ALLA (WA) News Blog

For your zombie-related Halloween reading pleasure, might we recommend the following: Maintaining Academic Library Services During the Zombie Apocalypse by Sarah McHone-Chase and Lynne M. Thomas, a chapter in Braaaiiinnnsss!: From Academics to Zombies published by the University of Ottawa Press [ link to Google Books ] 7 reasons libraries are our only hope in case of a zombie apocalypse , posted on Bustle . Yes, there are animated gifs! If the site doesn't work, try the cached page .

Cross-posted from the ALLA-ANZ email list The Programme, with session times, for the 15th Law via Internet Conference, starting in Sydney in two weeks time, is now available at http://www.lvi2015.org/programme/ . The Hon Gabrielle Upton, Attorney-General of New South Wales, will give the opening address to the Conference, following the welcome from Professor Ian Jacobs, Vice Chancellor and President, UNSW Australia. Paul Chadwick, distinguished journalist and lawyer, will then address the Plenary Session, on the relationships the media and free access to law. Fourteen parallel sessions, most with three presentations, then follow. Registration closes on 2nd November 2015, and some places are still available.

Collaborate and Learn This month ALLA is proud to collaborate with Manzama.  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. 10 ways of getting insights using Manzama – Presented by Ian Mears Manzama is a 'listening tool' - searching a curated slice of valuable sources of information from the open web. It is the only such tool created specifically for busy professionals and the legal industry. The solution delivers industry and client news to ensure legal professionals are up-to-date with their clients' industries, and not just legal developments. Creating a better relationship with clients and highlighting opportunities. As well as using individual customised profiles to cut through 'big-data' and deliver daily news alerts, there are other ways that knowledge professionals are deploying Manzama through their organisations....

The SlawTips blog recently drew attention to a new tool from the Canadian organisation Global-Regulation Inc . Its search engine, to quote, "enables searching 225,000+ laws from the European Union, United States, Canada, China, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Germany, Japan and other countries" (including Australia). It automatically translates text into English using Google Translate in addition to providing the original vernacular text. The database is growing and aims to have more than 500,00 statutes available next year. It is a subscription service, but free trial searches can be conducted. The list of jurisdictions included is here .

The recent secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations have alarmed advocates for balanced approaches to copyright. The agreement takes the American lead in extended terms of copyright in all signing jurisdictions to the life of a work's creator plus 70 years. This doesn't affect Australian law, which already applies this term, but the agreement has prompted much discussion about the lengthy term of copyright and its purpose. This article in The Conversation by Catherine Bond (UNSW) briefly argues that rather than extending the length of copyright, a "strong public domain provides significant economic benefits". For more analysis, check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation and ALIA's FAIR campaign . ALLA(WA) Secretary - Megan Fitzgibbons. Librarian, University of Western Australia.

International Open Access Week begins today, 19th October. This annual event aims to raise awareness of the beneficial impacts of open access publishing and to "inspire wider participation" in this way of disseminating knowledge. The conversation is happening on Twitter as well as at local community events, particularly hosted by universities. Some Australian events are listed by the Australasian Open Access Support Group . While much of the discussion about open access is related to scholarly publishing, the issue is also of prime importance in the realm of legal information. The Declaration on Free Access to Law , made in 2002 at a meeting of legal information institutes, states that "Public legal information from all countries and international institutions is part of the common heritage of humanity. Maximising access to this information promotes justice and the rule of law". The Free Access to Law Movement continues to grow and influence the way that leg...

If you're looking to try your hand at writing—or feel passionate about the importance of mentoring in the LIS profession—this call for book chapter proposals might be of interest. Beyond Mentoring; a guide for librarians and information professionals Edited by Dawn Lowe-Wincentsen, published by Chandos (UK) Proposals due November 1st, 2015 Chapters due January 10th, 2016 5,000-7,000 words Summary It seems that you cannot google librarian without finding a librarian mentoring program or leadership institute anymore. There are a plethora of options available to the new librarian, mid career librarian, librarian interested in leadership, new library director… Well, you get the point, there seems to be a mentorship program for any and every librarian out there. This book intends to look at mentorship, mentorship programs, what works, what doesn’t, and some different types of techniques such as group mentoring, peer mentoring, and more. This book will look at many asp...

Cross-posted from the WAIN e-mail list If you are a person who cares for, and about, data and want to fill in some gaps, learn more, find out what others are thinking... then this might be of interest. ANDS and the research data community will come together in a new way for 2016 using the 23 Things concept to learn more about how to better manage and optimise the value of our research data. See http://ands.org.au/partner/23-things.html . ANDS will act as facilitator but it's self-directed. Our 23 Things will run in two parts: Part 1: Create our 23 Things 1. Oct - Nov 2015: Add your suggestions to our long list 2. 1-13 Dec 2015: Shortlist of the 23 Things 3. Jan 2016: Create our 23 Things poster Part 2: Do our 23 Things 1. 1 Feb 2016: announce our 23 Things, how to sign up (to get an email reminder, send your details to guides@ands.org.au or subscribe to andsUP) 2. 8 Feb 2016: webinar explaining how it will work, a chance to ask ques...

