Author archives

Sarah Glassmeyer - Research Fellow - Harvard Library Innovation Lab / Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

25 for 25: A Librarian’s Free Law Awakening

For law librarians, the past 25 years have engaged us in a journey from fee based access to the law via books, followed by dedicated terminals and CDs, to online portal services, to the current state of far more open, accessible and free access to the law. Sarah Glassmeyer’s perspective on this journey helps us focus on information access as a key facet of justice, highlighting the critical foundation that Cornell’s Legal Information Institute established for our communities of best practice to follow as we continue to pursue complete and free access to all facets of legal information on the Internet.

Subjects: Legal Education, Legal Research, Technology Trends

State Legal Information Census: An Analysis of Primary State Legal Information

This report by Sarah Glassmeyer presents findings from a survey of state level primary legal information. Primary legal information includes code (codified statutes passed by state legislatures), regulations (codified collections of rules passed by administrative agencies) and case law (appellate court decisions). This survey was done with the goal of reviewing the free and open status of this legal information.

Subjects: Government Resources, Law Librarians, Online Legal Research Services, Reference Resources

Give Open a Chance in Law

Sarah Glassmeyer’s commentary challenges us to consider a Venn Diagram comprising the current state of legal education; the systematic failures surrounding issues of Access to Justice; and in the third circle is the Reinvent/Innovate/New Law world of individuals attempting to make the practice of law more efficient using technological solutions. Sarah then asks – What lies smack in the center of these circles? The answer – Legal Information. Read on.

Subjects: Legal Profession, Open Source, Technology Trends