ALLA (WA) News Blog

Ever had to find a piece of legislation from another state? Ever not known who the authoritative source is for that state? Ever thought, why cant they all have pages that work like the State Law Publisher so I can find this thing easy? There's a solution. Legify is a free online tool that locates and directly links through to the authoritative version of Australian legislation and delegated legislation. It works across all Australian jurisdictions and is a great time saver. Simply start typing the name of the legislation you are interested in and see the options appear, click and there you are! On the correct page for the Act in ComLaw or State Law Publisher (or other jurisdiction's database). ALLA(WA) Committee Member - Alice Hewitt.  Librarian, Reference and Information Services, Murdoch University.

Are you a Facebook user? Want to get more Library into your Facebook? Making it Happen (Librarians, this is about you) recently published The Big HUGE List of FB Groups for Librarians compiled by the 5 Minute Librarian . The list is long, and just offers a snapshot of the groups out there (I myself are a member of a few). The full list is, as the title indicates, a little long, so I have selected a few ones that may be of interest to ALLA(WA) members.  eLearning in Libraries This is a group for anyone who is interested in developing e-learning for library purposes. We will share ideas and engage in discussion about e-learning. Public, academic, school, and special library staff are all encouraged to join. E-learning can include screencasts, tutorials, videos, and any other training delivered in an online format, and may be for library staff or patrons. League of Librarian Gamers – for Librarians who Play A group for librarians who play games of all kinds – board...

ALLA(WA) warmly invites members to our Easter breakfast, to eat, drink and catch up with colleagues (or meet new ones). When: Wednesday 1st April @ 7.30am Where: Sentinel Bar & Grill (111 St Georges Terrace, Perth – Corner of William Street & St Georges Terrace) Please see the below menu. RSVP to Luise Crisafulli by Monday 30th March ** Separate billing will be available on the day and cash payment is preferred by the venue.

On Wednesday ,18 March a group of about 16 Perth law librarians gathered at Jackson McDonald’s pristine new premises, high above Perth and the Swan River (what a view!) on Level 17, to munch their sandwiches and to partake in a presentation on Personal Development Planning, given by Alison (“Ali”) Local, Learning and Development Advisor with Jackson McDonald. It was an interactive hour, with 4 groups of participants, noting and speaking what each one thought of “PDP”, all of which led to further discussion and exchange of ideas; it was an experiential , refreshing workshop, based on our own experiences in the workplace.  We came away with some very useful tips, notes and sense of direction. I loved the wide array of colourful gel pens, provided by our host – my notes were written in fuchsia- pink, which definitely flirted with the eye!  The appearance of the ALLA logo at the top of the printed pages was also noteworthy – gave a very professional finish!  This is a wor...

This was original sent through the WAIN emailing list, by Robert McEntyre of Robert McEntyre & Associates Pty Ltd 2015 Survey of Trends in the Global Library and Information Services (LIS) Sector Robert McEntyre & Associates Pty Limited cordially invites you, your organisation and your colleagues to participate in a short survey (6 questions) on “Trends in the Global Library and Information Services Sector”.  The link to the survey questions is 2015 Global LIS Sector Survey . The survey closes at COB Thursday 2 April 2015 , Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT). This survey follows on from similar surveys conducted by Robert McEntyre & Associates Pty Limited in both March 2013 and March 2014. lnformation is being gathered on: The influences on the future success and sustainability of libraries and information services. Proposed or planned: new, different and innovative user services that will be implemented into your library/ information service.  Prop...

The Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG will be visiting Murdoch School of Law to present a talk entitled: "Down with the Originalist Heresy of Constitutional Interpretation!" When: Friday 27th March, 4pm Where: Herbert Smith Freehills Lecture Theatre, Murdoch School of Law, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch. RSVP: This is a free event, but bookings are necessary as spaces are limited. Register for tickets here . 

