Become an ALLG committee member

Have you ever thought about joining the ALLG committee? Be at the centre of the action and help set the direction for the group for the next 12 months.

Committee members meet every month or two to discuss what's happening in law librarianship and publishing, plan professional development opportunities to benefit all members and set the direction for the association.

Being on the committee is a great networking opportunity, and can be fun. No experience is necessary, just a desire to give something back and get things done.

Look out for the call for nominations coming soon. If you have any questions, contact me at cdavies@legalaid.qld.gov.au or call 3238 3931.

Comlaw session at QUT

Well attended - 40 people. Feedback that it was a very worthwhile session.

Here are some of the key points raised in the session:

• Still best way to use it is to Browse as Cathy found that identical searches give different results on different days.
  
• Comlaw have introduced an Advanced Search option now- click on the Tools Menu and it gives a list of various searches available - choose Advanced Search. This seems to be quite good. Guided search not available yet


• An Advanced Seach in Title field gives a list of results that is quite useful. However an Advanced Search fulltext search eg Antartica gives a result list with all the results as "Act Compilations" ie you don't get the name of the legislation.
  
• Some strange terminology used on Comlaw - apparently it is so the 'lay' person can find things. Bit like not studying Shakespeare at school as it is too hard for the 'lay' person to understand a new terminology. For example "Current Law" means all compilations and reprints and unamended principal titles. "Principal Act" is the Act enacted.


• As the Legislative Instruments on Comlaw are now the official version, their pdf symbol has a green tick to acknowledge this.
  


• Act Compilation

Shakespeare Night at the Supreme Court

Barbara Flowers reports on last night's ALLG(Q) social outing: Shakespeare’s briefs : or let’s kill all the lawyers

Last night the Supreme Court Library hosted an evening of Shakespeare performed by the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble along with Judge Nase. It was a kind of short scrutiny of Shakespearean views of justice and the law. We were very taken with the opening sequence, a man engaged in some detailed housework involving a vacuum cleaner, while one of his colleagues wielded a bottle of spray’n’wipe among the balustrades. They were surprisingly thorough. The ‘Court functionary’ who disregarded us while displaying her legs along the bench was more disturbing. Some of us couldn’t help but comment on the poor showing it made, but in the end we did cotton on. It was all part of the show, and an interesting lead-in by the Actors to a trial scene from The Winter’s Tale, the trial of Hermione, accused of adultery by her husband.

Curiously, the last evening at the Supreme Court I attended, when QUT Law Library formally transferred its Pacific collection to the Court Library, the ABC journalist Sean Dorney also discussed the topic of adultery. He made the observation that under customary law in the Pacific Islands, adultery is viewed as of far greater criminal importance than murder, because of the problems it introduces into a tribal society. Plus ca change, and all that. But I digress.

The great Shakespearian set piece for lawyers (and actors) is of course the trial scene from The Merchant of Venice, which was the second of the two segments performed last night. As a nod to the fact that we were sitting in an actual Court room, some part of the play was screened as video evidence and was convincingly hard to see and understand. I thought this a clever idea not executed with a proper sense of the audience, as so much of the crucial language was hastily and inaudibly spoken. There are certain protocols required of Shakespearian actors and intelligibility must surely be among them. But Portia did her stuff and came up trumps, and it was all very satisfying.

It was an evening which combined an interweaving of the real work of a Court, as we ‘rose’ for each of Judge Nase’s entrances, alongside the other work of theatre and good drama. I enjoyed it a lot.

Renew Your ALLG Membership

It's that time again... it's time to renew your ALLG membership!

And the good news is that you won't have to dig too deep! 2006-07 membership fees are as follows:

Ordinary Membership $45.00

Honorary Membership $35.00

Student Membership $20.00

Take full advantage of the fabulous CPD and networking events on offer to ALLG(Q) members and renew your membership for the coming year. To find out more information, the new 2006-07 Membership Renewal Forms are now available to download from the ALLG website.

http://www.allg.asn.au/default_qld.htm

Go to 'Join Us' on the left hand menu and select the Membership Renewal Form.