 |
SPECIAL LIBRARIES
ASSOCIATION LEGAL DIVISION |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leadership and Organization |
Legal Division Quarterly Special Libraries Association Spring, 2000 - Vol. 6, No. 3, Issue 1 The Intranet: The Alice of the Wonderland, Part 2
The Intranet: The Alice
of the Wonderland, Part 2 "It takes all the running I can do to keep in place, and if I want to get somewhere I have to go twice as fast." Lewis Carroll When we last left Alice, she was concerned about the difference between the "Eat Me" bottle and the "Drink Me" jug. But our faithful Netitor took care of that by including a rank and review chart on the Wonderland intranet page that helped Alice decode the resources. Not only did our Netitor decode the two products, but included a chart on what level of product would be the best resource for Alice's needs. Now, however, Alice is running from place to place, trying to compile resources in different mediums and she is becoming hopelessly lost, not to mention exhausted. But why run at all? All Alice needs to do is go to the intranet catalog, where all the resources are just a hyperlink away, no matter what the medium. At Greenberg, we have collaborated with our Litigation Support department to create a Microsoft Access database. We use the database for catalog data which will display in hypertext markup language (HTML) on the firm's intranet pages. Terry Seale, the King of Hearts of all catalogers, is able to insert bare URLs into the catalog which provides live links to files on the server, other intranet pages, Web site pages of publishers and other sites, and even Westlaw® (using the West Intranet Toolkit™). Firm-wide Web subscriptions can be embedded to facilitate user access (as in the case of the BNA newsletters). As well, IP masking can be used to limit access to users within the GT intranet. Recent technological developments have enabled Terry to transform the online catalog to a rich source of the table of contents information and even links to full texts of documents. For example, the laws of Florida, which are published by the legislature, have an incredible Web site coupled with legislative histories. Terry has included a live link to that site. Users can find the book and then search the Web site for statutory history. The combinations are endless and never ending, just like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, but much more educative. Future plans include links to CD-ROMs (mounted on a Citrix server), in-house annotations, and added content similar to the consumer book reviews available at Amazon.com. With a good editorial software package and some creative thought, an intranet electronic catalog can become a one- stop shop for the end user, ensuring that they don't have to run any faster to get what they want! Linda Will can be reached at willl@gtlaw.com or 305-579-0834. She is always ready to talk Net. You will be learning a bit about the upcoming SLA Annual Conference in this issue. Check out our newest column, Your PR Update, whose editor, Cindy Spohr, promises to keep us informed on Division matters that affect public relations. We are sure Cindy would be happy to enlist your help in spreading the news about our conference programs as presented in her first column. Also, please note the Call for Nominations as the yearly election of officers for our Division is important. We have a list of our newest members which you can place with your Division Directory; see if anyone you know has joined. We wish to thank West Group for taking on additional responsibilities regarding the Quarterly. As you know, they had been doing layout for some time, but will now see the newsletter production process through to its conclusion, adding the printing and mailing. And, it's looking good. Look for one more issue to come to you before the Annual Conference.
Barbara W. Silbersack
Mary Lynn Wagner Legal Division Quarterly is published four times a year. We reserve the right to edit for space and clarity. Please send submissions to Barbara Silbersack as an attachment to e-mail in Microsoft Word for Windows, 12 point Times font. The Legal Division Quarterly accepts sponsorship of mailing, printing, and other services. Inquiries regarding Legal Division Quarterly sponsorship or advertising should be sent to the Advertising Manager: Alice F. Fosson, Bracewell & Patterson LLP, South Tower Pennzoil Place, 711 Louisiana St., #2900, Houston, TX 77001-2781, (713) 221-1142. Special Libraries Association assumes no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by the contributors to the Association's publications. Editorial views do not necessarily represent the official position of the Special Libraries Association. Acceptance of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of the product by the Special Libraries Association.
Mission Statement
Co-Editors
Advertising Manager
Design, Layout and Production
Web Site
Join the Legal Division Discussion List
From the Boardroom We have a blockbuster conference taking shape for this June in Philadelphia! Winter Conference solidified these plans and finalized SLA approval of our liaisons with the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) and Australian Law Librarians' Group (ALLG). These, along with our already-established liaison with the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL), are represented in columns in our newsletter: Liz Blankson-Hemans (BIALL), Suzan Hebditch (CALL) and Ruth Bird (ALLG). Reciprocal programming with AALL has succeeded. AALL will host a program, "PLL and SLA Legal Division: Meeting Our Needs in the 21st Century," Sunday, July 16, 2000, 1:002:00 p.m. SLA will offer "Working With AALL," Tuesday, June 13, 2000, 1:00 2:30 p.m. Claire McInerney, President of the Oklahoma chapter of SLA, has invited me to present "Legal Research for the Non-Law Librarian" in Oklahoma in the fall. We invite and welcome volunteers. Please contact any member of the Board.
