Sarah Gotschall explored WikiLeaks for a few hours and identified effective ways to search the site that include an efficient advanced search engine and search operators to target your research even further. She includes example of her searches and the results.
Librarian John Hubbard’s extensively documented article is timely and prescient, with its first publication on March 9, 2017 prior to: the release of James Comey’s book; a long series of departures from the White House and even more from Congress; with a backdrop of a rising storm of controversy about purported misconduct by the current U.S .President – in the decade prior to his election and during his campaign. Hubbard’s introduction: “We live in uncertain times. With big data and a boom in our ability to transmit ideas comes a seemingly greater amount of erroneous information, and therefore the need for everyone to be able to properly identify, discredit, and prevent the spread of falsehoods. What follows is a tour of how much the misrepresentation of reality pervades our world (from whimsical pranks and well-intentioned hoaxes to full-blown propaganda intended to defraud and manipulate), concluding with a discussion of tactics for taking a rational and scientific view so that we may both decrease our susceptibility and improve our ability to detect misinformation.”
Cynthia L. Brown, Director Research Services at Littler Mendelson P.C. discusses the firm’s one-stop-shop for all KM and library research inquiries and needs – the Knowledge Desk. The Knowledge Desk is available to all Littler attorneys and staff for any legal research, traditional library resources, KM requests or questions concerning the legal training group Littler Learning Group (LLG). Via the Knowledge Desk, attorneys are connected to subject matter experts, a vast collection of databases, print materials, practice groups, internal work product and proprietary data collections, through which our team can search efficiently to locate exact information.
In his article Ken Grady describes one possible future for the legal services that embodies radical transformation. He bases this new paradigm on Elon Musk’s premise: the only things unchangeable are the laws of nature. In the case of your law practice this means that regulations, custom, habits, and processes and procedures are all the focus of actionable change. Grady suggests specific ways that the innovative use of current technology and how you approach your work and client services can effectively and positively impact the not too distant future of your profession.
Small and midsize law firms are benefiting from a range of agile, expert, value added services increasingly provided by Library team members in collaboration with firm colleagues in Conflicts, Finance and Marketing. Diana Koppang articulates the strategic impact of this multifaceted linchpin work product.
This guide by Marcus Zillman focuses on selected free and fee based resources published by a range of reliable sources that researchers can use for tracking, monitoring and sector research discovery purposes, as well as on tools and techniques to leverage in their business intelligence work.
Law librarian and adjunct professor Paul Gatz provides important guidance on social media discourse and information literacy that is especially timely and instructive as we are experiencing an escalating wave of highly questionable news and data through sites such as Facebook.
Genevieve Zook’s guide to fake news takes a multifaceted, long view of the history of spreading misinformation, through word of mouth to the acceleration of this activity through social media. Zook identifies examples in which fake news impacts different disciplines, diverse topics and subject matter. She references the survey data gathered by reliable organizations that assist us in better understanding the dimensions of this issue. And vitally, Zook documents actionable resources, many of which are authored by law librarians, to facilitate our ability to make sound decisions, exercise our critical skills, and deliver expert services to our users and customers moving forward.
Knowledge Management has many facets, applications and roles within organizations, large, small and solo. Ken Grady’s interpretation of KM in this article represents the role of the “puzzle master,” one with which librarians, research analysts and infopros have demonstrated mastery.
Legal Career Advisor Kathy Morris offers us succinct, actionable and insightful advise on whether you should focus on becoming indispensable or important at work.