Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Canadian Law Library Review Now Available on CanLII

The Canadian Law Library Review, the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL), is now available for free on the website of CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute.

Issues of the journal from 2013 onwards have been added to the CanLII journals section under a Creative Commons license.

On its blog, CanLII explained:
This addition enriches CanLII’s commentary on legal research and expands it to include law library professional literature, which brings a different perspective on the legal environment, including topics such as commentary on primary law, legal practice, and research instruction.
The announcement was made earlier this week at the CALL annual conference that ended today in Halifax.

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Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Canadian Association of Law Libraries Conference Resolutions on Diversity and Reconciliation With Indigenous Canadians

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries has adopted two resolutions dealing with diversity and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

The resolutions were adopted earlier today at the CALL annual conference being held in Halifax.

The first resolution dealt with diversity and inclusion.

Here is the full text:

Resolution 2018/1
  • Whereas research indicates that diversity enhances organizational decision-making, creativity, and other positive organizational outcomes and activities, and inclusion is increasingly recognized as a necessary companion to diversity;
  • Whereas the diversity and representational composition and activities of the Association and the Canadian law librarianship profession are not known to reflect or give voice to the diversity of related professions or the Canadian population;
  • Whereas the Objects of the Association include to develop and increase the usefulness of Canadian law libraries and to foster a spirit of co-operation among them, and the Association aspires to provide a forum for the exchange of information and ideas among members, and libraries are considered to exhibit values of inclusiveness and exchange of ideas;
  • and Whereas law libraries may be centers for curation and sharing of knowledge and so are well-positioned to foster support of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada,

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Association adopt the following statements to guide the business and activities of the Association in furtherance of its Objects:
  • The Association commits to work to foster diversity, inclusion, and decolonization in its activities as appropriate; and
  • The Association will work to foster awareness and acumen about issues of diversity, inclusion, and decolonization in law library environments and the law librarianship profession as appropriate, and as these intersect with the environments of related professions.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Association will carry out this work through partnerships and collaborations with its Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization Committee and other Association units by undertaking activities that include but are not limited to the following:
  • work to ensure consideration is given to diversity, inclusion, and decolonization in the review and interpretation of conference programming pathways, including those regarding cataloguing, metadata, instruction, leadership, management, professionalism, research, reference, and substantive law;
  • work to ensure program topic and speaker selections are informed by consideration of diversity, inclusion, and decolonization matters;  work to ensure membership recruitment efforts are informed by consideration of diversity, inclusion, and decolonization principles; and
  • work to address diversity, inclusion, and decolonization matters in law librarianship and related fields.
The 2nd resolution was related to recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Committee of the Canadian Federation of Library Association of which CALL is part.


Here is the full text of that resolution:

Resolution 2018/2

Whereas libraries are committed to respect and inclusiveness for the communities they serve, and
Whereas the Association is a member of the Canadian Federation of Library Associations-Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques [“CFLA-FCAB”].

Be it resolved that the Association supports the following recommendations contained at pages 6-7 of the CFLA-FCAB Truth & Reconciliation Committee Report & Recommendations:
  1. As CFLA-FCAB is a national voice with the ability to influence national and international policy regarding issues of importance, we request the CFLA-FCAB create a permanent Standing Committee on Indigenous Matters utilizing the medicine wheel framework developed by the Truth & Reconciliation Committee (page 16).
  2. The T&R Committee supports and endorses the CFLA-FCAB Position Statement on Library and Literacy Services for Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) Peoples of Canada (page 55).
  3. Encourage libraries, archives and cultural memory institutions to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 94 Calls to Action, several of which have been identified as having a direct impact on libraries and archives and are prioritized in this report, and to implement a status report on a yearly basis to monitor their implementation (pages 18-27).
  4. Ensure accessibility moving forward by continually reminding stakeholders that material produced and programming planned in the future should be accessible to all Canadians. CELA (the Centre for Equitable Library Access) and NNELS (the National Network for Equitable Library Service) are positioned to support these efforts (page 17).
  5. Decolonize Access and Classification by addressing the structural biases in existing schemes of knowledge organization and information retrieval arising from colonialism by committing to integrating Indigenous epistemologies into cataloguing praxis and knowledge management (pages 34-35).
  6. Decolonize Libraries and Space by recognizing and supporting Indigenous cultures, languages and knowledges through culturally appropriate space planning, interior design, signage, art installations, territorial acknowledgements of geographic-specific traditional territories and public programming in collaboration with local Indigenous stakeholders (pages 40-41).
  7. Enhance opportunities for Indigenous library, archival and information professionals as well as the inclusion of Indigenous epistemologies in the Canadian library and archives profession through culturally appropriate pedagogy, recruitment practices, professional and continuing education and cross-cultural training in collaboration with local Indigenous stakeholders and partners (pages 37-38, 40-41).
  8. Recommend the implementation of Indigenous Knowledge Protection protocols and agreements with local and other Indigenous groups who have holdings in libraries, archives and/or cultural memory institutions to respect the Indigenous cultural concept of copyright with regard to Indigenous history or heritage, which is often located in but not limited to oral traditions, songs, dance, storytelling, anecdotes, place names, hereditary names and other forms of Indigenous knowledges; recommend that CFLA-FCAB actively participate in reforming the Canadian Copyright Act to include protection of Indigenous knowledges and languages while advocating for changes to include traditional knowledge as outlined and recommended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) – Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (http://www.wipo.int/tk/en/igc/). We join the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in calling upon Library and Archives Canada to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action #69 (Appendix D) by fully implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf and the Updated Set of Principles for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights through Action to Combat Impunity (2005), more commonly known as the Joinet/Orentlicher Principles http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/impu/principles.html (pages 34-35).
  9. Establish an online database of “living documents” to highlight existing Best Practices of Indigenous Services in libraries, archives, and cultural memory institutions that will serve as a foundation to help disseminate those best practices and for this “living document” to be updated preferably on a quarterly basis but minimally semi-annually (pages 13-14).
  10. Maintain a database of Indigenous organizations or groups committed to preserving cultural memory primarily, but not limited to, libraries, archives, language preservation, cultural history/museums to build relationships; to support the development of an Indigenous association of library, archives and cultural memory institutions; and to support in principle the National Aboriginal Library Association (NALA) regarding their stated intent of developing First Nations public libraries on reserves (pages 16-17).

And be it further resolved that the Association encourages law library professionals to undertake the following activities described in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action:

  • Support and promote equity for Aboriginal People in the legal system through the development, use, and understanding of Indigenous laws and access to justice in accordance with the unique cultures of Aboriginal peoples in Canada (Calls to Action 50-52).
  • Support the implementation between the federal government and Aboriginal peoples of a Royal Proclamation of Reconciliation that would reaffirm the nation-to-nation relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Crown. This proclamation would renounce the colonization of Indigenous lands and peoples; adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; support forward-looking respectful and responsible Treaty relationships; and reconcile Aboriginal and Crown constitutional and legal orders (Call to Action 45).
  • Support the parties of the Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in the development of a Covenant of Reconciliation which would:
    • reaffirm the parties’ commitment to reconciliation;
    • renounce the justification, laws, and policies of European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and peoples;
    • support the adoption and implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the framework for reconciliation;
    • support forward-looking respectful and responsible Treaty relationships; and
    • enable new signatories to the Covenant of Reconciliation (Call to Action 46).

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Monday, May 28, 2018

Emond Publishing Criminal Law Series Wins 2018 Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing

The Criminal Law Series from Emond Publishing has won the 2018 Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing. The series is  a collection of practical, accessible and affordable handbooks to assist criminal practitioners, judges and students. To date six titles have been published, with ten more planned.

The Award was announced earlier today at a reception held at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries being held in Halifax.

The Award is meant to honour publishers who have produced excellent products and to encourage excellence in new publishing endeavours.

Other nominees for this year's Award were:
  • Alberta Law Review from the University of Alberta – the ALR is a peer-reviewed student run legal journal, providing a discussion of contemporary legal issues of interest to lawyers, scholars, judges and law students in Alberta and beyond.
  • The Lawyer’s Daily from Lexis Nexis Canada Inc. – provides real-time Canadian legal news, analysis and current awareness for lawyers and legal professionals.
  • vLex Canada from Compass – in partnership with Justia, Compass brings together vLex Global, along with Canadian resources including Maritime Law Book’s law reporter collection, MLB Topics categories, and selections from Irwin Law’s Essentials of Canadian Law series.

