Year archives: 2013

Introducing the Central Library of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union and of the European Council

Carlo Marzocchi Head of Sector, Library & Information Service shared this announcement on the resources of Central Library Council of the European Union. The Council of the European Union is the European Union institution where the Member States’ ministers responsible for specific areas (e.g. finance, health, education) meet to discuss issues of common concern within their countries. The European Council consists of the Heads of State, or Government, of the Member States, together with the President of the Council and the President of the Commission. The European Council provides the Union with the necessary impetus for its development and defines its general political directions and priorities. It does not exercise legislative functions. The administrative support to both institutions is ensured by the General Secretariat of the Council or GSC. The Central Library holds over 100,000 monographs and EU publications. Newspapers and periodicals from EU Member States are available in the reading room. The Official Journal of the European Communities is available on paper, on microfiche (until 1997), on CD-ROM (from 1998 on) and via internet.

Subjects: Comparative/Foreign Law, Legal Research, Libraries & Librarians, Reference Services

Canine Assisted Investigation in the Borderlands of Privacy

Ken Strutin brings attention and focus to the fact that dog detection at airports for contraband, in traffic stops for narcotics, at fire scenes for accelerants and at suspect lineups are playing an increasingly important role in criminal investigations. At the same time, Ken documents that the thresholds of olfactory detection continue to test the limits of privacy, probable cause and due process. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court decided two cases involving animal assisted investigation. The fallout from these decisions will add to the evolving body of case law in federal and state courts as they continue to sort out the constitutional limits of this type of investigation.

Subjects: Court Resources, Courts & Technology, Cyberlaw Legislation, Privacy

The Foundation for the Revival of Classical Culture

The mission of The Foundation for the Revival of Classical Culture is the reintroduction of Classical principles of musical, artistic, and scientific practice and performance into the daily lives of American and other citizens, especially youth. Lynn J. Yen, Executive Director of the foundation, discusses the organization’s work to ensure that any young person that wishes to can meet and embrace the true world of Classical music, and that they should likewise be provided with the means to make this music his/her own.

Subjects: Leadership

Statistics Resources and Big Data on the Internet 2013

Marcus P. Zillman has updated his best practices bibliography of sites and reliable sources focused on the hot topic of statistics and big data. These sources are representative of multiple publishers, national and global – government, academia, NGOs, and industry, many of which leverage open source and collaborative applications.

Subjects: Features, Government Resources, Internet Resources - Web Links, Legal Research, Technology Trends

A national digital library endowment: How Americas billionaires could be modern Carnegies for real

David H. Rothman discusses how e-books, collections of electrons, not atoms, come with special advantages. They eliminate physical-shelving costs and are especially useful for blind people and others with special needs. Digital technology can also help multiply the selection of books for residents of small towns as well as large cities with underfunded neighborhood library branches. This technology can likewise drive down the costs of providing best-sellers and help with popularizing authoritative information on key issues such as health and finance.

Subjects: E-Books, Gadgets, Internet Resources - Web Links, Legal Technology, Libraries & Librarians

New Economy Resources 2013

The world is rapidly changing as government data transparency, Big Data and the ability to access actionable information from institutional databases is increasingly released on the web without restrictive fees or subscriptions. This new guide by web research guru Marcus P. Zillman comprises the leading world wide web resources for discovering new knowledge and leveraging the latest reliable data on the New Economy.

Subjects: Business Research, Features, Government Resources, Internet Resources - Web Links, Legal Research, Technology Trends

Poems by Brandon D. Johnson

LLRX is honored to publish two poems by Brandon D. Johnson, a colleague of several decades working in the legal and legislative arena in Washington, DC – providing expert services to law firms and government agencies. Brandon is an insightful and fluent poet, as well as an agile teacher of the craft.

Subjects: Poetry