Law Librarian Blog

Reminder: July 15th Webinar on HeinOnline's Code of Federal Regulations

Hein's webinar, "Using & Searching the Code of Federal Regulations" in HeinOnline, will focus on:

• Browsing by years, titles, bindings or browsing the indexes & finding aids
• How to quickly pull up a title, part or section using the Title/Part/Section Quick Locator tool
• How to pull up a section using the CFR Citation Locator
• Searching for a word/phrase
• Searching by title number, title name, part number, part name, section number, subpart, presidential proclamation or executive order
• How to refine a search and build a multi-term search query to refine results
• Using the List of Sections Affected to determine if a regulation is current
• Using the Citation Navigator or Citations on Page to cross-reference Federal Register citations.

The July 15th webinar will be presented at two different times; 10:00 a.m. EDT (United States & Canada) and 2:00 p.m. EDT (United States & Canada). Links to registration pages here. [JH]

PLI Scholarships Available for Law Librarians

Practising Law Institute is now offering scholarships to law librarians, among others, for PLI seminars and CLE.  Details are here.  [MG]

CS-SIS Web 2.0 Challenge 2009

The CS-SIS is rolling out their Web 2.0 Challenge again this summer, a fantastic opportunity to learn about and play with new technologies that can be implemented in any kind of law library. The official announcement is below:

Announcing the Web 2.0 Challenge 2009: A Free, Online Course to Introduce Law Librarians to Web 2.0 Technologies

Last year the AALL Computing Services Special Interest Section sponsored the first Web 2.0 Challenge, an online course to introduce law librarians to social software and how to use it in their libraries.  The course was so popular CS-SIS is sponsoring it again in 2009.

The Web 2.0 Challenge will provide a free, comprehensive, and social online learning opportunity designed for law librarians that incorporates hands-on use of these technologies. The course is intended for law librarians who have little experience with these technologies but are interested in learning more.

The online course will take place between August 3 and September 6.  The five week course will cover these areas:

Week 1: Blogs & RSS
Week 2: Flickr & Social Bookmarking Software
Week 3: Social Networking Software and Twitter
Week 4: Wikis and LibGuides
Week 5: Web 2.0 @ Your Library

Participants will be required to complete a series of weekly activities, including viewing an instructional screencast; completing hands-on exercises based on the lesson; weekly blogging about their experience; and participating in a weekly small group chat session.  The course will culminate with each participant developing a proposal for implementing a specific social software tool in their library.

Full enrollment will be limited to approximately one hundred participants.  However, course content will be freely viewable to anyone who wishes to follow along.  Enrolled participants who complete all activities are eligible for final prize drawings (prizes provided by CS-SIS).  Certificates will also be awarded to all participants who complete the course.

We anticipate opening enrollment June 22nd.  There is no charge for this course and enrollment will be offered on a first come first served basis. 

For more information, visit the CS-SIS website.  If you have any questions, you can contact Meg Kribble (mkribble AT law.harvard,edu) or Sally Irvin (irvinsa AT wfu.edu).

[EF]

Reminder: Applications for the 2009 AALL Leadership Academy Due June 30

The AALL Leadership Academy, will be held October 16-17 in the Chicago area. Applications will be accepted May 1-June 30, and participants will be selected and notified by mid-August. Fellows will participate in pre-engagement exercises, have an opportunity to obtain a mentor, and receive ongoing leadership development opportunities. [JH]

Attend the CALI Conference Virtually – for Free!

The CALI Conference for Law School Computing always has an interesting mix of sessions for librarians, IT folk and law faculty, and new this year, all the sessions will be webcast live! Using the open source web meeting software Dimdim, each session will have a live video feed and chat room.

The conference kicks off this Thursday, June 18, and runs through Saturday, June 20. The links for all the conference session webcasts are available on the conference program website. While all the sessions look fantastic, the following may be of particular interest to librarians:

• Authentication and Online Document Repositories
• Critical Mass is Critical – A View Into the Changing World of Scholarly Communications
• Firefox Add-ons for Legal Research
• No Carrot No Stick No Budget No Problem:Tools for the 21st Century Library
• A Holistic Approach to Academic Computing: Librarians and Instructional Technologists Are Better Working Together
• Introducing and Integrating Free Internet Legal Research Into Classroom
• Crowdsourcing and Open Access v2.0: Harnessing the Power of Peer Production to Disseminate Historical Records and Legal Scholarship
• Kindle for Law Schools
• Using LibGuides to build Legal Research Guides
• Building awesome library web apps with open source
• Coursecrafting: (def.) Mashing up legal research, moot court, skills training and instructional technology into something new and innovative!
• Thinking Outside the (Glass) Box: Digital Displays in Law Libraries

