Law Librarian Blog

A Quick Look at the Global Legal Information Network

The Global Legal Information Network (GLIN) is a database of laws, regulations, judicial decisions, and other complementary legal sources contributed by governmental agencies and international organizations. These GLIN members contribute the official full texts of published documents to the database in their original language. Each document is accompanied by a summary in English and subject terms selected from the multilingual index to GLIN.

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati Law Library

Legal Deadline Arrives for Guantanamo Prisoners

From NPR's Morning Edition:

"Briefs [were due] Friday for detainees at Guantanamo Bay who want to challenge their treatment in United States federal court. The government contends a law passed last year closes the courts to Guantanamo detainees, except to appeal the rulings of military commissions."

Listen to the report.

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati Law Library

Leno on Presidental Libraries

Jay Leno On Bush's Presidential Library: "$300 Million - That's Almost $150 Million Per Book"...

askSam Offers Free Searchable Database of US Copyright Law

Once again askSam has made a very useful online searchable database of US legal resources available for free. This time it is The Copyright Law of the United States. You can also download the eBook version. All you need is the Company's free askSam viewer.

If interested, you can also search The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and download it in a searchable eBook separately.

askSam's library of free online searchable eBooks and/or databases and eBooks has grown into an impressive collection. There now are

• Classic Literature: 10 items;
• Legislative Texts: 7 items;
• Legal & Judicial:  5 items;
• Government Reports: 2 items;
• Political Materials: 13 items; and
• 3 resources & miscellaneous databases.

New York Times Offering Podcasts

The New York Times is currently offers 18 podcasts. Check out the NYT Podcasts page.

Hat tip to Tom Mighell.  Don't forget to visit daily one of the very best legal research blogs, Tom's Inter Alia.

Report on the 1996 Welfare Reforms

From the Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee:

"Today, the Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee released the following report, "1996 Welfare Reforms Reduce Welfare Dependence." This first in a series of reports focuses on the successful 1996 welfare reforms (P.L. 104-193) that reduced welfare dependence."

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati Law Library

Opening: Foreign & International Law Librarian

The Touro Law Center Library is seeking candidates for the position of Foreign & International Law Librarian.  The successful candidate will provide reference and research services to students, faculty, staff, alumni, Friends and the broader legal community.

The Law Center is located in Huntington, on the scenic and historic north shore of Long Island, an hour away from New York City.  The more than 40 full-time committed and enthusiastic law faculty members provide a practice-oriented educational curriculum to approximately 800 students in both full-time day and part-time evening programs.  The library contains over 430,000 volumes and equivalents, and provides access to many electronic resources.  The staff at present includes seven professional librarians and fourteen support staff members.  In approximately six months, the Law Center will be moving to a new building in Central Islip. The new library will be a beautifully-designed, technologically up-to-date facility.  More information on Touro Law Center is available at http://www.tourolaw.edu

Under the direction of the Head of Public Services, the librarian in this position will be responsible for providing reference service and research support, including: preparation of bibliographic guides; sharing reference desk hours; participating with the reference team in research training for law students; participating in regional and national professional organizations; and contributing to law library scholarship.

The salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.  Benefits include TIAA/CREF, medical and life insurance, and disability benefits.  The Search Committee will review applications until the position is filled.

Qualifications:

Required:  J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school; MLS or equivalent degree from an ALA accredited institution; excellent writing skills.

Preferred:  Knowledge of the Innovative Interfaces integrated library system. Although exposure to foreign and international materials is preferred, candidates willing to develop expertise in this area will be given consideration.

Touro Law Center is an equal opportunity employer.  Women and minority candidates are encouraged to apply.

Letters of interest, resumes, and three references should be sent to: James G. Durham, Head of Public Services, Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center Library, 300 Nassau Road, Huntington, NY 11743.  Email: jdurham@tourolaw.edu

Growing Frustration about Compensation at Microsoft

Not quite library news but ... WashTech News is reporting that Microsoft salaries have been stagnant or nudged only slightly higher over the past two years. The report notes:

Defections by high-level engineers have stung Microsoft in recent months, prompting questions about a rush of creative minds for the door. One explanation is the Redmond software giant has grown too big and cumbersome to keep its top engineers happy and productive.

