Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Call for Nominations: AALL New Product Award


Have you discovered any great new library products this past year? If so, let us know! It is time to nominate these products for AALL’s New Product Award.

The New Product Award honors a new and innovative commercial legal information product that enhances or improves existing law library services and/or procedures. New products may include, but are not limited to, printed material, computer hardware and/or software, or other products or devices that aid or improve access to legal information, the legal research process, or procedures for technical processing of library materials. Any product that has been re-introduced in a new format or with substantial changes is also eligible. A new product is one that has been in the library-related marketplace for two years or less.

All AALL members are encouraged to think about the exciting new information products being used in their libraries and to send us their nominations for this award. Interested vendors may also self-nominate their new products. Recipients of the New Product Award need not hold membership in AALL. Nominations can be sent by mail to the address below or via email.

To Submit a Nomination for the 2011 Award
Nomination forms can be found on the CRIV website under the New Product Award tab. The deadline for receipt of submissions is January 31, 2011.

Librarian Nominations
If you are a librarian nominating a product, please give as much information about the product as possible. The New Product Awards Subcommittee will contact the publisher of the product for any further information required.

Vendor/Publisher Nominations
If you are a vendor or publisher nominating a hard copy product, please submit the form along with a sample product, if available. If you are nominating a Web-based or online product, please submit the form with all necessary contact information, including URL(s) and temporary login and password information.

For hard copy products, brochures, and/or any other materials, we recommend that you send four copies for the New Product Award Subcommittee and the AALL Awards Committee.

Please send completed forms and documents to:

Michelle Cosby
Faculty Services Librarian
North Carolina Central University School of Law
640 Nelson Street
Durham, NC 27707
919.530.5241 (Office)
919.530.7926 (Fax)
mcosby@nccu.edu

The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2011.

Click here for application form
.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The Legislative History of Veterans Day

Post courtousey of Yolonda P. Harrison, our guest blogger for today.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11th “Armistice Day” in order to commemorate the armistice signed between the allies of World War I and Germany that occurred on November 11, 1918. “Armistice Day” was meant to serve as a day of remembrance for individuals who fought during World War I and was not designated as a national holiday until nearly 20 years later.

On June 4, 1926, the United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution requesting that the President Calvin Coolidge issue a proclamation to observe November 11th with appropriate ceremonies.

On May 13, 1958, an Act entitled “Making Armistice Day a Legal Holiday” (75 P.L. 510, 52 Stat. 351; 5 U.S.C. §87a; 5 U.S.C. §6103(a)) was passed, making November 11th a legal holiday.

On June 1, 1954, Congress amended the Act, renaming "Armistice Day" to “Veterans Day.”

On June 28, 1958, The Uniform Holiday Bill (P.L. 90-363; 82 Stat. 250) was signed and the observance of Veterans Day was moved to Mondays in order to guarantee three-day weekends for federal employees.

On September 20, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed P.L. 94-97; 89 Stat. 479 and returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11th, beginning in 1978.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

BNA Tax Training and Support

I just attended a BNA Tax webinar. The webinar was very informative, but as a librarian, one of the most useful pieces of information that I picked up was the link to the BNA Tax Training and Support site. I'm not sure if this accessible to those that do no subscribe to BNA products. Please leave a comment and let me know!

The BNA Training and Support page has a several quick start guides and how to cards, On Demand Learning, which are quick sessions on how to use different parts of BNA Tax, and a Training FAQ towards the bottom.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Laura K. Justiss - A Survey of Electronic Research Alternatives to Lexis and Westlaw in Law Firms

Laura K. Justiss - A Survey of Electronic Research Alternatives to Lexis and Westlaw in Law Firms is available on SSRN.

Academic librarians may find the following tables useful for teaching purposes:
Page 12 "Primary Source Alternatives to Lexis and Westlaw"
Page 15 "Court Docket and Case Information Services"
Page 18 "Secondary Sources for Topical Legal Research, Legal Periodicals, etc."


Honorable mentions
Page 20 "Financial, Business & News Information (including SEC Filings, Public and Private Company Information)"
Page 22 "Public Records"
Page 24 "Non-legal land Legal-Related: Patents and Trademarks, Science, Technology, Medicine, etc."

The article has other tables that in my view, are more firm specific information. It probably goes without saying, but I am sure that most of us think that it is important for academic librarians to know what other databases that the firms are using so that we can expose students to those sources as well.

Monday, August 9, 2010

LibGuides and Faculty Services

At my new job, I am the Faculty Services Librarian. I created a library handbook for faculty members using LibGuides. I used LibGuides at my previous job, too, but for some reason, I like it better now. It is a good way to have a uniform look to your guides. Also, it is easy to update. On the flip side, you have to remember to update it and update links as necessary. I am still partial to the PDF guide, but I am coming around! Here is a link to my Faculty Library Services Handbook.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

AALL 2010 Annual Meeting Session List

In case you missed it in the newsletter, AALL Annual Meeting Session List organized by topic. The page is also searchable.

Friday, June 11, 2010

iLibrarian and Zoho Creator

One of my new favorite blogs is iLibrarian. I find a lot of the posts relevant to my needs professionally and occasionally personally.

I stumbled upon this blog when I was looking for a way to keep Reference Statistics that didn't require server space, significant programming knowledge, or lots of cash.

Thanks to iLibrarian, I found Zoho Creator. Zoho Creator is free, and I had a web-based Reference Statistics program up and running in under 20 minutes. The drag and drop technology is great. Signing up was easy too. In addition to creating a Zoho account, you can sign in to Zoho using your Yahoo ID, Google Account, or Facebook Account.

If you want to know if this would be right for you, you can look at the sample of the program on the iLbriarin Blog.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

AALL Annual Meeting - Links of Interest


Here are some links that may be useful for you as you plan for the AALL Annual Meeting.

