Category «Features»

Vendor Pitfalls in Negotiating Large Multi-Year Contracts – or How to Lose a Million Dollar Contract

A veteran of several decades of vendor negotiations for law firm online and print contracts, law librarian Elaine Billingslea Dockens’ thoughtful, detailed and illustrative pathfinder is an asset to all engaged parties whose goal is to obtain a contract that is appropriately balanced, in cost and content, to meet the specific organizational requirements.

Subjects: Features

Review of HTC Magic (G2) vs iPhone 3G (and 3G S)

Techie expert extraordinaire Nicholas Moline compares the upcoming T-Mobile G2 (HTC Magic) with the iPhone 3G, which has the new iPhone 3.0 Software. Nick ran detailed and thorough tests of each Smartphone’s usability and functionality, and he highlights the respective range of features, including bar code readers, removable memory, cameras, GPS, touchscreens, email, web access, and lots more. He also shares his thoughts about which gadget delivers the best applications for users.

Subjects: Features, Gadgets, Mobile Technology, Product Reviews

The End of Institutional Repositories & the Beginning of Social Academic Research Service: An Enhanced Role For Libraries

Stuart Basefsky advocates broadening the concept of institutional repositories (IRs) to serve as full-fledged electronic libraries and documents how they can then serve the greater purpose of collecting, disseminating, analyzing and exchanging useful digital information for academic purposes.

Subjects: Features, Information Management, KM, Libraries & Librarians, Team Building, Technology Trends

Navigating the Enterprise 2.0 Highway

Heather Colman provides an overview of Hicks Morley’s implementation of ThoughtFarmer, an Enterprise 2.0/wiki style intranet platform, one year ago. Despite a few growing pains, she describes how the application was successful at meeting the primary objectives to decentralize content updates and increase knowledge sharing and collaboration within the firm.

Subjects: Email, Features, Intranets, KM, Law Firm Marketing, Legal Research, Legal Technology, Litigation Support, Technology Trends, Wiki

Can Collaboration Solve Copyright Status Questions? The WorldCat Copyright Evidence Registry

As Roger V. Skalbeck documents, one of the underlying obstacles to reproducing older books is a central place to look for information about what is protected by copyright and what may have passed into the public domain is lacking. Responding to this need, OCLC recently introduced a beta service, the WorldCat Copyright Evidence Registry (CER). It could be a very valuable resource for recording and sharing copyright status information.

Subjects: Copyright, Features, Search Engines

FIT for Purpose The New FLARE Index to Treaties

Dr. Peter Clinch and Steven Whittle describe the background development, various ways in which the service can be used, and technical issues of this fully searchable database. Launched in March 2009, it indexes and lists over 1,500 of the most significant multilateral treaties concluded from 1856 onwards. It was conceived to fill a gap in the range of information finding tools available on the internet for the international lawyer.

Subjects: Features, International Legal Research, Legal Research, Legal Technology, Treaties & Agreements

Proactive Leadership & The Role of Information: Identifying Strategic Networks of Information

Networking is supposed to be essential to successful leaders. But what is the importance of networking conceptually? People are only one form of this vital leadership resource. Stuart Basefksy explains how would one go about developing expanded networks of information and sources.

Subjects: Communication Skills, Features, KM, Leadership, Legal Research Training, Libraries & Librarians, Presentation Skills

Through the Labyrinth: Real Answers on How Women Become Leaders

With considerable detail and insight, Diana Philip reviews a recent book that explores the concept of whether the “glass ceiling” still accurately describes the challenges women face to realize leadership aspirations. The book’s authors examine leadership theories developed by multiple disciplines to explain what is holding women back from becoming leaders. They provide data from various studies on employment trends as well as insight gathered from interviews with women leaders to assess how true or false these theories apply to contemporary female workers.

Subjects: Book Reviews, Communication Skills, Features, Human Rights

Guide to International Refugee Law Resources on the Web

This updated research guide by Elisa Mason directs readers to some of the key texts and resources available on the Web that can help shed light on, and provide a context for, many of the issues currently being deliberated in the refugee law arena. The guide covers international and regional instruments, human rights and humanitarian law, international bodies (especially the UNHCR), national legislation, case law, and periodicals.

Subjects: Features, Human Rights, International Legal Research, Refugees