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Sunday, May 27, 2018

Canadian Association of Law Libraries 2018 Conference - Additional Annual Reports

This is a follow-up to the post entitled Canadian Association of Law Libraries 2018 Conference - More Annual Reports.

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) started its 2018 annual conference this morning in Halifax.

In preparation for the event, committees and special interest groups (SIGs) have submitted their annual activity reports.

Here are a few extra ones I missed last week:
  • Academic Law Libraries SIG: one of the SIG's initiatives this past year involved the compilation of a Hate Crimes FAQ. This was related to concern expressed during a teleconference of SIG members about hate crimes on university campuses. The SIG is also partnering with the Legal Research and Writing (LRW) SIG on the creation of teaching videos for LRW and Indigenous collections in academic law libraries. Finally, it will start work on compiling a list of institutional activities or initiatives being undertaken in response to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian residential schools
  • Legal Research & Writing SIG: the SIG has reached out to its membership to coordinate the collection of assignments, reference materials, research guides, and other teaching resources that instructors/professors would like to contribute to the Instructional Materials Bank available through the members only section of the CALL website
  • New Professionals SIG (see resources associated with this SIG on the CALL SIGs page): this SIG supports student members of CALL as well as new professionals in the first years of their law librarianship career. At the 2018 conference, it is sponsoring a panel discussion entitled "Taking the ‘Work’ Out of Networking: Build Relationships, Not a Stack of Business Cards". The SIG, one of CALL's most active with some 40 members, runs a listserv hosting monthly forum discussions on professional development opportunities, awards and scholarships, and other developments in the legal information profession

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Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Canadian Association of Law Libraries 2018 Conference - More Annual Reports

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post entitled Canadian Association of Law Libraries 2018 Conference Annual Reports.

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) will be holding its 2018 annual conference this upcoming weekend in Halifax and committees and special interest groups have been submitting their annual activity reports for members to read.

Here are a few more of them:
  • Scholarships and Awards Committee:
    • The James D. Lang Memorial Scholarship is designed to support attendance at a continuing education program - The successful applicant  is Ilana Newman who will be using the award to assist with attending the New Law Librarians’ Institute 2018.
    • The Diana M. Priestly Memorial Scholarship is intended to support professional development in the field and was given to Michelle Terriss of the University of Alberta.  Ms. Terriss is currently enrolled in the MLIS program and is a Juris Doctor holder and member in good standing of the Law Society of Alberta. 
    • The Education Reserve Fund is used to award money to members to further their education in pursuits that do not fit the guidelines of already established scholarships. These could include such activities as library and/or law courses given outside Canada, study leaves and/or sabbaticals, or other educational activities. The Fund will facilitate attendance for two at the upcoming New Law Librarians’ Institute 2018.  Recipients will be announced at a later date.
    • Recipients of the Michael Silverstein Prize (for an outstanding contribution to enhancing understanding, analysis and appreciation of primary law and legal taxonomy)and the Denis Marshall Memorial Award(to recognize outstanding service to the Association AND/OR the profession of law librarianship)will be announced during the conference. 
  • KF Modified Committee:this committee oversees the development of the KF Modified classification scheme for Canadian law libraries. The committee has been working on the development of a web-based version of the KF Modified Classification as a way to securing the long term sustainability of the classification schedule and promote its use to common law libraries outside of Canada. It is also looking at the logistical implications of the CALL Board decision to make KF Modified available for free to libraries in low- and middle-income countries and in certain Canadian non-profit organizations.
  • Copyright Committee: The federal government commenced its mandatory review of the Copyright Act on December 13, 2017. The Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA), of which CALL is a member, has formed a committee to be involved in the consultation process. 
  • Vendor Liaison Committee (Members only section): Semi-annual vendor calls with LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters have proven to be a productive and efficient way of bringing CALL membership’s issues to the table. The questions and concerns about vendor products and services that are voiced during the calls all come from members. The Committee has noticed that since information about the calls as well as vendor demos is hidden behind the firewall on the CALL website, some members may have problems finding them. The Committee will include better instructions on finding the material as part of its overall communications plan.
  • Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing Committee:
    This year's nominees are:
    • Alberta Law Review from the University of Alberta – the ALR is a peer-reviewed student run legal journal, providing a discussion of contemporary legal issues of interest to lawyers, scholars, judges and law students in Alberta and beyond.
    • Criminal Law Series from Emond Publishing – a collection of practical, accessible and affordable handbooks to assist criminal practitioners, judges and students. To date six titles have been published, with ten more planned.
    • The Lawyer’s Daily from Lexis Nexis Canada Inc. – provides real-time Canadian legal news, analysis and current awareness for lawyers and legal professionals.
    • vLex Canada from Compass – in partnership with Justia, Compass brings together vLex Global, along with Canadian resources including Maritime Law Book’s law reporter collection, MLB Topics categories, and selections from Irwin Law’s Essentials of Canadian Law series.
    • The winner will be announced during a reception at the conference on Monday, May 28, 2018.



