blog de la BIALL

blog de la BIALL

• Conference preparations:
  If you’re thinking of staying on in Newcastle and Gateshead for a few days have a look at What’s on The Eat! Festival on till the 26 June promises lots of lovely treats – a must for foodies.See you at the BIALL conference!...
• The Hippest Street in Britain!
  Let it never be said that BIALL isn't hip, happening and at the bleeding edge of what is fashionable. As we ready ourselves for hitting Gateshead we learn it is home to the Hippest Street in Britain! Whats more that street is home to The Sage the venue for this years BIALL conference.According to the The Guardian ; South Shore Road – home to the Lord Foster-designed Sage music centre and the Baltic contemporary arts building – has won the title in a competition run by Google to name the best streets in Britain. The road, which overlooks the Blinking Eye millennium bridge and has a view across the water to Newcastle, inspired a recent travel guide to urge visitors to think BudapestThe competition ran by Google also had winners for Best Shopping and Most Romantic. You can read about all the winners here.If you fancy seeing what all the fuss is about I link below to South Shore Road on Street View (You need to swivel left a bit to see The Sage).Google Maps South Shore RoadTo finish I'm going to steal a joke from the late Douglas Adams - BIALL so hip we have trouble seeing over our pelvis!...
• Malmaison Hotel for the conference
  Tip for anyone staying at the Malmaison Hotel for the conference: Google maps shows Cafe Mal in the right place where the hotel is but has confused the hotel itself with the Royal Station Hotel (which, as you would expect, is just outside the station!) For location and direction, best to go to: http://www.malmaison.com/hotels/newcastle/finding-the-mal.aspx...
• Time to have your say
  Have Your Say is where you ask the questions about BIALL's activities, and it will once again be taking place at Conference in June.This is your formal opportunity to raise issues about the whole range of committees, awards, conference, activities, publications and events that BIALL promotes or produces.It's not just for those able to make the session in Gateshead. Membership Services Committee would really encourage you to add your query, comment, suggestion, praise or complaint to the agenda here on the BIALL blog or to send it by email to Olwyn Mitchell (MSC committee chair)-- or catch us at the conference before the session.Comments posted here will be used as the basis for the discussions in the HYS slot. Committee chairs or other relevant people will be invited to respond to comments from here and the conference forum.Whether you are attending Conference or not, we want to hear from you....
• It’s not too late
  Not yet registered for the BIALL conference at the Sage Centre Gateshead, Newcastle. It’s not too late. Why not have a look at the programme and register....
• Gateshead makes bid for city status
  A formal bid is underway to make Gateshead the UK’s next city. Competition from Middlesbrough, Croydon and Reading.See you at the BIALL conference!...
• Charo QC Interviews Lawbore Editor
  The world of social media loves to evolve jargon. We started off with web logs which became blogs and in the legal world it was legal web logs which became blawgs. Charon QC, (the alter ego of Mike Semple Piggot) a leading UK blawg, interviewed Emily Allbon in a recent entry. Emily works at City University where she is the editor of Lawbore - its legal portal. Why not have a listen to the interview at his website The interview discusses the legal research skills a modern law student needs, and the resources available to them. They also get on to the value of legal blogging and social media....
• Become a Little Bit Famous in Canada
  Posted on Lis-Law last week is your opportunity to become a little bit famous in Canada. The Canadian Law Library Review is looking for a UK librarian to contribute a quarterly column on - well - it seems almost anything you fancy library related.Nancy McCormack, editor of the Canadian Library Law Review writes;I'm hoping you can help me. I'm trying to find someone in the U.K. who would be willing to write a page or two (or more if that person has more to say) on developments in U.K. libraries. The subject range is broad--anything about what is happening in that person's library or libraries in general, teaching, new legislation, interesting cases, political news, updates on conferences etc. The column will be published in the Canadian Law Library Review four times a year along with a column from the U.S. and one from Australia.I'd be most grateful if you could ask your fellow U.K. librarians if anyone is interested.Interested? If so you can email Nancy McCormack directly at the email address below.nm4@queensu.ca ...
