Dean William Treanor (left) and Professor Robert Post (right) in conversation about Post's book, The Taft Court: Making Law for a Divided Nation, 1921-1930. Photo courtesy of Mirela Savic-Fleming.)
The Law Library of Congress provides webinars and onsite classes to give patrons an introduction to legal sources, research techniques, and legal issues in US and foreign, comparative, and international law. Monthly classes are also available to provide an introduction to the collections and services specific to the Law Library of Congress to patrons who are familiar with legal research.
The Congress.gov Public Forum: Wednesday, September 18, 2:00 p.m.
Join us in person for our annual Congress.gov Public Forum, scheduled for September 18th from 1 – 4 pm ET. The Library will provide an update on Congress.gov enhancements and the public and Congressional users will have the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback on the site. Register to attend in person, here. Register to attend virtually, here.
American University Humphrey Fellows and SJD Candidates Visit the Law Library
On Thursday, September 12, the Law Library of Congress hosted a group of 16 Humphrey Fellows and SJD Candidates from American University for a brief introduction to the Law Library by Law Librarian of Congress, Aslihan Bulut followed by a conversation on the services provided by the Law Library between the group and Assistant Law Librarian for Legal Research, Peter Roudik; Foreign Law Specialist, George Sadek; and Foreign Law Specialist, Stefania Alvarez. After their visit with Law, the group received a guided tour of the Jefferson Building, courtesy of the Visitor Engagement Office.
On Wednesday, September 11, the Law Library of Congress hosted our annual Constitution Day event in LJ-119. The event featured Yale Law School's Sterling Professor of Law Robert Post discussing his book, The Taft Court: Making Law for a Divided Nation, 1921–1930, in an interview with Dean of the Georgetown University Law Center William Treanor. Law Librarian of Congress Aslihan Bulut provided opening remarks and at the conclusion of the discussion, Senior Counsel and Specialist for Legal Programs and Initiatives for the Congressional Research Service Jeanne Dennis provided closing remarks and an overview of Constitution Annotated. It was an entertaining discussion with an engaged audience, nearly 400 people attended the event both in-person and virtually.
Library of Congress Friends' Choice Civics Video Game Challenge Results
We are pleased to announce the winners of the Library of Congress Friends' Choice Civics Video Game Challenge! Click on the links below to play the winning games on your laptop or desktop.
Law Library's Study for European Parliament Published
A study titled Freedom to conduct a business, a comparative law perspective - United States of America, by the Law Library's Senior Reference Librarian Jason Zarin, was recently published on the European Parliament's Think Tank site. The study is part of a “series of Comparative Law studies that analyze the freedom to conduct a business in different legal orders around the world“ and the subject of this study is the United States' federal legal system.
More details on our News & Events are available in the Law Library blog In Custodia Legis.
Previously Highlighted News and Events
A Conversation with Frederic and Molly Kellogg about the Kellogg Lecture in Jurisprudence
Law Library Junior Fellow Display Day Presentation
Brenna Steinke, the Law Library's 2024 Junior Fellow, has been working on a project to investigate inclusive metadata practices for the records and briefs of cases petitioned to the Supreme Court. A primary objective of this work is to remove harmful language, ensuring that metadata does not perpetuate outdated or offensive terminology. This involves encouraging thoughtful and honest descriptions that respect the humanity of those involved with the materials. A people-first approach underscores the importance of considering the individuals and communities represented in the data, emphasizing respect and empathy. Brenna's work this summer has focused on subject terms and case topics that require further attention to create metadata that is inclusive and accurate to enhance discoverability. Her recent presentation at the JFP24 Display Day highlighted several Supreme Court cases and proposed updates to subject terms based on her research into guidelines and thesauri written by the communities themselves.
Law Library Presents at the American Association of Law Library's Conference
From July 20 – 23, staff from the Law Library of Congress attended the American Association of Law Library’s conference in Chicago, IL. Jennifer Gonzalez and Louis Myers represented the Law Library by giving presentations at the conference. Jennifer presented on topics pertaining to partnership, project management and the changing dynamics when it comes to professional in a Law Library setting. Louis presented on existing and emerging technology use to research foreign and comparative law; he also presented on the newly published legal report on book and media censorship in the U.S. and selected countries. For the first time, the Law Library exhibited at the conference with a great turn out of attendees at our booth. Attendees received an overview of the Law Library and the services we provide like our “Ask a Librarian” service for research assistance. It was a great and informative time!