[EF]

CPE Solicits More Input on the AALL Competencies of Law Librarianship

Are the Competencies still relevant? (Yes) Are modifications needed. (Hell yes) Following the Continuing Professional Education Committee's moderated listserv discussion in April, CPE is now giving members the opportunity to continue the Compentiencies discussion on the AALL's Tool for Success in Today's Economy wiki. For more about the CPE project, see LLB Contributing Editor Rob Richard's interview of CPE Chair Julie Pabarja. [JH]

Revising the AALL Competencies of Law Librarianship: An LLB Interview with Julie Pabarja, CPE Chair

The AALL Continuing Professional Education Committee (CPE) is in the process of revising the AALL Competencies of Law Librarianship. In April and May 2009 the CPE hosted a lively listserv discussion, available at http://share.aallnet.org/read/?forum=aall-cpe, for the purpose of soliciting input from AALL members respecting how the Competencies should be revised. This month Julie Pabarja, CPE Chair, kindly agreed to be interviewed by email to give us a better understanding of the Competencies revision process. The interview also reveals how innovative Web 2.0 technologies, including the Law Libraries and Librarians Ning (developed by Jim Milles and currently administered by Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Connie Crosby, Elizabeth Farrell, & Roger Skalbeck), and the AALL Tools for Success in Today's Economy wiki are enabling AALL members to participate in the work of the association.  Here is a lightly edited version of the interview:

LLB: What led the CPE to revise the Competencies at this time?

JP: Law librarians were discussing the AALL Competencies [of] Law Librarianship on the Law [Libraries and] Librarians Ning and questioning whether the language was still relevant today. A few members of the . . . (CPE) and the AALL Board are members of the Ning and noticed the discussions. The Board and CPE felt this was a good time to review the Competencies to see if any changes need to be made. The Competencies fall under the charge of CPE which is why this committee is handling the review process.

LLB: What role do the Competencies play in the work of AALL, and what Competency-related activities did the committee engage in prior to the April/May 2009 listserv discussion of the Competencies?

JP: The Competencies[,] which were approved in 2001[,] play an important role when program proposals are being submitted for the [AALL] annual meeting and when AALL members are applying for the AALL/BNA Continuing Professional Education grants. [Program and grant proposal evaluators use the Competencies to assess proposals, while AALL members use the Competencies to plan their professional development, including selection of AALL Annual Meeting programs to attend.—Editor’s note.]  Prior to the listserv discussion, CPE is unaware of any other activities related to the Competencies. This is the first time CPE [has reviewed] the Competencies since they were passed in 2001.

LLB: Each stage of the Competencies listserv discussion began with a CPE member’s posting several “leading questions” designed to spur discussion. How did the CPE develop these "leading questions"?

JP: CPE members reviewed the Competencies and identified keywords and points that would make good questions and get members thinking about the language. They also used keywords and concepts from what was specifically discussed on the Law [Libraries and] Librarians Ning.

LLB: What were the CPE’s major findings from the listserv discussion?

JP: The committee is still in the process of evaluating the comments. However, based on the listserv discussion, the existing Competencies appear to have been well written and many found them to still be relevant. There is no indication that members are asking for a major overhaul of the Competencies. CPE will be recommending minor language changes and possibly adding to the Competencies on skills that are also prevalent in our profession today.

LLB: What if anything most surprised you and/or the committee about the Competencies listserv discussion?

JP: When you do a listserv discussion, you hope that people will participate. The amount of people who signed up for this discussion and actively participated was a good surprise for the committee. CPE received a lot of really good, well-thought [out] comments that will be helpful as we go through the review process.

LLB: What are the next steps in the Competencies revision process, and what are the dates of upcoming important events in that process?

JP: CPE would like to continue the discussion on the Competencies and hear from law librarians who are interested but did not have a chance to contribute in the listserv discussion. CPE is offering another opportunity to discuss the Competencies on the AALL Tools for Success in Today's Economy wiki. . Members can post their comments and suggestions on the wiki as we continue the review process of the Competencies. Members are also encouraged to contact the CPE Chair or any CPE [] memberif they would like to discuss the Competencies. [Professor April Schwartz will become CPE Chair as of July 29.—Editor’s note.] Suggestions and comments will be accepted until the beginning of August.  CPE will review all the comments, recommend any changes, and submit them to the [AALL] Board for approval. The committee would like to see this review process completed by Spring 2010.

