Westlaw UK's YouTube Channel

Today I learnt that Westlaw UK has its own YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/westlawuk where you can view its online training videos.

The clips show trainers introducing and demonstrating the content and navigation of different sections of Westlaw UK. They're actually pretty good if you have a spare 3-4 minutes and need a quick overview of the features of the product.

Three journals added to Westlaw UK

Today I learnt that 3 new journals have been added to Westlaw UK.

Scottish Planning and Environmental Law Journal (1993-), International Journal of Cultural Property (2005-) and Legal Theory (2005-) have all been added to the journals database. They're of no relevance to our practice areas, but I'm sure they're of use to someone...

http://info.westlaw.co.uk/rp//43/Content.clsp?ContentId=1921#NewJournals

Lexis Library's monthly eBurst update

Today I learnt you can keep up to date with Lexis Library content and functionality by reading the monthly eBurst update. It's available on the Lexis Legal Intelligence website (although it is a couple of months out of date!) or you can sign up for a free email update, which is what I've done:


http://www.lexislegalintelligence.co.uk/intelligence/e-burst

3.8 million children in UK do not own a book

Today I learnt that 3.8 million children in the UK do not own a book.

A report from the National Literacy Trust's has revealed that "the number of children who do not own a book is increasing. Seven years ago 1 child in 10 did not have a book of their own while today the figure stands at a startling 1 child in 3."*

The report has also found that boys are more likely to be without books than girls, and children who are eligible for free school meals are less likely to own a book than their peers. The Trust is inviting the public to donate to its Gift of Reading appeal this Christmas, to help give a disadvantaged child a book of their own for the very first time. Further information is available on the National Literacy Trust website.

*National Literacy Trust Press Release:
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/news/4161_3_8_million_children_in_the_uk_do_not_own_a_book

Read the full report (PDF):
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/assets/0001/1303/The_Gift_of_Reading_in_2011.pdf

National Literacy Trust's Gift of Reading Appeal:
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/christmas

I read about this on the Daily Telegraph website:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8934429/4m-children-in-UK-do-not-own-a-single-book-study-finds.html

Financial Times app for Android

Today I learnt there is a Financial Times app for Android.

Registered users can access up to 10 articles for free every 30 days.
Standard subscribers receive full access to all content except the FT’s Lex columns.
Premium subscribers receive full access to all content.

Unfortunately I can't get it to work on my phone as you need to have Android 2.2 or above.

Further information, including how to download the app, are available on the FT website at:
http://apps.ft.com/android/index.html

Southwark's new "super library"

Today I learnt that the London Borough of Southwark has opened a "super library" at Canada Water.

The inverted pyramid shape library, designed by architect Piers Gough, is integrated with the underground station; the Tube station entrance and exit is incorporated into the library building and you can check the tube times on a plasma screen in the library.

The new library houses 40,000 books, CDs and films. 79 computers are available to use, but if that isn't enough for nearly 30 laptops are available to hire (and wifi is available). The library also has a theatre space, a coffee bar, and three separate learning spaces for evening classes.

According to the Southwark Council website, the library cost £14.1m and is "at the heart of Southwark Council's investment in the libraries service, which is being protected despite cuts in central government funding".

Southwark Council:
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/article/564/first_super_library_opens_in_london_as_southwark_council_looks_to_the_future

BBC News article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-15912616

American Public Library Facts and Figures

Today I learnt that Americans spend more than twice as much on candy as they do on public libraries.

That, and other interesting facts about American public libraries, plus an interview with Molly Raphael, President of the American Library Association, available in this Huffington Post article: How Will We Read: In Public Libraries? by C. M. Rubin:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-m-rubin/how-will-we-read-in-publi_b_1103601.html

More comprehensive facts and statistics concerning American libraries can be found on the ALA website:

http://www.ala.org/ala/professionalresources/libfactsheets/index.cfm

BIALL's Bursaries to Attend Job-Related Courses

Today I learnt that BIALL offers bursaries to attend any relevant, work-related course or seminar, even if it is not related to libraries or the law. It would be completely acceptable to apply for a bursary to attend a course on, for example, management skills or intranet software, as long as it is relevant to your job. To apply for a bursary you must be a personal member of BIALL. All you need to do is complete the application form on the website explaining why you would like to attend the nominated event.

The following factors are taken into consideration when the committee assesses your application:

• the quality of application
• whether or not you have received BIALL bursary in recent years
• if there is an expectation of future commitment and performance in the law library profession
• proven or potential contribution to and /or participation in the Association's activities
• the ability to be a good ambassador for BIALL, including being prepared to participate in conference sessions and activities

If your application is accepted, you would be expected to write a report that may be published in the BIALL Newsletter or Legal Information Management.

