Articles Posted in News from Organizations

What does “the rule of law” mean in today’s multi-cultural society?

In a growing number of cases in state and federal courts all across the country, immigrants are pleading “the cultural defense” – invoking the customs and traditions of their homelands to explain their actions. Even when it is not raised per se, culture plays a role in many cases – both civil and criminal.

In this engaging and highly-interactive presentation, audience members will use hand-held TrialGraphix technology to “vote” on the outcome of vignettes drawn from fascinating and controversial real-life cases “ripped from the headlines” and presented by an inter-disciplinary panel of some of the nation’s leading cross-cultural experts.

The January 25, 2008 issue of the AALL Washington E-bulletin is now available at http://www.aallnet.org/aallwash/eBulletin12508.pdf. Reading issues of this E-bulletin is a great way to keep abreast of issues of interest and concern to law librarians that are being discussed and debated in Washington, DC. Enjoy

We’re very pleased to announce the fourth annual Nylink Achievement Awards and the second year of the Leadership Award. The Achievement Awards provide recognition and appreciation for Nylink member institutions that make significant contributions to Nylink, library cooperation, or to library collaboration. The Leadership Award was established in 2007 to honor Mary-Alice Lynch, who served as Nylink Executive Director from 1997 to 2007, for her leadership and vision for libraries. The award is given to an individual in recognition of sustained service reflected in a significant and influential body of professional work furthering Nylink’s mission of library collaboration and/or the promotion of innovative technological solutions to shared library issues.

All librarians, professional, technical and ancillary staff, Nylink staff, and others in the profession are encouraged to submit nominations for the institutional Achievement Awards and for the individual Leadership Award. The nomination solicitation process will remain open until Friday, February 22, 2008.

All nominations will be reviewed by the Awards Committee of Nylink Council. We thank this committee for their time and effort to highlight the valuable contributions of Nylink member institutions and their staffs. Committee members: Gary Thompson, Siena College, chair; Susan Currie, Binghamton University; Barbara Liesenbein, Dutchess Community College.

Introduction.

Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts suggest that economic activity increased modestly during the survey period of mid-November through December, but at a slower pace compared with the previous survey period. Among Districts, seven reported a slight increase in activity, two reported ixed conditions, and activity in three Districts was described as slowing.

Most reports on retail activity indicated subdued holiday spending and further weakness in auto sales. However, most reports on tourism spending were positive. Residential real estate conditions continued to be quite weak in all Districts. Reports on commercial real estate activity varied, with some reports noting signs of softening demand. Manufacturing reports varied across industries, with pronounced weakness noted in housing-related industries as well as the automobile industry. Strong export orders and increased demand in industries whose products compete against imports was reported by some Districts. Demand for nonfinancial services remained generally positive, although some Districts commented on continuing weak demand for transportation services.

The following is an excerpt of a Report of the OCLC Council Meeting by Phyllis Post, Head of Technical Services at Capital University (Columbus, Ohio). Phyllis attended as an observer/representative of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL).. Speaking personnally, I am very happy to see AALL involved at this level with OCLC:

From the OCLC Members Council 2007/2008 Annual Plan:

The Members Council, along with the Board of Trustees, is one of the two governance bodies representing the Membership of the OCLC global, nonprofit, library cooperative. Members Council supports OCLC’s mission of furthering cost-effective access to worldwide information by serving as a key strategic discussion forum and the major communications link among Members, networks, and OCLC. By providing an open channel for recommendations and questions from delegates, approving changes in the Code of Regulations, and electing six Members of the Board of Trustees, Members Council helps shape the future direction of OCLC and libraries.

“The Equal Justice Conference brings together all components of the legal community to discuss equal justice issues as they relate to the delivery of legal services to the poor and low-income individuals in need of legal assistance. The emphasis of this Conference is on strengthening partnerships among the key players in the civil justice system. Through plenary sessions, workshops, networking opportunities and special programming, the Conference provides a wide range of learning and sharing experiences for all attendees.”

“Pro bono and legal services program staff, judges, corporate counsel, court administrators, private lawyers, paralegals, and many others attend this event. The title and theme of the 2008 Equal Justice Conference is: Pursuing Justice: Balancing Challenges and Opportunities. The main Conference will celebrate the ongoing collaboration between pro bono and legal services; explore additional partnerships that must be created, the resources that must be tapped, and the new issues facing clients.”

For more information see the Conference website at http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/ejc/

December 2007 Content Release

The December 2007 content release added 1.4 million pages of legal information to our collections, bringing the total number of pages in HeinOnline to more than 33 million. Below are descriptions of the more prominent content that was released.

Law Journal Library

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