A recent ethnographic study at a number of Illinois academic libraries suggests that students who have grown up with computer and Internet access are not as sophisticated at accessing the world of online resources as is often assumed. A very brief article on the project appeared in many daily papers last month and my colleague Humayun Rashid brought a much more detailed report in Inside Higher Education to my attention. The Inside Higher Ed. article provides an excellent summary of the study.

The results of the ERIAL Project (Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries) are perhaps not very surprising to . . . [more]

I have in the past complained about the abysmal lack of online access to Canadian court dockets at the same time as trying to compile a list of known links to Canadian court dockets to my Case Law research page on my legal research and writing website.

In addition to the new LexisNexis Canada dockets service I mentioned last week, a colleague has pointed out the free Canadian Federal Courts dockets service at IPPractice.ca, a website maintained by Alan Macek of Dimock Stratton LLP, a great site that does not yet appear to have been mentioned on SLAW . . . [more]

Library and Archives Canada announced today that, to celebrate the 170th anniversary of the Canada Gazette (on October 2), the back issues of that publication have been made available and searchable online. There are four entry points to the database:

• Keyword Search
• Advanced Keyword Search
• Search the Consolidated Regulations of Canada
• Find an Issue

Issues published since 1998 have been available online for some time.

[hat tip: @richards1000] . . . [more]

The 7th edition of the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation is over a year old already. In a normal world, the newness and newsworthiness of this book (commonly known as the McGill Guide) would have worn off. Still, whenever someone asks for assistance with citing materials, I find myself in need of ‘more’ information. What are you citing, cases, articles? For whom, an academic paper, an internal document, the courts?

A book review published in the 2011 Saskatchewan Law Review at Volume 74, page 275 tells me that I am not alone with struggling for the correct answer to . . . [more]

We all seem to be part of social networks these days, indeed it is proving more and more difficult to avoid them. Movies are being made about social networks, devices are being marketed based on their social network capabilities, the phrase itself is becoming ubiquitous. I heard the following item this week and had to look into it more. It seems that in Switzerland (and Switzerland is a veritable font of information for Slaw), Guinea Pigs (amongst others such as budgies and goldfish) have been identified as a “social species” that are protected by law. That is, in . . . [more]

The following post just went live on the VLLB, but it’s appropriate for the legal research community here at Slaw too. One of Stem’s clients, Quickscribe, has announced the relaunch one of BC’s most treasured legislative research tools, the BCLD. In the narrative below, you’ll find a brief history of the collection’s origin, custodianship, and how members of our West Coast law library community contributed to its digital rebirth.

The British Columbia Legislative Digest: A Brief History

The British Columbia Legislative Digest (BCLD) was conceived of in 1979 by librarians at the BC Courthouse Library, now Courthouse Libraries BC . . . [more]

Writers and publishers are continuously facing a changing landscape.  The Writers’ Union of Canada has developed 12 core demands for the digital age. Interesting list for authors in negotiations with their publishers.

1. Copyright legislation shall ensure the protection of intellectual property and appropriate compensation for rightsholders.
2. Exceptions to copyright shall be minimized.
3. The publisher shall split the net proceeds of ebook sales equally with the author.
4. The author shall retain all e-rights not specifically granted to the publisher or producer and shall have the approval of any modifications made to the work.
5. The publisher shall not exercise or sublicense ebook

. . . [more]

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has invited citizens to submit short papers (six to eight pages) toward a dialogue on human rights, specifically relating to religious belief and practice as shaped by the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

I see that LexisNexis Canada has announced a new court docket service in Canada for dockets at the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada:

From one intuitive online interface, LexisNexis CaseConnection Dockets enables fast access to key case information for ongoing and new proceedings filed with the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada. This information helps law firm, government and corporate professionals stay on top of emerging legal issues and cases quickly, cost-effectively and securely.

The press release was not clear on cost of the service, although registration here was . . . [more]

In what is very welcome news, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has released a practice direction, effective 1 October 2011, authorizing the use of reliable online versions of court decisions for filing in books of authorities and providing for special citation rules:

Practice Direction Regarding Filing of Judicial Decisions from Electronic Databases, and Regarding Citation of All Judicial Decisions

Practice Direction

Judicial Decisions from Electronic Databases

Effective October 1, 2011, copies of judicial decisions obtained from approved electronic databases are acceptable for filing provided the report of the judicial decision contains paragraph numeration consistent with the numbering of

. . . [more]

PACER fees will be going up 25% effective November 1st.

A a press release on the U.S. Courts website explains:

The increase in the electronic public access (EPA) fee, from $.08 to $.10 per page, is needed to continue to support and improve the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system, and to develop and implement the next generation of the Judiciary’s Case Management/Electronic Case Filing system.

PACER fees are set by the Judicial Conference of the United States. The electronic public access fee has not changed since 2005. If my memory is correct, in 2005 the price rose . . . [more]

The September 23 issue of The Lawyers Weekly includes a list of the 24 top social media influencers in Canadian law. A remarkable number of the names will be familiar, because they are also contributors to SLAW (with some well deserved special mention going to Simon Fodden).

For me, the most interesting part of the article is where Jordan Furlong and Warren Smith describe the selection process. Their observations should be given serious attention by firms looking to market via social media, or individuals trying to build credibility in their area of expertise.

I think it would also be interesting . . . [more]