Larry Guthrie
your pr update Plan to attend the 2000 SLA Annual Meeting, June 10 15, in Philadelphia! Many volunteers in the Legal Division, sponsors and speakers have been working toward an exciting group of programs and social events to ensure that the 2000 meeting is an educational and rewarding experience for all members of the Legal Division. You can look forward to some of the programs and events you have enjoyed at past conferences, as well as new and exciting programs. Here is a brief overview of programs you can expect to attend at this meeting. Additional detail can be found in the SLA Preliminary Conference Program and on the Legal Division Web site, http://www.slalegal.org. The Legal Division will once again hold a keynote address for Legal Division members following the SLA keynote. Jeralyn E. Merritt will speak on "Representing the Unpopular Defendant: Why We Do What We Do." Ms. Merritt has been a criminal defense lawyer in private practice since 1974. She provides representation at all stages of criminal cases and served as one of the principal trial lawyers for Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing case. Ms. Merritt lectures to lawyers nationally on a variety of criminal defense topics, and since 1996, has provided insightful legal analysis for NBC, MSNBC and other television networks. Ms. Merritt will address how and why lawyers represent unpopular defendants. Professor Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will speak on "The Role of Information in Our Environmental Destiny." Professor Kennedy's reputation as a resolute defender of the environment stems from a litany of successful legal actions including prosecuting governments and companies for polluting the Hudson River and Long Island Sound and winning settlements for the Hudson Riverkeeper. Recognized as "Hero for the Planet" in Time magazine, 9/2/99, Professor Kennedy will address issues related to the future of the environment. This program is co-sponsored by the Environment Division. Additional educational programs include: "Alternative Workstyles It's a New World of Work." The speakers will address successful strategies to present to management to create alternative workstyle possibilities and techniques for working effectively in these environments. "Gumshoe Librarians and the Gray Matter of the Internet." Experts in locating people, public information and hidden resources will reveal their secrets. "Cherokee Justice and The Great Plains Tomorrow." Philip Viles, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of the Cherokee Nation, and librarian, will speak on tribal issues. Drs. Deborah and Frank Popper will discuss their controversial legislative plan to return large tracts of unpopulated lands to a buffalo commons. "Dispute Resolution Techniques in the Workplace." A mediator shares the secrets of resolving disputes through interest identification, negotiation and predispute planning. "Distance Learning Chicago Bar Association." Distance learning in the legal environment. "Hot Technologies for Information Transfer." An overview of the latest technologies for information transfer. "Legal Research for Non-Law Librarians." A program for librarians with little or no background in law who want to learn the basics of legal research. "Librarians in the Boardroom An International Perspective." Discover how librarians reached their positions in the highest levels of their organizations and how they plan to maintain their roles in the increasingly competitive information industry. "Marketing and Auditing Your Library/Information Resource Center." Ulla de Stricker comments on strategies and practices useful in auditing and marketing information services. "Training Materials on the Intranet." Learn more about one of the most useful features of an intranet delivery of training materials to end users. "Working with AALL." Representatives of the Private Law Library section of the American Association of Law Librarians and the SLA Legal Division will explore the various aspects of both associations as they relate to law librarianship. The Legal Division is a co-sponsor of the following programs:
You can also look forward to the following programs and events: Emerging Technologies Breakfast; two Tax Roundtables: "Tax Issues Transcend Borders" and "An Intranet to Serve Tax Professionals"; International Roundtable: "County, Courts and Province/State Librarians (CCAPS) Roundtable"; the Annual Luncheon and Business Meeting; Networking Breakfast; Leadership Tea, the Ice Cream Social; a No Host Dinner and the Tuesday evening Social Event. There are many benefits to belonging to SLA, as you probably already know. How many of your colleagues are aware of the Legal Division? I often have contact with law librarians who are either new in the field, or simply not aware of the great benefits available by belonging to the Legal Division. I try to remember to carry an SLA membership brochure with me to local meetings and invite new people to join. Another opportunity is available when doing interlibrary loans. When I am sending an ILL to someone out of town, I always check to see if they are members of SLA. If they are not, I drop the membership brochure into the envelope with the ILL along with a little sticky note that says we would love to have them as members. SLA will be more than happy to mail you several brochures if you would like to help us recruit some deserving new members. Carolyn Korkmas, Membership Chair
