Danner on Transnational Law, International Law, and Open Access to Law and Legal Scholarship

Senior Associate Dean Richard A. Danner of the Duke University School of Law, has posted two new papers on open access to legal information, on SSRN:

Open Access to Legal Scholarship: Dropping the Barriers to Discourse and Dialogue (2011), forthcoming in Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology. Abstract:

This article focuses on the importance of free and open access to legal scholarship and commentary on the law. It argues that full understanding of authoritative legal texts requires access to informed commentary as well as to the texts of the law themselves, and that free and open access to legal commentary will facilitate cross-border dialogue and foster international discourse in law. The paper discusses the obligations of scholars and publishers of legal commentary to make their work as widely accessible as possible. Examples of institutional and disciplinary repositories for legal scholarship are presented, as are the possible impacts of such initiatives as the Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship.

Defining International Law Librarianship in an Age of Multiplicity, Knowledge, and Open Access to Law (2011). Abstract:

Many law librarians are experts in international law and legal research. The concept of ‘international law librarianship,’ however, encompasses something more than a field of study in which a group of experts practice their profession. In the broader sense, the idea suggests a common calling, similar interests, and goals shared by librarians with a range of specialties beyond international law, working in all types of law libraries. What commonalities create and sustain the concept of international law librarianship? This paper suggests that they can be found in: law librarians’ common need to respond to the ‘multiplicity’ of information sources facing twenty-first century legal researchers; the development and nurturing of a shared base of professional knowledge; and a common commitment to work toward ensuring free and open access to legal information globally.

HT @cottinstef.

October 22: Duke Open Access Law Journal Conference

A conference entitled Implementing the Durham Statement: Best Practices for Open Access Law Journals will be held 22 October 2010 at the Duke University Law School, in Durham, North Carolina, USA.

The conference is being organized by Senior Associate Dean Richard A. Danner of Duke University Law School.

Here is a description of the conference, from Dean Danner’s announcement:

Sponsored by the Duke Law School J. Michael Goodson Law Library and the Harvard Law Library: A workshop aimed at student law review editors, designed to present and discuss best practices for law journals as increasing numbers move into electronic publishing. The workshop is also open to law librarians, law review advisers, and all others who are interested in open access and legal publishing. It will be webcast and promoted to all ABA-accredited law schools. For more information and to register, please contact Professor Richard Danner at zad@law.duke.edu . Registration is free, but requested for catering.

For more information, please see the conference announcement.

Click here for Dean Danner’s recent paper about the Durham Statement.

Click here for the full text of the Durham Statement.

HT Dean Danner and @jpalfrey.

Danner on The Durham Statement on Open Access One Year Later: Preservation and Access to Legal Scholarship

Senior Associate Dean Richard A. Danner of the Duke University School of Law, has posted a new paper entitled The Durham Statement on Open Access One Year Later: Preservation and Access to Legal Scholarship (2010). Here is the abstract:

The Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship calls for US law schools to stop publishing their journals in print format and to rely instead on electronic publication with a commitment to keep the electronic versions available in “stable, open, digital formats.” The Statement asks for two things: 1) open access publication of law school-published journals; and 2) an end to print publication of law journals. This paper was written as background for a July 2010 American Association of Law Libraries conference program on the preservation implications of the call to end print publication.

Danner on Law Librarians, Legal Scholarship, and Access to the Law

Senior Associate Dean Richard A. Danner of the Duke University School of Law is giving a presentation entitled Taming Multiplicity in the Post-Print Era: Law Librarians, Legal Scholarship, and Access to the Law, today, 29 April 2010, at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

The Twitter hashtag for the presentation is #danner.

Click here for archived Twitter tweets from the presentation.

Click here for Dean John Palfrey’s liveblog of the presentation.

Audio (and possibly video also) of the presentation should be available shortly here.

Click here for the Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship.