WSLL @ Your Service November 2012
Contents
What's New – Connie Von Der Heide
Upcoming Legal Research Class
There are still a few seats available in the hands-on legal research class being held at the State Law Library's training room this month. On November 27 learn about the process and materials used in researching the legislative history of Wisconsin statutes. This class offers CLE credits. For details and registration forms, please visit our Classes web page.
Librarians Speak Out
On October 16, Julie Tessmer, State Law Librarian, presented the WSLL Web Tour class at the Milwaukee County Courthouse for Circuit Court and Milwaukee County staff.
Connie Von Der Heide, Director of Reference & Outreach Services, presented "May We Help You? – State Law Library Tools for Assisting Self-Represented Litigants" at the fall conference of the Wisconsin Clerks of Circuit Court Association in Appleton October 19. On October 26, she presented "Can I Answer That? – Assisting Customers with Legal Reference Questions" at the Wisconsin Library Association annual conference in La Crosse.
Toys for Tots Dropoff Site
The Wisconsin State Law Library (WSLL) is excited to announce that it's serving as a dropoff site for the local Toys for Tots annual campaign. New, unwrapped toys brought to WSLL during November & December will be collected by the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation of Madison and delivered as Christmas presents to less fortunate children in Dane County. Toys may be dropped off at WSLL, 120 MLK, Jr. Blvd, 2nd floor, during regular library hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday.
In 2011 the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program distributed over 15.6 million toys to over 7.2 million less fortunate children nationwide.
This Just In… – Pete Boll
New Edition! U.S. Master GAAP Guide, 2013 edition, by Richard H. Gesseck, CPA; and Lawrence Gramlong, Ph.D., CPA.
CCH / Wolters Kluwer Publishing, 2012.
WSLL Call Number KF 1446 .G25
CCH's 2013 edition of the U.S. Master GAAP Guide provides summaries, explanations, and applications of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for non-governmental entities in the United States - as authoritatively documented in the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ACS) - to assist with solving complex accounting problems. The Guide's nine chapters are arranged to correspond with the areas of the ASC. Within each ASC topic, three levels of explanation and analysis are provided: flowchart material, general discussion, and detailed examples.
New Edition! Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law, 2012 edition.
Lexis Nexis, 2012.
WSLL Call Number KF 8205 .C6 2012
First published in 1941 and last revised in 2005, this new edition of Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law is a comprehensive, encyclopedic treatise providing both general overviews and in-depth discussions of specific areas within one of the most complex areas of federal law. Written by leading experts in the field, the Handbook focuses on the relationship between tribes and state and federal governments within the context of both civil and criminal jurisdiction, as well as the areas of resource management and government structure. Useful for judges as well as practitioners, this authoritative publication provides the tools needed to understand the law and to find relevant cases, statutes, regulations, and opinions that are critical to answering legal questions relating to federal Indian law. The 2012 edition includes coverage of:
- Current topics such as Indian gaming and taxation
- History and structure of tribal governments and tribal law
- Tribal and individual Indian property rights, including intellectual property rights
- Water rights
- Hunting, fishing, and gathering rights
- Economic development issues
- Government programs
See our latest New Titles list for a list of new books and other resources.
For assistance in accessing these or other resources, please contact our Reference Desk.
Tech Tip in Brief – Heidi Yelk
Simple ways to change your search engine habits
It's easy to stick with old, familiar habits when searching the web, such as always using Google or always using a toolbar for searching. Fortunately, if new features are "user friendly" they're fairly easy to incorporate as new, improved habits.
One such time-saving technique is to search directly from the address or location bar. (What is an address or location bar?) We usually think of the address bar as the place to enter a known URL or domain name to reach a page directly. However, you can also use that same bar for keyword searches.
In both Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox, a keyword search from the address bar will automatically generate a Google search. If you're in the habit of opening Google to do web searches, save yourself a step and try searching from the address bar.
Get more search options (IE 8, Firefox 16)
In addition to the address bar, a typical installation of IE or Firefox will include a search box in the upper right corner of the screen. This "search provider" or "search engine" box provides quick access to a variety of search engine options, some that search the web and others that search particular sites. To display the list, click on the Down arrow - as shown in this picture of my own Firefox search engine box:
Note that the list also includes a "Manage search engines" selection – or in IE it's called "Manage search providers." Clicking that allows you to customize the list by rearranging the selections, and removing or adding new search engines. To add new choices, click "Manage search engines and then select "Get more search engines" – or in IE it's called "Find more providers." Then, simply browse the list that displays and click the ones you want to add to your search engine list.
You may have noticed that my search box includes not only some commonly used engines such as Bing and Yahoo, but also a lesser known one called Lexis Web. Developed by LexisNexis, Lexis Web is a legal search engine that I use frequently. Lexis Web was not one of the choices under "Get more search engines," so I used this Mycroft Project page to discover the Lexis Web search engine plug in. On the Mycroft page, I simply entered the Lexis Web URL (lexisweb.com) in the search box. The plug-in link then displayed, and I clicked on it to add it to my search engine list. This handy trick works in both Firefox and IE.
With this web browser configuration you can do Google searches from the address bar and Lexis Web searches from the search engine box. It's a fast, convenient way to access a variety of search engine options, right on your browser's initial screen.
WSLL Recommends: Americans with Disabilities: Practice and Compliance Manual
This month the library is highlighting a print set called Americans with Disabilities: Practice and Compliance Manual. It is a valuable and well-respected treatise and practice manual. Comprised of 4 main topics, the set is housed in 7 looseleaf binders. All the volumes circulate to our library card holders.
The 4 main practice areas include: Programs, Services and Accommodations; Employment; Education; and Housing. Forms are included at the end of each main topic making this set a valuable tool for practitioners. It also contains relevant statutes, regulations, and agency materials, as well as ALR annotations and strategies for trial from Am. Jur. Trials.
This set is updated quarterly and our set was most recently supplemented in August 2012. This well organized manual might be just the place to start your disability law research, whether you are researching compliance requirements, defending against, or filing for a discrimination suit under the ADA.
Odds 'n' Endings – Carol Hassler
Did you know we have a small room here in the library outfitted with audio-visual equipment? Situated with our user workrooms, the A-V room includes a TV with built-in VHS and DVD players, and an audio CD player. Recently we also acquired an audio cassette tape player that can be signed out from the Circulation Desk for use in the A-V room.
Watch Bob Berring's legal research lectures or State Bar of Wisconsin videos on VHS, or use our cassette player to listen to recordings in that format from the library's Multimedia Collection. The A-V room is also available for viewing or listening to your own recorded materials such as depositions or case-related videos. Headphones may be signed out from the Circulation Desk, or you can use your own.
Top right: Slap bracelets, day-glo jewelry, and tape players are natural friends
Bottom left: A-V equipment
Comments Welcome!
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