The Internet is Our Oyster, But Is There a Pearl?
By Marcus Hochstetler
“Everything is on the Internet.” The phrase sounds too good to be true, and when tested with reality, it comes up short.
Technology today enhances our lives in many ways, yet even with advances in the information world, there exists a large percentage of materials not accessible through electronic means. Searching for these materials in blogs, podcasts, newsfeeds or search engines will not yield a successful match when you need them the most.
The printed book is a type of technology that has changed little over the years and yet continues to thrive even with the advent of all things electronic. Balancing the need for print or online materials is a key challenge whether you are in a small, middle or large size firm.
Some examples of important Washington state legal materials in print format only and available at our library include:
- Washington Administrative Law Practice Manual
- Washington Automobile Accident Deskbook
- Washington Automobile Accident Insurance Deskbook
- Washington Automobile Accident Litigation Deskbook
- Washington Building Contracts and Construction Law
- Washington Civil Practice Deskbook
- Washington Closing Officer’s Guide
- Washington Corporate Forms
- Washington Corporation Law & Practice
- Washington Criminal Practice in Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
- Washington Employment Law Deskbook
- Washington Environmental Law Handbook, 3rd
- Washington Environmental Regulations and Liability
- Washington Guardianship Law, Administration and Litigation
- Washington Insurance Law
- Washington Land Use and Environmental Law and Practice
- Washington Law of Wills and Intestate Succession
- Washington Municipal Financing Deskbook
- Washington Objections at Trial
- Washington, Oregon and Alaska Limited Liability Company
- Washington Probate Practice, Procedure and Tax Manual Forms and Practice Manual
- Washington Search & Seizure Quarterly
- Washington Secured Transactions Under Revised Article 9 of the UCC
- Washington State Environmental Policy Act: A Legal and Policy Analysis
- Washington State Environmental Reporter
- Washington State Guardian Manual
- Washington State Wetlands Identification and Delineation Manual
- Washington Statutory Time Limitations, 2d
- Washington Wills and Trust Forms
- Wrongful Discharge under Washington Law
- WSTLA Automobile Accident Deskbook
Even with this knowledge in hand, the image may persist that everything truly is on the Internet. Rest assured that we will continue to hold these materials and many others for your use into the future.
We also are proud to include free access to Westlaw and Lexis at both our Seattle and Regional Justice Center locations, so that you may explore these online resources for your research needs. If you would like more information on how to become a subscriber to the Law Library or an orientation to our services, simply contact us at 206-296-0940.
New member of the Law Library Board of Trustees: We are pleased to welcome John M. Cary as the next King County Bar Association representative to serve on the Board of Trustees. Cary will replace outgoing board member Mark F. Rising, who has served faithfully and well during his time on the board. The board wishes to thank Rising for his four years of dedicated service as he has tirelessly conveyed the message that the law library is an integral access point to the justice system for all who live and work in King County.
Marcus Hochstetler is the King County Law Librarian. Please direct comments or questions to him at
206-296-0940 or marcus.hochstetler@metrokc.gov.
Collections Note: The New Podcasts on the Block
By Rita Kaiser
Reference Services Librarian
In last April’s issue, I wrote about blogs -- Web-based journals that you can subscribe to via RSS feeds. These journals help you keep up with general news and opinions.
Some of them address legal issues and general legal news. They are usually set up by lawyers, law professors, law librarians or others who study or practice law. These types of blogs are known as blawgs -- to indicate their law-related subject matter.
Today, however, some of the people doing these blawgs are moving on to podcasting -- short audio programs that can be played on a personal player or on a computer and listened to while working. You can simply go to the Web page where the podcast is located and listen or click on the link from your RSS feeder and download it for later listening.
While the number of legal podcasts -- or blawgcasts or plawdcasts (you can decide what you want to call them) -- is still limited, I have a few to suggest that you might want to try.
Start with “Check This Out!, the weekly podcast on law, libraries, and life in a northern border town.” The author and broadcaster is Jim Milles of the University of Buffalo Law School. You will find it at: http://jmilles.libsyn.com. This one is probably of most interest to law librarians, but contains interesting music, comments on what other blawgs are talking about and the Canadian Minute.
A Web site that gives you advice about setting up your own legal podcast is http://blawgcast.com/. This site is not a podcast itself, but rather gives you basic information on setting up a legal podcast and links to legal podcasts as they hear about them. The owner of Tech Law Advisor edits this site and links back to his site for reviews of these podcasts and more legal news. It also links to many other legal podcasts.
Last year, I recommended that you look for legal related blogs at the Web site www.blawg.org. You can use this same Web site directory for finding legal podcasts. Using the directory list, just select the category Podcasts -- Plawdcasts. While there are not nearly as many legal podcasts as general legal blogs, you can start here.
Second, go to http://www.podfeed.net/ where the directory lists Legal as a subject and has links to a number of legal podcasts. Last, you can try Podcast Alley at http://www.podcastalley.com. You will get some interesting results here, as searching the words “law” or “legal” will also give you music that contains law-related themes. Most of the actual podcasts that you will find, however, consist of material updated only sporadically. Few are podcasting on a regular basis. While the subject area is growing and more people are beginning to do them, finding good ones is an art in itself.
An interesting site with legal podcasts is the Legal Talk Network, which is a professionally based Internet radio network with programs hosted by attorneys. The programs address everything from managing your law firm as a business to the latest on tort reform and worker’s compensation.
Finally, the King County Law Library has linked to the new “Nolo Presents the Law in Plain English”
podcasts on general legal subjects. These are useful for those who want simple, straightforward explanations of legal subjects. Check it out under http://www.kcll.org/, KCLL News, Web site of the month.
Watch for more of these blawgcasts in the next year. I predict that they will grow as much as blogs grew in the last year. n