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Monday, May 21, 2018

Canadian Association of Law Libraries 2018 Conference Annual Reports


The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) is beginning its 2018 annual conference this upcoming weekend in Halifax.

Annual reports of committees and special interest groups have been submitted in anticipation of the general meeting.

Here are summaries of some of them:
  • Professional Development Committee (PDC): The Professional Development Committee (PDC) ascertains the needs and wishes of the membership in regard to continuing professional education. In the past year, it has worked on issues such as the pricing and housing on CALL website of Advanced Legal Research videos and having CALL conference sessions approved for continuing professional development (“CPD”) credits for members of the legal profession
  • Webinar Sub-Committee: this is a very active sub-committee of the PDC. It held many successful webinars in 2017-18. Topics covered included Libraries and Access to Justice;  US Legislation for Canadian Legal Researchers (Parts One) & Two; Uncovering UN Treaties; Copyright in Context for CALL Members; Platforms, Apps and Omnibots - Alternate Views on the Future of Legal Research; Intersections with Aboriginal and Indigenous Law; US Executive Branch Research for the Canadian Legal Researcher; and Digital Repository Success Stories. Net revenue for the committee reached $2,500 for the year
  • Committee to Promote Research: one of its primary responsibilities is awarding a research grant to a CALL member. This year's grant is being awarded to Megan Siu for her research project entitled Accessing Legal Information as a Self-Represented Litigant in Rural Alberta. Her study “will offer insight into how the nuances of living in rural areas can impact the way that people access legal information...[and will] find trends that are helpful for regional library systems and their member libraries to consider for their own programming purposes”. For the 2018 conference in Nova Scotia, the committee proposed a pre-conference workshop entitled “Writing Persuasively to Build a Better Business Case for your Library”.
  • New Law Librarians’ Institute (NLLI): NLLI is an intensive, week-long program aimed at developing librarians' skills in the key competencies of law librarianship. The 2018 New Law Librarians’ Institute (NLLI) will be held at UCalgary on June 19-22, 2018.  
  • Canadian Law Library Review: Susan Barker (University of Toronto) is stepping down as editor. Nikki Tanner (University of New Brunswick) will take over at the helm.
  • Membership Development Committee (MDC):
    • The MDC runs a very active educational visit program to sell CALL and law librarianship to students enrolled in university library and information studies programs
    • It is also in charge of CALL's mentorship program. For the 2017-18 year, there were 20 mentoring partnerships established through the Mentorship Program (compared to 16 pairs in 2016-2017)
    •  The MDC also produced 6 member profiles on the CALL website.  These profiles spotlight members’ careers and initiatives they have undertaken.  Members were chosen with an aim for mix of new and seasoned professionals and covering various geographic areas in Canada.  This year, the MDC also added profiles of important work projects undertaken by CALL members 
    • Finally, the MDC is working on an initiative for recruiting Government Documents librarians into CALL, as well as scoping out a more general membership recruitment campaign for the association

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posted by Michel-Adrien at 4:47 pm 0 comments

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Most Recent Issue of Canadian Law Library Review

The most recent issue of the Canadian Law Library Review is available online.

It is a publication of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries.