Further information is available on the BIALL website:

http://www.biall.org.uk/pages/bursaries-to-attend-other-job-related-courses.html

PS. I'm cheating a bit with this one, as I knew about the bursaries before today. But it's good to spread the word...

Justis: Diagram of Court Hierarchy in the UK

Today I learnt that legal publisher Justis provides a breakdown of the UK court structure and hierarchy on its website. They also provide a helpful diagram (attributed to HMCS) which is particularly useful as I can't find one anywhere on the government's new justice.gov.uk website.

There is also a good diagram in the textbook Legal Skills (Finch and Fafinski) but I don't think I can use it in my PowerPoint presentation.

Justis' FAQs:
http://www.justis.com/support/faq-courts.aspx

Finch, E. and Fafinski, S., 2011. Legal Skills. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press: http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199599158.do

The Master of the Rolls - Who, What, Why, Which Rolls?

Today I learnt which rolls the Master of the Rolls is master of.

The Master of the Rolls (currently Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury) is the Head of Civil Justice, the most senior judge dealing with the civil work of the Court of Appeal in England and Wales. As President of the Civil Division of the CoA, he is also responsible for the organisation of the work of the other judges,* is in charge of documents of national importance, and also appoints members of the Solicitor's Disciplinary Tribunal.**

Geoffrey Rivlin gives an interesting account of the history of the office of Master of the Roles in his wonderful book Understanding the Law (5th ed, 2009, OUP). Rivlin explains that there was originally a Clerk or Curator of the Rolls who was "responsible for the safe-keeping of all charters, patents, and records of the most important judgments and decisions of the courts which were entered upon the Parchment Rolls". The role gradually developed, and he became the chief clerk (Master) who advised the Lord Chancellor in the Court of Chancery, and then the deputy judge in that court. "His combined duties as clerk and judge (Master) and keeper of records (Rolls) led to the title Master of the Rolls."**

* Ministry of Justice's information page on the Master of the Rolls:
http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/the-judiciary-in-detail/judicial+roles/judges/profile-mor

** Geoffrey Rivlin's Understanding the Law (2009, OUP):
http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199547203.do

Virtual Tour of Wildy & Sons

It's a random one today.

Today I learnt that you can take a virtual tour around the Wildy & Sons bookshop courtesy of Google Maps. Perhaps it's not that useful but it is good if you are a bit nosy or have ever wondered where your books are dispatched from. I wonder who that chap at the desk is?

Wildy:
http://www.wildy.com/

Virtual Tour
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=&layer=c&z=17&sll=51.515217,-0.112847&cid=11595960215898088358&panoid=fRmNc1Ninyz98vCNuQAtJg&cbp=13,24.366199721917241,,0,0&ved=0CDYQ2wU&sa=X&ei=DVSpTq7pKIWIjwfrkrT-Dg

Inner Temple Library's Current Awareness Blog

Today I learnt that Inner Temple Library produces a current awareness blog to keep lawyers up-to-date on changes to case law, legislation and legal news in England and Wales.

Items for the blog are selected by library staff (no automation here!) from a range of sources including newspapers, journals, law reports and key online resources. You follow the blog by RSS feed, daily email alert, or on Twitter. You probably already know this though, as @inner_temple already has 1955 followers. I'm obviously a bit slow on the uptake...

About the blog:
http://www.innertemplelibrary.com/about/

Sign up:
http://www.innertemplelibrary.com/about/subscribing-and-reusing/

Free Access to the Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Forecasting Service

Today I learnt that the EIU makes some reports available for free.

Until now I had assumed you needed to pay for EIU reports (when they aren't available on Nexis). Today I ventured on to the EIU website and after I had registered I was able to access the Global Forecasting reports (which is what I needed) and also analysis and forecasts for 187 countries (which I didn't need, but it might be useful some other time).

http://gfs.eiu.com/about/

The Mysteries of Lexadin

Today I learnt about Lexadin. It is a website that provides links to over 70,000 legal sites in 180 countries. You can search across it, or browse by country, organisation, journal, etc.

But there is so much more still to learn. Who maintains Lexadin site and why? The domain name suggests it originates in the Netherlands. The copyright statement suggests the site is up-to-date to 2011. The rest remains a mystery...

http://www.lexadin.nl/

Cabinet Manual

Today I learnt that the Cabinet Manual published this week by the Prime Minister, is the “ultimate user’s guide to government”.

According to the Cabinet Office website:

“The Cabinet Manual will for the first time provide a guide to the laws, conventions and rules on the operation of Government. The Manual is designed primarily as a user’s guide but has the potential to become a useful reference tool for all those with an interest in the workings of Government”.*

There are chapters on all aspects of government; the sovereign, the executive, the cabinet, devolved administrations, the EU, as well as financial & expenditure and official information. At 110 pages long, it is pretty comprehensive and I’m sure it will be a useful reference tool. All I need to do now is read it…

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/cabinet-manual.pdf

* http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/new-cabinet-manual-be-ultimate-user%E2%80%99s-guide-government

The History of Lloyd's of London

Today I learnt that in 1904, when Lloyd's of London insured a motorcar for the first time, the car was described as a "ship navigating on land" by the marine underwriters.

