AI Reference Chatbot at the University of Calgary Library

OCLC, an international library services company, organized a webinar in November 2024 that showcased a chatbot project of the University of Calgary Library:

"In 2021, the University of Calgary Libraries launched a multilingual reference chatbot by leveraging a commercial product that combines a large language model (LLM) with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technology. The chatbot is trained on the library’s own web content, including LibGuides and operating hours, and is accessed from the library’s website."

"In a Works in Progress webinar hosted by the OCLC Research Library Partnership (RLP) on 20 November 2024, University of Calgary Library staff discussed the creation and implementation of the AI reference chatbot and shared lessons learned."

 

Statistics Canada Article on Monetary Penalties in Adult Criminal Courts

Statistics Canada today published an article on Monetary penalties in adult criminal courts:

"Fines were the most frequently ordered monetary penalty for guilty offenders, accounting for 23% of penalties in adult criminal court cases completed during the period from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2023. These were followed by victim surcharge orders (16%) and restitution orders (4%)."

"In the Canadian criminal justice system, restitution, victim surcharges and fines are among the penalties judges can consider when selecting an appropriate sentence for an offender found guilty of the charges laid against them. These monetary penalties require that the offender pay a sum of money to the state or the victim as part of the imposed sentence."

Canadian Library Associations Advocacy Initiatives

Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research has just published an article called Libraries On the Hill: An Exploratory Study of Canadian Library Associations Advocacy Initiatives.

It takes a look at the areas of advocacy of three major Canadian associations, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, the Canadian Urban Libraries Council, and the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA):

"Data was collected from a variety of sources, including the associations’ websites, records of federal government consultations and lobbying activities. A thematic analysis was conducted using open coding and visual theme mapping, and the results analyzed using Schein’s model for understanding organizational culture. The results provide important insights into publicly available advocacy work by these associations since 2016. By providing the first step of quantifying advocacy work by Canadian library associations, this study lays the groundwork for further investigation to explore the impact of library association advocacy and to identify successful patterns and strategies for advocacy initiatives in the future."

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries is a member organization of the CFLA.

New Law Library of Congress Report on Access to Information for Persons with Disabilities

The Law Library of Congress in Washington has recently published a report on Access to Information for Persons with Disabilities in Selected Jurisdictions:

"This multinational report covers the right of access to information for persons with disabilities in the selected jurisdictions of Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and Taiwan."

(...)

"This report surveys how the rights of persons with disabilities are protected, notably, if a jurisdiction’s constitution (written or unwritten) specifically protects persons with disabilities. It describes the rights to information, in particular legal information, access to justice, and culture, and includes current legislative proposals as they concern persons with disabilities. The report also surveys which jurisdictions offer publicly funded libraries that specifically serve the blind and visually impaired. The report does not comprehensibly address legislation on other issues related to persons with disabilities, including the right to work and antidiscrimination legislation."

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2 and a half million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.

Over the years, it has published dozens of comparative law reports which are a treasure trove for legal research on a huge variety of issues.

Winners of 2024 Canadian Law Blog Awards

The winners of the 2024 Canadian Law Blog Awards (known as the Clawbies) were announced recently.

The Clawbies exist to reward the best and most innovative Canadian blogs, podcasts, videos, legal newsletters, and other forms of online commentary. 

The 2024 Fodden Award recognizing a single, outstanding publication went to Kyla Lee of Acumen Law Corporation in Vancouver:

"At a time when people need courageous voices amplifying their rights and defending their interests, no voice has been stronger or more reliable than criminal defence lawyer Kyla Lee of Acumen Law Corporation in Vancouver. An extraordinarily prolific author and broadcaster year after year, Kyla surpassed even her own high standards in 2024: more than 300 written blog posts, 50 episodes of her “Driving Law” podcast, and 41 editions of her vlog “Cases That Should Have Gone to the Supreme Court of Canada, But Didn’t.” There are well-funded legal media organizations in this country that struggle to match that output. Kyla is the face and voice of legal matters on mainstream radio and TV in British Columbia, speaking directly, accessibly, and informatively to everyday Canadians about the law."

There are awards in many categories.

