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CALL member Marcelo Rodriguez, the Foreign, Comparative and International Law Librarian at the University of Arizona Law School in Tucson, Arizona, recently wrote an article entitled "Ceci N’est Pas Un ChatGPT".

 It originally appeared on Slaw.ca on June 8, 2023.

It is republished here with permission of the author.

As I finished teaching my class, Foreign, Comparative and International Legal (FCIL) Research, this past semester, a couple of students asked me about ChatGPT and artificial intelligence (AI).

Given the ubiquitous presence of these topics in everyone’s minds, I should have expected these questions. This is clearly what everyone is talking about and my students are no strangers to these conversations.

As someone who works on legal research with sources in multiple languages and from a wide range of countries, I identify myself as agnostic when it comes to technology. In the end, I decided to share with my students the several times when I had to call another human being or when I had to use a fax to receive the materials I needed as major technological breakthroughs in the FCIL field.

Joke aside, there are clearly some major challenges when you pursue FCIL research regardless of advances in technology and the impact it might have on research. To this day, researchers struggle to grasp the idea that not everything is available online. (The horror!).

Simply put, ChatGPT and the promise of AI run afoul this reality in FCIL research. Regardless of the jurisdiction, timeframe, topic of interest, there is a high chance of probability that some relevant information for your research won’t be available online.

As an informed and skillful researcher, you should be able to overcome these challenges and that’s precisely what we work on in my class. And even if the information is available online, you need to assess and evaluate the information very closely: when was it updated? Is it translated? Who translated it? What are the sources of this information?, etc.

I believe there are a few lessons to be learned from FCIL research which can be applied to the current ChatGPT race.

As I have said before multiple times, having a research strategy is paramount to your research. I recommend my students and all researchers to build a research strategy which is both intentional and flexible. As the well-informed researcher in charge, you should be able to construct a strategy which streamlines your intentions and serves as a map to help you navigate the sources and information you will find along the way.

ChatGPT will not help you do that. I have asked ChatGPT several “how to do research” questions and they all fluctuate between incredibly general to completely wrong.

Spending a few minutes crafting and thinking about the steps, keywords, tools, and sources you will need in your research strategy will help you immensely along your research path.

As mentioned before, another great lesson from FCIL research which can be applied to ChatGPT is that not everything is available online.

Everytime I mention this in front of a classroom or even in my office or zooming in while talking to a researcher, I get a glaring look into the void.

Yes, my friends, it’s 2023 and still to this day, there are big chunks of legal information simply not available online. As someone who specializes in legal systems from around the world and internationally, I encounter this challenge regularly.

However, I also know from experience that this situation also arises in several developed countries, where legal information from lower courts is simply not available in major legal research platforms.

As it has been reported several times, if ChatGPT can’t find the information online, sometimes it makes things up: fictional cases, legislation, articles, etc.

In the FCIL world, if we can’t find the information we need online, we rely on each other. FCIL librarians have developed networks, groups and list servs where information is shared and other law librarians from all over the world help each out when needed.

By mentioning some FCIL lessons, my intention is for all of us to conceive ChatGPT as a tool, indeed a powerful one depending on what you need.

However, it’s still just a tool among many others empowering researchers to do their work efficiently.

As an educator, I’m a big believer in sharing information, building transparent pipelines and allowing people to think critically and rationally about the steps they are taking in an informed way.

[Message from Alexia Loumankis, Reference & Research Librarian, Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto]

The CALL/ACBD Vendor Liaison Committee (VLC) acts as a liaison between CALL/ACBD’s members and legal information vendors by gathering input from the CALL/ACBD membership to advocate, recommend, and propose solutions to common issues that relate to vendor relationships and products.

While the committee meets throughout the year to work on these initiatives, its annual meeting, held around the time of the association’s AGM, is open to all CALL/ACBD members.

The VLC held this meeting on June 12 with over 50 CALL members in attendance. The meeting gave the VLC co-chairs a chance to outline the outcomes of their activities over the past year and set out their goals for the coming year.

