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Archive: December 2011 (19 Posts)

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Southeast Asia to Washington, DC – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Kurt Carroll

I am often asked how the Law Library acquires so much foreign material.  While we have DC-based staff members who work with foreign book dealers and publishers, the Library of Congress also has six overseas offices which acquire, catalog, and preserve library materials from countries where it has been more difficult to obtain such items …

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A State Mandated Christmas Bonus

Posted by: Francisco Macías

As the holiday season reaches its zenith, I would like to highlight the fact that countries throughout the world that celebrate Christmas have issued a number of holiday related laws and regulations touching on an array of topics, such as toys, Christmas trees, pardons for criminals, and business operations, among others; my favorite among these is the seasonal bonus. Mexico provides an illuminating example.  …

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An Interview with Pam Russell, Legislative Counsel

Posted by: Andrew Weber

This week’s interview is with Pam Russell, Legislative Counsel in our Congressional Relations Office.  I’ve enjoyed working with Pam on a number of occasions.  She often accompanies the THOMAS team when we brief House and Senate staffers on updates to THOMAS.  Pam is another example of an attorney in the Library of Congress that works outside the Law …

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John Selden As An Early Modern Maccabee

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

We are in the midst of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Often known as “the Festival of Lights” in reference to the basic feature of its observance – the lighting of the eight-branched candelabra – Hanukkah commemorates the events surrounding the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after a period of political oppression and forced …

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Bills, Bills, Bills – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Andrew Weber

The other day, Margaret gave a tour of the Law Library of Congress Reading Room to our new colleague, Tina Gheen.  I tagged along and snapped a couple of pictures. I spend so much time looking at digital bills that it was a nice change to see them in other formats.  These stacks of legislation are …

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The UFO Files

Posted by: Clare Feikert-Ahalt

Despite a line that I once heard in a movie that the United States is the only country in which unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are sighted, the United Kingdom appears to have its fair share of unexplained phenomena across its skies too.  The UK’s National Archives has published an extensive array of documents of sightings and policy …

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Russian Legal Analysts Visit the Law Library of Congress

Posted by: Ruth Levush

The Law Library of Congress recently hosted a group of legal analysts from a Moscow based non-government organization called the “Consulting and Legal Protection of People.” According to its director, Svetlana Boshno, the organization coordinates its activities with the Russian State Civil Service Academy under the Russian Federation President and works with members and staff of …

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A Series of Tubes – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Andrew Weber

The following is a guest post by Margaret Wood, Legal Reference Specialist in our Public Services Division.  Margaret has previously posted on the debt ceiling, Law Day, our Reading Room, and the changeover between Congresses. This week we decided to treat you to photographs of the Law Library Reading Room’s pneumatic tubes and the pneumatic tube system.  …