Law Library Staff Earn Inaugural Librarian of Congress Award
Several Law Library staff were received inaugural Librarian of Congress Group Awards. Stephen Mayeaux, Michael Mellifera, and Tina Gheen received one for their work on the Law Library Legal Reports Archive Team. Jennifer Davis received a Librarian of Congress Award for her participation in the work of the Native American Collections Working Group. This award was bestowed on 5 teams for their contributions to the Library's strategic goals and objectives.
Presentation for Law Library Community
Jennifer González, a Legal Information Specialist in the Digital Resources Division, co-presented a two-part series on Project Management in Libraries with the Associate Director of the Law Library at George Mason University, Morgan Stoddard, for the Legal information Preservation Alliance (LIPA), the Mid-Atlantic Law Library Consortium (MALLCO), the New England Law Library Consortium (NELLCO), and the Research Instruction & Patron Services Special Interest Section (RIPS-SIS) of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL).
Law Library Staff Visits GPO; Collaboration Continues on Serial Set Digitization
Back in November, at the kind invitation of Superintendent of Documents Scott Matheson, a group of the Law Library employees visited the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) and participated in a tour of the printing operations with Production Manager Abe Sussan.
The U.S. Government Publishing Office and the Law Library are partners in one of the main digitization projects - the U.S. Congressional Serial Set digitization, which just entered its fifth and final year. This project is an amazing collaborative effort to digitize and make accessible volumes of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set back to the first volume, published in 1817 (15th Congress) through 1995 (103rd Congress). The Law Library of Congress is inventorying and digitizing the Serial Set, and the GPO is cataloging each Serial Set document and authenticating the digital files.
The Library of Congress is providing free public access to the Serial Set on its website, loc.gov, and GPO will upload volumes of the official Serial Set in phases for free public access on govinfo. The digitization of volumes is expected to be completed in Fiscal 2024. Work continues to increase the number of items available and serial presentation for this amazing collection.
The Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic was released on February 12 and is now available online in the Foreign Legal Gazettes in the Law Library of Congress collection comprising 3,295 new issues, with coverage spanning 1952-1979. The number of foreign legal gazette issues on the website now numbers 28,878 issues representing 29 jurisdictions in total.
The Law Library released two gazettes in December, bringing the number of foreign legal gazette issues on the website to 25,583 issues representing 25 jurisdictions in total.
Law Library Hosts Visiting Groups in 2024
From July 15th through July 18th, the Law Library hosted Ugyen Thinley, Director for Library Resources and Services, JSW School of Law, located in Thimbu, Bhutan. During his time at the Library, he met with the Law Library leadership and staff, assisted with evaluation of our holdings on Bhutanese legal material and provided recommendations for future acquisitions, hosted a foreign and comparative international law webinar titled Laws on Happiness - The Legal System and Legislation of Bhutan, and visited the Asian Reading Room to view a display of materials on Bhutan.
Thinley was previously the Library's bibliographic representative in Bhutan, under the direction of the New Delhi Office which acquires publications from Bhutan, and he acquired many of the books now in the Bhutan collection. He continues to be interested in the development of libraries and the current trend in publishing e-books. Bhutan is now emphasizing e-publications in efforts to conserve paper and combat climate change. The Asian Reading Room display featured a selection of books in Dzongkha, Tibetan and English, some of which are not found now in Bhutan.
On June 25, a high level delegation of nine from the Constitutional Court of Armenia received an overview of the Law Library's services and resources from the Assistant Law Librarian for Legal Research Peter Roudik and the Chief of the Public Services Division Beth Osborne.
On July 18, a group of 50 employees from the Patent and Trademark Office received a tour of the Law Library. The group received a greeting from Law Librarian Aslihan Bulut and Assistant Law Librarian for Collections James Sweany, along with presentation on the Law Library's collections and services. Senior Legal Reference Librarian Anna Price gave the group a presentation on conducting research at the Law Library.
On July 12, two summer assistants from the Supreme Court visited for a tour of the Law Library. The group received a presentation on the history of the Law Library from Bulut and Assistant Law Librarian for Collections Jay Sweany, followed by a tour of the Law Library Reading Room by Jason Zarin.
On July 10, the Law Library hosted eight Chinese law students from the US-Asia Institute's Szymanski Rule of Law Program hosted in D.C. The group received a greeting from Law Librarian Aslihan Bulut and Assistant Law Librarian for Legal Research, Peter Roudik. Following their presentation, Senior Legal Reference Librarian Anna Price gave a presentation on conducting research at the Law Library.
On June 21, the Law Library welcomed the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT), as an accompanying event to their 2024 Annual Conference & Leadership Summit, which this year took place in Washington, DC. The group received an overview of the Law Library's services and collections from the Law Librarian of Congress Aslihan Bulut and the Assistant Law Librarian for Collections James Sweany.
On June 18, a delegation from the International Law Institute visited the Law Library for a conversation on the Law Library history, services, and conducting research, with Assistant Law Librarian for Legal Research Peter Roudik, Chief of Foreign, Comparative and International Law Division I Hanibal Goitom, Foreign Law Specialist George Sadek, and Senior Legal Reference Librarian Louis Myers. Following the visit, Director of Operations at the International Law Institute Jeff Ziarnik thanked the Law Library team for arranging such a wonderful session and visit, emphasizing that the discussion was very substantive, “We appreciate the time, effort, and energy that went into this discussion. The group really enjoyed learning more about the work of the Law Library and the session really helped showcase the depth of insight and analysis done by the Law Library. And of course, the tour of the Jefferson Building was simply beautiful and a fantastic end to the visit.”
The Law Library recently hosted two visiting groups for special orientations. On May 28, a group of four attorneys from the Virginia Lottery were received by Assistant Law Librarian for Legal Research Peter Roudik, followed by a presentation on conducting legal research at the Law Library by Senior Legal Reference Librarian Anna Price. And on June 3, fourteen members of the U.S. Passport Agency visited. This group was given presentations by Roudik, as well as from Chief of Foreign, Comparative and International Law Division I Hanibal Goitom, Chief of the Public Services Division Beth Osborne, and several foreign law specialists. They were also given an overview of the history of the Law Library and the services it provides to Congress, as well as guidance on researching the Law Library's collections.
On Thursday, April 4, the Law Library in collaboration with CRS hosted 11 Immigration Attorneys from the Department of Homeland Security Office of General Counsel. The group received a greeting by the Law Librarian of Congress Aslihan Bulut, followed by an introduction to CRS and the services they provide to Congress by Hillel Smith and his team. After the presentation on CRS, bibliographic and research instruction librarian Barbara Bavis showed the group how to do conduct research regarding immigration using the Law Library's collection items and Taylor Gulatsi provided the group with a tour of the Law Library Reading Room.
On Wednesday, April 3, the Law Library hosted a group of 20 law students from Nepal and Bangladesh, sponsored by the Department of Justice. The group was in Washington for the International Jessup Law Competition. The group was greeted by Assistant Law Librarian for Collections Jay Sweany and received an overview of the Law Library's foreign and comparative law by foreign law specialist Tariq Ahmad before being escorted to the Jefferson Building for a self-guided tour.
On Monday, March 18, the Law Library and the Manuscript Division hosted 15 guests from Pingtung County, Taiwan, including Mayor Chou Chun-mi. The group visited the Library to view documents about an 1867 agreement between the United States and 18 tribes south of Liangkiau facilitated by army officer and diplomat Charles Le Gendre. The Charles William Le Gendre Papers, maintained in the Manuscript Division, include correspondence, memoranda, dispatches, reports, Chinese and Japanese documents, a travel journal, and a draft of a multivolume book by an unknown author. MSS reference librarian Loretta Deaver and head of reference and reader services Kerrie Cotten Williams displayed journals from the collection that recount Le Gendre's travels and interactions with tribal leaders. Beth Osborne, chief of the Law Library's Public Services Division, and senior legal reference librarian Louis Myers displayed a copy of Le Gendre's report to Congress in the US Serial Set housed in the Law Collection and also available in HathiTrust at https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3985151&seq=1018.
The delegation from Bundestag (the German equivalent of the US House of representatives) was in town on March 5, to learn about the Congressional Research Service and other ways the Library works with Congress. The Library Collections and Services Group (LCSG) team outlined the involvement of the Law Library, the Kluge Center and Congressional Loan, as examples of direct interaction with members of Congress, and spoke to our support of Congressional caucuses, events, constituents, and projects. The discussion was strategically wide-ranging, touching on international acquisitions, copyright, funding, the decline in onsite use, the increased costs of electronic resources, and building relationships between the library and the parliament.
In the Law Library's part of presentation, Senior Foreign Law Specialist Jenny Gesley and Assistant Law Librarian for Legal Research Peter Roudik spoke about the Law Library's mission, its unparalleled collection, and how foreign law materials in the Law Library's collection are used to serve needs of American legislators. Guests were presented with samples of Law Library's research products for Congress and they were interested in learning about research techniques and methodologies used by foreign law specialists and reference librarians in the Law Library in responding to Congressional inquiries, as well as in Congressional outreach and instructional efforts.
On February 28, the Law Library hosted approximately 20 Civil Air Patrol members for an introduction to Law Library services and collections by Assistant Law Librarian for Legal Research Peter Roudik. It was followed by a presentation on the Law Library's military legal resources and how to conduct research at the Law Library by bibliographic and research instruction librarian Barbara Bavis. With the assistance of the Visitor Engagement Office, the group also received a guided tour of the Jefferson Building.
On January 29, the Law Library hosted a delegation of Albanian lawmakers, with 4 guests in attendance, as part of a Library-wide tour provided by the Latin America, Caribbean and European (LACE) division. The Law Library's staff provided a display of Albanian modern collection items and a tour of the Reading Room. Two days later, on January 31, a delegation of law students and professors from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law also visited the Law Library. This group was provided group with a brief overview of Law Library collections and services followed by a presentation on conducting research, a rare books display, and a tour of the Jefferson building. We look forward to their next visit.
During last couple of months, the Law Library had an honor of hosting multiple delegations from the U.S. and from abroad, including students' delegation from the American University, the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program participants, and a delegation of law librarians from the Montgomery County Circuit Court's Law Library. The international visitors included DOJ/OPDAT sponsored Indonesian legal delegation, the State Department's hosted Slovakian Justice delegation, Nigerian National Assembly delegation, and a judicial delegation from Albania. They received an overview of Law Library collections and services and tour of the Law Library's Reading Room.
Director-General of the Publications Office of the European Union Visits Law Library
On July 25, the Law Librarian Aslihan Bulut and the Assistant Law Librarian James Sweany met with the Director-General of the Publications Office of the European Union Hilde Hardeman, during her visit to the Law Library. The Law Library, the Government Publication Office, and the EU Publications Office representatives already meet on quarterly basis to discuss topics of mutual interest in both US and EU, such us ‘open access movements’ in conjunction with copyright aspects, metadata and AI, public access to publications program as successor to the depository library program, and pre-electoral actions/campaigns to inform citizens, to list a few. This was the first in-person meeting for Bulut, Sweany, and Hardeman, and they discussed potential collaborative projects with a focus on the Law Library’s foreign law gazettes collections, and upcoming conferences.
The Publications Office of the European Union is the official provider of publishing and open data management services to all EU institutions, bodies, and agencies. It is the central point of access to EU law and case law, publications, open data, research results, procurement notices and other official information.
FC Barcelona Soccer Team Visits the Library of Congress
On Thursday, August 1, the Law Library of Congress coordinated a visit from FC Barcelona Soccer Team to the LOC for a display by the Law Library and the Latin American and Central European Division. Upon their arrival, the team was escorted to LJ-119 where they were greeted by Chief of Staff to the Librarian of Congress, Ryan Ramsey; Law Librarian of Congress, Aslihan Bulut; and Assistant Law Librarian for Legal Research, Peter Roudik. Aslihan Bulut and Ryan Ramsey provided a welcome to the Board of Directors and their families. Following the presentation of jerseys, the group was escorted to LJ-113 for a display of collection items focused on Barcelona, Cataluña, and soccer from the Law Library and the Latin American and Central European Division – highlighting rare collection items and the Herencia Crowdsourcing campaign.
Following the display of collection items, the team received a guided tour of the Jefferson Building in Spanish by docent Ana Maria Keating, courtesy of the Visitor Engagement Office. After the tour of the Jefferson Building, the group was escorted to the Capitol for a guided tour provided by the Capitol Visitor Center. We are very appreciative of the team’s interest in visiting the Library of Congress, our collection items and are hopeful to see how the partnership between the two will grow in the future!
Law Library Exhibits at the Annual Academy of Legal Studies in Business Conference
On Thursday, Aug. 8 and Friday, Aug. 9, the Law Library exhibited at the Annual Academy of Legal Studies in Business conference. Conference attendees were able to receive information about the Law Library’s history and resources offered. On Friday, Law Librarian Aslihan Bulut presented in a session titled “Washington’s Scholarly Treasures,” alongside staff from the National Archives and the Dept. of the Interior Library to highlight the law collections and scholarly resources available for business law faculty in D.C. Aslihan highlighted the resources, collections, and offerings available at the Law Library of Congress.
Location
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave, SE
James Madison Building, LM 242
Washington, DC 20540-3219 View map External link