This comes courtesy of the interactive history of Lloyd's timeline I found on the Lloyd's website whilst preparing for tomorrow's insurance trainee training session. I'm not sure how useful that factoid will be for the trainees...

http://www.lloyds.com/Lloyds/About-us/History/Lloyds-History

The British Library has Reinstated the Amazon Link on its Catalogue

Today I learnt that the British Library had removed the link to Amazon.co.uk from the Integrated Catalogue when I wrote my post about it on 20 October, following criticism from booksellers. That would explain why I couldn't find it. It has now been reinstated "because of its usefulness for library users seeking further information about collection items".*

My previous blog post about it:
http://ladyinladywell.blogspot.com/2011/10/british-library-integrated-catalogue.html

*Article on the Bookseller website about it:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/british-library-reinstates-amazon-link.html

British Library Integrated Catalogue:
http://catalogue.bl.uk/F/?func=file&file_name=login-bl-list

FLAG: Foreign LAw Guide

Today I learnt that FLAG stands for Foreign LAw Guide.

According to the website FLAG is "a collaborative Internet gateway to the holdings of foreign, international and comparative law in UK universities and national libraries" and acts as "a gateway to foreign, international and comparative law collections held within UK university and national libraries".

You can search by country, international organisation, free text, type of legal literature, or location of contributing library. Your search results provide a description of the holdings, details of where it is held, and a link to the catalogue of library with the holdings.

FLAG won the Wallace Breem Memorial Award in 2002.

http://ials.sas.ac.uk/library/flag/flag.htm

British Library Integrated Catalogue Links to Amazon

Today I learnt that the British Library’s Integrated Catalogue now includes links to Amazon.co.uk. As well as the usual bibliographic details, each catalogue entry has a field called “This item in Amazon.co.uk” which redirects the user to the page on Amazon where they can buy the book. A British Library spokesperson said that they were providing links to Amazon (on a trial basis) so that users would be able to access a book if it wasn’t available in the BL’s reading rooms.

According to an article on the Bookseller.com, booksellers are, unsurprisingly, unhappy about this. James Daunt (Waterstones) has criticized the BL for driving the public away from public libraries and high street bookshops. Johnny de Falbe (Sandoe) commented:

"The British Library, a public institution, should not be offering this link to Amazon, which is not (last I heard) a public institution. And if the British Library, of all people, are not supporting British bookshops, and positively steering business away from independents, then why should anyone else have any faith, or interest, in independents?"*

The spokesperson explained that the links were to Amazon (rather than another bookseller) because the links come built-in to their library software supplied by ExLibris, and that the British Library wasn’t making any money out of the arrangement.

Since reading the article on the Bookseller website, I thought I'd take a look at the British Library Integrated Catalogue myself. However I have been unable to find a record which has a link to Amazon.co.uk so either I am doing something wrong, or BL has removed the links.

*The Bookseller article:

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/british-library-attacked-amazon-link.html

British Library’s Integrated Catalogue:

http://catalogue.bl.uk/

I read about this in CILIP’s Weekly Information World.

CILIP

http://www.cilip.org.uk/

What's The Big Deal About Delaware?

Today I learnt why we have a so many books on Delaware company law in the library.

I’ve often wondered why Delaware features relatively prominently in our collection. A quick Google search lead me to Wikipedia (of course!) which calls Delaware a “corporate haven”.

I then had a look at the State of Delaware’s website, which informed me that:

"More than 900,000 business entities have their legal home in Delaware including more than 50% of all U.S. publicly-traded companies and 63% of the Fortune 500.  Businesses choose Delaware because we provide a complete package of incorporation services including modern and flexible corporate laws, our highly-respected Court of Chancery, a business-friendly State Government, and the customer service oriented Staff of the Delaware Division of Corporations."*

You can even download a free guide called Why Corporations Choose Delaware from their website if you want to find out more.

Wikipedia entry on Delaware General Corporation Law:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_General_Corporation_Law

*Delaware Division of Corporations:

http://corp.delaware.gov/

Linking from PLC to Westlaw UK

Today I learnt that PLC users can opt to “link seamlessly” to legislation on Westlaw UK (provided you subscribe to both services).

Legislation references in PLC’s 'maintained' material will now be hyperlinked. You can choose to link to legislation.gov.uk or Westlaw UK (if you are a subscriber). The hyperlinks will be rolled out in the Corporate practice area first, and across all 'maintained' content by the end of the year.

Sounds interesting.

http://uslf.practicallaw.com/9-508-4108?source=rss

Saving Public Libraries

Today I learnt what can still be done to save public libraries from closure.

