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Category: Ask A Librarian

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The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Its Municipal Government Structure

Posted by: Anna Price

The following is a guest post by Jesús Colón Rosado, an intern working in the Public Services Division at the Law Library of Congress. Jesús previously authored the post The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its Government Structure. Background Under the Spanish regime, the government of each municipality in Puerto Rico was called an ayuntamiento …

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From the Serial Set: Artistic Perspectives on Perry’s Expedition

Posted by: Bailey DeSimone

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and we want to dedicate this month’s From the Serial Set post to the peoples of Asia and the Pacific Islands who enriched U.S. history and culture. Today, we’ll be sharing highlights from the narrative of Commodore Perry’s journey from the Chesapeake Bay to the Edo …

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Ask-a-Librarian: We Are Here for You

Posted by: Donna Sokol

This guest post is by the chief of the Law Library’s Public Services Division, Andrew Winston. Andrew has written several posts for the blog, including The Constitution Annotated–Impeachment Clauses, Federal Courts Web Archive Launched, A Visit to the Peace Palace Library, and The Revised Statutes of the United States: Predecessor to the U.S. Code. Our reading room is closed, …

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Wrap Up: 15th National Book Festival

Posted by: Liah Caravalho

The Law Library of Congress was delighted to engage with attendees again this year at the Library’s National Book Festival. We had 11 staff members volunteer at the festival from our Global Legal Research Directorate, Global Legal Collection Directorate, Public Services Division and Legislative and External Relations Office. We discussed our collection, legal research products and unique expertise in foreign …

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Budget Resolutions and Authorizing Legislation

Posted by: Margaret Wood

I have previously written about the budget process and appropriations.  Now, I am turning to authorization legislation. In theory, process for funding the government is an orderly one in which each year the President proposes a budget; the U.S. Congress passes appropriations legislation; the enrolled bills are sent to the President for signing; and voila, government agencies …

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Do You Have to Actually be Present on Your Wedding Day in The Gambia?

Posted by: Hanibal Goitom

Here at the Global Legal Research Center we receive many interesting foreign law inquiries.  Questions about laws that govern matters of personal status, including customary and religious laws, arise frequently from many of the African jurisdictions I cover.  One of the issues that I have had the opportunity to research is the legality of proxy …