• BIALL Newsletter
  BIALL members will find the latest version of the BIALL Newsletter will be hitting their mailboxes any day now!If you are attending the conference it is a must read. It features a detailed update from the Conference Committee Chair John Furlong - which having read it myself has left me particularly intrigued and looking forward to the opening reception at the Annual Dinner!That's not all however as the Newsletter also features a walking tour of Newcastle Quayside and both the regular A Day in the Life and On the Spot features are authored by North East BIALLers.As well as the conference material the Newsletter has a new feature highlighting updates on the BIALL How Do I? wiki. This time Welsh Circulars and Employment Tribunal decisions have seen some updating action! You will also have your eye opened when you read just how much Internet traffic the wiki receives.So when you receive your copy make sure you give the Newsletter the attention it deserves!...
• Visiting Newcastle / Gateshead
  While your main reason for being in Newcastle / Gateshead will be the fantastic programme of talks and brilliant networking at BIALL 2011 - you will also want to find some time to see the city.NewcastleGateshead tourist information website has a fairly nifty feature which allows you to build your own itinerary and as an example provides a sample history itinerary and also one suggested by Newcastle United and England legend Peter Beardsly.The BIALL blog might be tempted to pop into the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art which seems to be Gatehead's answer to Tate Modern and would certainly admire the view from the Castle Keep a grade 1 listed Norman Keep which boasts some outstanding views across the city.So make sure you are at BIALL 2011 and don't leave your application to the last minute. If you need some help in getting the nod from the powers that be the AALL website has some useful tips for Getting the Boss to Say yes. It even includes a sample memo for your employer! (The picture of Tyne Bridge was taken by Bob Castle.)...
• The Supreme Court - Live!
  The UK Supreme Court, in a bold move can now be watched live on the Internet. The press release from the Court tells us;Sky News has today launched a live stream of the court’s hearings and judgments, as they happen, via their website at www.skynews.com/supremecourt.The Supreme Court is exempt from the prohibition on filming court proceedings in England, Wales and Northern Ireland*, and has four cameras installed in each of its three court rooms, but until now use of footage has generally been limited to news coverage and occasional documentaries.The move means that legal professionals, students and members of the public interested in the work of the Supreme Court do not have to travel to London to see proceedings. The website contains direct links to the Supreme Court’s own summaries of each case, to enable viewers to read some background material. For some interesting perspectives on the development try Max Atkinson's Blog , and the UK Human Rights Blog.This is a good moment to mention that generally for coverage of the UK Supreme Court the best place to go is the UKSC blog who have terrific coverage of all the upcoming cases....
• Do you use WordPress?
  If so, try this: 5 Essential Plugins For Your WordPress CMS...
• Want to save precious time...
  5 Simple Web Apps For Saving Time At WorkMuch has been made of some excellent mobile apps and tablet apps that let users stay productive on the go. But let's face it—the majority of your work is still done at your desk, and much of it, perhaps, in a Web browser.~ I particularly liked Zamzar and will make use of CopyPasteCharacter, hope this article is useful to you....
• The Story of Your Librarian Journey - In Only 5 Words
  Andy Woodworth a librarian in New Jersey (who describes himself in some detail here) has asked his followers on Twitter to describe their librarian journey in only five words.These are my favourites.Roogly Museums wouldn't have meJoeenglish Knowledge is Power - No BrainerCransell I'd love to help youDeaneeBoyer People and books -best combinationKingConstance Walk, bus, walk some moreLibraryWillie Loves helping people find stuffPhil Bradley I just wanted the power!Personally I haven't come up with one I'm totally happy with (looseleafing hasn't been a big part of my journey but it's what keeps popping into my head when I try and write one).When I do have one I'll post it on Twitter. Search on the hashtag #andypoll to find all the contributions so far. Why not add one yourself.The photograph was taken by Steve Garfield and is used under the Creative Commons agreement....