But the star engineers who are jumping to younger technology companies, such as Google and Yahoo, aren’t the only employees who are disgruntled with day-to-day operations.

... Comments from current and former employees about the company’s compensation and performance review system suggest a growing level of frustration among rank-and-file workers.

Check out the rest of the story.

NRA Promotes Take-Your-Gun-to-Work Legislation

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence reports on the NRA's insane 50-state campaign to pass "take-your-guns-to-work" laws. These legislative proposals -- 14 are pending in 10 states -- would criminalize an employer's refusal to allow guns on their private property. As indicated on the Brady Center's map (left), legislation is pending in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.

Read more about it in the Brady Center's report Forced Entry: The National Rifle Association's Campaign to Force Businesses to Accept Guns at Work (pdf).

The New Nexis® Service is Open for Business: Now Serving All Users

From LexisNexis.com:

"LexisNexis U.S., a leading provider of information and services solutions, today announced the launch of the New Nexis® service—new look, new features and new functionally—at www.nexis.com."

From the announcement: Now the unmatched content that LexisNexis is famous for—more than 32,000 authoritative sources—is brought to the surface to make it easier than ever to uncover new insights. Both experienced searchers and business users can now search to get a complete view on an issue across six major categories simultaneously: News, Company, Industry, People, Countries and Legal. It’s only through LexisNexis that you can access this type of information—in one search—for a big picture view.

Read more about it.

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati Law Library

Dayton's Randall Wins Law Prof with Way Too Much Time on Her Hands Award

I want to congratulate Dayton Law Prof Vernellia R. Randall for winning the "Law Prof with Way Too Much Free Time on Her Hands" award. Randall's Whitest Law Schools, a rankings report based on very questionable methodology, is the weirdest pseudo-statistical analysis of law schools to pop up on my monitor in a long time. Randall's rankings makes the US News annual report look downright scientific.

Oh my, was that politically incorrect? Well, why define "whiteness" as "caucasian plus unknown?"

Here is Professor Randall's justification:

Unknown presented a problem. If we did not include them as white, then schools with large number of whites who failed to report their race would look less white than they actually were.

Demonstrable bias, plain and simple. See Darrell Huff, How to Lie With Statistics. Professor Randall's work contributes nothing to the debate. Hence the "Law Prof with Way Too Much Free Time on Her Hands" award goes to her.

2004 Presidential Term Web Harvest

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) conducted a harvest (i.e., capture) of Federal Agency public web sites as they existed prior to January 20, 2005. This harvest was intended to document Federal agencies' presence on the World Wide Web at the time that the Presidential Administration term ended in early 2005.

The harvest produced a public reference copy of the web sites for the purpose of continual availability to the public, and also produced a record copy to be retained in the holdings of NARA.

Check it out.

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati Law Library

Online Statistical Abstract of the United States

From the U.S. Census Bureau:

The National Data Book contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States. Selected international data are also included. The Abstract is also your Guide to Sources of other data from the Census Bureau, other Federal agencies, and private organizations. 

View online versions in pdf format.

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati Law Library

Opening: Intranet Specialist, Law Firm

Akerman Senterfitt is a Florida based law firm with over 400 attorneys practicing in Florida, New York and Washington, DC.  We are seeking an Intranet Specialist for our Library Services Department in Orlando.  This is a newly created electronic services role that has been established to assist our Director of Information Services to manage the Firm's Intranet by helping to support its planning, implementation, maintenance and knowledge sharing applications.  Incumbent will work with the attorneys and staff to develop, update and edit the Intranet as needed to maximize its use and impact.  Responsibilities also include identifying and evaluating work processes that can be improved through the development of Web-based applications, assisting in user education and training and database management responsibilities relating to the Library & Intranet as needed.

