By: Claudia Holland Library Director, Library of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and international Private Law, Hamburg Member of the IALL Board of Directors The basic idea of open access is to be able to read, download, save, link to, print and thus to use a document free of charge. A great deal has been written about it already, and no doubt there are many different paths to the same goal: different ways of granting access on one hand, different ways of paying for it on the other. This blog post explores the financing model known as “subscribe to open” (S2O). The occasion for me to ..read more

By: Dwaymian Brissette, Law Librarian Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court IALL bursary recipient 2023 Greetings! My name is Dwaymian Brissette, and I am the Law Librarian/Information Services, Library Services, & Communications Manager at the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC). The ECSC is a model Regional Court that serves six (6) Independent Member States and three (3) British Overseas Territories. The Court’s Headquarters is in Castries, the capital of its host country, Saint Lucia. The quote “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” perfectly describes my journey from ..read more

By: Jeremy F. Flores, Senior Executive Assistant Office of the General Counsel and Legal Services Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Philippines IALL bursary recipient 2023 2023 IALL Regular Bursary Recipients with Vanessa Blackmore; Jeremy Flores, 1st  left. Being selected as one of the regular bursary recipients of the International Association of Law Libraries (IALL) provided me the opportunity to attend the 41st Annual Course entitled “Like Clockwork?: Multilateralism and International Law in Geneva “ held on 08 to 12 October 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference made me richer not on ..read more

By: Dr. Candan Yasan-Tepetaş, Istanbul Bilgi University Faculty of Law In Türkiye, as in many countries, the heavy caseloads in civil courts constitute a severe problem in the judiciary system. According to daily statistics on the e-justice system, approximately 2,579,000 cases are pending in civil courts.[1] The Ministry of Justice has taken significant steps to decrease this burden. The Law on Mediation in Civil Disputes nr. 6325, prepared by considering the UNCITRAL Model Law and the EU regulations, was put into effect in 2013. The statistics released by the Ministry of Justice show that 96 ..read more

By: Jean M. Wenger, Treasurer, International Association of Law Libraries In conversation or during presentations and lectures, I share with law librarians, lawyers, and law students that the best resource they’ll have in their careers is a human resource – someone skilled at what they do. We learn from one another at the office as we accomplish our work responsibilities and through professional networking and conferences. However, the ability to learn in real-time and interact with expert speakers and other professional colleagues at an in-person conference is an enduring experience that can ..read more

By: Amy Duxfield Kaitiaki Whare Pukapuka | Research Librarian, Te Tari Ture o te Karauna Crown Law Office, Wellington, New Zealand IALL bursary recipient 2023 Introduction From start to finish, I had an absolutely incredible time at IALL 2023. The Local Planning Committee put together a wonderful conference, with a packed programme of presentations and excursions. It would be impossible to cover the whole conference in one blog post, and I didn’t take nearly enough photos to capture this amazing experience, so this is my top 5 highlights of the 41st Annual Course (in no particular order). High ..read more

By: Khulekani Khumalo Chief Library Officer in the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser (International Law) Legal Library IALL bursary recipient 2023 My name is Khulekani Khumalo I’m 32 years old I was born and raised in a small township by the name of Hammarsdale near Durban, South Africa. I’m currently residing in Pretoria, South Africa, one of the capital cities in the country. I’m a Chief Library Officer in the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser (International Law) Legal Library within the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, my key responsibility is to provide legal ..read more

The famous Jet d’Eau  (Water Jet) in Lake Geneva on the Geneva city waterfront.  Photo by Mark Engsberg By Mark Engsberg President, International Association of Law Libraries The 41st Annual Course of the International Association of Law Libraries (IALL) was held in Geneva, Switzerland from Sunday, October 8, to Wednesday, October 11.  There was also an Optional Day in Lausanne on October 12, 2023. This year’s theme was Like Clockwork? Multilateralism and International Law in Geneva. The 2023 Annual Course was organized by staff from the International Committee of the Red Cross ..read more

By: Librarians and information specialists of ICRC, ILO, ITU, UNHCR, WIPO, and WTO From the late 19th century to today, Geneva has developed into a major hub of agencies and organizations with global reach. The city is home to the largest UN Office after New York, UN specialized agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).  In the course of preparing ..read more

How IALL Chooses Future Conference Venues By: Mark Engsberg, President International Association of Law Libraries When considering venues for IALL conferences, the world offers so many interesting, exotic, and exciting possibilities.  Locations for future IALL conferences is a favourite topic among IALL members and for those who attend them. I’ve lost track of the number of times someone has come up to me at an IALL conference – or even at other meetings and conferences – to make a suggestion of where they believe IALL should host a future conference.  There are so many amazing ..read more