• My Conference - Day 1
  My alarm clock went off at 6am in order to get into London for an early train to Newcastle (work commitments having got in the way of a Thursday departure). I wasn’t alone though. Arriving in Newcastle it became clear at least half dozen or more BIALLers were also on the train. Indeed it turned out James Mullan had been sitting in a seat behind me for the whole journey!A brisk walk from the station across the Tyne to the stunning Conference centre took about half an hour. Our merry band arrived in good time for the second session of the day.In that session Professor Graham Virgo gave an insightful talk entitled “Why Study Law”. He ran through the why and what of what law students do but also posed some interesting questions. Everyone at the lecture will now be a little familiar with the legal minefield of intent and will certainly remember the lessons in the Voodoo example.After a tasty lunch (a posh sandwich, vegetable crisps, an apple and a carton of juice) it was on to the parallel sessions.I attended an interesting session on Sharepoint with Jackie Fishleigh. Sharepoint is it would seem the coming thing – in fact we learnt that apparently Bill Gates says that Sharepoint is to the nougties what Outlook , Excel and other MS products were to the eighties.Three main points struck me from the talk. The first was one should not brand a Sharepoint product as Sharepoint. The second was that different versions of Sharepoint are very different. Finally that we as information professionals should make sure that we are at the heart of any implementation.The second session I attended was “International Company Information: A World of Difference”. In this round the world tour of company information Barry Vickery from 7Side kept us all enrapt with details of company disclosure across the globe. Perhaps controversially Barry started by telling us how great UK Companies House is. However when he went on to illustrate how everywhere else is a bit poor in comparison it all made sense.The Bowl Networking Event rounded off the day. Put simply the staff of the Sage brought round some bowls of food as we had a jolly time networking. With the evening light streaming through the windows it was a very pleasant way to round off day number one....
• Wanted: Competent, enthusiastic photographer...
  who can apply professional skills to BIALL Conference Event, 16-18 June 2011Must have: · an eye to capture both the formal and informal moments of Conference · friendly approach and flair to engage people · ability to timetable formal duties required e.g. opening of the Conference, programme sessionsReward: Free conference registration (not $1000)!Apply ASAP!To apply please provide some examples of your work to John Furlong, Chair of Conference Committee. John can arrange a follow up chat about your availability. Image credits: Poster | photographer...
• Representing CILIP and BIALL at a recent 6th Form Careers Fair at John Roan’s School
  Author: Clare Brown- Library & Information Manager, Collyer Bristow LLP solicitorsA few weeks ago I volunteered to attend The John Roan’s School 6th Form Careers Fair to represent CILIP and BIALL. As far as visitors to my stand – when I was competing with a lot of cool stands and careers, I think it was a resounding success. 4 points to takeaway: 1. 6th formers love technology; the stand with the electronic beeping noises and swish Apple notebook was immediately pounced upon2. Freebies go down well; the stands with pens, bags, stuff to takeaway were also mobbed3. Fire fighting and the police are cool careers; my stand managed a respectable number of visitors but information is a hard sell to cool kids4. Money talks; kids want to know what they will earn! Undeterred, when groups of 2 or 3 (safety in numbers, clearly!) came across to ask what I did, I explained that every career/university/business stand in the hall relied on information to function. Whether police, nursing, law, banking, every professional would at some point rely on someone like me to provide them with information on a particular topic. This underlined not only the importance of information professionals but also the incredible diversity of what we do. The breadth of what we do is part of the problem in getting our message across - the waters can become very confusingly muddied. However the students were quick to catch on and it was heartening to hear them explaining and discussing what sort of people needed information. The second way I was able to impress was to point out that much of what goes on in the news is directly applicable to what my users (lawyers) were interested in. About half of the students were familiar with the Twitter super injunction furore and as that was something I'd researched the day before I was able to directly relate it back to celebrities and how the weathy were being protected. Making a connection like was brilliant at illustrating how I went about my work. Thirdly the next big topic was salary and longevity of the job, with one enterprising chap asking, 'what is the point of being a librarian when they're all shutting'. Again I explained that many companies/industries were actively recruiting skilled information people simply because they were at an economic disadvantage if they didn't have access to the right level of organised information. Not all library jobs are government or public - industry/business/legal were happy to take on excellent researchers. Some may scoff but I pointed out that managers of legal information services were well paid and (according to the salary survey) can earn upwards of £60k pa. Naturally I was happy to say that my job as a legal information professional was amazing; varied, interesting, well rewarded and provided scope for an excellent work/life balance! It was a joy to talk to such interesting students and go round to enjoy the other stands - in my next career, I may be a very cool fire fighter. Clare...
