This document discusses emerging technologies and how they can be used in law libraries. It outlines several Web 2.0 technologies like blogs, wikis, Flickr, Facebook, diigo, and Twitter. It also discusses virtual worlds like Second Life and how they have been used by law libraries for research, teaching, knowledge management, and marketing purposes. The document concludes that the future of law libraries is connected to technology and that librarians need to utilize their training and raise awareness of how technologies can be implemented.

1. Law Libraries and
Emerging Technologies
Saskia Mehlhorn, Assessor jur., LL.M.
March 2009

2. Emerging Technologies
 Nanotechnology
 Semantic Web
 Cognitive Science
 Artificial Intelligence
and
 Web 2.0 with an assortment of tools suitable
for use in law libraries

3. Web 2.0
Has no hard boundary but rather a
gravitational core.
Visualize Web 2.0 as a set of principles and
practices that tie together a veritable solar
system of sites that demonstrate some or all
of those principles, at a varying distance from
that core.

4. Blogs:
Participation
Flickr, diigo: Wiki’s: trust in
Tagging Universal
not taxonomy knowledge
Services,
“Attitude not The Web
not packaged
Technolgy” as a Platform
software
Software gets better Harnessing
with the growing collective
number of users
intelligence
Playful

5. Applications
 Social networking
 Social bookmarking
 Participation and Expression
 Initiation of virtual realities

6. flickr
 One of the earliest web 2.0 platforms
 Image, video hosting website, web service
suite, and online community platform

7. flickr
This is a snapshot of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library on flickr

8. Facebook
 Social network website, especially used by
students other than LinkedIn which is for
“older” professionals or myspace which is
popular among high school students
 Useful to stay in touch with friends and
colleagues around the country and the globe
 Excellent tool for alumni associations

9. Facebook

10. diigo
 Digest of Internet Information, Groups and
Other things
 Social bookmarking website which allows
users to bookmark and tag web-pages
 Can be shared with friends and groups
 In 2006 named one of the 10 best research
tools

11. diigo

12. Wiki
 Comes from the Hawaiian and means “fast”
 Designed to enable anyone who accesses to
contribute and modify content
 Can be open, and for anyone, or access-
restricted
 Often used in business to provide Knowledge
Management

13. Wiki

14. Twitter
 Twitter is a free social networking and micro-
blogging service launched in 2006
 Allows users to send and read other users'
updates which are up to 140 characters in
length
 Public or private
 Ideal for exchange of links etc.
 In August 2008 it was used the first time for
up-to-the-minute court reporting

15. Twitter

16. Twitter Applications
 Twitter is elegant, but limiting. As a result,
hundreds of third-party tools were developed
to enhance Twitter.
 TweetBeep
 Twellow
 TwitterFeed

17. TweetBeep

18. Twellow

19. TwitterFeed

20. Second Life
 Internet-based virtual world launched in 2003,
became widely known in 2006/2007
 Used by companies as a training tool
 Info Island offers a variety of specialty
libraries among them law libraries

21. Law Firms in SL

22. Open House of Law Libraries

23. Law Library of Nova
Southeastern University

24. Second Life

25. legallyminded
 Provided by the ABA
 Currently in the beta phase
 Geared towards legal community
 Combines networking features (People Map,
blog, wiki etc.) with news and articles and the
possibility to schedule meetings within your
sub-community.

26. Use of emerging technologies
 As a research tool
 As a teaching tool
 As a knowledge management tool
 As a marketing tool

27. Research Tool
 Diigo – bookmark once – share with a group
 Facebook – network, connect and share
 Twitter – write and share

28. Teaching Tool
 Second Life – Set up a session in SL – a
different set of students will respond
 Wiki – assign every student a topic to report
on
 Blog – widely used in private law libraries,
good way to prepare for practice
 Twitter – in trial (or moot court) instant
connection - train now - use later

29. Knowledge Management Tool
 Creation
 Capture/Harvest
 Organize
 Share
 Refine

30. Marketing Tool
 Flickr – present your library and your school
 Facebook – connect with alumni, current and
future students
 Twitter – through Hein Online, WestLaw and
the like stay connected
 SL – have a presence
 Diigo – search and find where you are
present

31. The Future of Law Libraries
is connected to technology.
We librarians have the training
to use technology, but we
have to raise our voice and
make it be heard.