LLB: When do you expect a draft of the revised Competencies to be available to the AALL membership?

JP: We are unsure when a draft will be available. CPE hopes to take advantage of the wiki that is on AALLNET by posting [the committee’s] progress on there so that people can monitor and comment.  Members are also encouraged to check the CPE website for updates. To view the current Competencies, go to http://aallnet.org/prodev/competencies.asp.

LLB: Julie, many thanks for taking time to speak with us, and thanks to you and the CPE members for your great work on the Competencies, a very important resource for our profession.  We encourage AALL members to post their comments on the Competencies on the AALL Tools for Success in Today's Economy wiki.

[Robert C. Richards]

Reminder: Registation Deadline for The Shared Electronic Resource Understanding Webinar is June 5

"The Shared Electronic Resource Understanding (SERU): Can It Work in My Library" webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm (Eastern Time). The presenters, Karla Hahn, Assistant Executive Director of the Association of Research Libraries and Judy Luther, President of Informed Strategies, who served together as co-chairs of the NISO Working Group that developed SERU, will discuss how libraries and publishers can forgo negotiating traditonal licensing agreements for e-resources in favor of using a set of “common understandings”. Topics to be covered in the webinar include:

• Learn about what SERU is and how SERU is used in practice.
• The legal implications of SERU.
• Is SERU feasible in the law library setting?

Registration must be complete by June 5 (5:00pm Central). Space is limited. [JH] 

Reminder: Register by May 15th for AALL's Webinar on Libraries and Social Software

Sarah Glassmeyer, reference librarian from University of Kentucky, will explore the implementation of social media software in libraries in an AALL-sponsored webinar on May 20, from 12-1 p.m. EDT but you need to register by May 15 to benefit from what looks to be an excellent presentation. Cost: $45 for Members; $60 for Non-members.  [RJ]

Webinar on Using & Searching HeinOnline's Law Journal Collection Set for May 13

The great folks at HeinOnline will be conducting a free webinar focusing on using and searching HeinOnline's Law Journal Collection Wednesday, May 13, 2009 from 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m EDT. [Registration Page] Topics to be covered include

• How to quickly pull up a journal article when you have a citation.
• How to search for a journal article by article name
• How to search for articles written by a specific author
• Browsing or searching by subject, state, or country
• Overview of Indexes and Finding Aids available
• How to use the full power of Hein's ScholarCheck tool to connect citations and view citation analysis
• Finding coverage information for a journal title

[JH]

Article Submissions for ALL-SIS Newsletter's Summer Issue Due May 20th

If you are interested in submitting articles for the Summer issue of the ALL-SIS Newsletter, the deadline for this issue is May 20. According to the newsletter's editor, Leah Sandwell-Weiss (Arizona), the issue will be a great place for articles about the Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., committee reports, and other SIS news. Here's the contact information for Leah. Previous newsletter issues can be viewed here. [RJ]

 

Call for Papers: Cyberspace 2009 Conference

Important dates:

Abstract submission deadline: July 31 2009

Notice on acceptance deadline: Aug. 31 2009

Full papers deadline: Dec. 31 2009

A call for papers has been issued for the 7th International Cyberspace Conference to be held 20-21 November 2009, in Brno, Czech Republic.  Submissions are invited for a workshop on "Theory of Cyberlaw," on topics including legal informatics and artificial intelligence & law; and a workshop on "e-Government/e-Justice," including the topics: "electronic filing, electronic public submissions, videoconferences, on-line dispute settlement, re-use of public sector information, on-line public procurement, legal information systems, on-line access to law and case-law, data mining systems for lawyers, electronic storage of documents, [and] on-line legal counseling."  The conference is organized by the Faculty of Law in cooperation with the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno and the Faculty of Law, Charles University, Prague.  For more details, see the complete call for papers. Hat tip to Charles Christian. [Robert Richards]