Water cooler Most of us are law librarians, interested in legal research. Our roles have changed from legal information finders to Knowledge Managers and many other expanded information roles. Now we are starting to become efficient at researching corporate information, news, financials, and medical information right! Well, efficient may not be the best way to describe my skills with the medical research that I perform. Stumbling in the dark towards a specific point describes better how I felt when I first started doing medical research for my law firm. I was lucky that when I first began we had an attorney on staff who also happened to be a registered nurse and a very good medical researcher. Often my duty involved obtaining the medical literature that she wanted to read. That's not the case any more. Now I find myself looking for experts, jury verdict information, and medical literature as well as background information on specific medical conditions. We, like everyone, want this information now, we want it cheap, and we want it to be good. Meeting all of those goals is not always easy. The growth of medical resources on the Internet has helped. However, finding everything that is available on the Web is not always easy. Here are some tips I have developed over the last few years that seem to be helping. Read any and all articles related to medical resources on the Web. This will lead to more information than you know it will also remind you of what types of information to avoid on the Internet. Caution: Stay away from sites authored by folks who are selling medical products but not offering a lot of information. This review of literature has helped me find some really good research sites. I can now go beyond browsing and drilling through the option on Yahoo! under the Health Index. However, this is a good way to get to many useful sites including journals and articles. Now I start with sites such as Medical Matrix (http://www.medmatrix.org/index.asp), a metasite that guides me to journals, Medline search sites, clinical studies and more. The hardest part about searching for medical literature is not the search itself. The various access points to Medline and the official sites for Medline searching at Pubmed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Pubmed) and Internet Grateful Med (http://igm.nlm.nih.gov) make finding citation information for articles you want easy. The location of these articles is the hard part. There are many resources with medical journals online. I used to get lost a lot; now I only occasionally get lost. Many sites offer articles. Some are subscription based, others are free. I love those free sites. Medscape (http://www.medscape.com) has a "collection of 7,000 free, full-text, peer-reviewed clinical medicine articles." (Gloria Miccioli. "Researching Medical Literature on the Web." LLRX.) JAMA and a few other American Medical Association journals are available at http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/. What about the experts how do we find information about experts involved in our case and how do we find experts we may potentially want to use? In the August/September 1998 Law Office Computing, Genie Tyburski offers great advice about locating information on medical expert background information. Morelaw (http://www.morelaw.com) offers a search capacity by name or even just area of expertise for expert witnesses. This site can also be used to search for Verdict information. How often have you been asked to find the award amounts in medical malpractice cases that have x fact patterns? This and the subscription-based Jury Verdict page (http://www.jvr.com/) offer the ability to search the Internet for verdict information. You can take this a step further and use the Expert Transcript Center (http://www.triodyne.com/etc/etc.html) to browse their experts to see if they have any depositions or trial transcripts available for purchase. Perhaps you do more in-depth medical research than I do and this is elementary to you. However, if you are more comfortable in the midst of EDGAR than the American Medical Association, like I am, these tips just might help.
net results Carol Furnish, Chase College of Law Library, Northern Kentucky University http://www.nku.edu/~furnish/medical web.htm. This Web page was created in 1998 for a Health Law class. The site is reviewed quarterly and the latest update is January 2000. Your comments and suggestions are welcome. My e-mail address is furnish@nku.edu. Basic Research Outlines
Frank Kellermann, Mary Zammarelli & Robert Balliot, How to Search for Medical Information
Gloria Miccioli, Researching Medical Literature on the Web
Update to Researching Medical Literature on the Web
Cindy Pitchon and Genie Tyburski, Finding Health Related Resources Dictionaries and Manuals
BioTech's Life Science Dictionary
INFOMEDICAL Dictionaries
Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy
Merck Manual of Medical Information-Home Edition
Merriam Webster Online
World Wide Web Acronym and Abbreviation Server Electronic Journals and News Sources Full-Text Medical Journals
Doctor's Guide: Internet Medical Resources
FindLaw: Legal Subjects: Health Law: Journals and Publications
Medical Matrix: Clinical Medicine Resources
UNC Charlotte: J. Murrey Atkins Library Reference Services: Medicine
WebDoctor: On-Line Medical Journals Health-Related News Sources
Biomedicine and Health in the News University of Connecticut Health Center Library
Reuters Health Information Services Medline Access
Medical Matrix: MEDLINE Access Government Agencies Federal Government
GPO Access: WINSLOW State Library of Ohio
Library of Congress
THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
Federal Agency: Health Sources
Statistical Resources Guide: Health Statistics
University of Washington: HealthLinks: National Health & Social Statistics Specific Agency/Organization Information
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
HHS Office of Inspector General
CDC: Centers for Disease Control
CDC Wonder
