The purpose of this article is to alert the legal reference librarian to a new and fundamentally different type of legal information, the "content farm." This article discusses and explains the content farm phenomenon as it affects legal information aimed at the non-expert user. Those who follow trends in information dissemination may recall a recent controversy concerning a change in Google's search algorithm that was created to slow down the proliferation of content farm information. We will review and discuss the assumptions about content farm information that prompted this change; specifically the idea that information generated for content farms is somehow less worthy than other legal information on the web. To do all this we will first attempt to define the term “content farm” - a term that is evolving even as this is written. Then, we will describe how legal information is generated and disseminated via content farms. Next, we will explore why this type of information is different from the usual legal information - good and bad - that is available on the Internet. We will analyze the economic theory upon which that information is being developed: the "long tail theory." We will then show and critique some examples of legal content generated by content farms that are currently available on the web. As part of that discussion we will pose the question of whether Google is right and whether content farm content should be driven from the web. We end with a review of why familiarity with this material is important to reference librarians and why, in the context of a legal reference transaction, content farm material is fundamentally different from other sources of legal information our customers may bring to us.
{"title":"The Long Tail of Legal Information - Legal Reference Service in the Age of the 'Content Farm'","authors":"L. Sims, Roberta E. Munoz","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1913775","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1913775","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this article is to alert the legal reference librarian to a new and fundamentally different type of legal information, the \"content farm.\" This article discusses and explains the content farm phenomenon as it affects legal information aimed at the non-expert user. Those who follow trends in information dissemination may recall a recent controversy concerning a change in Google's search algorithm that was created to slow down the proliferation of content farm information. We will review and discuss the assumptions about content farm information that prompted this change; specifically the idea that information generated for content farms is somehow less worthy than other legal information on the web. To do all this we will first attempt to define the term “content farm” - a term that is evolving even as this is written. Then, we will describe how legal information is generated and disseminated via content farms. Next, we will explore why this type of information is different from the usual legal information - good and bad - that is available on the Internet. We will analyze the economic theory upon which that information is being developed: the \"long tail theory.\" We will then show and critique some examples of legal content generated by content farms that are currently available on the web. As part of that discussion we will pose the question of whether Google is right and whether content farm content should be driven from the web. We end with a review of why familiarity with this material is important to reference librarians and why, in the context of a legal reference transaction, content farm material is fundamentally different from other sources of legal information our customers may bring to us.","PeriodicalId":44477,"journal":{"name":"Law Library Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2011-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67781160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The dawning of the age of digital information shifts the paradigm of the traditional scholar librarian. As three dimensional representations of information wither away, he scholarly legal bibliographer, a fixture in legal academia is devolving into an antiquarian. This brings into question the future of academic law librarianship and how it can be saved.
{"title":"The End of Scholarly Bibliography: Reconceptualizing Law Librarianship","authors":"R. Berring","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1929017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1929017","url":null,"abstract":"The dawning of the age of digital information shifts the paradigm of the traditional scholar librarian. As three dimensional representations of information wither away, he scholarly legal bibliographer, a fixture in legal academia is devolving into an antiquarian. This brings into question the future of academic law librarianship and how it can be saved.","PeriodicalId":44477,"journal":{"name":"Law Library Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2011-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67796309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Since at least the 1970s, there have been real concerns in law librarianship with how to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the profession. Yet, as the country has grown more diverse over the past several decades, and despite multiple minority recruitment efforts that have occurred during that same time period, diversity in law librarianship has remained relatively stagnant. This paper updates existing literature by investigating the implications of recent and drastic demographic changes in the U.S. population on the profession of law librarianship. It also explores potential reasons behind problems in attracting minorities to the field, and provides contemporary suggestions for stepping up diversity efforts in law libraries and among law librarians across the country.
