Law Librarian Blog

New Int'l Criminal Law Blog Launched, Jus in Bello

Pace Law Library has launched Jus in Bello, a new blog devoted to the International Criminal Court, other international criminal tribunals, and the law of international criminal prosecutions. Jus in Bello will feature opinion pieces by three Pace Law School professors, each of whom specializes in a different area of international law. It will also features links to news stories about the topics to which the weblog is devoted.

The Just War: jus de bellum. In the Just War tradition, jus in bello is one of two fundamental components. The first, jus de bellum, dealt with the right to go to war. Criteria included: (1) War had to be declared by a recognized, legitimate authority; (2) War had to be declared for a just cause; and (3) War had to be the last resort.

The Just War: jus in bello. Jus in bello dealt with the correct conduct of war. Criteria included (1) The immediate objective of force could not be to kill but to restrain; (2) Soldiers who surrendered could not be killed; (3) Non-combatants (civilians, the unarmed) could not to be attacked directly; (4) Indiscriminate force and weaponry could not be used; rather the use of force and weaponry must have a specific limited target; and (5) Unnecessary suffering was prohibited.

See Robert Kolb, Origin of the twin terms jus ad bellum/jus in bello; See also Just War Part 7: Jus ad bellum & Jus in bello

Hat tip to Out of the Jungle's Marie S. Newman.

What's the Relationship between Citations to Law Journals and the Reputation of the School that Publishes It?

Citation studies have been around for decades so one has to ask, are law profs behind the curve or just obsessed with academic reputation in its countless manifestations. I think, a little of the former, a lot of the latter. Here's another citation study that grapples with peer assessment:

The Relationship Between Law Review Citations and Law School Rankings
by Alfred L. Brophy
University of Alabama School of Law
December 2005 

Abstract:   
Much recent scholarship has focused on the US News rankings and other ranking systems; other scholarship has focused on citations of law journals. This paper combines those two areas. It explores the connections between US News rankings (particularly the peer assessment scores) and citations of schools’ main law reviews by journals and by courts. There are high correlations between the US News peer assessment scores and citations of main law reviews by journals for the US News top 50 schools. For comparison purposes, the paper also looks to Brian Leiter’s rankings and finds a similar correlation. However, the strength of the correlations decrease for US News third and fourth tier schools. There is a weaker correlation between US News peer assessment scores and court citations across all US News tiers. The paper considers some of the implications of the correlations for law school rankings and suggests that, perhaps, future rankings should include citations as a factor in assessing the quality of law schools. One table illustrates how differently the third and fourth tiers of US News would look if law review citations were the basis for ranking law schools. A final table provides a ranking of law reviews based on journal citations.

See also the author's post in Concurring Opinions.

On Software Regulation: Patent or Copyright Law

Math You Can't Use
Patents, Copyright, and Software by Ben Klemens
Brookings Institution Press 2005
ISBN: 0815749422 | Price: $28.95

In a new book, Math you Can't Use: Patents, Copyright, and Software (Brookings 2005), author Ben Klemens discusses the theoretical structures and practical issues underlying patent and copyright law, the software business as it is practiced today, and software itself. While patent laws are intended to apply to physical machines, software is something quite different. Software is not just another machine, and it is not Hamlet with numbers. It is a functional hybrid that can be duplicated at no cost, it is legible by computers in some forms and by humans in others, and it has a unique mathematical structure. All of these facts have to be taken into consideration in designing an appropriate intellectual property regime. Ultimately the question presented is should software be regulated by patent or copyright requirements.

Job Opening: Electronic Collections Librarian, Yale

Electronic Collections Librarian
Yale University Library
Rank: Librarian I-II

The University and the Library
The University Library, which is a highly valued partner in teaching and research at the University, has more than 11 million volumes housed in the Sterling Memorial Library and 22 school and departmental libraries. It employs a dynamic and innovative staff of nearly 600 FTE who have the opportunity to work with the highest caliber of faculty and students, participate on committees and are involved in other areas of staff development. A full spectrum of library resources, from rare books and manuscripts to a rapidly expanding network of electronic resources, constitutes one of Yale's distinctive strengths. The Library is engaged in numerous digital initiatives designed to provide access to a full array of scholarly information. For additional information on the Yale University Library, please visit the Library's Web site at: www.library.yale.edu/.

Electronic Collections
The Electronic Collections Department leads, coordinates and supports the collecting and conversion of electronic and digital collections throughout the Yale University Library. Yale University Library is aggressively acquiring electronic and is exploring capabilities for archiving and creating electronic content. The collections funds spent on electronic resources regularly increase by more than 30% a year, the number of full text serial titles is over 57,000, the number of databases exceeds 900, and the number of online books is more than 600,000. Expansive growth of e-resources is expected to continue, and additional support and complementary new skills are needed to support the library's growth in this area. Electronic Collections staff works together as a team to provide responsive, effective, and evolving coordination of electronic collecting. The Electronic Collections Librarian will report to the Head, Electronic Collections and will communicate regularly with library staff at many levels and in many departments.

Responsibilities
Through a combination of collections development, communications, and technical expertise and skills, the successful candidate will assist in undertaking a related group of activities that include: Participating in the expansion and curation of the library's electronic resource collections through: Supporting descriptive and administrative records of collected e-resources, managing the lifecycle of major interdisciplinary e-resources, nurturing effective and productive vendor relationships with producers and providers of e-resources. Participating in extended electronic collections team (including Medical Library staff) electronic resources activities, which may include: troubleshooting problem reports, reviewing and negotiating license agreements. Contributing to the activities of the Electronic Collections Department and Yale University Library by activities such as: participating in the development and support of the Electronic Resource Management tool (ERM), and other e-services tools, liaising with relevant related groups, including staff of the Integrated Libraries and Technology Services department, various acquisitions and public services departments, the catalog department, etc. possibly supervising non-professional staff.

