New and Improved Research Guides

Why reinvent the wheel?  Look for research guides on your topic and get a great head-start on your research.  You can try a Google search (for example "environmental law research guide"), or better yet, check out some new and improved research guides by your favorite Reference Librarians.

You can find these in our Research Guides list, along with many other Research Guides which will be improved in the coming months.  Suggestions for research guides are always welcome

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EPA Online Library System

The Online Library System (OLS) for the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Library Network consists of several related databases that compose its library catalog.  You may use the OLS to locate books, reports, journals, and audiovisual materials on a variety of subjects related to the environment.

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Historical Newspapers Online

Do you ever have to find an older or historical newspaper article, either for a research paper or source gathering assignment?  Some students are aware of New York Times Historical, a ProQuest historical newspaper accessible from the Axinn Library through the a Law Library web site link and the Hofstra portal. New York Times Historical contains full text page-image and PDF articles from the years 1851-2007.  But other Proquest historical newspapers are also available through the Hofstra portal.  Just click on "New York Times Historical" in the Axinn database list, under "Newspapers."  At the ProQuest page, click on the "History" icon. Here you will find a selection of historical newspapers covering more than two centuries of primary source material:  the Boston Globe (1872-1979); British newspapers The Guardian (1821-2003) and The Observer (1791-2003), and state and local events chronicled in Newsday (1940-1984).    

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New Digital Repository: "Bills to be Considered on the House Floor"

I often find wonderful and helpful information on the  In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress blog.  Recently, Andrew Weber posted the following guest post by, Kimberly Ferguson Specialist in Legislative Systems Management in the Library of Congress.  The post discussed a new digital repository from the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives called "Bills to be Considered on the House Floor."

"Bills To Be Considered on the House Floor” provides access to any measures which may be considered on the floor in the coming week, including bills, resolutions, and amendments.  The repository, launched January 13, 2012, in time for the 2nd session of the 112th Congress, is intended to expand upon and replace the legislative announcements made on the House Rules Committee’s website throughout 2011."

 Click here to read more of Kimberly's post.

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Are you ready for a law e-textbook

It seems that the time for law textbooks to move to a digital format may have arrived.  This article from Law Technology News, "Apple, Publishers, Open-Source Dictate Law School Text Book Evolution" is a good prognosis.

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Apps for Lawyers

With the advent of smartphones many of us use various apps to help us in our everyday lives.  In the past few years, many legal vendors have introduced apps for various lawyer functions.  Legal Technology News recently published a guide entitled "Librarian-Recommended Apps for Lawyers."  This handy guide categorizes the apps by purpose and provides summaries on what you want to accomplish with the app, it's features and more.  Some highlighted apps include Evernote, FastCase,  Lexis Case Pull, GoodReader and more.   Click here to access the full guide of recommended apps for lawyers.

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Better than Lexis and Westlaw???

There is much more out there than Lexis and Westlaw (and Google) for your research.  Many attorneys and scholars use specialized topical databases to target their area of interest.  How can you do the same?  Go to the Library's Online Resources page, choose your topic of interest and see what we have available.  You will find databases specializing in Tax, Health, Commercial and Corporate and many other topics.

And, of course, if you are not sure where to go, ask your favorite Reference Librarian!

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Megaupload Meets Godzilla?

Read Thomson Reuters legal columnist Alison Frankel’s interesting take on the recent accusations of racketeering and criminal copyright infringement against the file sharing site Megaupload here.

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New Google Privacy Policy

Yesterday Google announced on the Official Google Blog and via email notices that it was changing its privacy policies, effective March 1, 2012.  One general privacy policy covering most of its products will replace the more than 70 privacy documents existing today.

A main objective behind the new policy, as stated in the announcement, will be to "[make] clear that, if you're signed in", Google "may combine information you've provided from one service with information from other services."  In other words, Google will combine information gathered from different products your may have used (for example, Gmail, Google Docs, Google+ posts, shared photos, and calendars) and "treat you as a single user across all our products."  This permits Google to offer its new feature, "Search Plus Your World," described in a previous post. Google is also simplifying matters by revising its Terms of Service, also posted now but effective March 1.

Is this just simplification, just service, or just scary?  The media and the lawmakers are already weighing in on that question, as explained here by Mark Hachman of PCMag.com.  Whatever your personal take on the new Google policies and features may be, it's good to be informed. 

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Contract Law Karaoke

Starting with Chicken in a Contract (Frigaliment Importing Co v BNS International Sales), tap your foot and listen to more songs from classic cases of first-year contract law by visiting R.B. Craswell's Contract Songs"  Hat tip to Law Librarian Blog.
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