{"title":"Addressing the 'Emerging Majority': Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Law Librarianship in the Twenty-First Century","authors":"A. Thurston","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1862270","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1862270","url":null,"abstract":"Since at least the 1970s, there have been real concerns in law librarianship with how to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the profession. Yet, as the country has grown more diverse over the past several decades, and despite multiple minority recruitment efforts that have occurred during that same time period, diversity in law librarianship has remained relatively stagnant. This paper updates existing literature by investigating the implications of recent and drastic demographic changes in the U.S. population on the profession of law librarianship. It also explores potential reasons behind problems in attracting minorities to the field, and provides contemporary suggestions for stepping up diversity efforts in law libraries and among law librarians across the country.","PeriodicalId":44477,"journal":{"name":"Law Library Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2011-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67764568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
1. Introduction Setting the Stage 2. Commentaries on Hicks' 'Teaching Legal Bibliography': With an Addendum by Robert Berring Michael Chiorazzi and Shaun Esposito Legal Research Theory 3. Thinking Like a Research Expert: Schemata for Teaching Complex Problem-Solving Skills Paul D. Callister 4. Teaching Advanced Legal Research: Philosophy and Context Robert C. Berring and Kathleen Vanden Heuvel 5. A Motivational Perspective on First-Year Legal Research Instruction Kris Gilliland Best Practices in Teaching Legal Research 6. Best Practices: What First-Year Law Students Should Learn in a Legal Research Class Nancy P. Johnson 7. On Teaching Advanced Legal Research Christopher A. Knott 8. The Skills They Need: International and Foreign Legal Research Mary Rumsey 9. State-Specific Legal Research Instruction: Curricular Stepchild or Core Competency? Victoria K. Trotta and Beth DiFelice Best Practices in Teaching Legal Research 10. Tubs, Buckets, and a Variety of Lumber: Developing a Strategic Approach to Legal Research Allen Moye Assessment and Technique 11. Legal Research Assessment Simon Canick 12. "Like Sands Through the Hourglass ... ": How to Develop a Good Legal Research Problem Susan T. Phillips 13. Teaching Legal Research Online Susan Herrick and Sara Kelley Burriesci Certification and Bar Exam Teaching 14. Who Gets to Be the Expert?: Legal Research Skills Certification in Legal Education Richard Leiter 15. Testing for Research Competency on the Bar Exam: The Next Steps Steven M. Barkan, Susan M. Case, Michael Kane, and Erica Moeser 16. Great Expectations: New Associates' Research Skills from Law School to Law Firm Jill L. K. Brooks 17. The Development of the Skills Curriculum in Law Schools: Lessons for Directors of Academic Law Libraries Duncan Alford
{"title":"Teaching legal research","authors":"B. Bintliff, Duncan E. Alford","doi":"10.4324/9781315875118","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315875118","url":null,"abstract":"1. Introduction Setting the Stage 2. Commentaries on Hicks' 'Teaching Legal Bibliography': With an Addendum by Robert Berring Michael Chiorazzi and Shaun Esposito Legal Research Theory 3. Thinking Like a Research Expert: Schemata for Teaching Complex Problem-Solving Skills Paul D. Callister 4. Teaching Advanced Legal Research: Philosophy and Context Robert C. Berring and Kathleen Vanden Heuvel 5. A Motivational Perspective on First-Year Legal Research Instruction Kris Gilliland Best Practices in Teaching Legal Research 6. Best Practices: What First-Year Law Students Should Learn in a Legal Research Class Nancy P. Johnson 7. On Teaching Advanced Legal Research Christopher A. Knott 8. The Skills They Need: International and Foreign Legal Research Mary Rumsey 9. State-Specific Legal Research Instruction: Curricular Stepchild or Core Competency? Victoria K. Trotta and Beth DiFelice Best Practices in Teaching Legal Research 10. Tubs, Buckets, and a Variety of Lumber: Developing a Strategic Approach to Legal Research Allen Moye Assessment and Technique 11. Legal Research Assessment Simon Canick 12. \"Like Sands Through the Hourglass ... \": How to Develop a Good Legal Research Problem Susan T. Phillips 13. Teaching Legal Research Online Susan Herrick and Sara Kelley Burriesci Certification and Bar Exam Teaching 14. Who Gets to Be the Expert?: Legal Research Skills Certification in Legal Education Richard Leiter 15. Testing for Research Competency on the Bar Exam: The Next Steps Steven M. Barkan, Susan M. Case, Michael Kane, and Erica Moeser 16. Great Expectations: New Associates' Research Skills from Law School to Law Firm Jill L. K. Brooks 17. The Development of the Skills Curriculum in Law Schools: Lessons for Directors of Academic Law Libraries Duncan Alford","PeriodicalId":44477,"journal":{"name":"Law Library Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70458467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Drawing upon the most authoritative foreign-language sources on the subject, this article provides an English-language survey of how editions of Justinian’s Novels were created and passed along over nearly two thousand years. It further describes how some important nineteenth century scholarship on the Novels not widely available in print is now freely accessible online.
{"title":"The Creation and Transmission of Justinian's Novels","authors":"Timothy G. Kearley","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1478686","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1478686","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing upon the most authoritative foreign-language sources on the subject, this article provides an English-language survey of how editions of Justinian’s Novels were created and passed along over nearly two thousand years. It further describes how some important nineteenth century scholarship on the Novels not widely available in print is now freely accessible online.","PeriodicalId":44477,"journal":{"name":"Law Library Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2010-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2139/SSRN.1478686","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68185856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mr. Keele examined copyright provisions of law journal publication agreements and found that a minority of journals ask authors to transfer copyright. Most journals also permit authors to self-archive articles. He recommends journals make their agreements publicly available and use licenses instead of copyright transfers.
