| The Decade in Legal Tech: The 10 Most Significant Developments | LawSites Blog’s take on the Top Ten biggest developments in legal tech of the past decade. |
| The 100+ Best Websites on the Internet | MakeUseOf compiled a list of 100 “. . . genuinely useful, top-of-the-line websites (not apps) where you’ll find what you need.” Best part? The list is updated regularly! |
| Debra Pfeifer announced the January meeting: A librarian roundtable on Contracts and Containing Spending (with a kickoff featuring ideas presented at last year’s AALL conference followed up by learning and discussion). Meeting to take place at Reed Smith (225 Fifth Avenue), January 30th, 2019 – noon until 1 pm eastern. Please RSVP! | |
| Government Information Online service | Barco Law Library’s very own Barco 3.0 blog posted information about the Government Information Online Service. It’s a “. . . a project of the Education Committee of GODORT, the government documents group of the Association of American Libraries” and built to handle the toughest reference questions and document requests. (Sounds like a service all WPLLA members would be interested in using!) |
| Fastcase Brings Down the Legal News Paywall With Relaunch of Law Street Media – Market Disruption to Follow? | Dewey B Strategic announces that Fastcase is relaunching Law Street Media. This business legal news site will compete directly with Lexis Nexis 360 and American Lawyer Media. The press release states it will be the “. . . first service [to] cover high tech” and will provide detailed analytics information, allowing user to generate new business. |
| Using and formatting columns in Microsoft Word | Microsoft Word might be the industry standard, but it’s not without its quirks! Legal Office Guru posts hints about how to format tables while using the word processing software. |
| Ronda Fisch forwards the following (see her email for details or follow the below link): The PLLIP Awards Committee is now accepting nominations for 2020, and it’s time to send us the names of your nominees!! The deadline for nominations is February 22nd. The 2020 PLLIP Award nomination form is available at https://www.aallnet.org/pllipsis/about-us/committees/awards-committee/ | |
| GPO Digitizes Historical Editions of U.S. Government Manual | The U.S. Government Publishing Office (“GPO”) proudly announces it “. . . has digitized historical editions of the U.S. Government Manual (the Manual), the Government’s official handbook of agency organization for all three branches of Government.” Available for years 1935–1994, the links to the Manual are available in the announcement. |
| Presidential Pardons: Overview and Selected Legal Issues | Keeping up with the current political landscape, EveryCRSReport highlights Presidential Pardons: Overview and Selected Legal Issues. |
| 2019 Year in Review | HeinOnline Blog’s highlights of newsworthy events from 2019 (including global news and politics, celebrity deaths [!!!], and noteworthy new databases and research information). |
| AALL Spectrum and Law Library Journal are now true open access | As of 2020, “. . . both AALL Spectrum and Law Library Journal are now true open access and no longer require someone to create a free profile first in order to access them.” |
| The Legal Research Tools Lawyers Are Using in 2020 and Beyond | Click through to identify which “. . . free and fee-based legal research tools lawyers are using.” |
| Who Owns the Law? Why We Must Restore Public Ownership of Legal Publishing | beSpacific links to a thought-provoking law review article detailing the means by which government ceded control over legal text to corporate publishing: “. . . publishers now use powerful legal tools to control who has access to the text of the law, how much they must pay, and under what terms.” A fascinating read! |
| CRS – The Impeachment Process in the Senate | Impeachment process details linked by beSpacific from EveryCRSReport.com. |
| How to Be a Better Web Searcher: Secrets from Google Scientists | A link to a Scientific America article informs the reader how to better use search engines. |
| Debra Pfeifer sent an email invite to the January 2020 Monthly Meeting. | |
| Linda Tashbook sent an email invite to the January 2020 Monthly Meeting. | |
| When a New Boss Comes to Town… | On the RIPS Law Librarian Blog, Sarah Gotshall announced her library is getting a new director. She pivots into post about the plusses and minuses of a new boss (emphasis on the myriad of minuses). |
| Bloomberg Law Expands Docket Key to All Federal Courts | Jean O’Grady at Dewey B Strategic details the ways Bloomberg Law maintains the most sophisticated docket search feature available. |
Western Pennsylvania Law Library Association
A chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries.
Western Pennsylvania Law Library Association 