The Law Library has two labs on the third floor (Rooms 342 and 350) with 42 computers connected to high-speed laser printers. The printers use the university's Pay-For-Print system. All of the computers have Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007, WordPerfect X3, and full Internet access. The labs are open to currently enrolled GMU students only with priority given to law students during peak periods. Students must present a current GMU ID at the Law Library's Circulation desk in order to receive an access code to the labs.
Following are answers to some frequently-asked questions relating to the two computer labs located within the George Mason School of Law. Click on the question heading to see the related answer.
Following is a list of the major software that is installed in the computer labs:
Other programs available as a part of the Windows operating system are not listed here in detail.
No. If you notice any problems, please contact lawsupport@gmu.edu.
No.
If there are software programs that are required to support curriculum needs for courses in the School of Law or other disciplines (mostly on the Alrington campus), it is possible that additional programs can be loaded. Before any title is considered, proper licensing must be verified. Contact lawsupport@gmu.edu with questions.
At any individual computer workstation, the pay-for-print system works essentially like a normal printer. You simply issue a standard print command, and the print job can then be released from the print station, upon payment for the job. Jobs stay in the print queue for two hours and then they disappear forever. For more information, see Pay for Print.
Yes. Please see the Law School Computing Support, Law Library 362.
The easiest way to save files and any documents you may download is to save them directly to a diskette, USB drive or Zip disc. The computers are set up to allow you to save files directly to these "removable media". If you want to save a file to the local computer, you need to put files into the "My Documents" folder. Please note that while we do provide ample storage space to temporarily store files on the local harddrive, we make no guarantees that these files will remain there for any length of time. If there are ever problems with a given system, one of the most common remedies is to simply re-image the system, which removes all all data stored on the local system.
It is no longer possible to save documents to the computer desktop, as this was causing some security and confidentiality issues.
Each computer has a sound card in it, and you should be able to listen to music CDs from the CD-Rom drive. You can also listen to Internet news broadcasts and streaming audio/video using an available media player. You must supply your own headphones. Since this activity is not considered essential to any particular program, technical support for problems with sound files is very limited.
Security software is installed on all computers in the labs, which limits some of the functions of the operating system. This has been done for reasons of stability and security. Functionality of things like Windows Explorer, "My Computer", Control Panel and the command prompt are either very limited or else they are completely unavailable.
Law School Computing has made every effort possible to balance security needs with ease-of-use for end-users. If there are productivity problems, let us know.
Lab 342 and Lab 350 are both open computer labs for George Mason University students. This means that currently-enrolled students can use the labs irrespective of program or discipline. By and large, the labs are most frequently used by law school students, as they are in the law school's library.
Both computer labs have code-activated locks on the doors, and codes are being issued on an individual basis for currently-enrolled students. Codes can be obtained from the circulation desk in the law library. In order to obtain an access code, users must sign a very brief agreement letter as follows:
Access Agreement (PDF format)
No.
Food and drinks (even in protected containers) can not be consumed in the computer labs.
Computer labs open when the library opens and close 15 minutes before the library closes.
Lab 350 is staffed by the Arlington Campus DoIT staff during the following hours:
Monday - Thursday: 8am - 11pm
Friday: 8am - 10pm
Saturday: 10am - 8pm
Sunday: 11am - 11pm
Lab assistants should generally be your first point of contact for any problems or questions that arise in the lab environment.
If you are currently enrolled in a program at George Mason University, and you have a question about the computer labs that is not addressed in this document, please send an email message to: lawsupport@gmu.edu or call the DoIt staff at 703-993-8226.
