International Legal Information Invitation

Originally published in  Aber News Issue 13 - May page 13, Aber People 

"In February 2013, Lillian Stevenson, Academic Services Manager and Law Librarian represented the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) at the Joint Study Institute held at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
The keynote address by Michael Kirby, Australia’s longest serving High Court Judge (now retired) highlighted the part Australia played in establishing one of the first Legal Information Institutes (Australasian Legal Information Institute [AustLII]) which provides free access to legal information.

Walk-in Access to Electronic Resources

A wide variety of fascinating online information resources have been made available to anyone visiting the Hugh Owen Library, not just to staff and students.  There are 27 different resources which can all be accessed through a simple interface on a dedicated Walk-in Access computer on the ground floor. We are delighted to provide selective access to these academic resources, many of which carry an expensive subscription, thanks to the terms and conditions within the publishers’ license agreements. You can explore a huge range of current and historical information, for study, hobbies or just for fun.

If you have an interest in History, Times Digital Archive, provides access to complete editions of The Times newspaper from 1785 (the year of the 1st balloon flight across English Channel) through until 1985 (the year of the Live Aid concert which raised over £100 million for African famine relief). A simple search can reveal a varied assortment of articles on the news and views of the last 200 years, or be limited to a search of the news on a particular day. You can browse through the headlines and (often amusing) adverts of yesterday.

Meet Your Academic Services Librarian #10

This year we will do a series of posts introducing you to the members of the Academic Services Team. This time it is the Graduate Trainee in Information Services.

Dan Smith
Library Graduate Trainee 2013/14

I’m Dan Smith and make up 50% of the Library Graduate Trainees employed by Information Services for the 2013/14 academic year. My time is split between four sections/teams within the library: Collections, Acquisitions & Resource Management; Academic Services; Lending and E-services & Communication. This gave me the opportunity to gain a wide variety of practical experience into the day to day running of an academic library, while giving the library a raw recruit, to try and train.

After my first brush with education ended at the age of 18, I worked for local government and was involved in the administration of teacher training throughout Powys. After a few years of arranging training for others, I started to think of returning to education myself and finally settled on the idea of trying to find a career which would allow me to order and sort things, so librarian. 

Collaborative research event with the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies & Bangor University

Feedback from participants.

 

" The students still talk about it saying how much they enjoyed their visit and the welcome they were given.  Thank you [Lillian Stevenson, Academic Services Manager/Law Librarian] once again for arranging the event."

New resource trial – ICLR Law Reports

The Library now have access to the Law Reports from the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (ICLR) for a year’s trial. This unique resource holds 78,000 full text reports and over 86,000 index cards and contain all case reports published by ICLR since 1865. According to the ICLR “The Law Reports are the official series cited in the High Court and Court of Appeal, and are the authority preferred by judges”. For further information see: http://www.iclr.co.uk/products/product-catalogue/iclr-online

You can access the reports on campus by going to http://www.iclr.co.uk/ then click on the red button ‘Go to ICLR Online’ in the top right. Off campus access is available via VPN 

The Library is interested in your feedback on this resource. Please email Lillian Stevenson lis@aber.ac.uk with your comments.

Sources for Courses: Drama Online

Particularly useful for students of Drama and English, Drama Online is a growing collection of plays that includes contextual information and several unique online tools that can assist you with close study.

Alongside a hefty compendium of dramatical works, the website offers expert guidance in the form of scholarly notes, contextual information, and overviews of the main concepts and issues explored. The wide range of dramatical texts on the site are provided by Bloomsbury in partnership with Methuen Drama, Faber and Faber, and Arden Shakespeare.

Some plays are also accompanied by relevant images and production stills, and each play has been made searchable to help you easily find navigate and find specific passages. Each text also includes an easily exportable citation, and is presented in a clear and accessible format that makes reading a pleasure.

The subscription also gives the use of two sophisticated online tools, providing an innovative digital environment that helps you engage with the plays more deeply.