Academic Law Library Statistics 2012–2013 Published

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) released a new publication earlier this week entitled ARL Academic Law Library Statistics 2012–2013 (available for $170US).

It describes collections, expenditures, personnel, and services in 73 law libraries at ARL member institutions in the US and Canada.

Among the highlights from reporting institutions:

• they held a median of 440,087 volumes
• spent a total of $218,319,074 (US)
• employed 1,867 FTE staff
• expenditures for materials and staff accounted for the bulk of total expenditures, at approximately 48% and 44% respectively

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice October 2014 Access to Justice Newsletter

The non-profit Canadian Forum on Access to Justice (CFCJ) has been publishing a monthly newsletter about Access to Justice since early 2013.

The latest issue of the newsletter includes:

• an article about international access to justice programs
• a profile of a Canadian Forum on Civil Justice Research Assistant
• and a number of "stories from the road" (participation of CFCJ members in events and activities in different parts of Canada)

Supreme Court of Canada: New Library Titles

The list of new library titles added to the Supreme Court of Canada collection for the period of October 1-15, 2014 is now available on the Court website.

The web page explains: "The Supreme Court of Canada Library lends materials from all but the most recent New Library Titles list in accordance with its Interlibrary Loan Policy."

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

Presentations from University of Ottawa Government Information Day Available Online

The University of Ottawa Library, with sponsorship from the Carleton University Library, organized a Government Information Day on October 16th, 2014 at the University of Ottawa's downtown campus.

The presentations from the sessions are now available online.

Among the topics covered:

• Digitizing Ontario government documents: The story so far
• Who's digitizing what?
• Planning for a registry of digitized Canadian government documents
• Cuttings or compost? Working with the weeding outfall of LAC and GoC
• Digitization of the Statistics Canada Library's Historical Collection
• Historical Debates of the Parliament of Canada Portal: Increasing access to Parliament's documentary history and heritage
• Digitization, preservation, access: Canadiana.org and trustworthy digital repository (TDR) services
• Web archiving: Getting started with Internet Archive's Archive-IT service
• Cultivating community engagement through web archiving
• On the hunt for fugitive government information
• Keeping current, staying relevant
• E-informing the public: Information access and e-government
• Open government 2.0: Learning from the past and moving forward
• The conditions and challenges for sustainable open data ecosystems

Nominations Open for Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute 2015

Nominations are now open for the 13th Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute (NELI) that will be held in Emerald Lake, British Columbia, from March 29 to April 4, 2015.

Successful nominees will be invited to participate in the annual library leadership training program. The selection criteria can be found on the NELI website.

Nominees must:

1. have a desire to develop their leadership potential and aggressively aspire to visible leadership roles in library and information service organizations;
2. have received their library degrees, generally, within the past seven years; and,
3. have a minimum of two year’s professional library experience and a generally a maximum of seven years.

The deadline is January 5, 2015.

Justice Canada Research Report on Enhancing Safety in Domestic Violence Cases

In the most recent Weekly Checklist of federal government publications,  a research report on domestic violence cases is listed.

Entitled Enhancing Safety: When Domestic Violence Cases are in Multiple Legal Systems, it was authored in 2013 by Linda C. Neilson of the University of New Brunswick for Justice Canada.

From the Executive Summary:

"The purpose of this report is to document, from a family law perspective, best practice options when domestic violence cases are making their way through multiple proceedings (criminal, civil, family, and child protection). The intention is to identify practices that can promote the safety of family members, particularly children, while also ensuring fair, due process."

"Research continues to document the legal system's failure to offer adequate support and protection to families, particularly to children, in domestic violence cases. Our legal systems were not designed with seamless, collaborative responses to domestic violence in mind. In fact, as a result of structural divisions that separate criminal, family and child protection matters, our legal systems sometimes work at cross purposes, wasting scarce therapeutic and community resources. Numerous researchers have cited court-system fragmentation as one of the leading causes of failure to protect adults and children. The result has been an undermining of public confidence in the administration of justice (...)"

"Preparing materials for use in the legal system presents two major challenges. The first is the cross disciplinary challenge of translating comprehensive analysis of socio-legal and social-science domestic violence research into tools and principles that can be used fairly and equitably in a legal context, without creating bias. The second is systemic: the need to understand and address in a practical manner the complexities of a legal system that operates as an organic, evolving system composed of multiple, interlocking parts."

