Cornell Law Library's InSITE Website Reviews

Reviews published in the December 11, 2006 issue of InSITE:

• Citizens Against Government Waste
• Labor Project for Working Families
• NCLR: National Center for Lesbian Rights
• PENNumbra
• Siyanda: Mainstreaming Gender Equality

Citizens Against Government Waste   
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), a non-partisan non-profit of more than one million members, seeks to “eliminate waste, mismanagement, and inefficiency in the federal government.”  Founded in 1984, CAGW is a legacy of the Grace Commission, which was directed by President Reagan to identify inefficient and wasteful government practices.  CAGW continues to work to implement the Commission’s recommendations.  The website provides various materials on the issue of wasteful government spending.  The Reports and Issues sections are of greatest interest.  Annual reports available include the Congressional Pig Book, Prime Cuts, and Congressional Ratings.  The Congressional Pig Book, published annually, compiles the pork-barrel projects in each year’s federal budget.  Prime Cuts is a catalog of programs and policies identified for reform, and it includes a database that can be searched by agency.  To determine how members of Congress have voted on specific spending bills, users should consult the Congressional Ratings report.  The Issues section provides press releases, commentary, articles, and reports by topic.  The website provides other assorted news and information, but the Porker of the Month feature is most enjoyable. [MM]

Labor Project for Working Families   
Since 1992, the Labor Project for Working Families has worked with unions, union members, community groups, organizations and other activists on work and family issues across the country.  The Project works diligently to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  Legal researchers will be interested in the Project’s website as it maintains the nation's only database of contract language as regards labor vis-à-vis child care, elder care, alternative work schedules, and family leave.  The Labor Project has also created a series of fact sheets to aid unions and union members in their bargaining efforts around work and family issues.  The Labor Project for Working Families provides numerous articles and other publications, including a quarterly newsletter, some of which are available for a fee.  Most articles are in PDF. [BWK]

NCLR: National Center for Lesbian Rights   
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a national legal resource center with a primary commitment to advancing the rights and safety of lesbians and their families through a program of litigation, public policy advocacy, free legal advice and counseling, and public education.  The NCLR website focuses on projects such as Homophobia in Sports, Family Law, Youth, Immigration, and Public Advocacy.  Each Project page provides its lay audience with advice, resources, articles, and an overview of NCLR’s cases and legal assistance in this area.  Legal researchers will be interested in the site’s “Docket” page, which provides synopses of current NCLR legal cases, organized by topic.  NCLR also offers free fact-sheets, articles, brochures, and other documents covering a variety of topics.  Most of these publications are available in HTML and PDF. [BWK]

PENNumbra   
PENNumbra is the web presence of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.  Developed by two members of the 154th Editorial Board, PENNumbra seeks to be “a novel venue in the marketplace of ideas, on the frontier of a refreshing medium that is accessible to legal scholars and to the lay public alike.”  In addition to the masthead, submission guidelines, and other general information about the Review, the website offers full-text access of articles published in volumes 152 forward.  For each article, users can submit a response or add a comment.  When responses are submitted, they are collected together in the Responses section for convenient review and access.  As well, the site offers an online forum for scholarly debate on various topics.  Currently, there are three debates available: Judicial Activism and its Critics, The Obviousness Requirement in the Patent Law, and Is the United Nations Still Relevant?  It will be interesting to watch the future development of this value-added law review site. [MM]

Siyanda: Mainstreaming Gender Equality   
According to the site, “Siyanda is an on-line database of gender and development materials from around the world. It is also an interactive space where gender practitioners can share ideas, experiences and resources.”  An isiZulu word meaning “we are growing,” Siyanda strives to mainstream gender equality and support gender program workers by providing easy and free access to relevant research, and by facilitating an online environment that connects colleagues around the globe.  Of particular note to researchers is the database of gender materials, ranging from country profiles to policy reports to case studies, searchable by keyword, topic, document type, and year.  The site also supports a database of consultants, searchable by name, expertise, skills, country/region, and language.  Hosted by BRIDGE, the gender and development research service at the Institute of Development Studies in the UK, Siyanda is a strong resource for researchers interested in any gender related issues. [JJ]

InSITE contributors: Julie Jones, Research Attorney, Brandy Kreisler, J.D., M.L.S., Matt Morrison, Research Attorney, Jean Pajerek (editor), Head of Technical Services & Information Management, all current or former members of the professional staff at Cornell Law Library.

About InSITE: InSITE highlights selected law-related Web sites in two ways: as an annotated publication issued electronically and in print; and, as a keyword-searchable database. The law librarians at Cornell evaluate potentially useful Web sites, select the most valuable ones, and provide commentary and subject access to them.

Digital versions of this information can be accessed via:

1. Searchable database or by browsing current and archived issues on the web: Click InSITE at www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library

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The contents of InSITE and any recommendations therein are the opinions of the authors and do not reflect the views of Cornell University. InSITE is copyright protected by Cornell Law Library, © 2006 Cornell Law Library. Permission to republish InSITE issues on Law Librarian Blog has been granted. For permissions, contact Jean M. Pajerek [jmp8@cornell.edu].

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