This handy tip is shared courtesy of Richard Vankoningsveld, librarian at Legal Aid Queensland. The Latest Updates to Bills section on the APH homepage essentially provides updates to what looks like a mirror of the Parlinfo Bills homepages. I decided to create an RSS feed from that page, which I've been testing for some time. It appears to be pretty stable and working as I'd expect now, so I'm putting it out there for all to use. The feed is at http://pittstreetpress.com/Resources/APH-rss/feed.xml If you want to read about how I made it, and details of a couple of limitations to it, see here . Any comments or suggestions on how it could be improved etc welcomed. Otherwise feel free to use the feed in any way you'd like to. Not sure how to use an RSS feed? Check out this brief guide from UWA.

The second in a series of panel discussions called ‘Sustainable Library’, a whitepaper on Building a resilient library was recently released and is based on a Special Libraries Association (SLA) 2015 conference hot topic session. Topics covered include: What it means to be resilient, and run a resilient library Setting the scene – organisational overviews Leveraging and creating change: practical examples Securing organisation support – what works Examples of impact Characteristics of library change agents. ‘ Adapt, act and thrive: ensuring a sustainable library ’ the first in the Sustainable Libraries series is also available for download and provides examples of how as library professionals we can adapt to challenges, act, and thrive within our organisations and profession. ALLA(WA) Past President - Mawghan Elverd. Acting Knowledge Manager, Jackson McDonald.

Text reproduced from ALIA's promotion of the course. Digital Trends Roundup 2015 Do you feel like it's a challenge to keep up with the wide range of tech trends and tools that come around every year? This NEW three week online course will give you the opportunity to catch up with what's new. We plan to make this an annual course, reviewing the digital scene each year - giving you the opportunity to set aside a little time annually to focus on improving your tech general knowledge. Social media, search engines, educational apps, research and bibliographic tools, new devices... While no one can be across everything, we'll make it easier for you to meet the contemporary expectations of a library and information management professional. Dates: 7 Nov - 27 Nov 2015 Register by 30 Oct Open to ALIA members and non members. More information and to register

The latest issue of the Law Library Journal (from the American Association of Law Libraries) has an article that might be of interest: Chancellor, R. (2015). Getting it from the source: What librarians think about lawyer search behavior. Law Library Journal, 107(2), 287-295. To be honest, the results are probably not unexpected for any librarian: lawyers use electronic resources and want their information fast! However, the study, which is a survey of 100+ American law librarians, is an interesting contribution to testing whether general models of professionals' information seeking behaviour apply in specific circumstances (such as law firms). Other articles in the issue include: The Career Path, Education, and Activities of Academic Law Library Directors Revisited Twenty-Five Years Later [2015-8] Michael J. Slinger and Sarah C. Slinger A Survey of Law Libraries in Rwanda [2015-9] Brian D. Anderson Indian Treaties: A Bibliography [2015-10] Beth DiFelice Con...

Sharing knowledge is what librarians do best! ALLA(WA) invites you to tap into our shared wisdom at a roundtable discussion on current awareness tools. In this informal session, members will exchange ideas and advice on the processes and resources that are out there for tracking and distributing legal information. Please feel free to bring your lunch. Time: 1:00-2:00pm Date: Tuesday, 20th October Place: Jackson McDonald, Level 17, 225 St Georges Terrace RSVP by 16th October using this form: http://bit.ly/20OctRSVP

Cross-posted from the ALLA-ANZ email list  AustLII has now released a draft programme for Law via Internet 2015 - http://www.lvi2015.org/programme/ LvI 2015 has over 40 speakers from 15 countries, plus many distinguished session chairs. There will be sessions on ’The media and free access law’, 'International law online’, 'Sports law transparency’, 'Reclaiming legal history’, ‘Innovation in free access to scholarship’, the semantic web and law, language and translation, and many other topical issues. It is the first time since 2003 that AustLII has hosted the annual LvI conference and meeting of the Free Access to Law Movement, and a rare opportunity to hear first-hand of developments in Europe, East Asia, Africa and elsewhere. We encourage you to register for a stimulating international conference, to be held at UNSW Law Faculty. Registrations will close on 2 November.

ALLA (WA Division) and ALLA Ltd. are continually working on developing the best services for our members. As part of this, we are reaching out to WA members to let us know what you want to see from your Association. Please take some time to let us know what you think, even if it is just via an email. Have an idea for a CPD event? Let us know. Find something interesting that you would like to be shared on the ALLA WA Blog? Want to write a post? Send it through to allawablog@gmail.com and we’ll share it. If you have ideas to share and like to see your name in print, the Australian Law Librarian journal also recently put out a call for contributions. More information is on the journal's website .  Note: current ALLA(WA) members have been emailed information about providing feedback via a SWOT analysis exercise (due 16th October 2015). If you have renewed your membership through 2016 but did NOT receive that email, please check that your email address is correct by logging ...

Megan’s photo reminded me that the Australian Law Librarian has been on another journey – to Canada and Alaska in June. This photo was taken after we flew to Taku Lodge (near Juneau) by float plane. Flew over glaciers, landed, then three bears came out of the woods to lick the barbecue after we had finished eating. Magical day. ALLA(WA) Member  -  Jenny Lucre. Librarian, Magistrates' Court Library.