"This report was written with educational and practical purposes in mind. Part 1 identifies the nature of the problem. Part 2 discusses terms. Part 3 offers law practitioners a quick reference overview of matters to consider when accepting a domestic violence case. Part 4 provides information and solutions relating to the collection and exchange of information across legal sectors. Part 5 explores problems occurring as a result of differing understandings of domestic violence among the legal sectors and explains how these differences affect the use and application of evidence. Part 6 introduces the reader to indicators of risk that domestic violence will continue, followed by Part 7 which focuses on indicators of the potential for lethal outcome; both explore how this information should be collected and shared across legal sectors. Part 8 examines evidence issues and procedural matters in interim proceedings at the intersection of criminal, family law, and child protection law. Part 9 focuses on cross-sector evidence issues during hearings, particularly the interpretation of evidence from the criminal law sector in a family law or child protection context, while Part 10 presents socio-legal information pertinent to best practices in the use of court-connected services. Part 11 offers concluding comments."

The Weekly Checklist includes a listing of titles made available by the Parliament of Canada, federal departments, and Statistics Canada to the Depository Services Program for distribution to a network of Depository Libraries in Canada and abroad.

Q & A from Irwin Law Experts on Ottawa Shootings

This a follow-up to Thursday's Library Boy post UofT Professor on Canadian Counter-Terrorism Law.

Canadian publisher Irwin Law has published a Questions and Answers from Irwin Law’s Experts After the Ottawa Shootings:

"After the shootings in Ottawa’s downtown core, Craig Forcese, uOttawa and author of National Security Law, and Kent Roach, University of Toronto, and author of Criminal Law, responded to questions posed by Irwin Law on terrorism law issues."

UofT Professor on Canadian Counter-Terrorism Law

Well-known University of Toronto law professor Kent Roach has written a post about The Canadian Terrorist Attacks and Canadian Counter-Terrorism Law on the US-based Just Security website.

The article examines some of the existing powers in the Criminal Code that can be used against suspected terrorists, and discusses the issues surrounding proposed amendments that would expand powers of Canadian intelligence services.

Roach is the author of The 9/11 Effect: Comparative Counter Terrorism Law (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and the editor of Comparative Counter-Terrorism Law (forthcoming from Cambridge University Press).

He served as research director for the Canadian inquiry into the 1985 terrorist bombing of Air India Flight 182 flying from Canada to New Delhi that caused the largest loss of life in Canadian history from a single terrorist attack, and on the research advisory committee of the commission of inquiry into the extraordinary rendition of Maher Arar to Syria.

Just Security is based at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University School of Law.

Australian Law Reform Commission Discussion Paper on Native Title

The Australian Law Reform Commission has released a Discussion Paper called Review of the Native Title Act 1993.

From the press release:

"The paper contains a range of proposals and questions around connection requirements for the recognition and scope of native title rights and interests (...) The ALRC is seeking feedback on these proposals."

"Professor Lee Godden, Commissioner-in-charge of the Inquiry, said, 'The ALRC has relied on more than 100 consultations with Indigenous organisations and individuals, industry, academics, state governments and many other people who are actively involved in the Native Title claims process and we are extremely grateful to everyone who has provided input into our thinking to date. Under the Terms of Reference for the Inquiry, we were to be guided by the Preamble and the Objects of the Native Title Act. In addition, the Inquiry has developed five guiding principles to underlie reforms: acknowledging the importance of the recognition of native title; acknowledging the many interests in the native title system; encouraging timely and just resolution of determinations; consistency with international law; and supporting sustainable futures. Our proposals seek to improve the operation of the Native Title Act within this principled framework'."

"ALRC President, Professor Rosalind Croucher, said, 'The Native Title Act is a key element in recognising the relationship of Indigenous people to land and waters. Reforms must also consider the impacts upon all participants in the native title system, as native title operates across many sectors in Australian society. In this context, the ALRC has had regard to the complexity of law, procedure and practice and the significant policy and economic context for native title. The challenge is to consider change in the native title system that advances the recognition and protection of native title, while ensuring that reforms support a robust and productive relationship between all participants'."

"The ALRC will now undertake a further round of national consultations and will provide its Final Report to the Attorney-General by the end of March 2015. |

Recent Meeting Between Canadian Library Association Exec and Library and Archives Canada Management

Late last month, the Executive Council of the Canadian Library Association (CLA) met with senior management of Library and Archives Canada (LAC), including Dr. Guy Berthiaume, the LAC's new head.