• Make your own Lighting for Home, Art & Craft Groups
  Among the usual targetted marketing that regularly comes into the BIALL web inbox, this one really stretched the boundaries - Make your own lampshade! If anyone can see the connection with law librarianship, would be glad to hear it...Make your own Lighting with our easy to use DIY Kits Lampshades, Wall Lights or Table Lights can all be made.Create your own Lighting to match your Interior Design your own and resell to friends or online Great for Art & Craft Groups and School Projects For more Information visit our website www.needcraft.co.uk...
• New Archives Advice to Solicitors and Law Firms
  In the current climate of archiving electronic material it may sound anachronistic to be concerned about documents that are hundreds of years old, but now is just the time to be aware of them so that they are not lost through ignorance.A news item in the Spring 2011 Newsletter of the London Metropolitan Archives:A new practice note for solicitors has been published by The Law Society in conjunction with the Selden Society. The Law Society sought advice from Richard Wiltshire, Senior Archivist (Business Archives) at LMA who advised on and ontributed to the note. The guidance provides advice on caring for and depositing client documents and solicitor firms' own records with the appropriate repositories, such as local authority-run record offices.The guidance note The information is summarised succinctly under headings. Examples of records found in solicitors' business archives are listed to help those managing these records ensure that key categories are retained for long-term preservation. The distinction between client papers and firms' own records is made clear. The importance of manorial records and related legal requirements is emphasised. The requirements for semi current records are given. There is also advice on depositing archives and the likely expectations of archivists. Lastly, useful web links are given including the ARCHON directory of archive repositories, the British Records Association, the Managing Business Archives website, and the Selden Society (the learned society and publisher devoted to English legal history).Source: LMA website...
• BIALL Early Bird Discount - 1 Day Left!
  A quick note to point out that the Early Bird discount for the BIALL Conference 2011 in Newcastle expires soon. The discount applies to bookings made before Friday 6th May 2011.So don't delay! Also why not let people know you will be there by adding yourself as attending the event on LinkedIn?...
• Halsbury's Awards - call for nominations
  Nominations are now being accepted for the Halsbury's Awards 2011, to be presented at the BIALL Annual Conference in June.The Categories· Best Legal Information Service (Commercial Sector) - London Only· Best Legal Information Service (Commercial Sector)· Best Legal Information Service (Non-Commercial Sector)To make a nomination, please visit the Halsbury's Awards website.We would like to encourage you to inform colleagues of The Awards and the link for nominations. The deadline for all nominations is Friday May 20th 2011....
• The Conference on Twitter
  Just a quick reminder that our hashtag on Twitter for The Conference is:#BIALL2011Please remember to use the hashtag while tweeting! Please follow the conference, if you can't make it in person....
• Want to be in on all the action?
  Are you dynamic, finger on the pulse, trending on Twitter, more followers than Stephen Fry? Well, in that case we would love to hear from you. The BIALL Web Committee would like to offer you a platform to shine! We are interested in attracting more Web Committee members to our team. Are you up for the challenge?If you would like a chat and want to find out more, we will be out-and-about at 'The Conference' on Thursday night, look out for the spots!...
• Not yet registered for the BIALL conference at the Sage Centre Gateshead, Newcastle
  It’s not too late. Why not have a look at the programme and register....
• BIALL 2011 Starts Tomorrow!
  The 2011 BIALL Conference starts tomorrow (and the Pre-Conference Seminar does today...)!Why not check out James Mullan's blog The Running Librarian ? His most recent post reminds us how much there is to look forward to at this year's conference - thanks James.At the conference please be as generous as you can for the BIALL 2011 Charity raffle, the proceeds of which will go to support a local Newcastle based charity, Children North East, which works with deprived children in the North East of England. If you are not attending this year please ask a colleague to buy a raffle ticket for you to show your support. This year once again we have a great selection of prizes kindly donated by the Exhibitors. These include a luxury regency hamper (from 7Side) and a vintage bottle of champagne (from Hammicks).The Exhibition Raffle has some great prizes too, so don't forget to bring lots of business cards to take part....