Today was the day campaigners lost their High Court bid to stop Brent Council closing half of its public libraries. This is bad news for Brent, but also for other campaigners across the UK who saw this as a test case.

Of course public libraries don't have a God given right to exist. But if - like me - you believe they are still relevant in today's society (perhaps more so than ever), offer valuable services - especially to those in deprived areas, who can't afford books or internet access - and that visiting the local library instills a love of reading and learning in children, you might be wondering what you can do to stop their closure.

CILIP and Voices for the Library both give guidance, links are given below. The main thing to do is to USE YOUR LIBRARY if you want to keep it open, spread the word to all who will listen, and write to your MP.

CILIP
http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/advocacy/public-libraries/pages/getinvolved.aspx

Voices for the Library
http://www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk/wordpress/?page_id=1331

John Betjeman Poetry Competition 2011 Winner

Today I learnt that Jennifer Burville-Riley is the 11 year old winner of the John Betjeman Poetry Competition 2011, with her poem Saint Wyllows Bridge.

I don't know much about poetry (although thanks to the excellent Rhyming Couplets blog, I know how to match poems to celebrities) but I know what I like, and I like this: http://stpancras.com/news/st-pancras-international-hosts-john-betjeman-poetry-competition

I also learnt that Sir John Betjeman saved St Pancras Station from demolition in the 1960s, so technically I learnt two things today.

OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities)

Today I learnt that OSCOLA stands for the Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities.

OSCOLA, edited by Oxford University's Law Faculty is "widely used in law schools and by journal and book publishers in the UK and beyond."* How come I've never come across it before now? It covers legal authorities, journals, cases and legislation (from the UK and EU) as well as key secondary sources such as Halsbury's, Hansard and Law Commission reports.

You can download the fourth edition from the OSCOLA website as well as a separate guide to citing international law sources. Links to tutorials and quick reference guides are also helpfully provided.

* http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/publications/oscola.php

Westlaw UK's New "Appeal Outstanding" Status Icon

Today I learnt that Westlaw UK has launched an "Appeal Outstanding" status icon for UK case law.

The icon will display if a case is currently on appeal, or if an application to appeal has been submitted.

http://info.westlaw.co.uk/rp/43/Content.clsp?ContentId=1707#Appeal_tracker

Waterstone's is ending its 10 year old 3-for-2 promotion

Today I learnt that Waterstone's is ending it's 10 year old 3-for-2 promotion.

James Daunt, Waterstone's MD since June this year, is axing Waterstone's famous (and profitable) 3-for-2 offer. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph he calls the promotion "daft". Why? Daunt disagrees in principle with the idea that books are selected for 3-for-2 promotion on a financial basis, he doesn't believe price should be the number one factor when choosing a book to buy, he believes it demotivates staff and causes customers to lose "the ability to focus on a particular book".
The article suggests that the task of saving the high street bookshop falls soley on Daunt's shoulders. He admits the tactic may cause Waterstone's sales to fall, but only at first. What he is aiming for is "much nicer bookshops for the consumer to buy books in. They will come back more often and, ultimately, sales will go up". Hope so.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8802588/Waterstones-starts-a-new-chapter-in-bookselling-under-James-Daunt.html

It's a myth! Gavels are not used in English Courts

Today I learnt that gavels are not used in English and Welsh courts. It's a myth! They're only used on TV.

http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/introduction-to-justice-system/court-traditions#headingAnchor2

Follow a Library Day - 1 October 2011

Today I learnt that tomorrow (1 October 2011)  is Follow a Library Day on Twitter.

The Follow a Library initiative encourages as many people as possible to tweet about their favourite library (and presumably also to follow this library) in order to generate an "enormous amount of positive attention to this great industry".*

On Follow a Library Day you are encouraged tweet your favourite book followed by the hashtags #followalibrary and #myfavouritebook

* http://followalibrary.blogspot.com/

http://www.twitter.com/followalibrary

FTSE 350 Constituent Companies - Current and Historical Lists

Today I learnt where to find current and historical lists of FTSE 350 constituent companies.

First I tried the London Stock Exchange website and the Financial Times. Both have good data but not exactly what I needed today. The FTSE itself provides a current list, but for historical data you need to contact the sales team. That was no good, as I didn't want to incur a large cost.

So then I looked at BIALL's How Do I? Wiki which had an entry on the exact same thing I needed, called "FTSE indices - lists of constituent companies". From this I learnt that there is a quarterly publication called Company Guide (from Charterhouse Communications) which includes FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies. Hurray!

Finally I contacted City Business Library, which holds the last 3 years of Company Guide, and I was kindly informed that their neighbour, the Guildhall Library, holds even longer runs that you can photocopy from. Job done. Whether or not my enquirer will make the trip up to Guildhall is another matter...

LSE's Historical Statistics:
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/statistics/historic/historic.htm

FT's Market Data Archive:
http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Data-Archive
FTSE's Current Constituents:

http://www.ftse.com/Indices/UK_Indices/Constituents.jsp

BIALL's How Do I? Wiki. Page on FTSE Indices:
http://biallpr.pbworks.com/w/page/5259177/FTSE%20indices%20-%20lists%20of%20constituent%20companies

City of London Libraries:
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Leisure_and_culture/Libraries/City_of_London_libraries/

Kate Follen's 50 States in 50 Weeks US Legislation Challenge

Today I learnt about Kate Follen's US State legislation project.

Kate Follen, President of Monroe Information Services, has set herself the challenge of creating links to legislation for all 50 US states in just 50 weeks. Week by week she will provide the links in her blog:
http://monroeinfoblog.typepad.com/my_weblog/

There's a link to this on the US Legislation page of BIALL's excellent How Do I? Wiki:
http://biallpr.pbworks.com/w/page/5259246/US%20legislation

This nugget comes from the latest BIALL newsletter:
http://www.biall.org.uk/data/files/Publications/Newsletter/11_09_Newsletter.pdf

Country Research - FCO Country Profiles

Today I learnt that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) produces country profiles, which could be used as an alternative to the CIA's World Factbook.
Compiled by "knowledgeable experts" (sounds good so far) the FCO's country profiles include an overview (giving key facts like population, area, currency, etc) and sections on the economy, history, international relations, geography, trade & investment and politics.
There's also a link to the FCO's "travel advice" pages for each country.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/

FLARE Index to Treaties Extended

Today I learnt that the FLARE Index to Treaties has been extended.

The FLARE index to treaties has been extended to cover a third more treaties and conventions than it did at its launch in March 2009.

The database now contains “2,000 of the most significant multilateral treaties concluded from 1353 onwards and a number of significant bilateral treaties signed between 1353 and 1815”.* It is fully searchable and indexed.

Access FLARE on the IALS website:

http://ials.sas.ac.uk/treatyindex.htm 

Read more about the extension project on LLRX.com:

*http://www.llrx.com/features/flareindexextended.htm

EDGAR Forms and Filings Guide

Today I learnt how to navigate the complex labyrinth of EDGAR forms.

The SEC publishes an forms index on its website so you can check to see what on Earth the difference is between a form S-8 and S-8 POS:

http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/forms/edgform.pdf

Further information guides are given on the Filings and Forms page of the SEC website:

http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml

IWR Information Professional of the Year - Time to Nominate

Today I learnt that nominations have opened for the IWR Information Professional of the Year 2011. The winner will be announced at the Online Information Conference 2011, which will be held in London in November.

According to the IWR website, the award "recognises an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession in the last 12 months".

Previous winners include Dave Pattern, library systems manager at the University of Huddersfield, and Dr Hazel Hall, director of the Centre for Social Informatics at Edinburgh Napier University and executive secretary of the Library and Information Science Coalition.

http://www.iwr.co.uk/professional-and-library/3011105/Search-starts-for-Info-Pro-of-the-Year

CLA's Title Search Beta Tool

Today I learnt that the Copyright Licensing Agency has launched a Title Search Beta Tool on its website, so you can more easily check to see what is covered by your licence:

http://www.cla.co.uk/licences/titlesearch

Send your feedback on the beta tool to PR@cla.co.uk

National Libraries Day

Today I learnt that about National Libraries Day.

CILIP has posted on its website that next year National Libraries Day is on 4 February 2012 and describes it as a "nation-wide celebration of libraries, librarians and library staff in all sectors". Is it wrong to admit I have never heard of it?

A range of events and activities in libraries will be advertised nearer the time, and a membership campaign will lead up to the day.

http://www.cilip.org.uk/news-media/Pages/news110909.aspx

Private Members' Bills

Today I learnt that only a minority of Private Members’ Bills become law because little time is allocated to them.

Private Members’ Bills are Public Bills introduced by MPs and Lords who aren not government ministers. They follow the same stages through Parliament as other Public Bills but because less time is allocated to them they are less likely to go through all stages.

There are three ways to introduce a Private Members' Bills in the House of Commons:

The Ballot

Ballot Bills have the best chance of becoming law, as they normally get a day of debate each. The names of Members applying for a Bill are drawn from a ballot at the beginning of the parliamentary year.

Ten Minute Rule

Members make 10 minute speeches outlining their proposal. Ten Minute Rule Bills are “are often an opportunity for Members to voice an opinion on a subject or aspect of existing legislation, rather than a serious attempt to get a Bill passed”.*

Presentation

Members “formally introduce a title of the Bill but do not speak in support of it”.*

All of this information is taken from the Parliament website:

http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/bills/private-members/

Inner Temple Library's Guide to Sourcing Transcripts of Judicial Proceedings

Today I learnt how to get hold of transcripts of court proceedings in England and Wales.

The Inner Temple Library produces an extremely useful guide called Transcripts of Judicial Proceedings in England and Wales: A Guide to Sources.

For each court it tells you the name of the library or court reporter that can provide transcripts, as well as the charges involved, formats available, opening hours etc. I just found out today that it has recently been updated to 2011. I haven’t seen the new version yet, but I can’t emphasize enough how useful the old one is! You can buy it from the Inner Temple Library website:

http://www.innertemplelibrary.org.uk/Transcripts/TranscriptsGuide.htm

"Cliff's Law" - Copyright of Music Recordings Extended to 70 Years

Today I learnt about "Cliff's Law".

The EU has today adopted a directive to extend the copyright on music recordings from 50 to 70 years after the death of the performer. The legislation is nicknamed "Cliff's Law" after Cliff Richard, who campaigned hard for the extension. The Directive is expected to be implemented by Member States in 2014. According to the Guardian website, 8 EU Member States voted against the legislation, namely Belgium, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.

Article from the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/sep/12/musicians-copyright-extension?INTCMP=SRCH

Link to the Directive on the European Commission website:
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/term-protection/term-protection_en.htm

WI's Love Your Libraries Campaign and Petition In Support of Public Libraries

Today I learnt that the Women's Institute has launched a Love Your Libraries campaign, which includes a petition in support of public libraries.

The WI invites its members to:

• carry their library card with pride
• join the national day of action for libraries
• embroider their favourite literary quotation
• tell the government why they love libraries
• write to their councillors
• sign the petition in support of public libraries

Of course you don't have to be a WI member to do any of these suggested activities! Sign the E-Petition here:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1269

Further information about the campaign is available on the WI website:
http://www.thewi.org.uk/standard.aspx?id=24427

Law Commission Publications Available on BAILII and TSO websites

Today I learnt how to get hold of Law Commission Publications.

Pre-1996 publications are not available on the Law Commission website. You can either get them from the Law Commission's very own page on BAILII (from 1965 onwards) or from the TSO Official Documents website (from 2005 onwards).

http://www.bailii.org/ew/other/EWLC/

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/
If you still can't find what you need you can contact the Law Commission and they'll email the files to you.

http://www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission/publications.htm

New Cross People's Library

Today I learnt about New Cross People's Library. New Cross is a deprived area of South East London with high levels of illiteracy - exactly the kind of area that needs a decent public library. On 28th May, despite the protests and campaigns organized by local residents, Lewisham Council closed New Cross public library, making it another victim of budget cuts.

Volunteers, working with community group Bold Vision, have re-opened the library and renamed it New Cross People's Library, after winning a six week temporary licence from Lewisham Council. After the six week tenancy, it is hoped that Lewisham Council will grant the library a tenancy at will for a further nine months, and with any luck the library can remain open permanently.

The library styles itself as a "a community run library, writing, arts, and IT centre". It currently opens on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with librarians present to issue books. As well as book loans, the library has organized a wide range of events, including Manga drawing classes, activities for the under 5s, a knitting club and book making workshops. The library calls on local residents to get involved to help shape the programme of activities they would like to see available in their local, community run library.

Donations of books and periodicals are welcome, and a fundraising campaign is under way. You can make donations by PayPal on the New Cross People's Library website.

About New Cross People's Library:
http://nxpl.org.uk/

What's On:
http://nxpl.org.uk/whats-on/

Get Involved:
http://nxpl.org.uk/volunteer/

Bold Vision:
http://www.boldvision.org.uk/

Index of Legal Terms on Westlaw UK

Today I learnt there's a "new way to start your legal research" on Westlaw UK. Westlaw has launched an Index of Legal Terms, that provides the full text of the following legal dictionaries:

• Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law
• Stoud's Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases
• Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary

This is in addition to the Statutory Definition search on the legislation tab, launched a couple of months ago, that allows you - no surprises here! - to search for statutory definitions in UK legislation.

http://westlaw.co.uk/books/index_of_legal_terms.shtm

Tracking the Passage of Bills Through Parliament

Today I learnt that the UK Parliament website publishes guides explaining the passage of Bills through Parliament. There are two guides; one for Bills starting in the House of Commons and one for Bills starting in the House of Lords. Each stage of the process is described, from First Reading to Royal Assent:

http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/

Daily Prayers in the Houses of Parliament

Today I learnt that sittings in both Houses begin with daily prayers. The prayers follow the Christian faith, and attendance is voluntary. In the Commons the Speaker's Chaplain reads the prayers and in the Lords it's a senior Bishop (Lord Spiritual). The practice is thought to have started in 1558. According to the UK Parliament website:

MPs and Peers stand for prayers facing the wall behind them. It is thought this practice developed due to the difficulty Members would historically have faced of kneeling to pray while wearing a sword.

http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/prayers/

Authoritative Legal Dictionaries for English Law

Today I learnt which are the most authoritative legal dictionaries for English law. I was asked whether Black's Law Dictionary was the best resource for English law, so I got it off the shelf to take a look. A quick flick established that it was published in the US, but it wasn't clear whether it covered US law, English law or both. I could see no explanation of which jurisdictions were covered in the book itself or on the publisher's website. Needing to confirm coverage from a reputable source, I once again turned to IALS' online Research Guides (by jurisdiction) which told me that Black's is indeed American, so should be used with caution. So for English law I think I'll stick to Stroud's, Jowett's and Words and Phrases Legally Defined:

http://ials.sas.ac.uk/library/guides/research/res_uk.htm#dictionaries

http://www.blackslawdictionary.com/

Bill Index Database - Providing Links to Hansard Debate for Individual Bills

Today I learnt that there is a Bill index database that provides links to the Hansard debate for each stage of a Bill as it passes through Parliament. It can be accessed here:

http://bills.ais.co.uk/AC.asp

The legislation.gov.uk website says the Bill index database provides “links to the full text of a Bill, the Hansard debate, and any proposed amendments.” *

* http://www.legislation.gov.uk/new

Personally I can’t see where it links to the full text of the Bill (perhaps I’m missing something). I also can’t quite figure out whether it only includes Bills currently before Parliament or also older ones (again, perhaps I’m missing something). If I don’t need to see the Hansard, I think I’ll probably stick to tracking Bills before Parliament using the Parliament website:

http://services.parliament.uk/bills/

BAILII's Guide to Neutral Citations

Today I learnt that BAILII has an excellent guide to neutral citations on its website. This is where I will be directing trainees in the future:

http://www.bailii.org/bailii/citation.html

TSO's Daily List - More Useful Than legislation.gov.uk?

Today I learnt that TSO provides a Daily List on its website which records all publications published by TSO each day. It is really handy because Draft Statutory Instruments are not published in order on the legislation.gov.uk website. Boo. How else are we supposed to tell what's been published each day? Thank you to my colleague Nicky for the tip:

http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp?FO=38797

You can also take out a subscription to the hardcopy of the Daily List, if that's your thing:

http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/parliament/bookstore.asp?DI=546133

How the Chancery Division Got its Name

Today I learnt about the origins of the Court of Chancery (now the Chancery Division of the High Court). Back in Plantagenet days, if people felt they could not receive justice through the common law courts, they would appeal to the King to hear their complaints and provide a remedy. In the fifteenth century, this task was delegated to the Chancellor and because he heard so many petitions a court was established that dealt exclusively with matters of equity, the Court of Chancery.

I read this in Geoffrey Rivlin's fascinating book Understanding the Law (Oxford University Press):

http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199547203.do

AIM Listed Companies’ Country Of Operation and Country Of Incorporation

Today I learnt that the London Stock Exchange publishes on its website a spreadsheet of all companies listed on AIM (the Alternative Investment Market) which you can filter by country of operation and country of incorporation. It came in very handy with an enquiry I was answering today.

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/statistics/companies-and-issuers/companies-and-issuers.htm

Free Access to Law Movement Members and Website

Today I learnt that the Free Access to Law Movement (FALM) has a website that lists all members and acts as a handy gateway to the contributor websites:

http://www.falm.info/

Free Access to Law Movement

Today I learnt that something exists called the Free Access to Law Movement. The movement is an affiliation of 33 legal information institutes (LIIs) around the world, including LII (Cornell), BAIILII, AustLII, CanLII, etc. It was established at the 2002 'Law via Internet' Conference in Montreal, where the Declaration on Free Access to Law was adopted. Members believe that public legal information is "digital common property and should be accessible to all on a non-profit basis and free of charge".* With this in mind they agree to "promote and support"* free access to public legal information, mainly via the Internet, and to co-operate with each another to achieve their aims.

Two notable collaborative projects are:
WorldLII - a free search facility covering 1166 law databases from 123 juridictions
LawCite - a free global case citator

I use the BAILII and WorldLII databases on a daily basis, but I had never given much thought to the origins of these services until I read Graham Greenleaf's chapter in the IALL International Handbook of Legal Information Management entitled "Free Access to Legal Information, LIIs and the Free Access to Law Movement" (Ashgate, Farnham, 2011).

http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9780754674771

* Declaration on Free Access to Law: http://www.worldlii.org/worldlii/declaration/

Live Streaming of Supreme Court Proceedings

Today I learnt that the proceedings of the (UK) Supreme Court are streamed live online by Sky News. When there is more than one case being heard, the case of greater public interest will be broadcast. The Supreme Court is the only court in the UK to allow proceedings to be filmed. If you prefer to watch in person then you can do, because the court is open to the general public, who can sit in the public gallery. The court is in recess at the moment though, so don't expect any action until October.

