New database: ProQuest Statistical Datasets

We have subscribed to a new database from ProQuest called Statistical Datasets. This is a very rich and complex database containing vast stores of empirical information (more than 14 billion data points) that can be used, combined, and manipulated by researchers. The datasets contained in this resource include both public domain information and licensed information, all of which can be used dynamically, compared and combined. Intrinsic to the database are visualization tools that allow users present data visually in easy-to-comprehend graphs, charts and maps. You can access ProQuest Statistical Datasets at all campus computers, via the Pitt wireless network, and remotely via EZ Proxy. Please note that you must have the latest version of Java installed on your computer to use this resource; if you don’t, you may get a message telling you to download Java (it’s a free download). The default first page displays the “In the News” category of “Crude Oil Price” as a table and as a graph. However, in the lefthand menu you will see folders, all of which can be opened to display their dataset content. Because the resource is so complex, it is a good idea, before you start, to use two helpful links that you will see in the upper right of the page: Video Tutorial and LibGuide. The video tutorials are short, helpful and highly recommended. The libguides contain additional guidance on finding, selecting, and manipulating data as well as how to create maps, charts and graphs that you can use in presentations or print.
Please contact the Barco eResearch & Technology Services Librarian for more information. 

New database: KluwerArbitration

The Barco Law Library has a new database subscription to KluwerArbitration from Wolters Kluwer publishers. This database is a resource for legal research in the area of international arbitration and is maintained by Wolters Kluwer in conjunction with the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA).  It contains primary source materials as well as secondary materials and includes exclusive materials including ICC cases and awards. Commentary and materials are from the (ICCA) which has has compiled, translated into English and edited case law, legislation, national reports and congress proceedings on international arbitration. ICCA's principal publications, prepared with the assistance of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, are included in the database: the Yearbook Commercial Arbitration (edited by A.J. van den Berg), the International Handbook on Commercial Arbitration  and the ICCA Congress Series. The database contains materials from the ITA including the ITA Monthly Report which covers the latest developments in international arbitration.
KluwerArbitration also includes a useful set of practice tools that can help the practitioner draft arbitration documents, developed in conjunction with the International Arbitration Institute. A page of  weblinks and the Kluwer Arbitration Blog are also linked from the database. 

CQ Today and Roll Call combined into CQ News

CQ publications has introduced a new publication which incorporates the stories that have traditionally been found in CQ Today about the development of legislation with the key pieces of Roll Call — stories on  members of Congress, the politics that drive them, and the people and industries that influence them. So now  you can get  political and Hill coverage as well as  legislative news and schedules information in one place: CQ News. All CQ Today and Roll Call stories have been combined into a single database on CQ.com - CQ News. Stories are updated throughout the day at the NEWS tab. The CQ Today archive goes back to the 104th Congress (1995-1996), while Roll Call stories go back to the beginning of the 112th Congress (January 2011). If you have any e-mail alerts searching CQ Today, no changes are required and you’ll continue to receive your e-mail updates.
PS:  They also have a useful publication available on the website called "Guide to the New Congress: Profiles of new members, the legislative agenda, preview of committee activity".  

GlobaLex guides updated

News from GlobaLex, the electronic legal publication about international & foreign law research from the NYU law school. There is a new legal research guide titled "Research Guide of the Legal System of Kingdom of Nepal" by Ershadul Karim and Sirjana Sharma Pokhrel. The Guide includes information about the legal and political history of Nepal as well as a thorough guide to the legal system, online law, and legal education.
In addition, several of the GlobaLex Guides have been updated:

• An Overview of the Egyptian Legal System and Legal Research by Dr. Mohamed S. E. Abdel Wahab. 
• A Guide on the Harmonization of International Commercial Law by Duncan Alford. 
• Basic Primary and Secondary Information Online Sources for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the United States Central American Free Trade Agreement-Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR) Research by Francisco A. Avalos and Maureen Garmon; Update by Francisco A. Avalos. 
• Researching the United Nations: Finding the Organization's Internal Resource Trails by Linda Tashbook. 
• The Austrian Legal System and Laws: a Brief Overview by Johannes Oehlboeck and Immanuel Gerstner; Update by Johannes Öhlböck.

hat tip: Joe Hodnicki, at the Law Librarian Blog

Libraries and privacy

Librarians know that we must maintain the privacy of library patrons.  There is an interesting article in the Chronicle of  Education today titled "As Libraries Go Digital, Sharing of Data Is at Odds With Tradition of Privacy". It reports that Harvard University libraries had to stop tweeting about what books their patrons were checking out. . According to the story, "It seemed harmless enough—a typical tweet read, 'Reconstructing American Law by Bruce A. Ackerman,' with a link to the book's library catalog entry". Nonetheless, privacy concerns were raised and they had to stop the tweeting; the worry was that someone might somehow use other details to identify the borrowers.

free 2013 Federal Rules for iPad etc.

Cornell's Legal Information Institute has made available free ebook editions (for iPad and all non-Kindle devices and software) of the 2013 Federal Rules of Evidence, Rules of Civil Procedure and Rules of Criminal Procedure. You will find them on the CALI eLangdell website. eLangdell has other ebooks for law students available as well.