The Clawbies are organized by Stem Legal, a B.C.-based strategy firm.

December 2024 Issue of In Session E-Bulletin of Canadian Association of Law Libraries

The December 2024 issue of In Session has been published. 

It is the monthly e-newsletter of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) and contains news from CALL committees and special interest groups, member updates and events.

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice Winter 2024 Newsletter

The non-profit Canadian Forum on Access to Justice (CFCJ) publishes a regular newsletter on access to justice issues.

The latest issue includes:

• a report on access to justice through the tribunal system
• a visual explainer on multi-disciplinary legal problem resolution
• a roundup of the most read CFCJ publications from 2024
• news about the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Roundtable on Equal Access to Justice held recently in Ottawa
• and more

The CFCJ is a national non-profit organization that works to advance civil justice reform through research and advocacy.

International Federation of Library Associations Guidelines for Libraries Supporting Displaced Persons

The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) has released Guidelines for Libraries Supporting Displaced Persons: Refugees | Migrants | Immigrants | Asylum seekers:

"The guidelines are aimed at library professionals at large: librarians, library administrators, educators, management, schools, governments responsible for libraries and library programmes. For the purpose of these guidelines, we consider library staff and management as one. The guidelines do not focus specifically on library management matters, but on how a library as a whole can support displaced communities."

"Since these are international guidelines, one size cannot fit all. There will never be one library system or model applicable to address all displaced communities across the world. The situation varies among countries and even among libraries in the same country. The guidelines touch upon a big spectrum of matters and recommendations, which each library should examine based on their library-specific needs, priorities, and feasibility."

"How can libraries serve the world in a world of displacement? In the face of the largest global refugee crisis since the second world war, library support to displaced persons is one of the most vital things that we as a library community could provide right now. Library professionals should not limit themselves to what they traditionally know as librarianship, but rather allow themselves to enter a new space of learning."

(...)

"Apart from being a safe haven for all, libraries also contribute to the two-way integration process; not only do they help displaced individuals recover from their traumas and integrate into the host communities, but they also allow both displaced and host communities to learn from each other and understand their differences. This way libraries justify one of their fundamental values to serve the community as a whole, welcoming all cultures, all traditions, all languages. Through the appreciation of cultural diversity, they contribute to social cohesion in multicultural societies and the peaceful co-existence of people."

IFLA is an international, non-governmental organization that advances the interests of library and information associations, as well as those of librarians and the communities they serve throughout the world.

Formed in 1927, the Federation has its headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands.

Supreme Court of Canada Calendar of January 2025 Hearings

The Supreme Court of Canada has published its calendar of upcoming appeals that will be heard in January 2025. 

To find out more about any particular case, click on a case number in parentheses to find docket information, case summaries as well as factums from the parties and any interveners.

New Georgetown University Artificial Intelligence Governance Tracker

Georgetown University has launched AGORA (AI Governance and Regulatory Archive), a "collection of AI-relevant laws, regulations, standards, and other governance documents from the United States and around the world".

There are many filters for finding documents: keyword, region, thematic taxonomy (e.g. bias), area of application (e.g. medicine), and more.

Statistics Canada Data on Homicide Trends

Statistics Canada has published data on Homicide trends in Canada, 2023:

"Homicides remain a relatively rare occurrence in Canada, constituting 0.1% of all police-reported violent crimes in 2023. Despite their low frequency, homicide rates serve as a key indicator of overall societal violence. When considered alongside other measures like violent crime rates and the Violent Crime Severity Index, homicide rates provide a more comprehensive picture of violence trends in Canada."

"In 2023, police services reported 778 homicides across the country, 104 fewer victims than the previous year. As a result, the national homicide rate decreased by 14%, from 2.27 to 1.94 homicides per 100,000 population. Gang-related homicides and intimate partner homicides all experienced declines, contributing to the overall reduction in the national homicide rate. Significant decreases in homicide rates in Canada's three largest census metropolitan areas (CMAs)—Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver—also contributed to the overall reduction. This marks the first time since 2019 that the rate was below two homicides per 100,000 population."