Feature articles in this issue include:
  • Exploring the Development of a Standard System of Citation Metrics for Legal Academics by Susan Barker, Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto
  • Are Publication and Citation Counts Reliable Indicators of Research Productivity or Impact? by Sean Rehaag,Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto

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posted by Michel-Adrien at 4:59 pm 0 comments

Supreme Court of Canada: New Library Titles

The list of new library titles added to the Supreme Court of Canada collection from May 1 to 15, 2018 is now available on the Court website.

It is possible to subscribe via e-mail to receive the list.

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posted by Michel-Adrien at 4:51 pm 0 comments

Monday, May 14, 2018

70 Years of the International Law Commission

A few weeks ago, the International Law Commission, a body of the United Nations, started its 70th session in New York City.

As a blog post from the Peace Palace Library in The Hague explains:
"Its achievements range from laying the groundwork for the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to adopting the 2001 articles on the responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts."
The purpose of the Commission, as defined under article 13 (1) (a) of the Charter of the United Nations, is to "initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of ... encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification".

It is currently working on issues such as:
  • Crimes against humanity
  • Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction
  • Provisional application of treaties
  • Identification of customary international law
  • Protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts
  • Protection of the atmosphere
  • Peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens)
  • Succession of States in respect of State responsibility
In the past, I have found its research guides to be very useful sources to help understand international law.

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Thursday, May 10, 2018

May 2018 Issue of Governance and Recordkeeping Around the World

The Governance and Recordkeeping Around the World newsletter, published by Library and Archives Canada (LAC), highlights issues pertaining to government and recordkeeping practices in the public and private sectors around the world.

The May 2018 issue has just been published.
It includes:
  • news items from Canada and around the world
  • announcements of upcoming Canadian and international events (meetings, conferences, seminars)
  • project and product news in areas such as digitization, archives, open source, e-government, access to information and Web 2.0
  • listings of papers and readings (white papers, presentations, reports)

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Wednesday, May 09, 2018

Supreme Court of Canada Calendar of May 2018 Hearings

The Supreme Court of Canada has published its calendar of appeals that will be heard from May 14 to May 25, 2018.

To find out more about any particular case, click on the docket number in parentheses next to each case name to find docket information, case summaries as well as facta from the parties.

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Thursday, May 03, 2018

Complete Series of Official Supreme Court Reports Now Available on Lexum

All issues of the official Supreme Court Reports dating back to their first publication in 1878 are now available on the Lexum website.

Lexum is the Court's partner which has published Court decisions since 1992 and the Reports since 2013.

Parties to proceedings may cite either the print or PDF version of the Reports in documents filed with the Court.

This initiative is part of the Court’s continued efforts to make case-related information more accessible to the public.

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posted by Michel-Adrien at 7:25 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, May 02, 2018

American Libraries Journal Publishes Library Systems Report 2018

American Libraries has just published Library Systems Report 2018, the latest in a series of annual reports on trends in the library technology industry:
"A plethora of integrated library systems (ILS) with long lineages pervades the industry. In many respects these products have not only matured in functionality but have also adapted to changing expectations. The ILS continues to be the dominant solution for public, school, and special libraries, though it faces formidable challenges from LSPs in the academic library sphere."

"In 2017, many ILS vendors devoted considerable development efforts to web-based interfaces. Many have evolved from earlier client-server technologies with graphic interfaces installed on the computers of staff members or service desks. The age of client-server computing has passed, and the transition to web interfaces is long overdue. Libraries seek fully web-based products without compromising the rich functionality and efficiencies embodied in legacy platforms. It’s unfortunate at this late phase of the cycle of cloud computing that development efforts are consumed in a lateral move toward new interfaces at the expense of innovations."
The 2018 edition looks at corporate consolidation, technical and sales trends in the industry, and product profiles for the academic, school and special library markets.

It is written by Marshall Breeding, a well-known library tech expert. He also edits the Library Technology Guides website and produces the annual International Library Automation Perceptions Surveys.

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Tuesday, May 01, 2018

May 2018 Issue of In Session - E-Newsletter of Canadian Association of Law Libraries

The May 2018 issue of In Session is available online.

It is the monthly e-newsletter of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) and contains news from CALL committees and special interest groups, member updates and events.

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posted by Michel-Adrien at 4:48 pm 0 comments