Wilderness.net

What better way for a Virtual Library Cat to spend a quiet, snowy Saturday but in a warm corner by the reference librarian? One of my favorite discoveries between catnaps was Wilderness.net. This website gem, a collaboration of university and other wilderness research institutes, includes a gallery of wonderful photos to search, browse, enlarge, and even download as high resolution images. But it is also home to the "Wilderness Law Library," a collection of U.S. legislation keyed to specific wilderness areas. This is the place to find regulations and other agency-specific and topical resources, Congressional research reports, articles, links to other wilderness sites, historical timelines, statistics, wilderness area descriptions, and maps, all in one well organized and integrated collection. Enjoy it just to browse or plan outdoor adventures--then bookmark it as a great source for legal research.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Words, words, words

You made it through finals, now you can think about something fun (when you are ready to think again, that is.) So I am ready to think about words. Traveling the web I run across a lot of them and they are critical for searching the web.

The only problem is the English language. Too many words have multiple meanings or can have two totally different meanings depending upon context. These are know as heteronyms. So when I search for "china" am I looking for information about the country or dishes? A list of other heteronyms is at Fun With Words (see, I am not the only one).

Don't get heteronyms confused with homonyms (I did). Homonyms (also known as homophones) are words that sound the same but spelled differently (like cereal and serial). For online searching, we just need to make sure we spell these correctly. More examples of homonyms are here .

Why should you care? It has to do with search engine choice. Stay tuned for that explanation coming in the new year.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Nokia Versus Apple In Patent Dispute

Even non-mobile phone users may be interested in reading more about the patent infringement suit recently filed by Nokia against Apple with regard to the latter’s popular iPhone. Additional details are available here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Best Books

Still looking for a holiday gift for the bibliophile in your life?

You might want to peruse a few "Best Books of 2009" lists. I like Library Journal's Best Books 2009 and "Best Books of 2009" list by Publishers Weekly. Also take a a look at 10 Best Books of 2009 from the New York Times and the Washington Post's 10 Best Book's of the Year.




Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

ABA launches search engine for law reviews/ journals & other repositiories

The ABA recently launched a search engine for over 300 law reviews/journals, repositories such as SSRN and bepress, and related publications such as Congressional Research Service reports. This is a search engine so the actual full text of some of the documents may not be available through this site. If you locate a site but not a document, remember to look at Hein Online (subscription database) on our homepage.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

The Future of First Year Associates

This WSJ Law Blog post summarizes a panel that discussed the future of the law business, part of that being the current model for new associates. A lawyer's education does not end with law school, but clients aren't always happy to pay for newer attorneys who are still learning the ropes.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat