Colorado Legislative History Research Guide

Planning to clerk this spring or summer? Be sure to check out the Library's new Colorado Legislative History Research Guide! Our experience has been that new law clerks are often asked to investigate the background on Colorado laws and it isn't as easy as you might think since much of Colorado's legislative materials are scattered or in an audio, not written, format. Other Colorado specific research guides are available to help make your research experiences go smoothly.

GPO's MetaLib Search Engine

In October 2010, the Government Printing Office (GPO) made a federated search option available, using ExLibris' MetaLib software. Currently, there are 53 government catalogs and databases included.

A federated search is a search that allows the user to simultaneously search multiple catalogs or databases with a single search string. With the MetaLib search engine, the results are returned to the user using a single style so that the use of multiple sources is essentially invisible.

MetaLib software, by ExLibris, bypasses the native user interfaces of the individual catalogs and databases. This means that the user does not need to know that Database A defaults to placing an OR between terms, that Catalog B defaults to placing an AND between terms, or that catalog C assumes entered terms are a phrase. The user only needs to know MetaLib's defaults to develop a search string that will be treated the same way in every queried catalog and database.

The U.S. Government Printing Office has developed a federated search of government catalogs using the MetaLib software . GPO's MetaLib interface allows the user to search pre-selected groups of databases in particular subject areas or the user can select a group of 10 or fewer individual databases. Currently, there are 53 databases included and the GPO expects to add more over time. Many of the included databases are indexes and not full-text, but the MetaLib search allows users to quickly find the citations of applicable resources, if not the full-text.

Users have the choice of three different levels of searches:
Basic searches include the following 10 databases: AGRICOLA Books, Access to Archival Databases (AAD) System – NARA, AUL Index to Military Periodicals, Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Catalog Search, Library of Congress (LOC), PubMed, TRIS Online, USA.gov.

Advanced allows the user to pick one of 13 'quick sets' of databases, grouped by subject. The Subjects include 'Politics+Law' and 'Environment'. Each 'quick set' contains up to 10 related databases. The advanced search also allows users to search in specific fields (e.g. subject, title, author, and ISBN).

Expert allows the user to individually select databases from 'quick sets' or by agency. The Expert search also allows the user to access the 'My Resources' link that allows the creation of personalized sets. When viewing available databases, select the '+' icon to add the database to the clipboard. The clipboard is available through the 'My Resources' link where the user can create personalized sets of databases by adding individual databases from the clipboard to a newly created set. Note: The Expert search must be accessed to add resources to the clipboard, but user created sets are only available to search in the Advanced search screen!

GPO's MetaLib returns the first 30 results from each database searched. The results may be limited by various facets listed on the left side of the screen (e.g. topics, dates, authors). The user may add individual results the their E-shelf (not saved between sessions) and from there email or save the information to disk.

Several of the included catalogs and databases of interest include:

Access to Archival Databases (AAD) System – National Archives and Records Administration The system provides access to over 85 million historic electronic records created by more than 30 agencies of the U.S. federal government and from collections of donated historical materials.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP)
An index to print and electronic publications created by Federal agencies. When available, links are provided to the full-text of these publications. Coverage: July 1976 – present.

Data.gov
Data.gov provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets.

Federal Sector Appellate Decisions
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s decisions regarding equal employment opportunity discrimination case appeals filed by federal employees.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
NARA is the custodian of documents created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government.

Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Database
Includes information about all US patents (including utility, design, reissue, plant patents and SIR documents) from the first patent issued in 1790 to the most recent issue week. Patents from January 1976 to the present offer the full searchable text, including all bibliographic data, such as the inventor's name, the patent's title, and the assignee's name; the abstract; the full description of the invention; and the claims. Patents from 1790 to December 1975 offer only the patent number and the current US patent classification in the text display, and can be searched only by those fields.

THOMAS (Library of Congress)
Records of Congressional activity including bills and resolutions, Congressional calendars and schedules, the Congressional Record, committee information, presidential nominations, and treaties.

Water Resources of the United States
Provides access to water data, publications, and maps, as well as to recent water projects and events.

GAO Reports and Testimony
The database includes reports and testimony produced by the GAO at the request of congressional committees or subcommittees, or mandated by public laws or committee reports.

National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts Database
Database contains summaries of several hundred thousand criminal justice, juvenile justice, and substance abuse resources housed in the NCJRS Library collection.

References:

Chen, X. (2006). MetaLib, WebFeet, and Google: The strengths and weaknesses of federated search engines compared with Google. Online Information Review, 30(4), 413-427. doi:10.1108/14684520610686300

ExLibris. (2010). MetaLib: Reach Out and Discover Remote Resources.

Reitz, J.M. (2010). Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science.

Written by Andrew J. Tig Wartluft, Law Librarian Fellow

Presidential Documents Research Guide

The Westminster Law Library is pleased to announce to the creation of a new research guide on Presidential Documents. This guide highlights free and fee-based resources where you can locate historical & current official documents for U.S. Presidents. These documents include signing statements, proclamations, execute orders, inaugural & radio addresses as well as selected debates. There is also a personal papers section and a listing of presidential libraries if you need to do further research.

Snow Closure

This is a message from the University Of Denver Department Of Campus Safety. Due to the weather, the University will be closed the rest of today, 01/31/11 and all day and evening on 2/1/11. Please check the University of Denver website at www.du.edu for updated information.

U.S. Supreme Court: 2011 Cases & Court Resources

Returning to the bench post-holiday break, the United States Supreme Court has geared up for further sessions and oral arguments beginning January 5, 2011. The Justices will consider the last oral argument in the end of April, then move on to consider petitions for writs of certiorari and cases for the upcoming term to begin in October 2011. Here is a brief preview of upcoming oral arguments this month, and resources for more information about the Supreme Court, its cases, the term, its history, and its functions.

Upcoming cases for January 2011:

General Dynamics Corp. v. United States (09-1298); Boeing Company v. United States (09-1302). Oral argument: Jan. 18, 2011; see transcript
This case concerns state secrets privilege, national security, due process and government contracts after the Navy terminating a contract for General Dyanamics to aircraft; the manufacturer claimed that delays in delivering the product were due to the Government’s inability to share information with them necessary to the construction of the aircraft.

Stern v. Marshall (10-179). Oral argument: Jan. 18, 2011 ; see transcript
This is a case many of us are familiar with and is an appeal by the estate of Vickie Lynn Marshall (Anna Nicole Smith), to reverse the findings of a lower court with regards to claims for her late husband’s estate, and for a reversed bankruptcy court decision in favor of her late husband’s heir. This case concerns bankruptcy, jurisdiction, and chapter 11.

Smith v. Bayer Corp. (09-1205). Oral argument: Jan. 18, 2011; see transcript
This cases concerns a class-action law suit pursued against Bayer, the makes of a cholesterol drug linked to deaths. This case concerns multi-district litigation, collateral estoppel (a doctrine in which an earlier decision by a court is rendered conclusive and cannot be re-litigated), and the anti-injunction act.

FCC v. AT&T Inc. (09-1279). Oral argument: Jan. 19, 2011; see transcript
This case concerns the Freedom of information act, privacy, corporations, statutory construction. After a FOIA request that would have resulted in AT&T customer data being released to a non-profit, AT&T sued to stop the request. In this appeal, AT&T is arguing that the term “personal privacy” should apply to corporations, while the FCC argues that the term is only applicable to individuals.

Astra USA v. Santa Clara County, CA (09-1273). Oral argument: Jan. 19, 2011; see transcript
This case has to do with the price for prescription drugs for third-party beneficiaries and the Veteran’s Health Care Act.

For some helpful Supreme Court Resources, you can visit the Westminster Law Library “web research links” page, under federal resources > federal courts > Supreme Court.

You can also visit the following websites:

Official Supreme Court site
Legal Information Institute Supreme Court page
ABA Supreme Court Previews

Written By Kimberley Dickey, Law Librarian Fellow

Senior Law Research Guide

The Colorado Law Project at the Westminster Law Library has announced the release of a new Senior Law Research Guide. Many legal or legally related issues affect the lives of older adults. This guide's purpose is to provide older adults, advocates, caregivers, and family members with basic information about legal topics related to aging such as social security, medicare/medicaid, long term care and powers of attorney. The guide includes both print and free online resources. Be sure to look at our other Colorado Law Project research guides for resources of practical use to the public.

Federal Legislative History

A new article on Researching Federal Legislative History was published in the November 2010 issue of the Colorado Lawyer. The article is part of a series called the Legal Research Corner that is written by members of the Colorado Association of Law Libraries. This particular article was written by Rachel Compton, who is a Research Librarian at Faegre & Benson in Denver.