Articles Posted in Library Reference and Research

An AALL/Bloomberg Partner Webinar.

November 19, 2025 at 1:00PM (CST).

“Participants will hear from research experts at Bloomberg Law as they present the survey findings and discuss how Bloomberg Law is equipping students with the necessary tools and knowledge for successful legal careers. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and learn how to better prepare law school students for the challenges of the legal profession.”

On July 17, 2024, we noticed a posting from Wisblawg which stated in part that “In recent months web developers and SEO experts have noted significant changes in Google’s Indexing practices observing a shift toward more selective indexing of web content…” Having already received other indications over the past year of impending changes in indexing practices by Google, we decided it was time to take a deeper dive into the subject.

The following is a compilation of our findings, ending with statistical information derived from an AI search using ChatGPt:

 Introduction

Legal citators are crucial tools in legal research, ensuring that legal professionals can verify whether cases and statutes remain valid and authoritative. Traditionally, this market has been dominated by Shepard’s from LexisNexis and KeyCite from Westlaw, with Bloomberg Law also offering a citator called BCite. Recently, the introduction of AI-powered citators, such as vLex’s Cert and Paxton AI’s Citator, marks a significant advancement in this field. This introduction explores these new AI citators, comparing and contrasting them with traditional ones.

TRADITIONAL LEGAL RESEARCH CITATORS:

  1. Shepard’s (LexisNexis)

Although retired as an active law librarian, I try to keep up with current developments by maintaining memberships in AALL, SLA, ABA, and maintaining contacts with friends currently active in the profession. I also have been publishing articles on the Criminal Law Library Blog since 2007 on various subjects, including those related to law, law librarians, and artificial intelligence.

I am grateful to have been able to maintain all of these relationships through the years and hope the below article will help my professional colleagues realize the potential of AI as a powerful ally. In my view, AI has the potential to revolutionize the services provided by law librarians through various means including those outlined below.

  1. Enhanced Legal Research

Law libraries are undergoing a transformation fueled by Artificial Intelligence (AI). While AI isn’t replacing librarians, it’s becoming a powerful tool that’s changing how legal research is conducted and how libraries serve their patrons.

The history of artificial intelligence in law libraries is a fascinating journey marked by technological evolution, legal industry demands, and the gradual integration of advanced tools to support legal research, information management, and decision-making processes. Here’s a historical overview of this subject:

Early Beginnings and Development

This posting includes an excerpt from the Report on the Investigation Into Unauthorized Removal, Retention, and Disclosure of Classified Documents Discovered at Locations Including the Penn Biden Center and the Delaware Private Residence of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. prepared for the Attorney General of the United States by Special Counsel Robert K. Hur and his staff, and a link to the entire document.

EXCERPT:

“We conclude that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter. 1 We would reach the same conclusion even if Department of Justice policy did not foreclose criminal charges against a sitting president.

A May 13, 2024 presentation at the American Enterprise Institute by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

In its work for the Congress, CBO regularly projects budgetary and economic outcomes over the 10-year budget window (the period used in the Congressional budget process) and for an additional 20 years. This presentation highlights key findings from two recent reports on those projections.

Click here to see presentation document.

During the week ending May 3, 2024 we have received listings of 34 Government and Administrative Law Summaries,  17 Constitutional Law summaries, 78 Criminal Law Summaries, 1 White Collar Summary,  5 Intellectual Property case summaries. and 1 Internet Law Summary. We plan is to continue posting opinion summaries, under corresponding areas of law, weekly whenever possible in order to keep blog readers updated.  To gain access to these case summaries, click on the corresponding links below:

Opinion Summaries Posted for Week Ending  May 3, 2024:

Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

According to responses to the 2024 ABA Survey of Civic Literacy, 74% of individuals surveyed said that U.S. democracy is weaker than it was five years ago. Most blamed misinformation, disinformation, and political parties for contributing to this result. The survey is released each year to mark Law Day, observed annually on May 1. The responses are from a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,000 respondents from March 4-9. Here is an overview of some of the results as reported by the ABA on their website: followed by a link to the full text of the survey.

Democracy “A large majority — 74% — said U.S. democracy is weaker today than it was five years ago. Only 13% said it is stronger. Among those who said our democracy is weaker, nearly 1 in 3 (31%) said the primary cause is misinformation and disinformation. Nearly as many (29%) blamed the political parties. Less than 10% blamed social media or lack of civility. The survey also asked who should be primarily responsible for safeguarding our democracy. More than a third (37%) said it is mainly the responsibility of the general public — yet half of all respondents (exactly 50%) said the general public is not very informed about how democracy works.
Elections

During the week ending April 26, 2024) we have received listings of 64 Government and Administrative Law Summaries,  39 Constitutional Law summaries, 112 Criminal Law Summaries, 1 White Collar Summary,  6 Intellectual Property case summaries. 1 Copyright Summary, 3 Internet Law Summaries, and  5  Medical Malpractice Summaries. We plan is to continue posting opinion summaries, under corresponding areas of law, weekly whenever possible in order to keep blog readers updated.  To gain access to these case summaries, click on the corresponding links below:

Opinion Summaries Posted for Week Ending  April 26. 2024:

Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

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