A week or two ago Connie posted a question, which I was not then able to address a comment to, about how we keep up with Web 2.0. A suggestion is Stephen’s Lighthouse, Stephen Abram’s blog. I always find him to be a great source of information on this and other new developments generally (as he is VP of Innovation at SirsiDynix). And, by virtue of being Stephen Abram, he is always fun to read/listen to; I’ve seen him at SLA and CLA events a number of times. He frequently does informative presentations on various topics including . . . [more]

The lead story in the May 2006 issue of LJN Internet Law & Strategy is titled “Wikipedia Creates Concerns Aplenty About the Web’s Reliability”. Notwithstanding the title, the author (Shari Claire Lewis) discusses the broader issue of lawyers and web-based research.

Apparently, at least one U.S. Bar Association has taken the trouble to opine that lawyers doing web-based research are required to “take care to assure that the information obtained is reliable”. In fairness, this ruling dates from 1998 – which is perhaps why the ruling seems startling today. Could anyone presume that internet-based research is magical and not subject . . . [more]

Last week when I was at the joint Canadian Association of Research Libraries/American Association of Research Libraries I heard and interesting talk by Lynne Brindley, CEO of the British Library, on the international dimensions of digital science and scholarship. I was amazed at the rapid strides being taken in this area and some of the SLAWers, like me, may not have known of some of the relevant sites:

European Library

A result of EU investment in digital libaries, this site is a portal giving access to the combined resources of the national collections of the 15 EU nations, the 7 . . . [more]

Check out our very own star of stage, screen and multimedia.

Well done Connie . . . [more]

One of the more difficult sets of issues in both offline and online worlds involves identity: how do I know who you are? how do you tell me who you are? who are you willing to be when you’re dealing with me? and so forth.

As Canadians know at the moment, proof of citizens’ identity has become a critical matter in our dealings with the United States. Must we have, are we prepared to submit, fingerprints, or iris scans in order to travel across the border? And then there is the near regression to absurdity of identity itself: identity with . . . [more]

I’d like to find out who else from Slaw is going to the KM Conference for the Legal Profession June 13-14 in Toronto, and any comments about the Arc Group if you’ve had experience with them. . . . [more]

Check out a new blog on research and legal writing. Susan McDonald is a Tennessee attorney, and a graduate of Vanderbilt University and Ole Miss Law School. She practices solo as a legal research and writing specialist, and on her Research & Writing Blog, offers tips and information to help other lawyers improve their writing.

Early in April Slaw, together with the CBA, posted a survey inquiring about public access to Supreme Court of Canada factums. Recently the results of that survey were analyzed and presented to the Court.

PUBLIC ACCESS TO SUPREME COURT OF CANADA FACTUMS
SUMMARY OF A SLAW SURVEY

The Canadian Legal Research and Legal Technology Collaborative Blog, known as https://www.slaw.ca launched a web-based survey of views on the issue of public access to SCC factums. This report summarizes both postings to a discussion of the issue and responses to a web-based survey that was distributed across Canada. Just under sixty responses . . . [more]

Hi Simon,

Looks like I’m going to miss this week’s Slaw post. Here’s my excuse. :-)

See you next week,
Steve . . . [more]

Courtesy of House of Butter comes news of a new social space for lawyers called Lawbby. Oh, the clever name! Launched in April, Lawbby has yet to really take off. I haven’t tried signing up for an ID (not being a lawyer and all), but it has room for browsing of profiles, blogs, discussion forums, polling, classified ads, and group pages (Slaw, anyone?). Here is the press release for more details. . . . [more]

According to a report in the Ann Arbor News the information and published works database company ProQuest is in financial trouble:

The accounting problems at ProQuest Co. raise questions about whether the company will continue to exist – at least under that name – even as it begins moving into a new $34 million headquarters building on Eisenhower Parkway next Monday….

Its problems are big enough that it is planning to sell off its most profitable division to raise cash – and company officials say they are not counting out selling the entire company to maximize shareholder value.

Readers may . . . [more]

The CLA Standing Committee on Intellectual Property and Public Access – International Trade Treaties Working Group has two documents that should be of interest to SLAWers: their report on the WTO/TRIPS agreement, which concludes that the agreement is not especially hostile to balanced domestic copyright legislation, and advises so-called “user groups” and other advocating for balance to confront claims that “international agreements” require extension of ownership domain. The Working Group has also created a GATS and Libraries Pathfinder to assist information retrieval.
Thanks to Lindsay Johnston of the U of A for this. . . . [more]