the bar exam such as taking the MPRE online at Pearson VUE testing centers and using ExamSoft to write the written portion of your bar exam; (3) Using your laptop most effectively for the written portions of the bar exam; (4) A “sequence and study” method for MEEs/essays; and (5) Outlining steps for answering the MEEs/essays and MPTs/Performance Tests to save time and maximize points.
• Bar Exam Success: A Comprehensive Guide
  • Available via the West Academic study aid subscription, this book (there is also an audio version) is written from the perspective of a bar mentor, your “trainer at the academic gym,” with concrete advice on how to handle the many challenges facing today’s law students. There are dozens of self-assessments, tools to help you face very real challenges on every level, and to organize and prepare to pass the bar exam. The book includes trustworthy advice and powerful personal examples from the author’s decades of helping students pass bar exams nationwide. The book is uplifting and positive, while harnessing cutting-edge, scientific learning theories.
• The Essential Rules for Bar Exam Success
  • Available via the West Academic study aid subscription, this book presents a method for teaching students to pass the bar that is easy to learn and implement. Topics covered include learning to study actively rather than passively; choosing study partners who will help, not hinder, your studying; learning to think, read, and write critically; dissecting multistate exam questions; coping with pressure; making the most of the weeks before the bar exam; and preparing for the day of the exam.
• Passing the Bar: A Quick Reference Guide For Today’s Law Student
  • Available via CALI, this e-book (there is also an audio version) is designed to provide guidance to law students as they prepare to embark upon bar study. It covers topics such as how to make a study plan, strategies for successful bar study, tips for attacking each portion of the exam, taking care of your mental health, and preparing your loved ones for bar study. The book also provides weekly tips for use during the bar study period, and for exam day itself. The quick reference format allows students to easily access advice for whatever is most pressing to them at a particular moment. It provides a guide to bar exam preparation for all law students, but with a particular focus on those who aspire to be public interest or social justice attorneys, first-generation law students, those law students who do not come from families of lawyers, or who come from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession. While much of the advice is universal, this book focuses on those students who are about to enter bar study and will not see your communities – or your future clients – represented on the bar exam. You may have found that your law school colleagues have received advice about how to study and navigate law school, when no one was there to advise you. This book aims not just to level the playing field, but to give you an edge when it comes to studying for the bar exam. If using CALI, you will need to create an account (if you have not already done so) using a Cincinnati Law authorization code. You can obtain this code from a reference librarian.

1. Get up to speed on what resources are available
2. Ask questions and as for help
3. Develop a research plan

Establishment of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

After decades of celebrating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week, Congress finally passed Public Law 102-450 which annually designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.

President Trump's Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, 2025 Proclamation

Learn more about the establishment of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by visiting the Law Library of Congress guide to the laws and presidential proclamations related to establishing and designating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May).

Library Displays at UCBA, Asian-Pacific Heritage Month

UC Clermont Frederick A. Marcotte Library, Digital Display AAPI Heritage Month

5 Resources to Learn More about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

• Duke University Libraries, Asian American Oral Histories
  • A list of Asian American oral history collections.
• Films on Demand, Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month
  • In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, here are films about the Asian American & Pacific Islander experience that you can stream through our University Libraries’ Films on Demand subscription.
• Kanopy, Films for Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month
  • In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, here are films about the Asian American & Pacific Islander experience that you can stream on Kanopy through our University Libraries’ subscription.
• National Archives, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
  • The National Archives holds a wealth of material documenting the Asian and Pacific Islander experience, and it highlights these resources online, in programs, and through traditional and social media. You can help make more records accessible by becoming a citizen archivist and tagging and transcribing Chinese Heritage Records.
• PBS, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Experience
  • Explore the PBS collection featuring a selection of films documenting the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Experience — along with articles, digital shorts and original features exploring America’s continued struggle with democracy, inclusion and justice for AANHPI Americans, and celebrating their contributions to the American story.

Posted May 19, 2025 by Susan Boland

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