The VLC co-chairs updated attendees as to their most recent meeting with Thomson Reuters representatives with regard to the transfer of loose-leafs from ProView to Westlaw Edge Canada.

Attendees were able to ask questions and share information in a collegial environment. The meeting also gave the opportunity to the co-chairs to drum up interest and volunteers for an upcoming webinar on negotiation and a subcommittee to create a “best practice” or standards document for the implementation of AI for legal applications.

CALL/ACBD members with questions or concerns are welcome to contact VLC co-chairs Alexia Loumankis and Annette Demers. The VLC will continue to update CALL/ACBD members on its activities through the In Session members bulletin and the new CALL Member Forum.

[Submitted by Julie Lavigne, Legal Studies Librarian at Carleton University]

The Scholarships & Awards Committee met on June 14 to review the 2022-23 year and start planning projects for the year to come. This past year was fairly quiet, and we focused our energies on simply ensuring the available awards and scholarships were granted.  

We had a couple of new members join us at this meeting, and so we started by reviewing the committee’s mandate and the awards and scholarships for which it is responsible.

These include an award for excellence in law librarianship, an award for an emerging leader, awards for outstanding contributions (eg, publications or research) to specific areas of the law, and scholarships and grants providing financial support to members pursuing professional development through courses, webinars, etc. 

More information on all of the awards and scholarships available to members is on the CALL/ACBD website.

Only a couple of these awards and scholarships were granted this year, and the committee plans to work on ways to further promote the various awards and scholarships over the next year, which will hopefully increase applications. 

We are also happy to welcome Jennifer Walker, who has volunteered to take over as Chair from Julie Lavigne, who has now finished her term as Executive Liaison (Member at Large) to the committee. Welcome, Jennifer!  

We are always looking for new volunteers! Any CALL/ACBD member interested in joining the Scholarships & Awards Committee can email Jennifer at jwalker@ccla-abcc.ca.

As many of you know, the CALL-L Listserv will be retired soon. The CALL/ACBD Board of Directors is excited to announce the launch of the CALL/ACBD Member Forum and Inter-Library Loan Forum!

The Member Forum will provide CALL/ACBD members with new ways to connect and engage with colleagues and continue the important tradition of information sharing (including Inter-Library Loans) made possible through the Listserv.

The CALL/ACBD Member Forum is an unmoderated discussion forum fostering an interest in and discussion on law librarianship in Canada.

A wide range of law library topics is discussed: reference question assistance, value of online databases, digital innovations, interlibrary loan, and many more.

Participation in the Member Forum is exclusive to CALL/ACBD members and is a membership benefit.

NOTE: All current CALL/ACBD members will automatically receive access to the Member Forum. 

For a limited time, CALL/ACBD will be extending temporary access to the CALL/ACBD Member Forum to non-members who are members of the CALL-L Listserv.

If you are a non-member and would like to confirm your interest in this special offer, please complete this form by Monday, July 31^st, 2023. 

How do I access the Member Forum and Inter-Library Loan Forum?

The Member Forum and Inter-Library Loan forum are located on the main menu of the CALL/ACBD website under the ‘Get Involved’ tab. To access the forums, you will need to login to your member account.

What is the purpose of the Inter-Library Loan forum?

The Inter-Library Loan forum is an exclusive page for members to request for reference material using the similar process to that being currently used on the List-serv. This forum is reserved exclusively to manage these requests and should not be used for any other kind of discussion topics.

Authors of Forum messages are solely responsible for the content of their messages. The administration does not verify the accuracy of submitted messages nor does it endorse the opinions expressed by message authors. The forum is administered by the CALL/ACBD National Office.

You can read incoming CALL President Yemisi Dina's first From the President's Desk column on our website.

It was published in the June 2023 issue of In Session, the bulletin for CALL members.

