Legal Research

Ten Great Government Websites

Posted on August 12, 2009
GCN's list of "great" .gov web sites this year includes GPO's FDsys. Great .Gov Web Sites SPECIAL REPORT: "10 sites that take online government to the next level" by Joab Jackson, Government Computer News (Jul 27, 2009) Other sites GCN lists include: data...

This Week's Highlighted Acquisitions

Posted on August 10, 2009
Litigating animal law disputes / Joan Schaffner and Julie Fershtman, editors. Chicago : American Bar Association, c2009. Call number: KF390.5.A5 L58 2009 Publisher's Description: Animal law is an emerging field that encompasses a variety of legal disciplines...

Two Videos from NLRB

Posted on August 07, 2009
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) "now features two new videos on the site (www.nlrb.gov): 'Introduction to the NLRB Public Website' and 'How to Use CiteNet,' the Agency's electronic legal research database." The announcement (pdf) Introduction to the NLRB Public Website ("demonstrates how to find published decisions and administrative memoranda, how to ask questions via the website or to speak to a person, as well as how to use E-Gov, the Agency's on-line services such as E-Docket, E-Filing, online forms, and E-FOIA requests...

Free Demographics Data for 2009

Posted on August 06, 2009
Free Demographics Data for 2009 http://www.FreeDemographicsData.com FreeDemographicsData.com is your source for statistics about Cities, Counties, Zip Codes and the United States. Find free, updated US Census data and comparisons. Lookup statistics about 2009 demographics, population, income, gender, housing value, household size, education and more...

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State Laws & Government Data Practices Act

Posted on August 04, 2009
Here are some new resources/events for those interested in state laws or the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act: Summary of new laws effective Aug. 1: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/0809nlrelease.pdf See also, new laws effective July 1: http://www...

New Acquisitions in July 2009

Posted on August 03, 2009
Here is the list of new titles the Law Library acquired in July 2009. The list is on the Library's home page. July Acquisitions In addition, here are a few highlighted titles of particular interest: Mokhtari, Shadi. After Abu Ghraib : exploring human rights in America and the Middle East...

Excuse our Mess!

Posted on July 30, 2009
We are painting areas around the circulation desk and staff areas, so please excuse our mess. Despite our limited access to this area, we remain open and fully able to assist you at the desk.

New Faculty Titles from Feld, Stras

Posted on July 29, 2009
Feld, Barry C. Cases and materials on juvenile justice administration. 3rd ed. St. Paul, Minn. : West, c2009. Call number: Rare Books (Faculty Collection) Feld Publisher's description: This casebook focuses on three themes: legal, administrative, and policy issues associated with regulating children rather than adults; procedural and substantive implications of a justice system that emphasizes treatment rather than punishment; and tensions between discretion and rules that occur when states treat children rather than punish adults...

Typography for Lawyers

Posted on July 29, 2009
From the Internet Scout: Typography for Lawyers http://www.typographyforlawyers.com/ This is an intriguing website that focuses on typography as a means to make legal documents look better aesthetically, and arguably, more professional and more persuasive...

RAQ: The Jury is Still Out

Posted on July 29, 2009
Occasionally, we feature recently asked questions (RAQ) at the reference desk. Here is a recent fun one: Q: Where did the phrase "The jury is still out" come from? A: Taking a look at "The Phrase Finder," we find the meaning and origin of this phrase: The jury is still out Meaning: Judgement has not yet been finalised on a particular subject; especially due to information being incomplete...

All About "Cash for Clunkers" Law

Posted on July 27, 2009
If you listen to the radio or watch TV you have probably seen some ads about the government's "Cash for Clunkers" plan. If you are considering trading in your older car for a new one you might be interested in learning a bit more about the program before you go to the the car dealership...

Reserves Are On the Move!

Posted on July 24, 2009
To create more space in the Reserves Collection, periodicals have been transferred to the Periodicals collection on the Plaza level (1st floor). If you cannot locate an item, please ask for assistance at the Circulation Desk.

Memorial Stadium Digital Archive from ULibs

Posted on July 22, 2009
STAFF AT U LIBRARIES HAVE CREATED AN INTERACTIVE DIGITAL ARCHIVE: "MEMORIAL STADIUM 1924-1992." In less than two months, the sights and sounds of on-campus football will return to the University of Minnesota with the opening of TCF Bank Stadium. While a stadium in the heart of campus will be a new experience for some fans, many others recall the rich history of Memorial Stadium, the home of Golden Gopher football for 57 years...

Memorial Stadium Digital Archive from ULibs

Posted on July 22, 2009
STAFF AT U LIBRARIES HAVE CREATED AN INTERACTIVE DIGITAL ARCHIVE: "MEMORIAL STADIUM 1924-1992." In less than two months, the sights and sounds of on-campus football will return to the University of Minnesota with the opening of TCF Bank Stadium. While a stadium in the heart of campus will be a new experience for some fans, many others recall the rich history of Memorial Stadium, the home of Golden Gopher football for 57 years...

This Week's Highlighted Acquisitions

Posted on July 21, 2009
Cotter, Anne-Marie Mooney. Heaven forbid : an international legal analysis of religious discrimination. Farnham, England ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate Pub. Ltd., c2009. Call number: K3280 .C68 2009 Publisher's description: As the population becomes more diverse internationally, Religious Discrimination has become increasingly important as an area of law around the world...