CDC: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports
CDC: National Center for Health Statistics
CDC: National Center for Health Statistics: Other Sites
Food and Drug Administration
HCFA: Health Care Financing Administration
NIH: National Institutes of Health: Health Information
U.S. Department of Labor: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
WHO: World Health Organization Locator Services Drug Information
Drug InfoNet
PharmInfoNet: Pharmaceutical Information Network Health Information
healthfinder™
Mayo Health O@sis
MedicineNet
Medscape
NetWellness Hospitals
Hospital Select
HospitalWEB Physicians
AMA On-Line Doctor Finder
American Board of Medical Specialties: Certified Doctor Verification Service
DocFinder Medical Images
Health & Medicine: Anatomy & Physiology
Health on the Net (HON) Medical Images & Movies
National Library of Medicine: Visible Human Project Meta Directories of Health and Medical Sources
CataLaw: Legal Topics: Health & Welfare Law
FindLaw: Legal Topics: Health Law
Hardin Library for Health Sciences, University of Iowa: Hardin Meta Directory of Internet Health Sources
Law and Politics: Internet Guide Medical Database
MEL (Michigan Electronic Library): Health Information Resources
Yale University: Cushing/Whitney Medical Library: Selected Internet Resources in Biomedicine Professional Associations American Bar Association, Health
American Health Lawyers Association
American Medical Association
American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics Search Engines
Health A to Z: The Search Engine for Health and Medicine
MedExplorer: Health/Medical Internet Search Engine
Medical World Search
Medscape: The Online Resource for Better Patient Care * Many descriptions were taken from Stephanie, C. Ardito, "Medical Information Sources for Non-Medical Professionals: An Elixir for the Uninitiated," 9 Library Management Briefings No.1, 1 (1997). Current Reading List
Information Sources Julius J. Marke & Richard Sloane, eds., "General Research Sources in Health Care and Medical Jurisprudence," in Legal Research and Law Library Management rev. ed. (New York: Law Journal Seminars-Press, 1998) 26.01-26.06. Kendall F. Svengalis, "Health and Hospital Law" in Legal Information Buyer's Guide & Reference Manual (Barrington, RI: Rhode Island LawPress, 1998) 309-313. Medical Experts Nicholas Altebrando, "Finding Medical Experts on the Web," 4 Internet Lawyer No. 8, (1998). (Available via LEXIS-NEXIS, LEGNEW: NETLWR). Josh Blackman, "How to Find Experts on the Net," in Internet Fact Finder for Lawyers: How to Find Anything on the Net (Chicago: ABA, 1998). Gloria Miccioli, Law Library Resource Exchange: Expert Witnesses on the Internet (last modified July 22, 1997). http://www.llrx.com/columns/ expert.htm. The column links to a number of expert witness sites and to referral organizations. Genie Tyburski, "The Case of Doctor Y: Lawyer X Tracks Down a Medical Expert's Background Information," 8 Law Office Computing No. 4, 78 (1998). Research 5 The Internet Connection No. 8, (1999). Entire issue focuses on accessing Government Health Information. Nicholas Altebrando, "Medical Research on the Net," 3 The Internet Lawyer No. 1 (1997). (Available via LEXIS-NEXIS, LEGNEW: NETLWR). Stephanie C. Ardito, "Medical Information Sources for Non-Medical Professionals: An Elixir for the Uninitiated," 9 Library Management Briefings No.1, 1 (1997). Josh Blackman, "How to Conduct Medical Research on the Net," in Internet Fact Finder For Lawyers: How to Find Anything on the Net (Chicago: ABA, 1998). Ann L. Carlson & Diane Kovacs, Health and Medicine on the Internet. (El Dorado Hills, CA: Library Solutions Institute and Press, March 2000). Sheryl Summers Kramer, "A Research Guide to Medical Malpractice and the Law," 16 Legal Reference Services Quarterly No. 1, 31 (1997). Lisa Marks, "Health Care Law Resources," 5 PLL (Private Law Libraries) Perspectives No. 4, 1 (1994). Bruce Maxwell, How to Find Health Information on the Internet. (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1998). Janet L. Reinke & Michelle Schmidt, "Legal R: Issues in Health Care Law: Selected Bibliography," 14 Legal Reference Services Quarterly No. 4, 3 (1995).
tax file Librarians need to keep up-to-date on new search features so they can use online services more effectively and efficiently. In addition, many librarians also need to prepare training material to use with their patrons in their role as Training Specialist. The Web provides Web-based training options that can help librarians in both of the scenarios described above. In the past, to stay current with changes to online services librarians and attorneys either attended off-site training classes, or, in larger firms the firm's account representative came by for "updates." The traditional training classes were time-consuming, expensive, and also difficult for solo librarians or staff from understaffed libraries to attend. Attorneys found that the classes were never at a good time or that attendance at the class cut into billable time. The online service providers understand this and now use the availability and power of the Web to offer training and updates. For example, you can find tutorials, tips sheets, and information on scheduling telephone or classroom training at the online service providers' Web sites. Training on the Web is available 24 hours a day, private, and best of all, free. The article pulls together some useful training telephone numbers and Web addresses for Dialog, Lexis and Westlaw. In addition, this article highlights some pages on each Web site that may be of particular help to librarians in staying up to date and in preparing training material for end users and notes where tax-specific material can be found in these sites.
