Wisconsin State Law Library

What's New - Kristina Martinez

New free public scanner

We now have a state-of-the-art book scanner and document feeder for public use at the State Law Library. Users can easily scan pages from a book or loose leaf service for free. Email yourself PDF files or save scans to a USB drive. A reference librarian is available to answer any questions or to help you use the scanner. Stop by today!

Trial Databases in HeinOnline

We're testing new HeinOnline libraries and we want your opinion. The trial libraries include:

• Animal studies: law, welfare and rights
• Congress and the courts, History of bankruptcy
• History of Supreme Court nominations
• Kluwer Law International Journal Library
• National Moot Court Competition.

If you think we should subscribe to any of these collections, please tell us what you think by emailing us at wsll.web@wicourts.gov by April 14, 2017.

Thank you, Pete!

After 18 years, Acquisitions Librarian Pete Boll left his position at the State Law Library. Pete managed book acquisitions and book budgets for our three libraries and Court offices. We wish him luck with his new position at UW's Memorial Library!

National Library Week

Mark your calendars for National Library Week, April 10 - 15. We're planning a number of legal research classes and activities for the week. Check out our Library Highlights page for up to date information.

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This Just In - Amy Crowder

New Title! Children's Justice: How to Improve Legal Representation of Children in the Child Welfare System, by Donald N. Duquette
American Bar Association, 2016
Call Number: KF3735 .D87 2016

Examines findings from the National Quality Improvement Center on the Representation of Children in the Child Welfare System (QIC-ChildRep), a project of the University of Michigan Law School supported by the U.S. Children's Bureau. Describes the Six Core Skills derived from the QIC Best Practice Model and provides methods on teaching the QIC approach.

New Edition! Worker's Compensation Handbook, 8th edition, by John D. Neal and Joseph Danas, Jr.
State Bar of Wisconsin, 2016
Call Number: KFW 2742.N43 W68

All new contents in this latest edition address the substantial changes to Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 102 from two acts in the 2015-16 session, 2015 Wis. Act 55 and 2015 Wis. Act 180. Significant changes include:

• Amending the statute regarding self-insurance
• The definition of employee now includes some individuals performing services under certain provisions of Wis. Stat. ch. 46, 48, and 49
• Amending the statutes to clarify which real estate brokers are considered employees
• Amending the statute concerning the effects of a worker's drug or alcohol use on payment of benefits
• New statute of limitation for claims based on traumatic injury
• The Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion concerning an undocumented worker's claim for worker's compensation benefits
• Rules regarding the naming of parties have been clarified

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.

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Tech Tip - Heidi Yelk

As tax season approaches, many of us have numbers on the mind. This led me to investigate free online calculators. Here are some web-based calculators that focus on judgments and deadlines.

Judgments

Post-judgment Interest Calculator hosted by the National Judgment Network, a group of judgment recovery specialists, is a quick way to calculate interest from a given date. More calculators can be found at calculators.org. Find interest and APR calculators from Calculator Soup. The North Carolina court system offers a judgment calculator which adds in court costs, pre-judgment interest and post-judgment interest.

Deadlines and court dates

To quickly count days, try the free filing date and deadline calculator from Atkinson-Baker, the date calculator from Calculator.net, or this one from Calculator Soup.

Counting days is made more complicated by legal holidays and court closures. There are several customizable apps available for small fees. Check out reviews on Smart Dockets, Court Days, and other apps on iphonejd.com.

Use with caution

No list would be complete without a disclaimer: Use online calculators with caution. The websites listed here are provided for informational purposes only.

Image source

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Odds 'n' Endings - Julie Tessmer

This year, the State Capitol Building celebrates its 100th anniversary. You may be thinking to yourself, isn't the Capitol more than 100 years old?

Answer: The building you see today is actually the fourth Capitol building.

In the early hours of February 27, 1904, a fire almost completely destroyed the third Capitol building. Over the next decade, 1906 to 1917, the current Capitol was built. Early photographs indicate the State Library (our name at that time) was completed in 1910. The library remained in the East Wing of the building for the next 89 years. Then, in January 1999, as part of the Capitol's Restoration and Renovation Project, the library moved out of the Capitol and into a temporary location on the Square. In January 2002, the library reopened in the Risser Justice Center, our home for the last 15 years. For more history about the library see our timeline.

It is worth a trip to downtown Madison to walk through the exhibits in the Capitol Rotunda. You can page through the architectural drawings which include drafts of the library's bookcases and furniture. If you can't make it to the Capitol try the Virtual Tour.

Bonus resource: The State Historical Society has compiled a detailed historical essay, "Wisconsin Capitols" on the different State Capitol buildings.

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