The latest issue of Legal Information Managemen t has been published and contains a number of interesting articles. This issue has a feature on Law, Gender and Sexuality: Sources and Methods in Socio-Legal Research, a couple of interesting articles within this feature are: Law, Gender and Sexuality at the British Library Law, Gender and Sexuality: an Introduction to the LSE Library Collections Other interesting articles include: Evaluating Research: the Case of Legal Scholarly Outputs Your Intranet Needs YOU: How Information Professionals Can Add Value to Intranets and Portals Is Someone Watching You? Data Privacy and Protection: Current Issues ISSN: 1472-6696, EISSN: 1741-2021 Legal Information Management http://journals.cambridge.org/LIM Volume 15 / Issue 01 , March 2015, pp 1 - 72 Published Online ...

Something light to see the week out with a laugh. The Laws of Library Science from 46144

ALLA(WA) warmly invites members to our Easter breakfast, to eat, drink and catch up with colleagues (or meet new ones). When: Wednesday 1st April @ 7.30am Where: Sentinel Bar & Grill (111 St Georges Terrace, Perth – Corner of William Street & St Georges Terrace) Please see the below menu. RSVP to Luise Crisafulli by Monday 30th March ** Separate billing will be available on the day and cash payment is preferred by the venue.

Collaborate and Learn ALLA is proud to collaborate with Wolters Kluwer to bring you the first in a series of webinars.Over the coming months ALLA will collaborate with leaders in the information industry to bring you expertise and knowledge that will enable you to turn information into knowledge. APP-etite for Success In this national ALLA webinar, Chris Taylor, Customer Insights Manager at Wolters Kluwer, will share key insights about the strategic and technical considerations for mobile application design, development and testing. You’ll hear about: State of the mobile Digital and mobile convergence Disrupting software development Mobile strategy and more When: Wednesday, 18th of March, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. AEST Registration: Click here to register for this event. Cost:   Free to ALLA members, join us if you are interested We Thank: Wolters Kluwer for assistance About Chris: Chris Taylor is a solutions architect in Wolters Kluwer CCH’s iSolutions team in Sy...

Here's a resource worth noting by anyone interested in privacy, freedom of information, digital archives, and international relations (and who isn't?):  A project team in Canada has recently launched the Snowden Surveillance Archive , which is a searchable database of published documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the (in)famous former contractor for the US National Security Agency. The archive is intended as a tool for journalists and researchers to better access the material, especially via browseable indices. Only 400 documents are included at this point, but the intention is that further documents will be included when published in the future. As the site creators put it, "The leaked documents and their coverage have raised significant public concerns and had a major impact on intelligence policy debates internationally over issues of freedom of expression, privacy, national security and democratic governance more broadly." Hat tip: Michel-Adrien Sheppard a...

From th e Government of Western Australia - Media Statements   Changes for District and Supreme courts Wednesday, 11 March 2015 District Court Chief Judge Peter Martino promoted to Supreme Court Judge Kevin Sleight takes over as Chief Judge District Court of Western Australia Chief Judge Peter Martino has been appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. District Court Judge Kevin Sleight, who has also served as a Commissioner of the Supreme Court, will assume Mr Martino’s position as Chief Judge. Attorney General Michael Mischin said the significant appointments would be welcomed by the legal fraternity, as both judges were highly regarded and were among the most experienced judicial officers in the State. “Judge Martino has earned the admiration of his peers in the judiciary and members of the legal profession during his tenure at the District Court,” Mr Mischin said. “As Chief Judge, he has been responsible for the overall management of the court’...

ALLA(WA) invites members to a personal development planning brown bag session. Alison Local, Learning and Development Advisor at Jackson McDonald, will present on: personal development planning, the benefits of making a personal development plan, and goal setting for career development. Where:  Jackson McDonald, Level 17, 225 St Georges Terrace, Perth When: Wednesday, 18th March 2015 at 1.00-2.00pm RSVP:  Mawghan Elverd by 17th March 2015: melverd@jacmac.com.au

The following was posted in LIS Career Options Group on LinkedIn , a subgroup of the American Library Association: What professional roles do you play as a librarian/information professional? How have they changed during your career? And perhaps most important, how do you see them changing and evolving in the future? These issues are discussed in an intriguing recent article in New Library World , " A systematic literature review informing library and information professionals' emerging roles. " Evgenia Vassilakaki and Valentini Moniarou-Papaconstantinou, of the Library Science & Information Systems Department of TEI of Athens, Greece, uncovered their findings from peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and 2014. The emerging roles: In "Emerging roles and possible futures for librarians and information professionals" , Bruce Rosenstein highlights the six emerging roles that were discovered in the research. These were: Librarian as Tea...