Dialog The Dialog site has two useful sections the Library and the Training Center. The Library has the current documentation, e.g., Bluesheets, product literature and content literature. The Training Center has an extensive, comprehensive training section. Some sections of interest are:
Over the Telephone
In Person
Tax Specific
LEXIS The Products and Services link provides a general overview of Lexis products and services. Marketplace, which is found at Products and Services, provides links to: a Customer Training, where the Telephonic Training and off-site Learning Center times and dates can be found
Information Professional was designed for librarians. The Weekly Research Tip, New Lexis Feature and Database Updates are useful links to keep up-to-date on Lexis. Training Resources contains information that librarians can use for training end users, e.g., Boolean Search Essentials or LEXIS Search Advisor a quick overview of the completely new way to use Lexis.
Over the Telephone Lexis Telephone Training: 800-262-2391 (choose option 4). Lexis provides complimentary, personalized telephone training in a number of areas, such as the new Lexis-Nexis features and Lexis-Nexis Xchange.
In Person
Tax-Specific Information
Westlaw®
Over the Telephone
In Person
Tax-Specific Information Adrienne Eng may be reached at adrienne_eng@tax.org. Help celebrate your fellow librarians! The SLA Legal Division is publishing its very first yearbook with support from the Bureau of National Affairs. We are looking for any photographs, program notes, newsletters, member updates, and accomplishments pertaining to the division and its members beginning with the 1999 Annual SLA Conference. Any and all items and ideas will be considered for creation of the yearbook. If you are interested in being involved with or have ideas about the yearbook, please contact the editor, Julia Daniel, by phone at 313-983-4354 or by e-mail at Danielju@plunkettlaw.com.
l'eagleeye The Eyeball has been watching the folks at the D.C. Chapter and a host of others trying to raise funds for bringing developing-country librarians to GLOBAL 2000. This will be a major international conference, sponsored by SLA, held in Brighton, England, in October 2000. At a cost estimated to be US$4,000, it is not cheap to sponsor a fellowship for one of these deserving librarians. There is quite a group of very qualified individuals who met the application deadline, over 400 of them. So far the D.C. chapter has coordinated raising $50,000. The Legal Division agreed to chip in $1,000 and other chapters and divisions have contributed. The government of Denmark contributed US$20,000. Perhaps your firm or organization would like to contribute? Four thousand dollars is a lot but any amount would be a contribution to improving the contacts and knowledge of librarians from developing countries. Contact Daille Pettit of the D.C. chapter at dpettit@ahma.com. Cooking up legal news Here's an interesting section at Findlaw. Legal Grounds at http://lg.findlaw.com is a Web round-up of legal news from the mundane to the bizarre. Columns are segregated into "Top News Relevant Hearsay," "Cyberlaw News Download This!", "Entertainment Law Legally Entertaining," "Criminal Law Arresting Developments," and the stranger stuff at "Weird Legal News Eat my Justice!" The story summaries have links if you really want more information than the blurbs editor Jim Twu creates. For those of you who eat other things besides justice, an interesting site although commercial and not legal is http://www.books-for-cooks.com (don't forget the dashes). Join the ALA In the paper department, the Eyeball would recommend that somebody in your library join the American Library Association so the office can receive their monthly magazine, American Libraries. While not a legal publication, it has many articles and news items that are of interest to the legal community. The Eyeball has found the "News Front" features to be particularly useful in finding out about events around the country and in Washington, D.C. The articles are well-written and often will get your hackles up to the point you might write a letter. Bylaws The Bylaws Committee is still looking for folks who would like to discuss the current bylaws and whether they should be changed. Contact Jeff Stickle (jstickle@wahlone.com or 202-457-7370) if you are interested. A minimum amount of your time would be required.