The CLA has published a summary of the meeting on its website.

Among the many issues discussed were:

• The status of the Trusted Digital Repository
• Web-harvesting activities to capture born-digital material
• LAC support for RDA implementation (new cataloguing rules)
• Concerns regarding procurement of a new National Union Catalogue (for inter-library loans)
• Federal government departmental library closures

Earlier Library Boy posts on Library and Archives Canada include:

• Canadian Library Association Dismayed by Federal Budget Impact (May 2, 2012): "The Canadian Library Association (CLA) today released a statement criticizing the 2012 federal budget which it believes will hit federal libraries and Libraries and Archives Canada very hard."
• Library and Archives Canada Terminates Inter-Library Loan Service (October 31, 2012): "The CLA Govt Library & Professionals Network, part of the Canadian Library Association, has published an announcement from Library and Archives Canada (LAC) that the institution is putting an end to its inter-library loan service in the next few weeks. The LAC's service has been an indispensable tool nationwide for researchers and libraries. "
• CLA Member Advocacy Survey: The Impact of Federal Budget Cuts on Canada’s Libraries (December 15, 2012): "The Canadian Library Association (CLA) has released the results of its survey on the impact of federal budget cuts (...) More than 400 individuals provided detailed responses to the survey questions. They overwhelmingly agreed that the cuts will impact both local and national library services, with 98% of respondents indicating concern. Areas most likely to be affected were identified, and include: access to material/information, research, interlibrary loans, Community Access Program, preservation, staffing cuts, digital issues."
• Canadian Association of Law Libraries Urges Reconsideration of LAC Code of Conduct (March 27, 2013): "Earlier this month, it was revealed that Library and Archives Canada (LAC) management was proposing a new code of conduct, a move that sparked a lot of controversy and some apprehension that information professionals were perhaps being muzzled at one of Canada's most important national cultural heritage institutions at a time when it is facing cutbacks and a change in its service mix. In particular, many objections were made to the description of traditional public engagements such as teaching and going to librarian and archivist conferences as potentially 'high risk activities' that may pose a problem under the code's provisions."
• Law Library Association Endorses Joint Statement on Next Library and Archives Canada Head (June 4, 2013): "The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) has endorsed the joint statement of close to 20 provincial and national library and archival associations concerning the qualifications needed by the person who will be chosen as the next head of Library and Archives Canada. Daniel Caron resigned as head of the institution last May."
• Canadian Library Associations on Upcoming Federal Budget (August 29, 2013): "The Canadian Library Association (CLA) and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) have prepared submissions (...) One common element of both submissions is the call for more funding for digitization programs by Library and Archives Canada which has been hit by major cutbacks."
• Library Association Responses to Royal Society of Canada Consultations on Future of Canada's Libraries and Archives (February 10, 2014): "The CAUT [Canadian Association of University Teachers] report in particular is scathing about recent changes and budget cutbacks at Library and Archives Canada and about the closing of federal government libraries."
• Joint Statement Regarding the Appointment of Guy Berthiaume as New Librarian and Archivist of Canada (April 27, 2014): "Last week, the Archives Association of Ontario, the Association of Parliamentary Libraries in Canada, the Canadian Association of Law Libraries, and the Canadian Library Association issued a joint statement welcoming the appointment of Dr. Berthiaume..."

Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Louise Arbour Inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame

The Honourable Louise Arbour, who was a Supreme Court of Canada justice from 1999 to 2004, was recently inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.

Madam Justice Arbour has also worked as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and as President of the International Crisis Group.

Chief Prosecutor for The International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia - See more at: http://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/inductees/2014/louise-arbour#sthash.PZ76Ahxt.dpufXhief

Inductees are Canadians recognized for their extraordinary accomplishments. They each receive a star displayed along King St. West or Simcoe Street in downtown Toronto.

GlobalTV will host a televised gala tribute on December 19th at 8PM for Madam Justice Arbour and this year's other inductees.

 The Walk of Fame was founded in 1998. Their website has a timeline which lists the inductees year by year.

displayed along King Street West (between John Street and Simcoe Street) and Simcoe Street (between King Street West and Wellington Street) in downtown Toronto.  - See more at: http://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/inductees/inductee-star-map#sthash.hnJ4f8R5.dpuf

Stars are displayed along King Street West (between John Street and Simcoe Street) and Simcoe Street (between King Street West and Wellington Street) in downtown Toronto.  - See more at: http://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/inductees/inductee-star-map#sthash.hnJ4f8R5.dpuf

September/October 2014 Issue of AALL Spectrum

The September/October 2014 issue of AALL Spectrum, a monthly publication of the American Association of Law Libraries, is available.

Among this month's selection of articles:

• Public Relations: Outstanding Achievements: "The marketing strategy or public relations initiatives that work well for one library might not necessarily work well for another. One of the most impressive qualities shared among the 2014 Excellence in Marketing Award winners is that they each evaluated their patrons and their unique communities and creatively produced marketing materials that were able to speak to their audiences and stakeholders. AALL’s Excellence in Marketing Award honors outstanding achievement in public relations activities by an individual, group of individuals, library, chapter, special interest section, consortium, caucus, or any other group affiliated with the Association. This year’s winners include a law firm library, a federal court library, a chapter, a public academic/county law library, and a private academic law library."
• Networking, Mutual Assistance, and a Whole Lot More: "A small group of Attorneys General Office (AGO) librarians gathered informally at AALL’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. The talk turned to explaining what we do and how it differs from what other law librarians do... "
• Mentorship: The AALL Push: "AALL believes in mentoring. Exploring the various aspects of the AALL website confirms that it is currently one of the major tenets of the organization and with good reason. Law librarianship is sometimes a misunderstood and underappreciated profession. Many people do not really know what we do, so it’s important to show them. Every day is game day for us, and we should remember that. A lot of things are happening, both in law firms and in academia. We can’t control these changes, but we can make sure that our profession is ready to respond to and manage these changes."
• Out With the Old, In With the New: "LibGuides can be a great tool, as many librarians in various types of institutions will testify. But there are some considerations for their use. Following, Danielle A. Becker, electronic services librarian at Minnesota State Law Library, and Shamika D. Dalton, assistant university librarian at University of Florida Levin College of Law, provide their insights on working with the tool in their respective institutions."
• Changing Spaces: "As print collections shrink in favor of the electronic delivery of information, library space—once needed to hold the volumes we counted on to justify our existence—is no longer necessary for that purpose. Those of us who manage law libraries with large footprints are regularly asked to justify the continued maintenance of space that houses much smaller collections. Even those with smaller library spaces find themselves, at the very least, with more space than they had before and facing decisions about its use."

Updated Library of Parliament Publication on Bulk Water Removals

The Library of Parliament recently updated its background paper on Bulk Water Removals: Canadian Legislation :

"For decades, Canadians have been raising concerns about the possibility of fresh water being removed from Canadian lakes and waterways in bulk, including for export to the United States and beyond. The federal government has consistently opposed bulk removal of Canadian water, but it does not have exclusive jurisdiction over water issues in Canada; substantial jurisdiction resides with the provinces." 

"After outlining the legislative powers relevant to bulk water removals that the Constitution has assigned to Parliament and to the provincial legislatures, this paper briefly discusses legislative developments since a failed Canada-wide accord in 2000, which would have prohibited bulk water removals from Canada’s major watersheds. This paper then outlines, in a table, current federal, provincial and territorial legislation relating to bulk water removals."

Canadian Library Association Feliciter Issues for August and September 2014

The August and September issues of Feliciter, the journal of the Canadian Library Association (CLA), are available on line:

• Volume 60, Issue 4 (August 2014) - 2014 Annual General Meeting held in Victoria, British Columbia
• Volume 60, Issue 5 (September 2014) - Theme: Change vs. Panic

Interview With Law Library of Congress Lead Information Technology Specialist

In Custodia Legis, the blog of the Law Library of Congress in Washington, has been running an interview series featuring members of the library staff. The series started in late October 2010.

There are more than 140 posts in the series.

The most recent interview is with Glenn Ricci, Lead Information Technology Specialist:

"How would you describe your job to other people?
My official title 'Lead Information Technology Specialist' doesn’t tell people much, so I say that I’m basically a video producer at the Library. We have events happening all week that our team covers, and we fulfill a variety of other video needs for our clients all over the Library. Nearly all of it ends up on the Web. Demand has grown greatly over the years. It keeps us pretty busy processing hundreds of hours of video content every year (...)"

