Today in the Library

Due to illness of our Thursday evening librarian, we will have to close the Reference desk this evening at 5pm.

Don't forget to fill out the Library survey - tell us what you think and enter the raffle to win an iPod shuffle . Check your email for the web site.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Voting Technology: Brave New World

As national elections approach, the media is buzzing about new voting technology and whether our votes (for any candidate) will actually be counted. Anyone interested in the latest news about the voting equipment being adopted across the country, local election experiences, and assessments should check out the Caltech-MIT Voting Technology Project web site. The Project brings together technical and social science experts from both schools to evaluate how reliable and secure American voting systems currently are, and to suggest uniform standards going forward. I also recommend Vote: The Machinery of Democracy for an eye-opening look into America's past experience with ballots, voting methods and machines. This online Smithsonian Institution exhibit visually tracks how voting has evolved over the course of our history along with social and technological change.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

21st Century Library workshop: Paper Writing

Paper Writing: Are you still searching for a topic for a paper this semester? If you already have chosen a topic, would you like some help gathering resources? If so, please attend the library's upcoming workshop exploring databases we have available both in the law school and via Axinn, the university's main library. There are many high quality resources available to you which you may not know about!! This workshop will introduce you to many of them, as well as touch upon the many "law and"-type resources available through Lexis and Westlaw.

When: Tues., Oct. 31^st – 11:10 to 12 noon; and
Thurs., Nov. 2^nd – 5:10 to 6:00 pm

Where: Lower Level Computer Lab

All law students are welcome.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

National Contact Center

The Federal Citizen Information Center National Contact Center website was created to give the public a place to get answers to their questions about the government. There is a national number directly to the NCC 1-800-FED-INFO, in which the NCC will respond to inquiries. The site also has a directory to the phone numbers of Congress, the Cabinet, Agencies and Commissions. In addition, there are also links to questions and answers on popular topics.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Wikipedia Competition?

Seems like the Wikipedia will soon have some serious competition.

According to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Larry Sanger, a co-founder, and now critic of Wikipedia, has announced the creation of the Citizendium, "an online, interactive encyclopedia that will be open to public contributors but guided by academic editors."

The model for Citizendium is one in which "self-appointed experts will oversee the editing and shaping of articles. Any Web surfer, regardless of his or her credentials, will be able to contribute to the Citizendium. But scholars with "the qualifications typically needed for a tenure-track academic position" will act as editors, he said, authorizing changes in articles and approving entries they deem to be trustworthy".

It will be interesting to see how this competition will play out...



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Taxing Issues

For any of you who were interested but were unable to attend the Tax Research workshop in the Library's 21st Century workshop series, you can pick up the handout from the handout rack by the Reference desk.

Among the highlights: the BNA Tax Portfolios database*, the Westlaw Tax tab, the Lexis Research Task for Tax and RIA Checkpoint database*. Useful for help on filling out your own tax returns are the Publications put out by the IRS, available at http://www.irs.gov/ .

*available from the Library's Research Databases web page.

For questions on any of these, see your favorite Reference Librarian.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

State Statute Legislative Histories

Compiling state legislative histories is a notoriously difficult process, because states vary greatly in the legislative history materials that they make available. If, however, you need information about how to find the legislative history of a state statute, then Indiana University's Web page devoted to state legislative history research guides on the Web will be of great value. Included are links to various online research guides that will help you to find legislative history materials for almost all fifty states, including New York.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

FBI Hate Crimes Report

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released its latest annual report on hate crimes in the United States yesterday. Hate Crime Statistics 2005 and a brief summary are available on the FBI web site. The report breaks down hate crimes by category of crime, such as assaults and property crimes, and by jurisdiction, type of victim and type of location. It analyses offenses by bias motivation, including racial, religious, sexual-orientation, ethnicity/nationality and disability. Compiled from information about the 8,380 offenses reported by police agencies across the country last year, the report is an important source for anyone interested in criminal law or public policy.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

21st Century Library Workshop: Paper Writing

Plan Ahead! Nearly 2 weeks until our next workshop so this is really advance notice.

Paper Writing: Are you still searching for a topic for a paper this semester? If you already have chosen a topic, would you like some help gathering resources? If so, please attend the library's upcoming workshop exploring databases we have available both in the law school and via Axinn, the university's main library. There are many high quality resources available to you which you may not know about!! This workshop will introduce you to many of them, as well as touch upon the many "law and"-type resources available through Lexis and Westlaw.

When: Tues., Oct. 31^st – 11:10 to 12 noon; and
Thurs., Nov. 2^nd – 5:10 to 6:00 pm

Where: Lower Level Computer Lab. All law students are welcome.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Legal Momentum: Advancing Women's Rights

Originally founded as the National Organization for Women Legal Defense and Education Fund, Legal Momentum "advances the rights of women and girls by using the power of the law and creating innovative public policy". Information on numerous topics can be found on their website, including: Reproductive rights, Violence against women, Immigrant women, Employment rights, and many more.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat