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Archive: December 2016 (19 Posts)

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2017 New Year’s Greetings from the Law Librarian of Congress

Posted by: Donna Sokol

This is a guest post by Roberta I. Shaffer, the Law Librarian of Congress. Download the PDF version of the FY2016 Law Library Annual Report. New Opportunities and Perspectives The year 2016 witnessed a historic change at the Library of Congress – the installation of the first woman and first African-American Librarian of Congress. Chief Justice …

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Most Viewed Law Library Reports of 2016

Posted by: Andrew Weber

This year there have been a number of new Law Library Reports published. I looked through In Custodia Legis and found all of the new reports that we blogged about over the year. They cover a wide range of topics. Legal Reports on Counterterrorism Laws and other Security Measures Parliaments Around the World New Resource Covers …

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An Unlikely Founding Father — Michael Signer’s Biography of James Madison

Posted by: Liah Caravalho

On Tuesday, December 6, the Law Library of Congress and the Center for the Book hosted a book talk with Michael Signer. Signer is an author, political theorist, attorney, and the mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia. He discussed his book, Becoming Madison: The Extraordinary Origins of the Least Likely Founding Father (Public Affairs, 2015). Signer said he wanted …

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On the Shelf – Mexico City Gazette

Posted by: Betty Lupinacci

On January 30, 2016, Mexico News Daily printed an article stating that President Enrique Peña Nieto had officially announced that what had been the Federal District would now be known as Mexico City. So why does that matter to the Law Library’s Collection Services Division?   Looking at two consecutive issues of the gazette for …

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An Interview with Roswell Encina, Chief Communications Officer

Posted by: Andrew Weber

The following interview is with Roswell Encina, the chief communications officer at the Library of Congress. Describe your background. I can be described as your stereotypical Navy brat–well, maybe not the brat part. My father was in the U.S. Navy and we were stationed like many military families all over. From Connecticut to Virginia all the …

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Handling of Sexual Offenses in the Israeli Military

Posted by: Ruth Levush

On December 18, 2016 the Tel- Aviv Military Court convicted a brigadier general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of sexual offenses against female soldiers serving under his command. The conviction is believed to be of the highest ranking IDF soldier of such crimes, based on the officer’s admission as a result of a plea bargain. The officer had initially been …

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250 Years of Press Freedom in Sweden

Posted by: Elin Hofverberg

December 2, 2016, marked the 250th anniversary of the first Swedish Freedom of the Press Act, which has been regarded as the world’s first statute related to freedom of the press. The Act abolished censorship and specifically provided a right for Swedish citizens to access government archives. It was therefore also the first act to establish …