The incumbent will be expected to remain abreast of scholarly communication initiatives. As an integral member of the Electronic Collections team, the Electronic Collections Librarian may occasionally be called upon to assist in other activities including related electronic collecting curation, international special projects, and digital conversion activities.

Qualifications
M.L.S. from an ALA-accredited library school is required for this position, with a minimum of 2 years professional library experience to be appointed as a Librarian II, preferably with at least 1 year of experience supporting electronic resource activities. The position requires knowledge of the complex, ever-changing electronic publishing environment and scholarly communications issues. Must have the ability to work with a varied user groups and function effectively in a team environment and in a complex organization. Excellent oral and written communication skills are required. Previous activities in at least some of the following areas are required: using and instructing in the use of information technologies, developing MS Access queries and reports, reviewing and identifying issues with licenses, using an Integrated Library System and/or an Electronic Resource Management system, developing webpages and using HTML markup and CSS stylesheets. The following qualities are preferred: experience supporting an OpenURL resolver, preferably ExLibris SFX, knowledge of scholarly communication industry norms and practices of information technology, experience providing troubleshooting for problem reports,familiarity with project management, skill in "translating" between the world of electronic resources and traditional library formats.

Salary and Benefits
Competitive salary based on the successful candidate's qualifications and experience. Full benefits package including 22 vacation days; 18 holiday,recess and personal days; comprehensive healthcare; TIAA/CREF or Yale retirement plan; and relocation assistance. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. For immediate consideration send or fax your letter of application, resume and the names of three references to Diane Y. Turner, Associate University Librarian for Human Resources, Staff Training and Security; Source Code EAYU14880; P.O. Box 208240, New Haven, CT 06520; Fax (203) 432-1806.

Interactive Video Webcast: Ambassador Gross on Future of the Internet Set for Tomorrow

Ambassador David Gross, the chief U.S. negotiater at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), will discuss the future of the Internet and will be available to answer your questions during a interactive video webcast on December 13 at 12:00 EST (1700GMT). To view and participate in the webcast please visit http://www.cpcwebcast.com/state at that time. You can also email your questions in advance to iipchat@state.gov. Ambassador Gross also will take live questions during the presentation.

No username or password is needed for this chat so feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested.

Webcast Announcement  |  Background Information

Reliability of Wikipedia?

When I discussed how to evaluate websites in Advanced Legal Research course this semester I used Wikipedia as an example.  Several students in the class recalled using Wikipedia for research in college.  For an in class exercise I had one group of students evaluate the Wikipedia page on Administrative Law.  A core component of evaluating a website for quality is determining who the author of the information is.  When students completed the exercise they realized that over 50 authors had contributed to the Administrative Law entry.  Students rightly showed a healthy amount of skepticism when they discovered the site gave no indication of the legal expertise of any of the 50 contributors.

In last Sunday’s New York Times there was an interesting article about a Wikipedia post defaming John Seigenthaler Sr., the steps he took to correct the defamation, and a broader discussion about changes Wikipedia has made to improve the quality of its information because of this incident.

See also a more recent NYT article discussing the potential liability of Wikipedia for defamation

Lee Peoples, Oklahoma City University Law Library

Internet Usage Report

The Center for the Digital Future released its fifth annual report on trends in online use. It will be no surprise to academic librarians that there are increases in the number of respondents who use the Internet as their primary source of information and who find search engines reliable and efficient. But there are indicators that more individuals are questioning the reliability of "individual" sites - those not sponsored by the government or organizations.

Read the highlights.

Ron Jones, Unv Cin Law Lib

Survey of Depository Libraries Runs Through December 31, 2005

The 2005 Biennial Survey of Depository Libraries runs through December 31, 2005.  All Federal depository libraries are legally required to complete this survey.

The Superintendent of Documents is responsible for conducting the Biennial Survey of Depository Libraries. Required by Title 44, United States Code, §1909, the Biennial Survey provides GPO with important information for administering the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).

All Federal depository libraries should enter the answers to the survey questions using the Web application on the FDLP Desktop page at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/bisurvey/05survey.html

A password is required to access the Biennial survey form. To request your library's password, get help with access, or to ask any other question about the Biennial Survey, please contact the GPO online help service at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/help/index.html 

To ensure that your question is routed to the correct area, please choose the category Federal Depository Libraries and then, under the subcategory DEPOSITORY MANAGEMENT, choose Biennial Survey.

For more detailed instructions, see the Biennial Survey message on the GPO-FDLP-L listserv at: http://listserv.access.gpo.gov/

House Rules and Manual for the 109th Congress

Now available from GPO Access:

The House Rules and Manual is published by the the House Parliamentarian's Office. This document is formally entitled Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives and contains the fundamental source material for parliamentary procedure used in the House of Representatives,
including:

* the Constitution of the United States;
* applicable provisions of Jefferson's Manual;
* rules of the House;
* provisions of law and resolutions having the force of rules of the House; and
* pertinent decisions of the Speakers and other presiding officers of the House and Committee of the Whole interpreting the rules and other procedural authority used in the House of Representatives.

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati College of Law