PolicyArchive Launched

PolicyArchive, billed as the "nation's first free, comprehensive, online archive of public policy research," became available yesterday. With over 12,000 policy documents from over 220 think tanks, PolicyArchive hopes to become the world's largest online repository of public policy research, reaching up to 20,000 documents by the end of 2008. The product of a partnership between the nonprofit Center for Governmental Studies and the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis University Library, Policy Archive brings together documents from a wide array of respected policy research institutes and government sources, such the Aspen Institute, RAND, the Cato Institute, the Congressional Research Service, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Arranged by topic, such as health, energy, and justice, the reports and other documents are also keyword searchable and browseable by author, funder, and publisher. PolicyArchive is a great new resource for law students and faculty.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Legal Anagrams

As many of you know, an anagram is a word whose letters may be rearranged to form another word. For instance, “time” may become “item”, with its letters suitably rearranged. Here are some amusing anagrams created from the phrase “the legal profession”, courtesy of the Anagram Genius site:

*Large if not hopeless

*Posh liars on fee gelt

*Profile those angles

* Pleasing fools there

*Oops! All-nighter fees.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Dickens And The Law

Next to Shakespeare, the English-language author who is perhaps most famous for his characters’ observations about the law is Charles Dickens. This page offers an amusing and interesting assortment of Dickens’ characters’ law-related ruminations.

May you never be embroiled in a modern-day Jarndyce v. Jarndyce!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Free Online Courses

You may know that universities such as Harvard, MIT and Berkeley have been offering free classes online via iTunes, YouTube and more. Open Culture has made them easier to find by providing a list of free online courses offered by several universities. If you are looking for educational podcasts or videos, this is a great place to start.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

60 Gadgets in 60 minutes

Techie fun can be found at 60 Gadgets in 60 minutes. Some of the gadgets are silly and others cutting edge, but it is a good way to get a quick overview of current technological innovation.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Laptop Distraction

Do you sometimes find yourself playing games during class, rather than taking notes? Apparently members of certain foreign parliaments have the same problem.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

If You Think Law School Is Hard . . .

. . . just try being waterboarded. Artist Steve Powers is looking for 50 attorneys to waterboard for five seconds, because attorneys are "qualified to impartially describe the experience." There is no word on whether Steve Powers is related to Fran Powers, who ran to become the nominee of the Libertarian Party for the congressional seat representing Staten Island. (Fran's father, Frank Powers, who had been the Republican Party's choice for that seat, sadly died last week.)



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Saturday's Virtual Silence

Just a reminder to everyone - tomorrow (Saturday, June 28) all of us with Virtual voices will be silenced. The infrastructure necessary for my existence (routers, switches and other gizmos) are being upgraded and replaced. This means there will be no network access. In other words if you are physically in the Law School - no email or IM, no internet, no Library catalog or databases and no Virtual Library Cat!!

Enjoy your quiet day. I will be back as per usual on Sunday.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Shakespeare’s Legal Puns

The Bard is well known for his characters’ comments apropos of all things legal. This Time magazine article from 1964 offers an amusing overview of Shakespeare’s wittier references to the law.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

LaterLoop: A new bookmarking service

What makes LaterLoop stand out from other bookmarking services is that LaterLoop has a desktop version that allows you to view saved websites offline, and the mobile version that provides mobile access to your saved websites. LaterLoop also lets you share your saved sites with public profile options and RSS feeds.

Extra! 5 ways to use LaterLoop.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat