Top Mobile Travel Apps for Lawyers

Law Technology News recently published their picks of the top mobile travel apps for lawyers.  The list was created based on the busy life of lawyers who are often traveling for business meetings, hearings, conferences, and other obligations.  The aim of the travel apps is to reduce the chaos by saving time, organizing costs and using productivity tools for practice .  Some of the apps recommended include Evernote, SkyScanner, Due and more.  Read more and learn about the top fifteen recommendations here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Something Different: Aztec and Maya Law

In a few days, law school libraries will be filled with new 1Ls digging into case briefs and their first law school assignments.  But law libraries offer much more than books, databases, a comfy and collaborative environment, and the help of your favorite librarians. Many law libraries have produced outstanding online exhibits of law related history and art, drawn from their own collections and archives. One of my favorites--fun to explore and beautifully illustrated--is "Aztec and Maya Law," from the Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas School of Law.  Before the new semester starts, spend a few minutes with this absorbing presentation of criminal, commercial, family, military and international law as practiced by these ancient civilizations. You'll discover some surprising similarities, as well as dramatic contrasts, with our 21st century judicial systems.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Gotta love the Library and Librarians

O.K., maybe as a "Virtual Library Cat" I am biased in my fondness for the Library.  So, don't take my word for it, check out this story I heard on NPR this week - Libraries' Leading Roles: On Stage, On Screen and  In Song .

Enjoy the pop-culture review of  libraries and librarians from Star Trek (the original, of course!) to Keith Richards (I kid you not, check out the link).  And yes, It's a Wonderful Life is acknowledged but is countered with Harry Potter and Dr. Who among many others.

With links to some of the clips and references to books, shows and songs, what a great way to spend a rainy Friday.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

U.S. Census Bureau: My Congressional District

The U.S. Census Bureau has released My Congressional District the first interactive tool geared exclusively toward finding basic demographic and economic statistics for every congressional district in the U.S.  

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Archaeology: The Milk Revolution

Yes, Ernster understands that most humans are lactose intolerant and cannot drink milk.  This article Archaeology:  The Milk Revolution is an overview of how people came to consume dairy products.  Some interesting factoids:  Only one third of people produce the lactase enzyme as adults that enables them to drink mile.  Most people who can drink milk can trace their ancestry to Europe.

This is a fun bit of intersection between science and history.  

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Your Money

Congrats to those who have just finished the Bar Exam

Unless you are independently wealthy, whether you look forward to earning your first post Law School paycheck or are returning to Law School to finish your degree, you will need to learn how to manage your finances.  

One great source of information  is the Your Money section of the N.Y. Times.  You will find links to information on student and auto loans, as well as articles on topics ranging from financial planning for those of us not independently wealthy, online contracts we all agree to without reading and, one of my favorites - the Haggler - a columnist with a sense of humor who helps aggrieved consumers.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Unusual U.S. Government Publications, Part Nine: Archaeology With Coffee Cans

From the Hills Bros. Coffee Can Chronology Field Guide, published by U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (Fairbanks, Alaska):

“Archaeologists use various relative and absolute dating techniques to refine the chronology of the sites they research. One artifact that is especially helpful on many 20th century western United States historic sites is the Hills Bros. coffee can. Hills Bros., established in San Francisco, California in 1878, produced the first vacuum-packed coffee available on the market. Through time, the lithographic images and information on Hills Bros. cans changed in subtle yet distinctive ways, which were first discussed and illustrated in T. Carroll Wilson’s A Background Story of Hills Bros. Coffee (1967). This field guide further refines the chronological attributes identified in these cans’ lithographic panels. We decided the easiest way to provide this data [sic] was to produce images of the entire lithography of each unique can type produced between 1900 and 1963. This time period spans from the first year that a Hills Bros. coffee tin can was produced to an arbitrarily selected end date associated with numerous technological changes in the cans’ manufacture.”

Read more here (opens PDF) about this novel archaeological technique.

This is the last post in our Summer series on unusual U.S. Government publications. We hope that you have enjoyed the series.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Deep Web 2013

"The Deep Web covers somewhere in the vicinity of 1 trillion plus pages of information located through the world wide web in various files and formats that the current search engines on the Internet either cannot find or have difficulty accessing. The current search engines find hundreds of billions of pages at the present time of this writing." Click here to read more by Marcus P. Zillman.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Good Luck on the Bar Exam!

This is the week for state bar exams.  You have studied and worked hard to reach this point and are as prepared as you can be.  Now take a deep breathe and release it slowly.  Do this again.  We are keeping you in our thoughts and wish you the best.

After the exam, we hope you take some time off to relax and unwind.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Research Resources: Computer Technology Law Report (BNA)

If you are interested in a semi-monthly publication that provides legal developments in liability and insurance coverage issues relating to computers, try the Computer Technology Law Report. The report also offers coverage of computer technology issues on the federal, state and international levels.  Dates of coverage are from May 5, 2000 to the present.
To access the Computer Technology Law Report (BNA):

• Go to the Library's home page, click "Online Resources"
• Then, click "Intellectual Property" link
• Scroll down, click the " Computer Technology Law Report(BNA)" link

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat