Amicus Briefs - News from the Alexander Campbell King Law Library  
September 2007
 
In This Issue Liana   
 Liana Qwaider at Rusk Hall
 
Palestinian Law Librarian Visits UGA

Demonstrating our commitment to the role that access to information plays in supporting the establishment of the Rule of Law globally, and our dedication to the profession of law librarianship, the Law Library has participated in training a number of law librarians from other countries, including Albania and Ghana, over the past decade. Our most recent visitor was Liana Qwaider who trained at the Law Library for twelve days in early August. Ms. Qwaider serves as Head Librarian for the Montesquieu Library at Birzeit University's Institute of Law in the West Bank. During her time at UGA, she learned a great deal about the types of services we provide to students and faculty, and she also learned about our computing systems and the functionality they bring to our operations.  Because she teaches legal research to the Institute's law students, Ms. Qwaider found it quite useful to sit in on a 1L Legal Research and Writing class, and she also enjoyed observing the Socratic Method employed in a Contracts class.

The law librarians here benefitted too from Ms. Qwaider's 20+ years of experience as a librarian as well as her infectious enthusiasm for law libraries.  In addition to discussing possible solutions to the common problems faced by most libraries (lack of space, budgetary issues, information overload, etc.), Ms. Qwaider kindly consented to present an interesting program about the issues specific to running a law library in the West Bank. This session was attended by librarians from UGA Libraries as well as Law Library staff.

Ms. Qwaider's visit was made possible by the Rusk Center and by the European Consortium, established in 1995 by a group of European law schools in support of the  Institute of Law. The Institute of Law also receives support from USAID, the European Union, the French government, the World Bank and a number of other governments and international organizations.


New Resource: Making of Modern Law Trials 
The Law Library has recently acquired another historical  full text database which we are excited to announce to the law school community - The Making of Modern Law Trials - 1600-1926. With this collection, you can research three centuries of celebrated and historically important trials from America, the British Empire and the world through a wide variety of official literature, reports and ephemera. The database contains over 10,000 titles and 2 million pages from the Harvard and Yale law libraries and the Library of the Bar of the City of New York.

The literature of legal transcripts and trial accounts offers an unfiltered narrative into the daily lives of everyday people.  The collection also contains materials from precedent-setting cases which illustrate constitutional values. Examples of trials which provide a first hand look at important historical issues include the Dred Scott case, the Scopes Monkey Trial and the Amistad Slavery case. The collection also includes trials of famous individuals such as Charles I, Sacco and Vanzetti,  Oscar Wilde, Aaron Burr and Lizzie Borden.

Full text searching capability allows you to search and explore these materials in ways that were not possible with print format. The Making of Modern Law Trials can be accessed from the Law Library's Research Resources page:

http://www.law.uga.edu/library/research/index.html

Keep Current with Alerts

Keeping up with the latest information can be difficult. One way to manage your current awareness is to have the information delivered directly to your email.

The Law Library has collected onto its new "Alerts" page (http://www.law.uga.edu/library/Alerts.html) as many relevant sources it could find that provide this service. Some are free, and some are based on subscription services paid by the library. Many offer an RSS feed option in addition to the more traditional email notifications. There is probably something for everyone!

Law School members have the option of using the links to subscribe themselves directly.  This can be the best option, since some require tailored search information to make sure you only get the results you want. The page also offers a checkbox that will send a notice to the librarians. If we can subscribe you directly, we will; if more information is required, we'll contact you. 

Let the information flow!

 
Lunch-n-Learn: What's New and Hot
Please join the Law Library for the next installment in our Lunch-n-Learn series with Special Collections Librarian Sharon Bradley presenting "What's New and Hot: Services and Products for Lawyers."

When: Friday, September 28, 12:30-1pm
Where: Classroom C
 
We'll provide the pizza (and plenty of it this time!) -- you bring a beverage.

September's Interactive Puzzle
by James Donovan

 

PORTRAITS IN THE HALL: WHO DO YOU WALK BY EVERY DAY?

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