{"title":"Copyright Provisions in Law Journal Publication Agreements","authors":"Benjamin J. Keele","doi":"10.31228/osf.io/h3wpn","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31228/osf.io/h3wpn","url":null,"abstract":"Mr. Keele examined copyright provisions of law journal publication agreements and found that a minority of journals ask authors to transfer copyright. Most journals also permit authors to self-archive articles. He recommends journals make their agreements publicly available and use licenses instead of copyright transfers.","PeriodicalId":44477,"journal":{"name":"Law Library Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2010-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69639690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article begins the investigation into the different ways results are generated in West’s “Custom Digest” and in LexisNexis’s “Search by Topic or Headnote” and by KeyCite and Shepard’s. The author took ten pairs of matching headnotes from important federal and California cases and reviewed the results sets generated by each classification and citator system for relevance. The differences in the results sets for classification systems and for citator systems raise interesting issues about the efficiency and comprehensiveness of any one system, and the need to adjust research strategies accordingly.
{"title":"The Relevance of Results Generated by Human Indexing and Computer Algorithms: A Study of West's Headnotes and Key Numbers and LexisNexis's Headnotes and Topics","authors":"Susan Nevelow Mart","doi":"10.31228/osf.io/73qsp","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31228/osf.io/73qsp","url":null,"abstract":"This article begins the investigation into the different ways results are generated in West’s “Custom Digest” and in LexisNexis’s “Search by Topic or Headnote” and by KeyCite and Shepard’s. The author took ten pairs of matching headnotes from important federal and California cases and reviewed the results sets generated by each classification and citator system for relevance. The differences in the results sets for classification systems and for citator systems raise interesting issues about the efficiency and comprehensiveness of any one system, and the need to adjust research strategies accordingly.","PeriodicalId":44477,"journal":{"name":"Law Library Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69639792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mr. Custer considers the use of “literary warrant” as it affects the usefulness of the West Digest System, and reports on the results of a survey he conducted with both legal practitioners and law faculty. He concludes that the West Digest System has some viability, but it will need to extend its literary warrant to remain a player in today’s legal culture.
{"title":"The Universe of Thinkable Thoughts versus the Facts of Empirical Research","authors":"Joseph A. Custer","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1354111","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1354111","url":null,"abstract":"Mr. Custer considers the use of “literary warrant” as it affects the usefulness of the West Digest System, and reports on the results of a survey he conducted with both legal practitioners and law faculty. He concludes that the West Digest System has some viability, but it will need to extend its literary warrant to remain a player in today’s legal culture.","PeriodicalId":44477,"journal":{"name":"Law Library Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68168310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Copyright law is of tremendous importance to librarians, faculty members, scholars, researchers and attorneys. Scholars have often written about the fair use doctrine not only as a defense to copyright infringement but also about using it affirmatively to support the use of copyrighted works in research, teaching, and law practice without seeking permission from the copyright owner. Less scholarly attention has been focused on the public domain, despite its importance both to users of creative works and to authors and publishers. This essay celebrates the public domain.
{"title":"A Defense of the Public Domain: A Scholarly Essay","authors":"L. Gasaway","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1495233","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1495233","url":null,"abstract":"Copyright law is of tremendous importance to librarians, faculty members, scholars, researchers and attorneys. Scholars have often written about the fair use doctrine not only as a defense to copyright infringement but also about using it affirmatively to support the use of copyrighted works in research, teaching, and law practice without seeking permission from the copyright owner. Less scholarly attention has been focused on the public domain, despite its importance both to users of creative works and to authors and publishers. This essay celebrates the public domain.","PeriodicalId":44477,"journal":{"name":"Law Library Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2009-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68187427","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The three authors created the Web 2.0 Challenge for the Computing Services Special Interest Section of AALL. In this article they describe their experience running the Challenge and the feedback from the librarians who participated in the Challenge.
{"title":"Inspiring Innovation: Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating the Web 2.0 Challenge","authors":"D. Ginsberg, Meg Kribble, Bonnie J. Shucha","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.1354822","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.1354822","url":null,"abstract":"The three authors created the Web 2.0 Challenge for the Computing Services Special Interest Section of AALL. In this article they describe their experience running the Challenge and the feedback from the librarians who participated in the Challenge.","PeriodicalId":44477,"journal":{"name":"Law Library Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2009-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68168497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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