This month marks the ten year anniversary of Italian scholar Barbara Frale’s discovery of lost medieval documents relating to the trial of the Knights Templar. Frale, a scholar of medieval paleography, was doing historical research at the Vatican Secret Archive when she uncovered a fourteenth century manuscript which recounts a previously unknown chapter in the history …
In the Reading Room of the Law Library of Congress, behind our reference desk is a ready reference section. The ready reference section of any library contains resources that are frequently used by both patrons and librarians in doing legal research. In the Law Library’s section, we have resources such as the District of Columbia …
Just like in July, our top post was Kelly’s Inspiring Story of Nelson Mandela. I think this is the first time a post has been number one two months in a row. We also got to celebrate the blog’s first birthday at the beginning of August. There are now more than 15,000 email subscribers to In …
When I first read about the Library of Congress acquisition of Marilyn Church courtroom drawings in the Library’s Information Bulletin, I was immediately intrigued. The intersection of two of my interests and degrees – an art history major in college and a J.D. – fascinated me. Artist Marilyn Church captured some of the most dramatic …
The following is a guest post by Megan Lulofs, a Legal Information Analyst in the Public Services Division. About a month ago, I received a seemingly simple question through our Ask A Librarian service: was there ever a New York court case between a Barnum and a Hannum in 1869 or 1870, and if so, …
This week’s interview is with Kimberly Zellars, Program Specialist at the Law Library of Congress. Describe your background. I am a native Washingtonian, born and raised in Southwest Washington, DC. I am a middle child with an older sister and younger brother, southern parents, and a Catholic school education. What is your academic/professional history? I …
The following is a guest post by Margaret Wood, a Legal Reference Specialist in the Public Services Division. When the House of Representatives agreed to increase the debt ceiling limit on Monday, August 1, 2011, the roll call vote posted by the Clerk of the House linked to S. 365, a bill then titled “To …
There are multiple ways to view the United States Code online, including the Cornell Legal Information Institute, FDsys, and the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the United States House of Representatives. In fact, you can find a link in THOMAS to the Office of the Law Revision Counsel site for the U.S. Code (on …
The English are, generally speaking, a fairly genteel group of people. Hunting in England is now relatively uncommon, with fox hunting (very controversially) legislated against in 2007. Even owning a gun is rather unusual and involves a long and highly regulated process. I definitely noticed a huge contrast when I first moved here – during hunting season deer …