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Archive: April 2013 (26 Posts)

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Official, Authenticated, Preserved, and Accessible: The Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act

Posted by: Andrew Weber

The following guest post is by Butch Lazorchak, a digital archivist at the Library of Congress.  It is cross posted on The Signal. Digital technology makes documents easy to alter or copy, leading to multiple non-identical versions that can be used in unauthorized or illegitimate ways. Unfortunately, the ease of alteration has introduced doubt in users’ minds …

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Law Librarians and Immortal Glory – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

“Tanta enim copia est Librorum Iuris, ut difficile omnino sit viam juris prudentiae ingredienti seligere quos in quavis parte sequator doctores.” (Burkhard Gotthelf Struve, Bibliotheca Iuris Selecta) “For so great is the abundance of lawbooks that it is altogether difficult for the beginning student of jurisprudence to select authoritative authors on the area of his …

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Taking the Reference Desk on the Road

Posted by: Margaret Wood

The following is a guest post by Matthew Braun, Senior Legal Research Specialist at the Law Library of Congress. Over the past two years I have had the pleasure of presenting an educational program on how to conduct free legal research online at American Bar Association (ABA) annual, midyear, and section meetings. This program, which …

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An Interview with Linda Klein, Chair of the ABA’s House of Delegates

Posted by: Jeanine Cali

This week’s interview is with Linda Klein.  Linda is chair of the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates and a managing shareholder with the law firm, Baker Donelson. Describe your background. As a child I was fortunate to have known all four of my grandparents.   Each of them taught me wonderful lessons.  Amazingly, while each of …

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Prisoner Letters to the Law Library of Congress

Posted by: Margaret Wood

This is a guest post by William Mahannah, an Assistant Reference Librarian in the Public Services Division. The Law Library of Congress, holding the world’s largest legal collection, receives a large volume of inquiries from patrons throughout the world. One might be surprised to learn that a continuous volume of request letters come from prisoners confined …

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History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives: A One-Stop-Shop for House Heritage

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

The following is a guest post by Laura Turner O’Hara, Historical Publications Specialist in the Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives. What powers does the Constitution grant the House of Representatives? How many women Members of Congress are from Nebraska? What was the mood on Capitol Hill during the Bonus March? Why are …

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Asylum Law: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post was co-authored by Robert Brammer and Barbara Bavis, Legal Reference Librarians. In the recent public debate regarding immigration reform, some groups have called for a change to our current method of granting asylum to those who fear returning to their country of origin due to “persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on …

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St. Augustine Lighthouse – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Jeanine Cali

While climbing the spiral staircase of the St. Augustine Lighthouse during a family trip to Florida, I discovered its designer was Paul F. Pelz, also the architect of the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress.  The plaque features Pelz’s work, and many stop to read it because they need a break after climbing a total of 219 …

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All Actions Added to Congress.gov (and Other Updates)

Posted by: Andrew Weber

I recently blogged about some of the enhancements to Congress.gov in its first six months. Today’s update marks the fourth round of enhancements to Congress.gov since launch.  We are continuing the push to retire the beta label on the new system. As with previous releases, Jeanine updated the About section of Congress.gov to detail what’s …