"What is the most interesting fact you’ve learned about the Library of Congress?
When the statues were commissioned for the Main Reading Room, the sculptors were all told to make their figures the same size. Paul Wayland Bartlett, who created the statue of Michelangelo, felt that Michelangelo was too important to be the same size as the others (who include Beethoven, Shakespeare, and Moses) so he made him just a bit bigger. I imagine Barlett was a very strong-willed artist."

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2.65 million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world. 

CLA Government Library Network Interviews With Government Info Librarians

For the past few months, the CLA Government Library and Information Management Professionals Network, part of the Canadian Library Association (CLA), has been publishing 13 Questions With..., a series on its website that profiles a member of the Canadian library and IM community every week.

In celebration of Government Information Day taking place today at the University of Ottawa, the Network has presented three profiles this week:

• 13 Questions With… Catherine McGoveran (Government Information Librarian, University of Ottawa)
• 13 Questions With… Michelle Lake (Government Publications Librarian, Concordia University Libraries)
• 13 Questions With… Amanda Wakaruk (Government Information Librarian, University of Alberta Libraries)

The Wakaruk profile also includes an answer to the question "What should every information professional know about gov docs?":

1. Access to government information is the foundation of a functioning democracy and underpins informed citizen engagement.
2. Government information has enduring value. Don’t waste precious time re-questioning this fact and do your librarianly duties.
3. Government information is precarious and requires stewardship.
4. Government publications and documents are different than most books, journals, and content born on the Internet.

Library of Parliament Publication on Officers of Parliament

The Library of Parliament has updated a research publication that describes the Appointment of Officers of Parliament: 

"Officers of Parliament are responsible directly to Parliament rather than to the government or a federal minister. This emphasizes their independence from the government of the day. They carry out duties assigned by statute and report to one or both chambers of Parliament."

"There are eight officers of Parliament: 1) the Auditor General; 2) the Chief Electoral Officer; 3) the Commissioner of Official Languages; 4) the Information Commissioner; 5) the Privacy Commissioner; 6) the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner; 7) the Commissioner of Lobbying; and 8) the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner.."

"Federally, there is no statutory definition of what constitutes a parliamentary officer; however, the role and function of these officers should not be confused with those of other positions such as the Clerk of either house, the Sergeant-at-Arms, the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel or the Parliamentary Librarian. The latter officials assist Parliament in procedural and administrative matters, whereas officers of Parliament support Parliament in its accountability and scrutiny functions and in carrying out other tasks (...)"

"This document looks at the eight parliamentary officer positions listed above."

2014 Federal Annual Report on Reviews of Possible Miscarriages of Justice

In the most recent Weekly Checklist of federal government publications, the latest annual report by Justice Canada on applications for ministerial review in cases of possible miscarriages of justice is listed:

"Since 1892, the Minister of Justice has had the power, in one form or another, to review a criminal conviction under federal law to determine whether there may have been a miscarriage of justice. The current regime is set out in sections 696.1 – 696.6 of the Criminal Code."

"The conviction review process begins when a person submits an 'application for ministerial review (miscarriages of justice),' also known as a conviction review application. The application for ministerial review must be supported by new matters of significance — usually important new information or evidence that was not previously considered by the courts. If the Minister is satisfied that those matters provide a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred, the Minister may grant the convicted person a remedy and return the case to the courts — either referring the case to a court of appeal to be heard as a new appeal or directing that a new trial be held. The Minister may also refer a question to the court of appeal in the appropriate province."

"Under section 696.5 of the Criminal Code, the Minister of Justice is required to submit an annual report to Parliament regarding applications for ministerial review (miscarriages of justice) within six months of the end of the fiscal year. This is the 12th annual report, and it covers the period from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. Under the Regulations Respecting Applications for Ministerial Review — Miscarriages of Justice (the Regulations),the report must address the following matters:

• the number of applications for ministerial review made to the Minister;
• the number of applications that have been abandoned or that are incomplete;
• the number of applications that are at the preliminary assessment stage;
• the number of applications that are at the investigation stage;
• the number of decisions that the Minister has made; and
• any other information that the Minister considers appropriate."

The Weekly Checklist includes a listing of titles made available by the Parliament of Canada, federal departments, and Statistics Canada to the Depository Services Program for distribution to a network of Depository Libraries in Canada and abroad.