Artificial Intelligence and Law Workshop in Beijing, Sept. 2009

A special workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Law  will be held Sept. 15-16, 2009 in Beijing, in conjunction with the 24th World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (IVR World Congress). The workshop will focus on legal multilingual ontologies, multiagent systems, and distributed networks. "The aim of the workshop is . . . to offer effective support for the exchange of knowledge and methodological approaches between scholars from different scientific fields, by highlighting their similarities and differences. The comparison of multiple formal approaches to the law - such as logical models, cognitive theories, argumentation frameworks, graph theory, game theory, as well as opposite perspectives like the internal and the external viewpoints - should stress possible convergences in the realm, say, of conceptual structures, argumentation schemes, emergent behaviors, learning evolution, adaptation, simulation, etc." [Robert Richards]

New Columnists Sought for Law Library Journal

Law Library Journal is looking for librarians interested in writing a regular column for the Journal because two columnists are giving up their columns as of the final issue of Volume 101: Diane Murley, author of the "Technology for Everyone" column, and Jean Holcomb, who writes "Managing by the Book." 

If you are interested in becoming a regular columnist, please send a short description of the proposed subject for a column and a writing sample to Janet Sinder, Editor, Law Library Journal, at jsinder@law.umaryland.edu by Friday, May 29, 2009.  Columnists will be selected by the end of June, and the first column deadline will be in October.  While column deadlines change each year, they are usually around the beginning of October, January, April, and July.  Column length averages between 2,000 and 4,000 words. Columnists must be able to meet deadlines and willing to commit to writing for at least three issues per year. 

Call for Papers, Deadline Extended: ICEGOV 2009

The call for papers has been extended until May 1, 2009, for the 3rd International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV2009), to be held in Bogota, Colombia, November 10-13, 2009.  The organizers especially welcome submissions "that cross the borders of the relevant disciplines - Information Technology, Computing, Public Administration and Policy, Political Science, Information Science, Linguistics, Law," etc.  For more information, see the complete call (click on "CALL"). {Robert Richards]

IALL Meeting in Istanbul, Turkey

The International Association of Law Libraries's (IALL) 28th annual course on international law librarianship will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 11-15, 2009. Titled "Turkey in a Global Context: Law & Legal Information," it will examine: (1) Turkey's legal system & legal literature; (2) digital developments & the legal system; and (3) Turkey & the European Union. Registration opens in early May. I am unsure whether I will be able to attend. But I did attend IALL's 26th annual course held in Mumbai, India, in 2007 along with around 100 other law librarians from all over the world. I learned much and was impressed greatly with the course host, organizers, and participants. I am confident that this year's course will be just as instructive and impressive. [RLS]

April 22 Webinar From AALL: Negotiation: Path to Collaboration

From the announcement: "Do you get a sinking feeling when told you’ll have to negotiate a contract? Do you feel unprepared to actually engage in a negotiation process? Attend Negotiation: Path to Collaboration on April 22, 12-1 p.m. EST, and explore the mechanics of a successful negotiation from start to finish. The webinar facilitator will be Sarah Nichols, a strategic information management consultant with 25 years experience in strategic planning and operational effectiveness for information management, research, and library functions within the professional services sector. Register by April 17."

HeinOnline's "Getting Started" Webinar Set for April 15th

New to HeinOnline or just want a refresher, check out the Company's "Getting Started" webinar on Wednesday, April 15th from 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. EST. The webinar will aid users in the following areas:

• Logging in to the database and accessing the content

• Navigating from one collection to another

• How to navigate within the content using the interface (viewing table of contents, using search tools, finding a citation, using title lookup)

• How to use the Field and Advanced Search options providing specific examples from the Law Journal Library, CFR, and U.S. Supreme Court Libraries

• How to print/download documents

• Where to find additional help and resources for specific collections

To reserve your seat email marketing@wshein.com. Remember to include your full name, name of your institution, and email address for the webinar invitation. [JH]

What are Librarians Worried About? Jobs and Training

The Chronicle ran an interesting story entitled, Librarians Confront New Uncertainties Over Training and Jobs. The article discuses how the recent economic crisis might affect future job prospects and what skills are essential for tomorrow's librarians. [RJ]

April Issue of AALL Spectrum Online

The April issue of AALL Spectrum is available online in PDF format. This month’s articles feature:

• tips for researching international human rights law
• a first-hand look at legal research and library science in China
• using the wiki concept to solve copyright questions
• ideas to jumpstart your National Library Week celebration
• outcomes of the Computing Services Special Interest Section’s Web 2.0 Challenge
• your guide to the many attractions in Washington, D.C., site of this year’s Annual Meeting