Maryland Is First State to Expand Equitable Access to E-books through Libraries

Association of Research Libraries: “In a win for libraries and their users, Maryland is the first in the nation to enact a state law ensuring that libraries can license e-books and audiobooks under the same terms available to consumers. The new law (Maryland House Bill 518) requires that publishers offer reasonable terms to public libraries …

Subjects: Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries

Key findings: How Americans’ attitudes about climate change differ by generation, party and other factors

“Majorities of Americans say the federal government, businesses and other actors are doing too little to reduce the effects of climate change and express support for a variety of policy approaches aimed at addressing the issue. At the same time, the public has limited appetite for some of the more dramatic proposed changes to energy …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Energy, Environmental Law

Mobile Technology and Home Broadband 2021

“Smartphone ownership (85%) and home broadband subscriptions (77%) have increased among American adults since 2019 – from 81% and 73% respectively. Though modest, both increases are statistically significant and come at a time when a majority of Americans say the internet has been important to them personally. And 91% of adults report having at least …

Subjects: Internet

What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws

“All EEOC materials related to COVID-19 are collected at www.eeoc.gov/coronavirus. The EEOC enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act (which include the requirement for reasonable accommodation and non-discrimination based on disability, and rules about employer medical examinations and inquiries), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (which …

Subjects: Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Legislation

The All-Seeing Eyes of New York’s 15,000 Surveillance Cameras

Wired – “Video from the cameras is often used in facial-recognition searches. A report finds they are most common in neighborhoods with large nonwhite populations. A new video from human rights organization Amnesty International maps the locations of more than 15,000 cameras used by the New York Police Department, both for routine surveillance and in …

Subjects: E-Records, Privacy

The Limits of Law and AI

McCarl, Ryan, The Limits of Law and AI (March 16, 2021). University of Cincinnati Law Review, Vol. 90, No. 3, 2022, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3805453 “For thirty years, scholars in the field of law and artificial intelligence (AI) have explored the extent to which tasks performed by lawyers and judges can be assisted by computers. …

Subjects: AI, Courts, Education, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

The Elephant in the Virtual Law Classroom: Different Perspectives but a Common Loss

Perez, Tiffany, The Elephant in the Virtual Law Classroom: Different Perspectives but a Common Loss (May 1, 2021). Compliance Elliance Journal 2021 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3850327 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3850327 “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, law schools had to pivot to virtual legal education quickly. In the wake of the pandemic, scholars have eagerly written about …

Subjects: Education, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Patent Law: An Open-Source Casebook (Entire Book)

Janis, Mark David and Sichelman, Ted M. and Allison, John R. and Cotter, Thomas F. and Cotropia, Christopher Anthony and Karshtedt, Dmitry and Lefstin, Jeffrey A. and Rantanen, Jason and Taylor, David O. and Tu, Shine (Sean), Patent Law: An Open-Source Casebook (Entire Book) (May 6, 2021). UC Hastings Research Paper, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: …

Subjects: Education, Legal Research, Patent and Trademark

The World’s Northernmost Town Is Changing Dramatically

Scientific American – Climate change is bringing tourism and tension to Longyearbyen on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. “…The consequences are extensive. The thawing permafrost, which can heave or slump, has ruptured roads and exposed the macabre contents of old graves. Extremely windy, heavy snowstorms—once rare—have triggered deadly avalanches on the mountain slopes looming above …

Subjects: Climate Change, Defense, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Legal Research