Updated Library of Parliament Legislative Summary of Cyberbullying Bill

The Library of Parliament recently updated its legislative summary of Bill C-13 known as the "cyberbullying bill":

"Bill C-13 deals with:

• the offence of non-consensual distribution of intimate images;
• offences committed by means of telecommunication; (...)"

"One aspect of the bill addresses cyberbullying, which has been in the news, particularly in relation to the high-profile cases of Rehtaeh Parsons and Amanda Todd. Rehtaeh Parsons attempted suicide in April 2013 (and was later taken off life support) after pictures of an alleged sexual assault were distributed which led to various types of bullying. Amanda Todd committed suicide in October 2012 after experiencing blackmail online and facing threats that topless pictures of her would be distributed on the Internet, a practice known as 'sextortion'."

"Also in October 2012, the federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for justice and public safety asked officials to look into potential gaps in the Code in relation to cyberbullying and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images. The resulting Report to the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Justice and Public Safety: Cyberbullying and the Non-consensual Distribution of Intimate Images was published in June 2013 and included recommendations that are integrated into Bill C-13."

It is possible to follow the progress of the bill on the LEGISinfo website. LEGISinfo also includes links to background material and to parliamentary debates and committee reports on the proposed legislation.

The bill is set to pass third reading in the House of Commons after this Thanksgiving weekend before heading to the Senate.

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice September 2014 Access to Justice Newsletter

The non-profit Canadian Forum on Access to Justice (CFCJ) has been publishing a monthly newsletter about Access to Justice since early 2013.

The latest issue of the newsletter includes:

• an article about an Ottawa organization trying to reduce linguistic barriers to justice
• a profile of Dr. Patricia Hughes, Executive Director of the Law Commission of Ontario
• and a number of "stories from the road" (participation of CFCJ members in events and activities in different parts of Canada)

Law Library of Congress Report on Approval of Medical Devices

The Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. has published a new comparative law report on the Approval of Medical Devices:

"This report describes the approval process for medical devices in the European Union and fifteen countries, and also indicates whether or not an expedited approval procedure is available. Many of the countries reference EU law, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Israel more readily approves devices with a CE mark (indicating approval in the EU) or an indication that they are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In many nations, particularly those influenced by the EU, part of the review process is conducted not by the government but by private, independent organizations called 'notified bodies.' These organizations are designated by EU Member States."

"In most of the countries in the survey, medical devices are categorized based on the risks associated with their use, and the approval process varies by category. For example, in the United Kingdom, manufacturers of low-risk devices may register with the government agency and simply declare that the devices meet the requirements to be approved. Devices classed as higher risk must undergo more detailed review, by a notified body."

"On the question of an expedited approval process, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Spain, and Switzerland permit some sort of rapid review in particular cases, often when a device is required for an individual patient and no substitute is available. Mexico has provided for more rapid approval of devices if they have already been approved in either Canada or the United States. No such procedure exists at present in Brazil, France, Israel, the Russian Federation, or the United Kingdom. The Russian Federation did have a rapid approval system in place prior to August 2014. Germany provides for temporary approval of devices in limited circumstances. South Africa is now considering draft legislation that would include expedited procedures in specified situations. The map included at the end of this report provides a visual overview of the status of expedited approval in the countries surveyed. "

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2.65 million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.

Recent Update to Library of Parliament Publication on Bilingualism in the Federal Courts

The Library of Parliament recently updated its research publication on Bilingualism in the Federal Courts:

"This document analyzes the rules that govern the use of both official languages in the federal courts, that is, the courts established by Parliament. It gives a brief overview of Canada’s court system before examining the legislative, constitutional and judicial framework of bilingualism in the federal courts. Lastly, it reviews the unique case of the Supreme Court of Canada and summarizes the recent debate on adding language requirements for the judges who sit on the Supreme Court bench."

Law Library of Congress Report on Police Weapons Around the World

The Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. has published a new comparative report on the Police Weapons Around the World:

"This report examines the weapons and equipment generally at the disposal of law enforcement officers in several countries around the world. It also provides, for each of these countries, a brief overview of the rules governing the use of weapons by law enforcement officers. Precise and reliable information on the weapons and equipment of some countries’ police forces was often difficult to find. "

The document looks at the situation in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Estonia, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom.

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2.65 million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.