http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/

http://www.skynews.com/supremecourt

Electronic Submission of CILIP Chartership Revalidation Portfolio

Today I learnt that you can submit your CILIP Chartership Revalidation Portfolio electronically. This will come in useful in a couple of weeks as that is exactly what I plan to do. How things have changed since I did it first time round...

http://www.cilip.org.uk/jobs-careers/qualifications/cilip-qualifications/revalidation/Pages/esubmission-reval.aspx

Cuts in Public Library Services May be Unlawful

Today I learnt that cuts in public library services may be unlawful. Voices for the Library has published in full on its website a letter to The Times from Francis Bennion, the barrister who drafted the Bill that became the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.

Bennion maintains that the reduction in public library services may be unlawful if library authorities are not fulfilling their obligation under the Act to “provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons . . . whose residence or place of work is within the library area of the authority or who are undergoing full-time education within that area”.

This is fascinating. Check it out on the Voices for the Library website:

http://www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk/wordpress/?p=2017

New Zealand Law Society Law Library Research Service

Today I learnt that the New Zealand Law Society Law Library offers a research service, even if you aren't a member. In my case they were able to use their resources to check if a New Zealand case was still good law. They were fast and efficient and even asked if I had been affected by the London riots. You can't ask for more than that. The service cost NZ$40 and I was very impressed.

http://www.lawsociety.org.nz/home/for_lawyers/law_library/services

Named and Shamed in the House of Commons

Today I learnt that the phrase "named and shamed" comes from the House of Commons. I knew that MPs referred to each other as "my honourable friend" etc, but I didn't know that MPs' names are only mentioned if they have done something wrong, and are therefore named and shamed. This interesting fact came from my tour guide at the Houses of Parliament. I've tried and failed to verify it, but I choose to believe it is true because I like it.

http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/

Treaty Definitions - The Difference Between Signature, Ratification and Accession

Today I learnt how it is possible for a State to "sign up" to a treaty without actually signing it. The answer: Accession! Apologies if this is common knowledge, but today I've learnt that Signature usually means that a State agrees to the text of a treaty, Ratification means a State consents to be bound by a treaty following Signature, and Accession means a State agrees to be bound by a treaty without going through the process of Signature and Ratification (e.g. if a State was not involved in the original treaty negotiations). This is something I have often wondered about and was forced to find out today when answering an enquiry from a lawyer. Of course I have oversimplified the definitions for the sake of this blog. In the future I will refer to the helpful glossary on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (link below) and when a lawyer next asks if a State has "signed up" to a particular treaty, I will be better equipped to answer.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/treaties/practice-procedures/glossary-treaty-terms

Why Post Magazine is called Post Magazine

I've learnt something already today and it's only lunch time! This morning I learnt why Post Magazine is called Post Magazine when it covers the insurance industry and has nothing to do with post whatsoever. I ponder this question every Thursday when I'm putting together the insurance industry newsletter. Today, inspired by my new blog, I decided to find out. According to the Post website:

Post Magazine first appeared on Saturday 25 July 1840, just seven months after the introduction of the Penny Post and was the first publication anywhere in the world to be sent by post - hence its name.

This the best thing I've learnt so far.

http://www.postonline.co.uk/static/posthistory

More and More Researchers are Visiting Libraries

Today I learnt that, contrary to popular belief, researchers still use libraries. New figures released by Research Libraries UK (RLUK) show that there was a 10% increase in visits to its 23 UK university member libraries from the previous year. There were 35 million visits, which is the highest number since records began. The figures represent 2009/10 which is the latest year for which full data are available. RLUK is a consortium of 30 research organizations in the UK and Ireland, which includes the three UK national libraries. Thank you CILIP Weekly Information World for bringing this to my attention.

http://www.rluk.ac.uk/content/uk-research-libraries-busier-ever

http://www.cilip.org.uk/

Thomson Reuters Started Life as a Fleet of Carrier Pigeons

Well I never. Today I learnt that the Reuters part of Thomson Reuters dates back to 1851 when Paul Julius Reuter emigrated from Germany to London to develop his news information service that relied on telegraph cables and a fleet of 200 carrier pigeons. I didn't say that all blog posts would be useful, did I?

http://thomsonreuters.com/about/company_history/#1890_1790

IALS Legal Rearch Guides by Jurisdiction

What did I learn today?

The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies provides legal research guides on its website that suggest which resources should be used when researching foreign jurisdictions. They cover hardcopy and electronic resources available in IALS library but can also be used as a general reference tool. I found them very helpful for some research I was doing this afternoon. Thank you IALS!

http://ials.sas.ac.uk/library/guides/research_guides.htm