international corner Greetings and a happy new year to our American colleagues. You may have seen the wonderful fireworks display put on by Sydney to mark the celebrations on December 31; these are but a taste of what Sydney has in store for this Olympic year. Law Librarians Symposium 2000 Our third Symposium will be held in Sydney from 19-21 July 2000. Previously held in Melbourne, these symposia are the first such gatherings which are aimed nationally at law librarians only. Our other official conference, held every two years, combines with Special and Health Librarians. The Symposium allows us the opportunity to concentrate on the legal issues, and other matters which are specific to law librarians, whether they are in private practice, courts, universities or other institutions. The topics include:
If this is just the excuse you need to come for a visit to Australia, please contact Mary Greenfield, our National Convenor, in the first instance at: mary.greenfield@butterworths.com.au Referendum Results In November a referendum was held which asked voters to decide on two questions. The first, the republic question was whether voters would accept a "proposed law to alter the Constitution to establish the Commonwealth of Australia as a republic with the Queen and Governor-General being replaced by a President appointed by a two-thirds majority of the Members of the Commonwealth Parliament." The second question was for a preamble which asked voters whether they approved the "proposed law to alter the Constitution to insert a preamble." Both proposals were defeated, by a majority of the voters, as well as a majority of states. The margins for the first question were much closer than for the second question, but the results reflected an historical fact in Australia, that if the two leading political parties cannot agree on a constitutional amendment, the majority of the population will vote no to change. So for the time being Australia remains a constitutional monarchy. Goods & Services Tax Once the new year arrived without any real Y2K problems, many law librarians in Australia have had to turn their minds to the impending introduction of a Goods and Services Tax. This new impost commences on July 1, 2000, but as with any major tax reform, the legislation, newspaper articles, journal articles, press releases and related maters addressing the issues are in heavy demand by lawyers, students and lay people. The legislation is called A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth), and is referred to colloquially as ANTS. The introduction will be complicated as several categories of goods will be GST-free, and the GST is, in many instances, replacing wholesale taxes currently in place. The unofficial consolidation of the legislation can be found at http://scaleplus.law.gov.au/home/docs/ANTSGST99.rtf. Digital Agenda Legislation Proposed new legislation by the Federal Government saw the introduction of an amended definition of library which effectively excludes any library or archives in an institution that is operated "for profit" from participating in the free copying provisions we have used for interlibrary loans transactions. This has raised serious concerns throughout the library community, as the concept of a distributed national collection has meant that over time some of our best collections in certain areas of specialisation are, perforce, held by private or semi-private institutions, but accessible to all in the library community. The submissions made by the Australian Law Librarians Group to the Parliament can be read on the ALLG home page, at http://www.allg.asn.au/. Cheers from down under until the next time!
Letter from Europe Just as I put pen to paper (or should that be finger to keyboard?) to write this column, Larry Guthrie's e-mail to the SLA-Law listserv about the BIALL and ALLG formal liaisons with the SLA Legal Division hit my screen. I am as pleased as everyone surely must be about this development and I hastened to reply to Larry, pointing out that as I am a BIALL member, you've had the benefit of a BIALL connection (however informal) since I became your European liaison. Since my last letter, there have been a number of developments to report on, particularly from the online front. This is not surprising, as the 23rd International Online Information Conference and Exhibition (Online 99) was held in London from 7 9 December 1999. This is traditionally the time most online vendors preview or launch any new products they intend to market. Notable amongst the new arrivals was the preview of Westlaw UK. The official launch is February 2000, but visitors were able to see the intended offering of full text cases and legislation, current awareness, news and business information (www.westlaw.co.uk). Of course, most of you in the U.S. are familiar with Westlaw, as we are, but we have always felt it to be very U.S. biased. In order to appeal to a broader international market, West Group and Sweet & Maxwell have developed Westlaw UK, which promises to be a serious competitor to Reed Elsevier's Lexis-Nexis. This competition should get very hot in the near future as many of you will know that Lexis-Nexis have now bought the suite of Business Information Products that includes the heavyweight news and business information content of FT Profile, FT Discovery and FT Newswatch from the Financial Times Group. Other products on show at Online were the Butterworths Tolley EU Direct Gold service, which offers up-to-date information on European Union legal issues. EU Direct is a new addition to the Butterworths Direct suite of products including Halsburys Law's Direct, All England Direct, etc., which I have mentioned in this column before. Soon after this launch, Butterworths Tolley also announced the addition of the Financial Regulation and Corporate Law Service. Not to be outdone, LAWTEL has also launched an EU Legal Information service which includes all the Spicers material, exclusively, as well as full text of documents on Europa the official pages of the European Union. This is a subscription service. But surely the greatest news of all for proponents of the availability of free legal information is the news that there is a serious campaign well under way to make all of Britain's laws available free on the Internet, in the manner of the Australasian Legal Information Institute site (AUSTLII). Although we are some years behind the Australians, contributions (in cash and in kind) towards making this a distinct reality have been coming in thick and fast. The project is known as UKILELI (United Kingdom and Ireland Legal E-Library Institute), but a search is underway for a snappier (perhaps more pronounceable?) name. And, today, I found out that the U.K. Court Service announced a new judgments database on 21 January. It includes High Court and Appeal Court judgments from 1998, and appears to be free (my cup runneth over!). Check it out at www.court service.gov.uk/judgmentsdb_intro.htm. Also of note is the Jersey Legal information Web site: www.jerseyinfo.co.uk/judgments/index.htm, which contains a complete index of Jersey's Laws and Regulations, Royal Court and Court of Appeal practice directory directions and draft legislation, as well as the laws and Regulations enacted by the States of Jersey since 1997 and the unreported judgments of the courts from October 1997. Most of my news has been heavy on online developments as I promised at the beginning of the column. However notable amongst the legislation enacted since I last wrote are the following:
News on the professional side is also rather thin, as most have been busy arranging Christmas and New Year parties. However, I must mention that the European Chapter of the SLA has been busy doing its bit towards the organisation of Global 2000 in Brighton, England this October. Hope to see many of you there, so start working now on those who hold the purse strings.
