They are, respectively, dropping and falling, these metaphors being used to describe the AUCC/ Access Copyright (AC) deal struck in in mid April. It being a month since that model deal was announced, it seems that mid May was given as a deadline for the schools that previously opted out to express their intent to sign the model deal. The long and strange journey of the AC copyright tariff for universities has been documented here at Slaw and at other locations fairly extensively; if you are interested in this issue you are no doubt aware of the developments. If . . . [more]

New, in reference to time, could be one day, one week, or a couple of years. In law librarian terms, I still feel new to my job because it is contantly changing. If like me, you are a librarian who didn’t go to law school, the Canadian Association of Law Libraries can help you cope with the burden of ‘new’.

We have written before about CALL/ACBD’s New Law Librarians’ Institute. The institute is an intensive, week-long program aimed at developing librarians’ skills in the key competencies of law librarianship. The program is an excellent mix of substantive legal topices . . . [more]

Those following the US antitrust litigation against Apple and five of the big publishers in respect of ebook pricing by now will have seen Judge Cote’s decision to deny the defendants’ motion to dismiss the class action suit by consumers. The Opinion & Order, In Re Electronic Books Antitrust Litigation 11 MD 2293 (DLC) makes for quite interesting reading. I read a PDF of the Opinion last night, and the Opinion’s also been uploaded to Scribd.

It’s been a long while since I’ve read one of these, but it’s evident from the Opinion that Judge Cote had no difficulty . . . [more]

I attended an excellent session on collection development for law libraries at the Canadian Association of Law Libraries Conference last week. The session was titled “Collection Development in an Era of Shrinking Budgets”. The program stated:

Aimed at those involved in collection development in all types of law libraries, this practical session will discuss strategies and best practices for coping with rising prices and shrinking budgets. Our two panelists will share their experiences in courthouse, private and academic law libraries. The session will then be opened up for discussion and comment by all attendees. Come prepared to share your good

While significant in clarifying the defence of necessity in criminal law, Regina v. Dudley and Stephens has had an even larger cultural influence.

That’s the case of the Mignonette, which capsized on its way to Australia and whose shipwrecked crew faced tough choices in an under-provisioned lifeboat.

The latest NYT Best Seller list features a new book The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan – the author tells that her inspiration came from her husband’s criminal law text.

What hooked me was stumbling on my husband’s old criminal law texts and reading about the cases of sailors who survived shipwrecks and then

I’ve just returned from the 2012 CALL/ACBD Conference where I always enjoy engaging with my colleagues from across the country and further afield, renewing old acquaintances and making new friends. This year’s conference marked the kick-off of CALL/ACBD’s 50th Anniversary celebrations as part of that celebration we were encouraged to share our reminiscences and I would like to share one of mine here.

My first CALL/ACBD conference was in 2002 in Victoria. My memories from that conference include being somewhat awed by the conference itself and impressed with my new-found colleagues but what rings more than that was the . . . [more]

The 2012 Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing was announced earlier this week at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries in Toronto.

This year’s Award goes to JuriBistro UNIK, the global search engine on the website of CAIJ, the network of courthouse libraries in Quebec.

With this single interface, one can simultaneously search Quebec Bar Association continuing education materials, the CAIJ catalogue, the full text of Quebec and federal caselaw and legislation, the full text of secondary literature from publisher Wilson & Lafleur, and the TOPO knowledgebase of answers by CAIJ researchers to . . . [more]

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has come up with some wonderful numbers on our digital habits over the years. A new report titled The rise of e-reading, released on April 4th, is just such an example, and will likely be of interest to many of us here at Slaw. Some of the soundbites included:

• “One-fifth of American adults (21%) report that they have read an e-book in the past year” — up from 17% in mid-December;
• “Readers of e-books stand out in almost every way from other kinds of readers.”

• “They are relatively avid readers of books

Since Sunday I’ve been at the Canadian Association of Law Libraries annual meeting, which wrapped up moments ago. I’m a new member of the organization and this was my first CALL conference. I’m pleased to have put so many faces to names, avatars, and handles. I also enjoyed reconnecting with many people I’ve worked with over the years in several domains all over the country.

The conference presented much enriching content, and also highlighted that many involved in different legal libraries, in different sectors, share many concerns and challenges. This knowledge came to light during networking times and in sessions. . . . [more]

Major Vendors of legal information in Canada sit in a hot seat every year

Carswell has a business problem with cancellation of loose leaf services. They want to go beyond anecdotal evidence to deal with their loose leaf services problems. Annual billing vs. per release pricing is being questioned. The number of December ‘extra releases’ was raised. Members of CALL/ACBD question the need for loose leaf to exist. It is contentious, difficult and the members of the association are frustrated.

The twitter stream is #CALL2012ACBD.
Follow along to see what Thomson Reuters – Carswell, LexisNexis Canada, CCH Canadian, and . . . [more]

Finally, after a decade of exclusively print publication, a portion of the Supreme Court Law Review is available free and online. Each year for the past fifteen years, Osgoode Hall Law School has held a Constitutional Cases conference, the output of which is published in the SCLR. Now, thanks to the efforts of Jamie Cameron and others at York University, the broader community will have access to the more than 200 articles by constitutional scholars and litigation experts. As well, LexisNexis, publishers of the print SCLR, are to be congratulated for giving their permission and support to the project. . . . [more]

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD) annual conference kicked off last night in Toronto at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel and the Ontario Legislature. Yesterday we had many of the Association business meetings, the first part of the AGM and opening of the exhibit hall at the Royal York. Members and guests then headed to the Legislature for the opening reception.

We were treated to a welcome from the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Hon. Dave Levac (see photo), and a tour that included the Speaker’s apartment in the Legislative Building, the Legislative Chamber, and the Legislative Library.

CALL/ACBD . . . [more]