The annual ALLA (WA) Icebreaker was held at Jackson MacDonald on the morning of Wednesday 25 February 2015. The thirty attendees were treated to spectacular morning views and a delectable breakfast all the while mingling with their fellow members. Once everyone satiated their hunger, Kirsty McPhee, Knowledge and Business Development Manager, Tottle Partners provided an excellent discussion of adding value to the role of legal information professionals by adding CPD programs for lawyers. The session discussed the recent changes to the law applicable to this area along with a number of key points. A few that stood out include: Lawyers think with their stomachs - better catering equals better attendance By having the Library involved in the program, a link between the knowledge and the library is established. Let's the lawyers know that the library knows the answers. Attending a CPD session as a Librarian is beneficial - you learn just as much as the lawyers and y...

A recent case in Florida has shown the dangers of who you make friends with on Facebook, or at least who you ask to be your friend. In a dissolution of marriage case, the wife successfully sought to disqualify the trial judge. All because the trial judge sent through a friend request on Facebook. The Law Blog from The Wall Street Journal summarises the case quite well. Essentially, the trial judge sent through a friend request to the wife in the case. Upon advice of counsel, she decided not to respond to the request. The trial judge then entered a judgment that appeared to weigh heavily in the favour of the husband. The wife then sought to disqualify the trial judge based on allegations that the trial judge retaliated against her for not accepting the friend request. When considering the application to disqualify the trial judge, Justice Cohen said: The “friend” request placed the litigant between the proverbial rock and a hard place: either engage in improper ex parte com...

Librarians are invited to share this event with others who may be interested. Join the Centre for Human Rights Education for a special public lecture with The Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG LGBTI Human Rights in Australia and Asia, The Pacific and Indian Ocean: Breaking the Logjam    The lecture In his talk Michael Kirby will describe the origins of legal oppression of LBGTI people in Australia and our region.  He will explain the origins in religious scripture and British common law.  When science in the mid-20th century demonstrated the unchosen character of human sexual variations, the need for change became obvious.  But though change has been achieved in Australia, New Zealand and a few Pacific Islands (Fiji, Palau, Cook Islands) most jurisdictions have remained obstinate in inertia and hostility.  Michael Kirby will describe recent moves to promote both a human rights and economic approach to break the logjam, given that parliamentar...

ALLA(WA) invites members to a personal development planning brown bag session. Alison Local, Learning and Development Advisor at Jackson McDonald, will present on: personal development planning, the benefits of making a personal development plan, and goal setting for career development. Where:  Jackson McDonald, Level 17, 225 St Georges Terrace, Perth When: Wednesday, 18th March 2015 at 1.00-2.00pm RSVP:  Mawghan Elverd by 17th March 2015: melverd@jacmac.com.au  

Librarians (by definition) like to share knowledge, and it's always good to seek out additional ways to tap into collective wisdom. Readers may already be familiar with Australian e-mail lists for law librarians, such as: ALLA-ANZ Australian and New Zealand Academic and College Law Libraries (ANZACLL) WA law librarians mailing list  But what about other jurisdictions? Here are some suggestions: General / United States: INT-Law    International Association of Law Librarians (IALL) email list for discussing foreign, comparative and international legal research questions and is open to the public to join. General: LAW-L Run by the IFLA Law Libraries Section e-mail list UK: LIS-LAW An email list run by the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL). This list is open to everyone. Useful for getting advice on finding obscure UK cases/ reports etc. Canada: CALL-L Run by the Canadian Association of Law Libraries=Association canadienne des ...

Originally posted through the ALLA-ANZ Mailing List. AustLII is pleased to announce this significant development.  Please see our announcement here http://www.austlii.edu.au/austlii/announce/2015/1.pdf This version is available as an additional download from the 'download' button from the top bar of each judgment.  Richard Hunter Development Manager