AALL 2go
http://www.aallnet.org/events/edumaterials.asp

AALL Annual Meeting-Educational Programs and Workshops
http://www.aallnet.org/database/meeting_annual_programs.asp

AALL Annual Meeting-Educational Programs
http://www.aallnet.org/events/10_eduprograms.asp

AALL Annual Meeting-Meetings and Events
http://www.aallnet.org/database/meeting_annual_events.asp

AALL Denver Blog – Summit News
http://summitnewsaall2010.blogspot.com/

AALL Schedule at a Glance
http://aallnet.org/events/10_scheduleataglance.asp

AALL 2010 Wiki
http://aall2010.pbworks.com/

Annual Meeting Logos
http://www.aallnet.org/support/annual_meeting_logo.asp

Annual Meeting Updates
http://www.aallnet.org/events/am-update-index.asp

Exhibitor List
http://iebms.heiexpo.com/iebms/oep/oep_p1_exhibitors.aspx?oc=13&ct=OEP&eventid=5020

My Conference Planner
http://aall10.sched.org/

SuperShuttle Discount
http://www.aallnet.org/events/10_travel.asp
Click on "SuperShuttle from Denver International Airport" at the bottom of the page.

Sky Ride
http://www.rtd-denver.com/skyRide_SubHome.shtml

SSRN Guide

I recently created a guide to help our faculty members sign up for and use SSRN. You can access the guide here.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

2010 RIPS National Legal Research Teach-In Kit Available

The Research Instruction and Patron Services SIS is proud to announce the release of the 18th Annual National Legal Research Teach-In Kit. Each year in conjunction with National Library Week, RIPS creates a Teach-In Kit containing fresh materials for use in your institution's promotional and instructional activities. This year’s kit includes legislative history materials (some of which are in Spanish—a first for the kit), a primary and secondary source matching game, a human rights presentation and guide, online tutorials, syllabi, various research assignments, and many other wonderful materials.

The 2010 Teach-In Kit is available at:
http://www.aallnet.org/sis/ripssis/TeachIn/2010/index.html

An overview of the kit as well as kits from previous years are available now at:
http://www.aallnet.org/sis/ripssis/TeachIn/teach_in.html

Thanks to all this year's contributors, as well as the Teach-In Kit Committee: Gail Partin, David Lehmann, Laura Ax-Fultz, and Shawn Nevers.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Call for Nominations AALL New Product Award - Deadline Feb. 1, 2010

Call for Nominations! AALL New Product Award


Have you discovered any great new library products this past year? If so, let us know! It is time to nominate these products for AALL’s New Product Award.

The New Product Award honors a new and innovative commercial legal information product that enhances or improves existing law library services and/or procedures. New products may include, but are not limited to, printed material, computer hardware and/or software, or other products or devices that aid or improve access to legal information, the legal research process, or procedures for technical processing of library materials. Any product that has been re-introduced in a new format or with substantial changes is also available. A new product is one that has been in the library-related marketplace for two years or less.

All AALL members are encouraged to think about the exciting new information products being used in their libraries and to send us their nominations for this award. Recipients of the New Product Award need not hold membership in AALL. Nominations for this award may be made by any AALL member and by vendors nominating their own products.

To Submit a Nomination for the 2010 Award


Nomination forms can be found on the CRIV website under the New Product Award tab or at http://www.aallnet.org/committee/criv/news/newproductform.pdf. The deadline for receipt of submissions is February 1, 2010.


Librarian Nominations

If you are a librarian nominating a product, please give as much information about the product as possible. The New Product Awards Subcommittee will contact the publisher of the product for any further information required.


Vendor/Publisher Nominations

If you are a vendor or publisher nominating a hardcopy product, please submit the form along with a sample product, if available. If you are nominating a Web-based or online product, please submit the form with all necessary contact information, including URL(s) and temporary login and password information.

For hardcopy products, brochures, and/or any other materials, we recommend that you send eight copies for the New Product Award Subcommittee and the AALL Awards Committee.

Please send completed forms and documents to:

Michelle Cosby
Reference Librarian
University of Kentucky College of Law Library
620 S. Limestone Street
Lexington, KY 40506-0048
859-257-1578 (Office)
859-323-4906 (Fax)
Mcosb2@email.uky.edu


The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2010.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Help AALL and SNELLA Save Connecticut Courthouse Libraries

Help AALL and SNELLA Save Connecticut Courthouse Libraries

Help get the word out. Although only Connecticut residents can sign, it will help to get the word out so members can contact friends and family they know in CT. Thanks.

AALL has been working closely with the Southern New England Law Librarians Association (SNELLA), to oppose the announced closure of six of the 15 courthouse libraries in Connecticut. They are jointly sponsoring online petitions to save the courthouse libraries in Bridgeport, Hartford, Litchfield, Milford, and Norwich. The sixth library, at the Willimantic Courthouse, is not staffed and its small collection will likely be moved to the local public university. Each petition includes a compelling statement by a leader of the local bar association, whose members stand ready to join forces with us. Attorneys and pro se litigants will be deprived of local access to current and historic legal materials, as well as the knowledge and expertise of professional librarians, if we do not stop these proposed closures.

The petitions are open to all residents of Connecticut, so please help spread the word so that our efforts are successful in quickly getting as many signatures as possible to keep these public law libraries open and staffed.

In addition to the petitions, on December 23, AALL and SNELLA sent joint letters to Connecticut's Governor Rell and to the leadership of the Appropriations Committee strongly opposing the decision, which was announced by Judge Barbara M. Quinn, chief court administrator. The closures became necessary, according to Quinn, after the executive branch cut $12.9 million from the budget for the judicial branch.