Many law students have commented on the adorable, crocheted animals on display at the reference desk.  Created by librarians and staff at UConn Law through the library’s inaugural Crafting Club, we have fielded many questions on these creations and requests to learn to do the same!

Want to make one of your own? Did you know that in addition to being fun, that crocheting promotes mindfulness and wellbeing?  Crocheting promotes a sense of calm and relaxation, mindfulness, encourages creativity and self-expression and is a form of self-care.

UConn Law's Office of Student Affairs and UConn Law Library are partnering up to offer a mindfulness activity where you can learn to crochet, create and relax!

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Crochet Workshop for UConn Law Students

Monday, 12/11

12:30-2pm

4^th floor Lounge, Library (room 413)

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Come join us to learn how to crochet an mini octopus ( adorably coined "Octopup" by librarian extraordinaire and newly minted crocheter,  Tanya Johnson) to take home with you!

Check out the image below of the two crocheted “Octopups”.  All supplies will be provided and no experience necessary! Stop by during Reading Period on December 11, and enjoy the therapeutic benefits of crocheting!

Thanksgiving has origins in New England where it was centered and observed in various local and provincial celebrations.  Some sources state that Colony of Connecticut is given credit for initially adopting an annual day of general Thanksgiving.  The first proclamation was called for September 18, 1639, and two others were on record in 1644 and 1649. These are significant because civil authorities proclaimed this day of thanksgiving and focused on general blessings and thanks for well-being which was a step toward the holiday we know today.

Attempts to verify these claims of the Colony of Connecticut's role by locating and verifying primary sources initially proved to be challenging.  General "Googling"  and trusted databases failed to bring up any primary sources supporting this assertion. What's a law librarian to do?  Head to HeinOnline!

Alongside many offerings, HeinOnline features Prestatehood Legal Materials – a one-stop source of information about the primary sources of law during the colonial and territorial periods of states. The first proclamations of its sort were found in
The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, (1850-1890).

Here it was astounding to see the earliest records all the way back to August 16th, 1639 (and multiple variations of our present day spelling of “public”) where the Colony of Connecticut decided to name a day of Thanksgiving for general blessings:

"It was concluded that there be a publique day of thanksgiving in these plantacons uppon the 18th of the next month." 

On October 25, 1644 the court  ordered:

"Its ordered, there shalbe a publike day of thanksgiving through this Jurisdiction, uppon Wensday com fortnight."

Another order was declared on December 5, 1649:

It is ordered by this Courte, that there shall bee a publick day of Thanksgiving kept by all the Churches within this Jurissdiction that may bee seasonably acquainted therewith, uppon this day fortnight.

For more information on how Thanksgiving became an annual, national holiday as well as controversies surrounding it (albeit sans Connecticut Colony's contribution) head to the HeinOnline Blog: The History and Controversy of Thanksgiving.   Regardless, we hope you take a moment to enjoy Thanksgiving and contemplate Connecticut's historic contribution to the tradition we enjoy today.

UConn Law celebrates International Education Week this November 13-17.  International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education that is celebrated on campuses across the country.

At UConn School of Law, this week is a chance to celebrate our robust international student population, notably students in our LLM and Exchange programs, and the global perspective that they bring to the UConn Law community.  UConn Law also features 16 study abroad programs this week, which give law students the unique opportunity to study law in another country.

The Law School events for International Education Week are featured below and also on the events calendar on the public calendar - all are welcome to join and see how this year's theme of “International Education Is the Future" is so relevant on our vibrant campus!

It is because of veterans that we are able to express our thoughts and emotions freely, have meaningful debates on vital issues, strive for positive change, and exercise our rights as Americans.  In the words of President Biden, “This Veterans Day, may we honor the incredible faith that our veterans hold, not just in our country but in all of us.  They are the solid-steel backbone of our Nation, and we must endeavor to continue being worthy of their sacrifices by working toward a more perfect Union and protecting the freedoms that they have fought to defend." 

So please take a moment to thank all of our veterans for their service. Learn about why we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11, how you can volunteer to help veterans in your neighborhood, how you can get involved with UConn Law’s VALOR (Veterans and Armed Forces Legal Out Reach) Society, or how UConn supports veterans and their families. 

At the library, we asked our patrons to honor individual veterans by adding their names to our display. Please take a moment to honor the veterans that have touched your lives by writing their names on the display in the library. The UConn Law Library, along with UConn students, faculty, and staff, thanks all of our veterans for their courageous service, including those listed in the picture here.