Among the highlights:

• Most provinces recorded decreases in their homicide rates in 2023
• Approximately one-quarter of homicides are gang-related
• Number of youth accused of homicide declined in 2023
• Indigenous peoples continue to be overrepresented as homicide victims
• Nearly one in three homicide victims belong to a racialized group
• Nearly one-third of individuals charged with committing a homicide in the past five years were in custody or under community supervision at the time of the incident
• Women continue to be disproportionately affected by intimate partner homicide

Outlaw Oceans Project Databases

I came across this recently: the Outlaw Oceans Project, a Washington-based journalism non-profit that publishes stories about human rights, labour and environmental issues on the high seas:

"More than 50 million people work offshore. Roughly 80 percent of the goods we consume reach us by way of the sea. Half the air we breathe comes from the oceans. And yet, this realm is home to a variety of urgent concerns that go largely overlooked by most news outlets because it is too costly, too dangerous and too time consuming to report on them. These concerns include the murder of stowaways, arms trafficking, illegal fishing, pollution, dumping, drilling and human slavery on fishing ships. The organization was founded and is directed by Ian Urbina, who produced an award-winning series in 2015 in The New York Times and a subsequent best-selling book in 2019."

"The Outlaw Ocean Project’s journalism is distinct not just in its focus, but also in how the reporting is conducted and distributed. Most of the stories are reported at least partially at sea. In the United States, the non-profit publishes its stories in various news outlets, including the New Yorker, NBC News, The Atlantic and The Washington Post. The reporting is also translated into a half dozen languages and further disseminated abroad in partnership with dozens of foreign newspapers, magazines, radio and television venues."

The Project offers a toolkit of 3 databases:

• Global Fishing Legislative Database: a 68-country database with laws and regulations on fishing, labour rules, vessel ownership and registration, etc.
• Oceans Actions Index: a compilation of input from advocates and researchers who were asked what can be done to better protect the oceans and its workers
• Oceans Investigations Guide: tips for the investigation of ocean-related crimes

Most Recent Issue of the Canadian Law Library Review

The most recent issue of the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR) is available online.

The CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL). It is an open access publication.

Check out the feature article "Inescapable Skills: Testing Legal Research Skills in an Escape Room" by  David H. Michels and Hannah Rosborough of the  Sir James Dunn Law Library at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia (starts p. 10): "This micro-ethnographic case study explores the effectiveness of an escape room format game to test legal research skill retention. Previous attempts to benchmark legal research and information literacy skills of Schulich Law students across the program have met with  limited success in part because of the difficulty in recruiting participants. This study used a game format to gather data on student skill retention over the course of the program. Using an adaption of the popular escape room format, student teams in the first and second years of the JD program solved a series of research problems to 'escape.' Observations of four escape room sessions allowed researchers to  evaluate both research skills and participation in library activities. This article describes the planning and development of the escape room, as well as the data capture, analysis, and results."

Oxford Word of the Year : "Brain Rot”

For its Word of the Year for 2024, Oxford University Press (OUP) has selected "brain rot":

"Our experts noticed that ‘brain rot’ gained new prominence this year as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media. The term increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024."

Runners-up for the word of the year included:

• demure
• dynamic pricing
• lore
• romantasy
• slop

Oxford lexicographers have been selecting the word of the year for 20 years and readers can find the complete list on the OUP website.

Government Information Day(s), 2024 Program Available

The Ontario Council of University Libraries - Government Information Community is organizing the Government Information Day(s), 2024 from December 17-19, 2024.

The topics covered will include:

• Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) & their archives
• in-depth looks at a variety of American government information sources
• updates from Publications Canada, Library and Archives Canada, the Internet Archive, the Canadian Research Knowledge Network 
• projects using government data, both numerical & spatial 
• parliamentary & legislative materials from Ontario, Quebec and the United States
• preserving access to Government Information

All sessions will be on Zoom.

How to register.

Annual Report of the Law Commission of Canada

The Government of Canada's Weekly Acquisitions List is a list of publications by various public bodies and agencies of the federal government that were catalogued in the previous week. 

The most recent issue includes the most recent annual report of the Law Commission of Canada (LCC).

The LCC was created by an Act of Parliament to provide independent, non-partisan guidance on the evolution of law in Canada.