Position requires 3-5 years of experience in Intranet or Web Design, preferably with a corporate or law Firm setting.  M.L.S, or related educational discipline, preferred.  Strong interpersonal, organizational, research, communication skills, attention to detail along with a demonstrated ability to proactively gather information throughout all levels of the Firm.  Please send resume and salary requirements to hr.dept@akerman.com or fax 407-419-8530.  EOE M/F/D/V

E-Bulletin on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights

From the International Commission of Jurists:

Briefing papers cover Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe & Commonwealth of Independent States, U.N. and Regional Organizations.

Check it out.

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati Law Library

AALL St. Louis Confernece Blog Now Online

James Dugan reports on the launch of the AALL Gateway Blog:

The blog is a companion piece to the Gateway Gazette, official conference daily newspaper of the 99th AALL Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, July 8-12, 2006. AALL Gateway will feature news, announcements and informational pieces about the upcoming meeting (and birthday celebration), as well as stories, tips and other items of interest for conference attendees. We also hope to recruit "Gateway Bloggers" to report on their experiences during the meeting.

If you would like to begin to blog now (and/or throughout the 2006 Annual Meeting), or simply post an occasional article or picture, you must request a Blogger invitation by e-mail from:

• James Duggan duggan@siu.edu
• Diane Murley dmurley@siu.edu

A Year After Booker: Most Sentences Still Within Guidelines

From the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts:

At the one-year anniversary of a key Supreme Court decision, federal courts continue to punish more than 60 percent of convicted criminals within guidelines set by the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC).

On January 12, 2005, the Supreme Court ruled in the consolidated cases of U.S. v. Booker and U.S. v. Fanfan that the sentencing guidelines cannot be mandatory. Since then, the USSC has been collecting and analyzing case information on a real-time basis and releasing its findings every few weeks.

Analysis of 54,624 cases submitted to the USSC between January 13, 2005, and December 21, 2005, indicates that 61.2 percent of all federal sentences in that time frame have been within the applicable guideline range.

Read more about it.

For up to the minute coverage of sentencing law developments, monitor our sister blog, Sentencing Law & Policy, by OSU Law Prof Douglas Berman.

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati

Push to Create Standards for Documents

From the NY Times:

By STEVE LOHR
Published: March 3, 2006

"With government records, reports and documents increasingly being created and stored in digital form, there is a software threat to electronic access to government information and archives. The problem is that public information can be locked in proprietary software whose document formats become obsolete or cannot be read by people using software from another company.

To cope with the problem, 30 companies, trade groups, academic institutions and professional organizations are announcing today the formation of the OpenDocument Format Alliance, which will promote the adoption of open technology standards by governments."

Read more about it.

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati Law Library

Third Annual Report Card of the Policies and Preferences of Presidential Administrations with Regard to Human Rights

From the Center on Democratic Performance:

"In its third annual report on the human rights practices of US presidential administrations, the Center on Democratic Performance (CDP) at Binghamton University gives President Bush a ‘D' for his policies and performance on central issues of human rights for the year 2005. This reflects a decline of one grade over 2004, attributable mostly to reports on the use of political detention without trial, torture of political detainees, and the use of secret detention of political prisoners. On most other indicators of human rights policy – such as recognition of leaders from countries deemed repressive, an! d budgetary consideration of human rights issues, and treaties – the Administration remained relatively static from last year."

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati Law Library

GPO to Release The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina, Lessons Learned

The White House Report, "The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina, Lessons Learned" is currently being printed for the White House by the Government Printing Office and is scheduled for release during the month of March.

All Federal Depository Library Program participants will be receiving this title in paper format, though the exact shipping list is to be determined upon the receipt of the books from printing. The electronic version of the report is already cataloged and PURLed for permanent public access as OCLC #64226525 and PURL http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS67263

Customers wishing to purchase a copy of this title can place an order now at the GPO Online Bookstore http://bookstore.gpo.gov/collections/katrina2.jsp. The price is $27.00 for the 228 page, full color report.