Letter from Canada Do you want the good news first or the bad news first on the Canadian legal publishing front? CALL/ACBD Serials Tracking Report for 1999 released Each year, members of the "Serials Tracking Project" of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries/ Association Canadienne des bibliotheques de droit (CALL/ACBD) gather pricing and publishing information on a "shopping basket" of Canadian legal serial titles. The final compiling of that information and this is the good news results in an annual report. The latest edition, the Serials Tracking Report for 1999, is now available at http://www.callacbd.ca. The bad news is "the average increase for the 308 hard copy and 17 CD-ROM titles tracked in 1999 is 15.85%, an increase of 6.53% from 1998. Although Canada Law Book and Butterworth's did influence the overall cost increase, Carswell Thomson Professional Publishing was by far the largest contributor. For the 140 Carswell Thomson Professional Publishing titles that were tracked, there was an average increase of 28.39%, an increase of 19.95% from 1998." For readers who collect Canadian materials, you will be interested in looking at this report. It offers very interesting analysis, useful charts (including a five-year comparison of prices). In short, it is a good read! Practically speaking, it allows you the opportunity to do some forecasting for your continuations budget for 2000. For instance, from one publisher in particular, many of the cost increases came late, in the autumn of 1999 with three of their law reports increasing by $14.00, $17.00 and $35.00 respectively, per volume. Because the Serials Tracking Report tracks the total cost of each subscription on an annual basis, the full impact of these price increases will not truly be felt until 2000. Knowing that the individual cost per volume has substantially increased, you will, with a reasonable degree of accuracy, be able to predict your costs for budgeting purposes. Quicklaw adds U.S. case law to its roster No Canadian law librarian is worth their salt unless they can search Quicklaw. Canada's largest online legal information facility with over 1,450 databases and newsletters has now added American materials to its collections. In September of 1999, West Group (owned by Thomson Professional Publishing) decided that Quicklaw would no longer be permitted to be the Canadian distributor of Westlaw. Instead, Westlaw in Canada would be made available through Carswell (another Thomson-owned company). The good news for Canadian legal researchers is that Quicklaw aggressively took this opportunity to enter into the American legal market by acquiring Current Legal Resources Inc. (CLR), a leading Internet publisher of United States statutory and regulatory information. With the bringing into the fold of CLR, which now operates under the name Quicklaw America, the following was added to the Quicklaw stable: the United States Code, 19 topical databases, the Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Statutes at Large, United States Court Rules, the United States Supreme Court opinions since 1900, and some five million (and growing) other full-text U.S. court opinions. Additionally, in the late fall of 1999, Irwin Law joined Quicklaw. Still considered an upstart in Canadian publishing circles, Irwin Law was founded in 1996. However, they have in these few short years, published over 20 books and now, have made all of these titles available on Quicklaw. This, I believe, is just the beginning. Could it be possible that in the not too distant future, people researching the law will only have to learn how to manipulate their way around one online vendor's offerings? It could well be. This venture into the American legal publishing arena expands Quicklaw's already solid British, European, Commonwealth and Canadian collection. I recommend you keep your eye on Quicklaw. Suzan A. Hebditch is Acting Manager Regional Information Management Services and Regional Law Librarian, Prairie and Arctic Region, Canada Department of Justice, Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Suzan is the immediate Past President of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries / Association Canadienne des bibliotheques de droit. She welcomes you to contact her at suzan.hebditch@justice.gc.ca.