Supreme Court of Canada: New Library Titles

The list of new library titles added to the Supreme Court of Canada collection for the period of September 16-30, 2014 is now available on the Court website.

The web page explains: "The Supreme Court of Canada Library lends materials from all but the most recent New Library Titles list in accordance with its Interlibrary Loan Policy."

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

Canadian Association of Law Libraries 2014-2015 Substantive Law Webinar Series

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) is offering a series of substantive law webinars in 2014-2015 that will cover tort law, contract law, constitutional law, real/personal property law, and criminal law.

Each webinar will be given by Ted Tjaden, the national litigation precedents lawyer in Gowlings' Toronto office.

In addition to being the author of Legal Research and Writing, 3rd ed (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2010) and The Law of Independent Legal Advice, 2nd ed (Toronto: Carswell, 2013), he is a regular speaker at conferences on issues of knowledge management, technology and the effective organization of litigation documents.

The cost is $45.20/webinar for CALL members, and $67.80/webinar for non-members.

People registering for the entire series of 5 webinars will get a 20% discount.

September 2014 Issue of Connected Bulletin on Courts and Social Media

The September 2014 issue of Connected is available online. The bulletin covers news about the impact of new social media on courts.

Most of the items are about the United States, but there is occasional coverage of other jurisdictions.

Items in this issue include:

• New complimentary poster offers juror guidelines
• Judge texts juror's friend from courtroom
• Texting in the Courtroom: Curse or Advantage

The bulletin is published by the Virginia-based National Center for State Courts and the Conference of Court Public Information Officers.

Library Associations Call for Better Services for Prisoners

The Canadian Library Association (CLA) and the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD) recently wrote a joint letter to top federal government officials to uphold the fundamental right of people who are incarcerated to read, learn, and access information:

"Literacy and the prison library play an important role inside institutions as well as in reintegration planning. The prison library has the opportunity to mirror the outside world and help prepare the incarcerated person for release."

"People serving their sentences have not given up the right to learn and to access information, including legal information. Inmates should therefore have access to materials, services, and opportunities to develop literacy skills, pursue personal and cultural interests, and engage in life-long learning that properly-resourced prison libraries provide." 

"Qualified, trained and paid staff should work with the collections to meet the education, recreation and rehabilitation needs of the prisoners. The CLA and CALL/ACBD are calling for a renewed focus and reallocation of resources to allow libraries in prison to provide access to books, information, and related relevant programming that can contribute to safety and success both within and outside correctional institutions."

The CLA/CALL intervention was in response to a CBC News story about cuts to library hours and library staff in a number of federal correctional facilities.

The letter was sent to Don Head, Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada, The Hon. Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety, and The Hon. Peter MacKay, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

Both associations have committees that work on issues surrounding the provision of library services to prisoners.

Upcoming Webinar on GALLOP Canadian Government Publications Portal

The Education Institute, the continuing education program developed by The Partnership of Provincial and Territorial Library Associations of Canada, is organizing a webinar on Oct. 22, 2014 called GALLOP into Government Docs and Legislative Libraries.

GALLOP, the Government and Legislative Libraries Online Publications Portal, was launched in 2013 by the Association of Parliamentary Libraries in Canada. It is a portal providing access to often hard-to-find federal and provincial government publications:

"This session is essential for anyone working with government publications, and will also be relevant for school, public, academic, and special librarians searching for government publications. It will address collaborative efforts to preserve and make available electronic government publications in Canada. Reference librarians will learn how to use this reliable source of Canadian content. Library school students may find value in this session regarding ways libraries are cooperating to navigate the ongoing shift from paper to electronic resources and manage print collections economically."

Survey on Disruptive Behaviour in the Law Library

The Research Instruction and Patron Services division of the American Association of Law Libraries is writing a white paper about successfully handling difficult patron behaviour.

To gather information, it has developed a survey on the topic:

"We are specifically interested in gathering information about the disruptive behavior of all types of patrons (attorneys, judges, students, stakeholders, members of the public, legislators, elected officials, etc.) Our subcommittee created this survey to find out more information about the experiences library staff at all types of law libraries encounter. In addition, we are examining the policies and procedures, both formal and informal, of law libraries with respect to handling difficult patron behavior. This short survey will assist us in collecting information on these issues."

October 2014 Issue of In Session: Canadian Association of Law Libraries' e-Newsletter

The October 2014 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.