The 1909 Copyright Act Hearings

Posted on July 20, 2009
Were we smarter 100 years ago..? The 1909 Copyright Act Hearings James Boyle has been rereading the legislative history of the 1909 Copyright Act. He has come to the conclusion that 100 years ago we were smarter about copyright, about disruptive technologies, about intellectual property, monopolies and network effects than we are today...

Copyrighting the Public Domain?

Posted on July 17, 2009
Copyfraud : Poisoning the Public Domain is an introduction to some of the ways that content providers (websites, publishers, etc.) abuse copyright protections when they use public domain materials. A couple of minor points, however: *The act of assigning a copyright to something already in the public domain is the issue; taking a Project Gutenberg text, formatting it, and publishing it is of great benefit to people, as long as one doesn't claim protection that doesn't actually exist for the material...

James J Hill Digital Resources

Posted on July 16, 2009
Selected James J. Hill Digital Scans Now Available Online Digital scans of 1,047 selected correspondence, clippings, and reports from the James J. Hill papers are now available on the web. These files, in pdf format, are accessible through an online inventory, which lists a description of each item and provides a link directly to each digital version...

Changes to lawschool.westlaw.com

Posted on July 15, 2009
On July 17, 2009, lawschool.westlaw.com and TWEN® will have a new look as part of the Thomson Reuters branding. These changes are only cosmetic; there are no navigational changes to either lawschool.westlaw.com or TWEN. All links and page content still reside in the same places as before...

Law Library Staff Recommend...

Posted on July 15, 2009
An occasional feature, "Law Library Staff Recommend..." highlights books that Law Library staff members have read for enjoyment and now recommend that others consider for inclusion on their own reading lists. If you have any comments or questions about any of the titles presented in this feature, feel free to email lawlib@umn...

This Week's Highlighted Acquisitions

Posted on July 15, 2009
Goodhart, Charles. A. E., The regulatory response to the financial crisis. Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA : Edward Elgar Pub, c2009. Call number: HB3722 .G66x 2009 Publisher's Description: There are already many papers and books on the causes and course of the current financial crisis, but this is the first and, for the moment, only such book to focus on the regulatory response to it...

Have You Tried JISC?

Posted on July 13, 2009
JISC Academic Database Assessment Tool JISC Academic Database Assessment Tool (ADAT) allows you to compare bilbiographic and full text databases. There are four main functions on the site: Compare Journal Title Lists Compare key features of database platforms Compare e-Book platforms Compare charts and statistice (dashboards) of each database So, for example, with respect to number 3, if you compare NetLibrary to ebrary, you will learn that ebrary lets you export citations to Endnote, while NetLibrary will not...

New LLOC Research Report: Habeas Corpus Rights in 13 Countries

Posted on July 10, 2009
Current Legal Topics from the Law Library of Congress: Habeas Corpus Rights in Thirteen Countries Under the concept of habeas corpus as developed in Anglo-American jurisprudence, persons who are deprived of their liberty have the right to challenge through judicial inquiry the legality of their arrest or detention...

Pennsylvania launches legal "help desks"

Posted on July 10, 2009
In a program that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder pegged as a potential model for the country, Pennsylvania has launched Get Help Now Pennsylvania, where consumers can take advantage of volunteer legal, financial, banking, and mortgage professionals at free "help desks...

New Faculty Publication from Shaffer

Posted on July 10, 2009
Mark A. Pollack and Gregory C. Shaffer. When cooperation fails : the international law and politics of genetically modified foods. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009. Call number: K3927 .P65 2009 Publisher's description: The transatlantic dispute over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has brought into conflict the United States and the European Union, two long-time allies and economically interdependent democracies with a long record of successful cooperation...

STEP-UP Intern Interview

Posted on July 08, 2009
Johnnisha Williams has been working in the Law Library and Law Clinics office since the middle of June. Here are her thoughts on her work: LexLibris: You've been working at the law school for a few weeks now. How do you like the work? Is it what you expected? Johnnisha Williams: The law school is everything I expected and more...

This Weeks Highlighted Acquisitions

Posted on July 07, 2009
Cherlin, Andrew J. The marriage-go-round : the state of marriage and the family in America today. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Call number: HQ535 .C416 2009 Publisher's Description: During Andrew J. Cherlin's three decades of study and analysis of family life, he came to see that marriage in the United States was different than in other Western countries--Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand--in a way that no one was writing about...

UMN Law Alum to Lead St Paul Libraries

Posted on July 06, 2009
Mayor Coleman appoints Kit Hadley as City's New Library Director Hadley replaces Melanie Huggins at SPPL SAINT PAUL - Mayor Chris Coleman named Katherine "Kit" Hadley as director of Saint Paul Public Library. Hadley, who will be replacing Melanie Huggins, is the former director of the Minneapolis Public Library and most recently has been the executive director of Heading Home Minnesota, a statewide initiative to end homelessness and an umbrella organization for 12 state, regional, and county/city initiatives...

New Acquisitions in June 2009

Posted on July 02, 2009
Here is the list of new titles the Law Library acquired in June 2009. The list is on the Library's home page. June Acquisitions In addition, here are a couple highlighted titles of particular interest: Documents of Native American political development : 1500s to 1933 / [edited by] David E...

Law Library Closed July 3

Posted on July 01, 2009
The Law Library is closed on Friday July 3. Law students and others with after-hours UCard access will still be able to access the library and building. Fast Facts: Fourth of July 2009 Facts and stats relating to the holiday. Including: + 2.5 million In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation...

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