U.S. Department of State Background Notes

According to its Web page, the U.S. Department of State Background Notes include “facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty. The Background Notes are updated or revised by the Office of Electronic Information and Publications of the Bureau of Public Affairs as they are received from the Department's regional bureaus”.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

United Nations Launches its World Digital Library

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization launched its World Digital Library. The Library makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Trans-Lex.org Law Research

Trans-Lex.org is a free research and codification platform for transnational commercial law that was recently launched by The Center for Transnational Law (CENTRAL) at Cologne University. From the site:

Browsing TransLex

TransLex-Principles

The TransLex-Principles contain more than 120 principles and rules of transnational law, the New Lex Mercatoria. Go through the list or use the "Jump to"-box to get to a specific Chapter.

Klick on the Principle of your choice and get its black letter text and access to many full-text references such as domestic statutes, legal doctrine, uniform law instruments, court decisions and arbitral awards.

In the top right hand corner of your screen, you find useful tools to support your research. By klicking on the "see principle history" button, you get an account of the changes which the principle underwent in the past. You can also print the document and/or save it as a pdf-file.

TransLex-Bibliography

Translex-Biblio is a selected collection of bibliographic references on transnational law organized in alphabetical order. If a text is contained in TransLex, you can klick on it and are directed to the respective TransLex-document.

TransLex-Materials

TransLex-Materials are a collection of domestic statutes, international conventions, model laws, restatements and other soft-law instruments which are of relevance for anybody doing research in transnational law and international business law.

TransLex-Links

The TransLex-Links are a selected collection of links to sites which are relevant for anybody doing research in transnational law and international business law.

You can also search the site but I recommend reviewing the "how to use the site" before searching.

Hat tip to Law Librarian Blog.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month, and to celebrate, poets.org is offering a poem-a-day. Take a break from your studies to read a poem (or two). Poets.org also offers poems for every occasion and recently added a new category to the list: poems for times of turmoil.




Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Lawsuit Over 'Sham' Supplement

Law Students, you know those supplements you purchase for $15 or $20 to go along with your $100 casebooks? Apparently casebook authors do, in fact, take these supplements seriously. The authors of a casebook are seeking an injunction against West for publishing a supplement that its purported authors are calling a "sham." West allegedly did not include key reversals by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania its most recent supplement to a casebook on Pennsylvania criminal procedure, angering the law professors who wrote the casebook.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Climate Change Central

For the latest U.S. government policy initiatives relating to climate change, as well as background science summaries, press releases, and information about hearings and other public involvement, check out the Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Change page. The full text of the EPA's Proposed Endangerment Finding for Greenhouse Gases Under the Clean Air Act, issued yesterday, background, and related resources, are brought together here.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

New Search Tool

Wednesday was so taxing, I just had to take yesterday off. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) I did accomplish something though, and that is to post a new search tool called "USS Search" on the Library homepage.

USS Search will enable you to search the Library's catalog, HeinOnline and Wilson's Index to Legal Periodicals with a single search. We are a beta test site for this tool, so there still are a few bugs. Let me know what you think (use the comments) so I can pass along suggestions to improve it. I am hoping that in the future you will be able to search even more resources from this single search box.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Tax.com

While prowling the Law Professors Blog Network, I came across Tax.com. Launched by Tax Analysis, "Tax.com brings you relevant and provocative opinions on today's tax issues and creates a forum to discuss the practical impact of tax policy decisions. You will also find useful information on the tax implications of life events and on how to minimize your tax burden--all in a way that keeps you entertained as well as educated."



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

FDA Notices of Judgment Collection, 1906-1963

From the announcement: The FDA Notices of Judgment Collection is a digital archive of the published notices judgment for products seized under authority of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act. The NJs are resources in themselves but also lead users to the over 2,000 linear foot collection of evidence files used to prosecute each case. The evidence files are a rich documentary resource filled with legal correspondence, lab reports and data, photographs, and product labeling and containers.

It appears that not everything is yet available to the public, but it is a good start. One needs a clear idea of what they are looking for, product / case but it should be a great source for background information in products liability issues.

Students who take Scientific Evidence at some point should keep this site in mind.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Watch that Page

What do you do when your favorite web site does not have an RSS feed? How do you keep track of changes? You might want to try Watch that Page-- a service that monitors the web sites of your choosing and sends the new information to you in an e-mail. Users are required to register and professionals are requested to pay a fee. It is worth a try.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat