Monday, August 29, 2016

Finding Images Online

Need to punch up a presentation with some visual interest? Duke University's Visual Studies Librarian Lee Sorensen has created a new online portal to help you with Finding Images, along with tips for using them without running afoul of copyright laws.

The guide includes tips for locating images and maps online, such as through many of Duke's subscription databases like the AP Image Archive. Links also include copyright-free resources like Creative Commons images on the photo-sharing site Flickr or Google Advanced Image Search.

However, as the guide sagely notes, the copyright status of images found online is often unclear. Sorensen states two basic rules of image-finding on the Internet:
  1. Assume an image is copyrighted unless there is an explicit indication that it is copyright free.
  2. People and institutions frequently claim ownership to images they don’t own.
The Finding Images guide includes information about Copyright and Fair Use. Many educational uses of copyrighted material should fall under non-profit fair use, for which no additional permission is needed (although the guide notes best practices for citing even copyright-free images). For additional information about copyright clearance, or "permissions," to use images or other copyrighted material in commercial works, consult the Duke Libraries Catalog for works on copyright. Results will include Getting Permission: How to License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Off.

For help with either image searching or locating information about copyright law, be sure to Ask a Librarian.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

New Research Guide to Business Associations

Confused by corporations law? Take some time to learn more about this essential law school subject. Business Associations courses are a foundation for many upper-level law school classes in corporate and financial law topics, and will also be tested on bar examinations (including the jurisdictions which have adopted the Uniform Bar Examination).

The amount of treatises and other research materials on business and corporate law topics can be overwhelming to a BA beginner. Fortunately, the Goodson Law Library is here to help. Reference Librarian Laura Scott has created a new research guide to Business Associations, now available on the library website. The new guide covers both primary law (statutes, regulations, company filings, and case law) and secondary sources. The guide details both print and electronic resources for business associations in general, as well as specific subtopics like corporate governance, Delaware law, and the roles and responsibilities of corporate officers and directors.

Of particular note are the guides to practice area resources within Bloomberg Law, Lexis Advance, Westlaw, and Intelliconnect. These online research services offer handy "practice center" landing pages which compile frequently-accessed resources on corporate law topics. While the available treatises, forms, and checklists will vary across services due to publisher copyright licensing, the dedicated practice area of your favorite research service can be a great starting place for your business-related research.

The new Business Associations guide is just one of many detailed research guides available from the Goodson Law Library. If your research topic isn't listed (such as a research guide to the law of a state outside of North Carolina), try a search of CALI's Law School custom search engine to locate research guides from other U.S. law school libraries, or Ask a Librarian to show you the way.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Lawyers at the Movies

Summer is traditionally Hollywood blockbuster season, and even the ABA Journal is getting in on the fun. This month's cover story includes a colorful round-up of The Six Types of Lawyer Movies, illustrated with "trading cards" for each category. The six types, and a famous example of each, include:
  1. The Crusading Lawyer (To Kill a Mockingbird's Atticus Finch)
  2. The Heroic Lawyer (Jimmy Stewart's character in Anatomy of a Murder)
  3. The Obtuse Lawyer (John Travolta's character in A Civil Action)
  4. The Disillusioned Lawyer (George Clooney as the titular Michael Clayton)
  5. The Vengeful Lawyer (the legal team in Runaway Jury)
  6. Buffoons in Law (Vinny Gambino in My Cousin Vinny)
The online version of the story also includes a quiz to determine Which Movie Lawyer are You? You'll need to answer a few questions to ID your Hollywood alter ego; the results also list a few other recommended movie titles in your genre.

While the Goodson Law Library doesn't own every film title which is mentioned in the article, the Legal DVDs collection on level 3 includes a sizeable majority. DVDs in this collection of law-related films and television series may be borrowed for a 3-day loan by bringing the empty case to the Circulation/Reserve desk. View a list of Legal DVD titles from newest to oldest or by Most Popular. You can also search for particular film titles in the Duke Libraries Catalog. (Are we missing a favorite legal movie? Let us know in the online Suggestion Box.) For help with locating a legal DVD, be sure to Ask a Librarian.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

The Constitution in Your Pocket

At last week's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, the United States Constitution made an unexpected guest appearance. Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a Muslim-American soldier who was killed in Iraq, appeared on stage after a moving video tribute to their late son. In remarks that followed, Mr. Khan, an immigration lawyer in Charlottesville, Virginia, criticized Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his proposed immigration ban on Muslims. Khan noted that not only would a religious bar to immigration be fundamentally unconstitutional, it would have also prevented the Khans' son from coming to America at age 2, later joining the U.S. Army, and ultimately sacrificing his life to save his fellow soldiers from a car bomber in 2004. Captain Humayun Khan was one of 14 American Muslim members of the armed forces who have died in service to their country since September 11, 2001.

In a particularly emotional moment, Mr. Khan asked Donald Trump, "Have you even read the United States Constitution?" He then pulled a pocket-sized copy from his suit jacket and held it up to the crowd, adding, "I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document, look for the words 'liberty' and 'equal protection of law.'"



The speech resonated with viewers, and propelled one version of a pocket Constitution to be the number 2 bestseller on Amazon this weekend, behind only the new Harry Potter book. Did Mr. Khan inspire you to carry a copy in your pocket or glove compartment?
  • Visitors to the Goodson Law Library already know that free pocket constitutions are available at our service desk, courtesy of Lexis and Westlaw.
  • If you can't make it to the Goodson Law Library in person, the American Civil Liberties Union is offering free copies of its own pocket Constitution from now until Election Day with the coupon code POCKETRIGHTS. (Response has been so overwhelming that the ACLU copies are on backorder.)
  • Other political organizations sell their own pocket Constitutions, such as the Cato Institute's for $4.95.
  • If you'd prefer a version of the Constitution with no corporate or political branding, the U.S. Government Publishing Office sells copies of a pocket Constitution (including the Declaration of Independence) for $1.50 at its bookstore.
To learn more about the United States Constitution, search the Duke Libraries Catalog for the subject heading "Constitutional law – United States" and "United States. Constitution". For help navigating our large constitutional law collection, be sure to Ask a Librarian.