Legislative History Research Guides by State

Tracing the development of state law just became a bit easier. The Law Library at Maurer School of Law has compiled research guides and legislative history source guides for most U.S. states. Both paper and online research are discussed. Some states even offer “step-by-step” guides. For states without available research guides, a link is provided to the state legislative branch’s website.

Read it later...

Sometimes the little things make my life so much easier! "I need to read this" is helping me create my own, customized reading list.

How many times have you run across an article or blogpost that you really find interesting, but you simply do not have time to read it right away? I have tried bookmarking these sites, making a list of interesting urls, emailing the url to myself...every attempt to save the item for later always ends in it being forgotten or lost.

Well, now I don't have to worry about that! I just signed up for "I need to read this". The site is extremely simple. Just create a username and password, add the two bookmarklets to your favorites (IE) or bookmarks (other browsers). Then, when you see an article you want to read later, click the bookmarklet "I need to read this". When you find yourself with a free moment on your hands, go to the "Read an article" bookmarklet and see what you have saved.

So simple, yet truly genius! Now, I would be interested in the idea of sharing these reading lists with my friends and colleagues. I wonder if that will be an option in the future.

Choosing a URL Shortening Service

In a world where communication needs to fit into the confines of a text message or a tweet, it can be important to keep things as short as possible. This is why most of us have employed the use of a URL shortening service. I believe tinyurl was the first service I encountered and that was probably 5 or 6 years ago. Now, there are numerous options for URL shortening services and just as many criteria to consider when choosing between them.

Search Engine Land published this detailed look at each of the most popular services and how to make a choice that will work best for you.

Free Legal Research Sources

UCLA has published a new research guide called "Beyond LexisNexis & Westlaw".

We are all looking for ways to cut costs. We clip coupons for groceries, telecommute to save on gas and opt to "stay-cation" instead of vacation. Even the law firm giants are feeling the crunch as they shed support staff and associates quicker than my dog is shedding her winter coat.

However, there are still cases to be argued and battles to be won. Legal research still needs to be done. In a world where LexisNexis and Westlaw have always been our first stops, it is essential to employ a more cost-effective method of finding the answers we need. Beyond LexisNexis & Westlaw provides a directory of resources organized by categories such as: Federal Legislative Branch Resources, Federal Courts & Caselaw, Legal Forms, Legal News and Local Government . Many, if not most, of the resources listed are free. It may take a few minutes to learn a new resource, but the savings should be worth it!

Multi-Source Patent Research

Patent searching just got a little easier! PriorSmart offers a helpful solution to finding and searching multiple patent sites by allowing the user to search six different patent sources (3 U.S. sources, 3 worldwide sources) from one central site. Currently, it seems there is no way to search all sources at one time. However, searching six sources from one site is easier than searching six sources from six different sites. We have become instant gratification junkies and anything that saves this many clicks has to be good!

In addition, PriorSmart offers the option to search specific patent sources in more than 50 other countries. If you do a great deal of patent searching, definitely check out this resource.