by Stina McClintock
Not to alarm anyone but the end of the world is nigh. As we usher in 2012, let’s not shy away from addressing the serious elephant in the room (no, not that 2012 was a somewhat awful movie that makes my heart weep for the 80’s and 90’s John Cusack). According to the Mayans, on December 21, 2012 we will witness the end of this known world. Which begs the question: what should I read in order to prepare? Continue reading 'It’s The End of the World as We Know It'»
by Stina McClintock
While perusing the Kardashian Kollection at Sears two weeks ago, I came across a lovely Christmas sweater that lit up and weighed approximately 16 pounds. If it hadn’t been for my resolution to not buy myself anything through the holiday season, I would have picked that puppy up in a second because this year our library staff party was centered on the idea of ugly Christmas sweaters.
It turns out that we are totally on trend right now here at the Public Law Library. According to a recent article in the Seattle Times, ugly sweaters are all the rage. In fact, they could almost be considered ironic enough for hipsters except these sweaters are now deemed popular. So popular, in fact, that you can now forego the thrift shops and holiday shoppers and go online to UltimateUglySweaters.com for all your ugly attire needs. So while it may be too late for this year, bookmark this site for your next your holiday party needs.
Oh, and if anyone is curious, Rick Stroup won the Ugly Sweater contest here at the library. No one’s sweater even came close. Happy Holidays everyone!
by Robyn Hagle
I was alerted to this story by former LLOPSter, Jeff Buckley. In recent remarks regarding his child labor law stance, Newt Gingrich gave us this doozy:
“What if you paid them part time in the afternoon to sit in the clerical office and greet people as they came in? What if you paid them to work as the assistant librarian? And I’d pay them as early as is reasonable and practical.” Continue reading 'Children Librarians (not to be confused with Children’s Librarian)'»
by Robyn Hagle
Most of us know that Google is smart enough to customize or personalize results based on past search activity. This is true whether you have a Google account or not. In doing this, Google looks at past searches you’ve done and results you’ve clicked. This can be useful if the majority of what you do on Google is business or legal related research. Sometimes I think this helps me get better results (and find what’s actually being asked for) more efficiently than our attorneys. Google keeps getting smarter the more I use it. Continue reading 'Turning off Google Personalization'»
by Mary Whisner from Gallagher blogs
Ah, the office holiday party. At best, an awkwardly enjoyable fishbowl of free booze and treats on the company dime; at worst, a festival of liability that presents an open invitation to inappropriate canoodling,
drunken slurs, and unwanted advances amongst employees, any one of whom might one day quit and sue you for fostering a hostile work environment, citing events that occurred one fine December evening when everyone was “supposed to be” having a good time.
Catherine Dunn, Reducing Holiday Liability with ‘The Company Party Checklist’, Corporate Counsel (law.com), Dec. 14, 2011.
by Kristine Lloyd
Not only is eating right alongside breathing on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, eating has become a national pastime, nay, a sport. When I was a kid it was Hungry Man dinners and so long as the peas didn’t touch the mashed potatoes, I was happy. Now I want duck pâté canapés with huckleberry compote and challah French toast with hazelnut mascarpone. All the better if the huckleberries are artisanal and grown on a commune by a man named Sutra. Continue reading 'An Appetizing Archive'»
by Kristine Lloyd
For those of you who know me, I heart free stuff. A $20 Groupon for a $40 meal. Even if it’s gruel, I’m there! A free facial. Rub my face raw. That’s just fine. It’s free! I love training new associates on PACER, especially the “wait, there’s more” part when I tell them that it’s only $.08 per page (though it’s going up to a whopping $.10 in April), with a cap at $2.40!
It’s painful to have to pay exorbitant prices for the legal research we do, but honestly, some of the free sites just aren’t that great. For years, the US Code at the GPO’s site was a listless blob of stultified code sections. Thankfully, somebody over there wised up and now the US Code has a new sleek look at a brand new site. Sit down for this one: there’s even a popular name table. In addition to the popular name table, you’ll find the Statutes at Large conversion table. But wait, there’s more. There’s even a cite checker. I searched for a section of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 that had been amended by the Dodd-Frank Act, and sure enough, those changes are included. When you look up a code section, there are even revision annotations. I am very impressed.
An advanced search feature even allows you to search down to a sections subpart. You’ll find a helpful page on the currency of the code, and some of the titles were last updated on November 12th. Certainly we’ll continue to use fee services to ensure the currency of statutes, but this is a great place to steer new associates looking for ways to save their clients a buck.
Congratulations to our very own Amy Eaton. AALL President Darcy Kirk sends out the following regarding the AALL Election Results.
This year we received 1,517 ballots (32.77% of total dues paying members).
Deborah Rusin, AALL secretary, has just notified all the candidates running for office, so I am pleased to announce the results of the AALL election for 2012.
Vice President/President-Elect: Steven P. Anderson
(July 2012 – July 2013)
Executive Board: Amy J. Eaton and Suzanne Thorpe
(July 2012 – July 2015)
Congratulations to our successful candidates and a big thank you to all who agreed to run for office. It is this commitment and dedication that makes the profession of law librarianship, and especially AALL, a strong and vibrant community. Continue reading 'AALL Election Results'»
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