This holiday is also designated as the MLK Day of Service, part of the President's United We Serve initiative to increase community service and involvement. You can find a project to participate in. To find a volunteer project in Utah, visit the Utah Commission on Volunteers website.

Happy holidays!

Thanksgiving has been celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November since 1941. For more information about the history of Thanksgiving in the United States, visit the Library of Congress' Today in History page for November 25.

Interested in more Thanksgiving traditions? A curious holiday tradition happens at the White House the day before Thanksgiving: the presidential pardon of a turkey. On Wednesday, President Obama will pardon the national Thanksgiving turkey, just as he did in 2009 and in 2010. The text of the presidential pardons of the Thanksgiving turkey is available in the Compilation of Presidential Documents. The presidential pardoning was not a consistent tradition until 1989 by President George H.W. Bush.

Looking for information about benefits and services for Utah's veterans? Check out the Utah Department of Veterans Affairs website and our blog post on Federal Benefits for Veterans.

Another useful resource for veterans is the White House-sponsored Joining Forces website that provides links to veteran resources, including a job bank and volunteer opportunities. Governor Herbert also recently announced an initiative with the Utah Department of Workforce Services that aims to match Utah veterans and Utah National Guard members with civilian jobs using their military occupational specialty.

If you are looking for ways to celebrate veterans this year, the VA website lists upcoming events, including Veterans Day celebrations or check your local newspaper for event information.

To learn more about Christopher Columbus and early exploration of American territory, visit the Library of Congress's American Memory page about Columbus Day resources.

Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, but many states, including Utah, made it a legal holiday before that. Utah declared Labor Day a holiday in 1892, four years before Utah became a state. Historically, Labor Day was a workers' holiday organized by labor unions and gave workers a chance to talk about their problems with management. While some states and local organizations still host Labor Day parades, now the holiday is often thought of as the last long weekend of summer.

For more about the history of Labor Day, check out the Library of Congress' Today in History for September 5 and the Department of Labor's History of Labor Day.

Today, all Utah holidays are codified in the Utah Code at 63G-1-301.

These are the classes available on the Utah State Courts' YouTube channel:

• Collecting a Judgment Basics
• Guardianship of a Minor Basics
• Guardianship of an Adult Basics
• Landlord Tenant Basics
• Small Claims Basics

Pioneer Day has been a legal holiday for over 100 years. In fact, Pioneer Day was designated a legal holiday many years before Utah became a state. You can read the entire law, which is codified in the Compiled Laws of Utah 1888 here. As you can see, it became a legal holiday in Utah Territory in 1882.

For more information about the history of Pioneer Day, check out the Utah History Encyclopedia.

If you're browsing a book store or another library and want to check if the law library has a copy of the book you're looking for, just scan the bar code using the iPhone camera. If the law library has a copy, the app will provide information about the book, including the call number.

The 4th of July became a designated Federal holiday in 1870. Today it is a legal public holiday that many State and private employers also recognize as paid vacations for employees.

To read about historical Independence Day celebrations, check out the Library of Congress' Today in History page.

A list of all state and federal holidays observed by the Utah State Courts is available here.

Have a question for the law library while we're closed? Email us or text us at (801) 432-0898 and we'll get back to you as soon as possible on Tuesday.

Topics include legislative and judicial resources, administrative law, Utah practice materials, tips for self-represented litigants and a guide to online legal resources. The appendices include a comprehensive list of secondary sources for further research and a bibliography of Utah judge memorials and profiles.

Stop by the law library to browse or read this title.

According to Federal law, Memorial Day is a legal public holiday to be celebrated on the last Monday of May. See 5 U.S.C. § 6103.

For more information about the origins of Memorial Day, check out the Department of Veterans Affairs' website and the Library of Congress' page called "Today in History: May 30."

A committee selects the three best photos in five different categories:

• Librarians as Information Evaluators and Managers
  
• Librarians as Expert Researchers
  
• Librarians as Teachers and Trainers
  
• Librarians as Trailblazers in New Technology
  
• The Artistry of Librarianship
  
• Most Humorous

We were thrilled to learn that one of our entries got second place in its category, and another won its category!

This photo - Running Down the Details - won second place in the Librarians as Information Evaluators and Managers category.

This photo - Preparing for Parenthood - was voted the best photograph in the Librarians as Expert Researchers category.

You can see all the winning entries on the AALL website.

We also submitted several other photos. All of our entries are posted on our Facebook page.

Presidents' Day, or Washington's Day, has been celebrated the third Monday of February since the enactment of the Uniform Monday Holiday Law in 1968.

For more information on the history federal holidays, see Federal Holidays: Evolution and Application, a publication by Congressional Research Service.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of this federal holiday. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights leader in the 1950s and 1960s. He won the Nobel Peace Prize and was influential in the peaceful protest movement to abolish segregation. To read more about him, check out the Library of Congress' page Today in History: January 15. More information about Dr. King is available online at the federal government's MLK Day of Service site and at The King Center's site.