Google Scholar Adds Free Legal Content

This morning I was sitting at my desk working on a project when a text message* came in through my phone. It was my cousin, whom is an undergraduate student at the University I work at. She was in the library, working on an assignment, but was at her highest frustration point. She was searching for a Supreme Court case, but was coming up with nothing other than articles related to mathematics. So, I walked her through the steps of how it could be done using Westlaw Campus Research. Accessing what she needed this way took sooo many steps. First, access the Libraries' home page, next find the Database and access it, then explain why pop-up warnings were showing up and how to get around them, then since the default is not the law materials, I had to explain how to get to that, followed by how to limit the search. Phew! LOTS OF STEPS.

The above was all at about 10am this morning. A couple of hours later I took a quick break to read through my RSS feeds and came across a new post in the Google Blog. Guess what the post was about? That's right - Google Scholar now includes legal content; we're talking federal case law, state case law, and journal articles. I did a quick search for the case my cousin was looking at this morning and VOILA! One quick search for the name of the case and it popped up as the first result. I sent her an email telling her that all steps from this morning could now be eliminated and then directed her to Google Scholar. A quicker, easier search for anyone, and one that is to be much appreciated by a generation that is so used to finding things the quick and dirty way -- on the Web. Nice job, Google.

For more about the new Google Scholar feature, check out:

• Social Media Law Student


• Resource Shelf

*Sorta-Related-But-Not-Really-Note: Text message reference only goes so far. My cousin and I were conversing back and forth for a while so that I could figure out exactly WHAT she was looking for, but when it came time to explain to her HOW to find it, we had to revert to email. Just throwing that out there...

Cloud Computing in Plain English

The folks over at CommonCraft have released a new video this week. CommonCraft's description about the newest video, Cloud Computing in Plain English:

What it Teaches

Using a simple story of a growing florist business, this video explains the basics of cloud computing: how it works and why it makes sense for businesses
and individuals.

* The difference between on-site computing and cloud computing
* The financial benefits of cloud computing
* What makes cloud computing secure and efficient
* How cloud computing impacts consumers

I wasn't able to embed the video, but you can view it over at the CommonCraft site here.

"Screw Anything Published Before 1960"

One of my favorite bloggers, Isis the Scientist, wrote a post last week about how she chose to not use an article for her research because she didn't want to go to the library. (The article wasn't available in print.)

Her original post was short and sweet. I've copied it below. The conversation in the comments though was very interesting. I read through an RSS feed, but after seeing her frustration in not having an electronic version, I was going to leave her a comment about contacting her librarian about conversion to a PDF and then emailing it to her. (We have a service that we offer here that does just that.) Anyways, someone beat me to the comment, but still -- if you have a chance, take a peak at what others had to say about their librarians, the need for e-journal access, etc. It totally wanted me to start a conversation about open access, BUT... I didn't really have time to go there.

From On Becoming a Domestic and Laboratory Goddess (October 21, 2009):

It is pouring rain today and I am saying, "Screw it." If I find an old paper not electronically available, and I would have to walk out in the rain to get it, then I just don't need it bad enough to put it in this manuscript.