member news Remember, you can send your news item to me at any time (not just when I post the notice to the list!) by mail or e-mail. Let me hear from you. Contact me at: Karen Krupka Note: By the time you read this, my e-mail address may have changed to krupka@wildmanharrold.com. There should be a transition period, but you may want to send your submissions to both addresses to make sure they reach me. Anne Abate, formerly of Dinsmore & Shohl, is an Assistant Professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems. Yes, that's right, an accounting department. Anne is on the information systems side of things, teaching the Managing Information Systems introductory course as well as courses in electronic commerce and business on the Internet. Anne is also an adjunct professor at the Library School at the University of Kentucky and at the School of Computer and Information Sciences at Nova Southeastern University. For those that don't notice the trend, Anne has degress from Xavier, UK, and Nova. She intends to keep her ties to the library world and remains a very active member of the Special Libraries Association, including as the Chair-Elect of the Legal Division, so we have not heard the end from her yet. Her address is: Anne K. Abate, Ph.D. Bryan Carson, formerly of Hamline University Law School Library (and host of a wonderful reception at the annual conference last year), has a new position. He is the Coordinator of Reference and Library Instruction at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Western Kentucky University is a comprehensive university with 14,500 students located 1 hour north of Nashville and 2 hours south of Louisville in a city of about 50,000. Bryan is head of reference for the entire main library, which includes a 60% Government Documents depository and a law library. There is an unusual situation with the law library. Although the university does not have a law school, the law library is considered to be the public county law library. So, in effect, Bryan is head of reference for the county law library, which is staffed by a full-time law and government documents coordinator and a half-time law librarian. His new address is: Bryan M. Carson, J.D., M.I.L.S. Debbie Muntean is now the Director of Information and Technology at Briggs and Morgan, P.A. in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. Debbie had been the Director of Libraries and Records at Briggs and Morgan, P.A. Angela Hodge of Perkins Coie of Portland, Oregon, writes that in the last few months she: 1) taught for the Library & Information Network of Clackamas County (LINCC); 2) did a presentation with LaJean Humphries of Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt for the National Business Institute (NBI) on "Internet Strategies for the Paralegal in Oregon"; 3) published two Web sites, one at http://www.askalawlibrarian.com and the other at http://www.askalibrarian.com; and 4) will be teaching Basic Legal Research at Marylhurst University. What a busy lady, and all such worthwhile pursuits! Holly Mohler, formerly of Long & Levit LLP (which disbanded at the end of the year), is now at Green Radovsky Maloney & Share LLP. Her address is: Holly Mohler, Librarian Janet McKinney, who was Director of Collection Resources at the Leon E. Bloch Law Library, University of Missouri Kansas City for more than eight years, has accepted the position of Computer Services Librarian at the law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. David Bryant of Legibus has three items: 1) he is co-teaching Law Library Administration at the Chicago Bar Association facility under the sponsorship of Dominican University, 2) he has recently (fall 1999) been named to the Illinois State Library Advisory Committee 1999 for a three-year term under Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White, and 3) he is the subject of an article in the Chicago Bar Record for February/March 2000 on the appraisal of the rare books of the CBA.
Legal Division Treasurer's Report
new members
Kathryn Arbuckle
Diane Buress (student)
Susan Callaway
Elaine Dockens
Carla J. Evans
Cherie Feenker
Elizabeth Fink
Paula P. Gehring
Candace Goss
Tasha M. Gsell Quick
Allen S. Herschaft
Rachell M. Jeffers
Robbie W. King
Christy L. Leith
Carol P. Long
Joseph J. Mattera
Pauline A. McMahon
Joella K. Seymour
Risa L. Skerker
Maureen C. Stellino
Carlotta Stoudt
Pamela J. Taranto
Denise Walker
Elizabeth A. Walsh
Sarah L. Warner
Carolyn M. Weber
David B. Webster
Sheri L. Zetterower
Stacey A. Zurawik
Executive Board
Chair
Chair-Elect
Chair Elect-Elect
Director 19982000
Secretary 19982000
Treasurer 19982000
Past Chair
Advisory from Tribal Courts
Archivist
Bylaws and Division Manual
Communications Committee
Counselor/Advisor to the Chair
Division Directory Editor
Division Photographer
Employment
European Liaison
Government Relations
International Listserv Coordinator (Global 2000)
Advertising Manager
Co-Editors
Mary Lynn Wagner
Design, Layout, Printing and Mailing
Liaison to AALL and other SLA Divisions
Liaison to the ABA
Listserv Administrator
Membership
Nominating
Professional Development Chair
Public Relations
Committee Member
Scholarships and Grants
Sergeant-at-Arms
Strategic Planning
Committee Member
Student Chair
Vendor Relations
Committee Member
Web Site Advisor
Yearbook Editor
County, Courts and Provinces/State Librarians (CCAPS)
Emerging Technologies in the Law
International
Tax
Carol Mohammed
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created:
1 September 2000 Revised: URL: http://www.slalegal.org/ Suggestions: Web Manager |
Copyright
© 1998-2000 SLA Legal Division all rights reserved. Some graphics
copyrighted by Art Today Inc. Special Libraries Association, Legal Division |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
