Kate Jackson

Legal Research Librarian

Current AwarenessOctober 17, 2016

Aims and objectives

Learn how to stay up-to-date with information on websites, blogs, podcasts and legal databases, using

RSS feeds

alerting services

You can visit websitesto get the latest information

or, you can use an RSS feed

What is an RSS feed?

An RSS feed is website content put into a standard format.

Using a feed is a bit like tuning into a radio station, or subscribing to a magazine.

It’s easy to visit the associated site if you want more information.

What RSS feeds offer

the end user

a way to access the latest information without visiting multiple web sites daily

the feed publisher

a convenient way to broadcast information to “subscribers” and encourage visits to website

Benefits for end users

Less clutter in inbox, no spam

No subscribe/unsubscribe hassles

You choose when to view information

Disadvantages for end users?

Can find yourself “oversubscribed” withtoo much to read!

Ways to read RSS feeds

Built-in readers in browsers, email

Web-based news readers

Accessible from anywhere

Free: Feedly, NetVibes

Paid (for full version): NewsBlur

How to get started

Sign up for a web-based account

Find feeds that you want to read

Add them to your account

Organise into foldersfor best results

Web-based service: NewsBlur

Click on item title to visit website

What to look for:

Alerting services

Alerting services:

Help you fine tune what you receive

Increasingly there is an RSS feed option

Or you can choose email

Things to look out for Not always called alerts – also look out for links to

Updates, SDI, Save search etc.

Three main types:

Tables of Contents (ToCs) of recently published journals/law reports

Keyword alerts - new materials which match your keywords, authors

Subject area alerts - new in IP, human rights etc

Keeping up to date with Journals: Tables of Contents Services

zetoc Tables of contents for journals received by British Library Offers email alert or RSS feed http://zetoc.jisc.ac.uk/

Most publishers offer TOCS on their web site

zetoc: http://zetoc.jisc.ac.uk/

Receive TOCS by email

Receive TOCS by RSS feed

search

alert

RSS

zetoc RSS option

Select by first letter of journal name

Search on word or phrase in journal name

View list of new journals

Select journals by category

Journal titles containing ‘international law’

American Journal of International Law

Right click on RSS button and copy link address (or similar, depending on browser)

Paste link address into reader

zetoc email alerts

Can contain TOC and searches

Keeping up to date with materials on the legal databases

Lexis Library

Can set up an alert from a search

Set up a subject alert

Westlaw UK

Need to set up a personal profile

Can get subject alerts via email or get RSS feeds

Lawtel

Subject alert only

Lexis Library

Create an alert from a search

Keeping up to date with subject alerts

Lexis Library alerts Cases, legislation from around the World

Choose ‘My alerts’ from drop down and then ‘create’ and browse subject categories

Westlaw alerts Create a profile

Go to the top to alerts or RSS feeds and add content and subjects you are interested in

Lawtel Updates UK cases, legislation, bills in selected subject areas

Choose “Lawtel Updates” and browse subject categories

Lexis Library – My Alerts

Lexis Library – My Alerts

News, views (and twitter)

Jurist (International & US Legal News)

www.jurist.org

Global Legal Monitor from Law Library of Congress in US

http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/

Legal Blog Watch (monitors legal blogs)

http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/

Law.com newswire via RSS feed

http://www.alm.law.com/rss/newswire.xml

Blogs and Podcasts

Blogs – popular way of keeping an online diary on the Web

Most blogs have an associated RSS feed, so you can subscribe to them easily

Podcasts – a special type of RSS feed where each item has an audio or video file enclosed

Legal Blog Watch

Searching feeds, blogs and podcasts

Justia Blawgsearch http://blawgsearch.justia.com/

icerocket blog search functionwww.icerocket.com

icerocket

Follow icerocket link to blog post

Law.com newswire

Directories of legal blogs, twitter accounts

Justia Blawgsearch - http://blawgsearch.justia.com/ Directory of blogs organised by subject, jurisdiction, law school etc

International Law Observer- http://www.internationallawobserver.eu/blogroll/

Legal Birds – list of legal tweeters (US focus)http://legalbirds.justia.com

Picture Credits

Slide 2 “Melophore” by flickr user dynamosquito, August 27, 2008 (CC BY-SA

2.0) (image altered)

Slide 5 “1959 RCA Victor Dual Speaker Filteramic Tube Radio” by flickr user

Roadsidepictures, November 16, 2009 (CC BY-NC 2.0) (image altered)

Slide 6 “broadcast ariel” by flickr user HerPhotographer, January 8, 2008, (CC

BY-NC-SA 2.0) (image altered)

Slide 7 “untitled” by flickr user Jeff_Werner, March 3, 2008 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

(image altered)

Picture Credits (cont.)

Slide 8 “’I fell asleep reading a dull book and dreamed I kept on reading, so I

awoke from sheer boredom.’ Heinrich Heine” by flickr user Geraint Rowland Photography, July 12, 2012 (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Slide 10 “urban renewal, Condemned Durham Warehouse” by flickr user Avius

Quovus, April 1, 2009, (CC BY-NC 2.0) (image altered)

Slide 15 “Radio Tuner on a Marconi VCR670A(?)” by flickr user Tim Sheerman-

Chase, August 26, 2012, (CC BY 2.0) (image altered)

This presentation (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)