Ballad in Plain E

One of the things I miss most about working in BC is the fantastic BC Courthouse Library system. This week’s news is just one more reason for that. They’ve now got a new name (Courthouse Libraries BC), URL (http://www.courthouselibrary.ca), look, and logo, and along with that, a fresh new interface for their library catalogue. Just check it out – it’s amazing! See more commentary at Slaw, VALL, and Vancouver Law Librarian Blog.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the system’s approach to library service — so much so that I’ve ordered documents from them since I’ve been in MB, just because I knew it could easily be the fastest route to go! Courthouse Libraries BC serves a substantially larger user base than the Law Society library in Manitoba does. Understandably, because of that, it has a greater capability to offer outstanding resources. So while I really shouldn’t compare the two, it sure reminds me of how fortunate the BC law library community is.

Congratulations to Virtual Library manager Mandy Ostick and everyone who helped get this project get to where it is. Way to go!

Over at Slaw, Gary Rodrigues has a good post comparing the words & phrases offerings of Westlaw and Quicklaw.  Rodrigues notes:

“Both services are unique in what they offer. Until one service seeks to match the other in content, both may be needed. If your interest is Canadian caselaw only, Words and Phrases in the Canadian Abridgment may be enough. If you are looking for more variety and more sources, you need LexisNexis Quicklaw. The ideal database of words and phrases is a combination of the two services, something unlikely to happen anytime soon.”

I’m glad to see someone address this.