Supreme Court of Canada Announces Two Hearings in Quebec City in September 2022

The Supreme Court of Canada this week announced the two hearings that will be held in September 2022 when it sits in Quebec City:

"On September 14th, the Court will hear Her Majesty the Queen v. Pascal Breault. This case from the Quebec Court of Appeal asks the Court whether police must have an approved testing device with them when they order someone to provide a breath sample. The next day, the Court will hear Janick Murray-Hall v. Attorney General of Quebec, another appeal from the Quebec Court of Appeal pertaining to growing cannabis for personal use."

"While in Quebec’s capital city, the Court will also host a free event for the public and conduct outreach at schools and among the local legal community. For those who wish to attend the public event on September 14, the Court encourages people to register early. The Court will update its microsite and social media accounts with more details throughout the spring and summer."

As part of its ongoing outreach efforts, the Court will travel from time to time to different parts of the country to hold hearings.

The Quebec City visit will be the 2nd time in its history that the Court sits outside Ottawa. Information is available on the special microsite created for the occasion.

The Court sat in Winnipeg in September 2019.

May 2022 Issue of In Session E-Bulletin of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries

The May 2022 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.

Free Recordings of Law Library of Congress Webinars

The Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. regularly hosts webinars dealing with legal research topics.

A post on its blog, In Custodia Legis, explains that these events are recorded and available to all:

"Over the past six months, the Law Library has held many webinars on topics concerning foreign, comparative, and international law, Law Library collections, as well as our recurring orientations on how to research U.S. case law, federal statutes, and federal regulations. The Law Library also presented its annual Supreme Court Fellows Lecture and Human Rights Day events, as well as a webinar on Environmental Law Research. With so many webinars and events, you may have missed something from the past six months. Luckily, we recorded these events and they are available in several places."

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2 and a half million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.

Open Government Week 2022

Many countries around the world will be celebrating Open Government Week May 16-20, 2022 and there are many activities planned here in Canada:

"Open Gov Week is a global call to action to transform the way governments respond to their citizens’ needs. It is a chance to connect with leaders at all levels to share ideas, discuss solutions, and inspire open government reform everywhere."

"This year, Open Gov Week is about the doers, thinkers, creators and reformers working tirelessly to open government and renew democracy. We encourage the Open Government community to come together to share ideas, discuss solutions, and honour the innovators transforming government work around the world."

"Open Gov Week is a community-led initiative. We hope to see groups across Canada organize events: public town halls, open houses for government organizations, presentations, open mics, meetups, hackathons, open data book clubs, design jams – and anything else you can think of that connects citizens with government and civic life."

Here is a list of events in Canada (descriptions on the Open Government Week website):

• The Many Forms of OG Champions, May 16
• Embedding Public Deliberation in Decision Making, May 17
• Bring Your Data to Work for Open Government Week, May 17
• Open Doors at Justice: Supporting People-Centered Justice through Research and Open Data, May 17
• Open Gov, In Practice, May 18
• Throwback Thursday, May 19 (rebroadcast of the Public Webinar on Canada’s 5th National Action Plan on Open Government that was held on March 7th)

Slaw Article on the End of Loose-Leafs

Slaw.ca today published a column by Amelia Landenberger on Loose-Leaf Legal Publications: A Dialogue that questions the purpose of loose-leaf publications in law libraries.

She is not a fan:

"Is there really any reason for loose-leaf publications in the age of electronic legal research? I understand that loose-leafs had a purpose when a typical bound-book publication schedule was too slow, and day by day updates were unwieldy for a researcher who wanted to know the status of an issue in certain rapidly-changing areas of law. Today, electronic publications can be updated much faster than loose-leafs, and without any of the hassle of shipping and inter-filing paper updates. Additionally, loose-leaf publications have no ability to be kept for historical research, so they are more hassle and less valuable than bound publications in print. I understand publishers are rapidly shifting away from this publication method, but I don’t understand why the shift has not been faster. In short, why do libraries still buy them?"

May 2022 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 2022 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 etc.
• listings of papers and readings (white papers, presentations, reports)

Law Library Report on Golden Passports

The Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. recently published a report on so-called "golden passports" or programs that allow foreigners who make big investments in a country to obtain residency or citizenship more quickly than under normal immigration programs.

The report covers 40 countries and includes information about the minimum amount and types of investment required, the duration of stay possible for holders of the relevant visa, which family members can be included on the visa application, and the length of residency required in the country for an investor visa holder to obtain citizenship.

The Law Library of Congress blog, In Custodia Legis, has more background on the issue.

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2 and a half million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.

Over the years, it has published dozens of comparative law reports which are a treasure trove for legal research on a huge variety of issues.

American Libraries Releases 2022 Library Systems Report

The magazine American Libraries has released the 2022 Library Systems Report, its most recent annual report on the worldwide library technology industry.

"Events of the last year have reshaped the library technology industry. Previous rounds of acquisitions pale in comparison to the acquisition of ProQuest by Clarivate, which has propelled the leading library technology provider into the broader commercial sector of scholarly communications. This deal signals that the gap in size among vendors is widening, as ProQuest businesses Ex Libris and Innovative Interfaces also join Clarivate."

"The emergence of such a large business at the top of the industry has accelerated consolidation among mid-level players that aim to increase scale and efficiency to remain competitive. This was a banner year for consolidation of midsize competitors, with more acquisitions than any prior year."

"These deals raise concerns about weakened competition, but they may also enable new industry dynamics that will spark innovation and synergy within the broader research and education landscape. Small companies with visions for innovation often lack the resources to deliver, which larger companies can provide. Increased investor and stockholder involvement, however, translates into pressure to maximize profits and growth. The way these competing dynamics play out has important implications for libraries."

The report 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.

May/June 2022 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The May/June 2022 issue of AALL Spectrum is now available online.

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

This issue has a series of feature articles on new legal technologies and how law librarians can continue to be at the forefront of their adoption.

The Supreme Court of Canada has published its calendar of upcoming appeals that will be heard in May 2022.

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.

International Federation of Library Associations Report on Copyright Challenges During COVID-19

The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) has published a summary of its research report on copyright-related challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic:

"The report involved a survey of 114 libraries worldwide and 28 interviews during February and March 2022. Respondents were from 29 countries. The report was conducted with Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL)."

"83% of responding library professionals said they had copyright-related challenges providing materials during pandemic-related facility closures. These intersected with ongoing challenges predating the pandemic, including budget pressures, external financial crises, difficult negotiations with publishers, and demand for eBooks that outpaces publisher offerings."

"While many publishers offered expanded access to services and content during the early months of the pandemic, these offers usually did not last for sufficient time for libraries to meaningfully integrate them into teaching and research activities. 69% of respondents who had challenges said these included issues providing access to textbooks, and 52% of libraries that had copyright challenges indicated challenges with providing access internationally, as students and faculty returned to their home countries. To access content digitally, some libraries made use of programs such as the HathiTrust’s Emergency Temporary Access project and ‘Resource-Sharing during COVID’ (RSCVD) (...)"

"Laws often leave gray zones which create uncertainty about how content can be shared. This points to the need for clarified legal protections for libraries and the services they offer."