In her message, she emphasizes the importance of the work by CALL committees and special interest groups:

"During the initial years after I joined CALL/ACBD in 2006, I recall joining a few committees and SIGs after being invited by some more experienced colleagues. I found this experience very fulfilling, and it exposed me to different levels of professional development. Some of the committees and SIGs need volunteers. I encourage you to identify something that interests you and where you would be willing to make an impact."

"Thank you to all those who have put their names forward and to all who continue to assist."

Sur note site web, vous pouvez trouver le tout premier Mot de la présidente de la nouvelle présidente de l'ACBD , Yemisi Dina.

Il a été publié dans le numéro de juin 2023 du bulletin mensuel aux membres de l'Association.

Dans son message, elle souligne l'importance du travail des comités et des groupes d'intérêt spécial de l'association:

"Dans les premières années suivant mon adhésion à l’ACBD/CALL en 2006, je me souviens m’être jointe à quelques comités et groupes d’intérêt spécial (GIS) sur invitation de collègues chevronnées. J’ai trouvé cette expérience fort enrichissante et cela m’a permis de découvrir différents niveaux de perfectionnement professionnel. Certains de nos comités et GIS ont besoin de bénévoles. Je vous invite donc à trouver un volet qui vous intéresse et dans lequel vous pourriez exercer une influence."

"Merci à toutes les personnes qui ont proposé leur candidature ainsi qu’à tous les bénévoles qui continuent de prêter main-forte." 

You can read outgoing CALL President George Tsiakos' last From the President's Desk column on our website.

In it, George outlines some of the CALL Board's many recent accomplishments:

"One of the Board highlights of the past year has been supporting the organization of the first in-person annual conference in four years (...) With so many members expressing their eagerness to come together in person once again, I am thrilled that we are able to provide this opportunity (...)"

"Another Board accomplishment I am particularly proud of is the initiation of a strategic planning process. This process aims to develop a new plan that will guide the Executive Board's work over the coming years. By engaging in this activity, we are ensuring that the Association remains responsive to the needs of our community. We are currently in the final drafting stages and will soon unveil a comprehensive plan that outlines our goals and objectives for the future."

"With the help of National Office, we have also been working hard on developing an online member’s chat forum, which will be released to members in the coming weeks. This forum will provide a virtual space for members to connect, share resources, and engage with one another outside of our in-person events. We recognize that our members have diverse interests and needs, and we want to provide a platform that fosters meaningful interactions and connections."

Sur note site web, vous pouvez trouver le dernier Mot du président du président sortant de l'ACBD , George Tsiakos.

George y décrit quelques-unes des réalisations récentes du conseil d'administration de l'association:

"Un des éléments les plus positifs que je retiens de la dernière année est le soutien apporté à l’organisation du premier congrès annuel en présentiel depuis quatre ans (...) Les membres étaient nombreux à exprimer un grand enthousiasme à l’idée de se retrouver en personne, et je suis ravi que nous soyons en mesure de leur offrir cette occasion (...)"

"Une autre réalisation du conseil dont je suis particulièrement fier est le lancement d’un processus de planification stratégique. Cette démarche vise à élaborer un nouveau plan qui orientera les travaux du conseil exécutif au cours des prochaines années. Elle permet aussi de nous assurer que l’association tient compte des besoins de notre communauté. Nous sommes aux dernières étapes de la rédaction de l’ébauche et nous dévoilerons bientôt un plan complet qui définira nos buts et nos objectifs pour l’avenir."

"Grâce à l’aide du bureau national, nous avons également travaillé très fort à l’élaboration d’un forum de discussion en ligne pour les membres, qui sera mis à la disposition de ceux-ci au cours des prochaines semaines. Ce forum constituera un espace virtuel où les membres pourront rester en contact, partager des ressources et échanger entre eux en dehors de nos événements en personne. Nous sommes conscients que nos membres ont des intérêts et des besoins divers, et nous voulons leur offrir une plateforme qui favorise des interactions et des liens enrichissants."

The AI Index Report developed at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence at Stanford University in California is an interesting resource to help track developments in the field.

It tracks worldwide trends in private AI investments, the number of incidents related to the ethical misuse of AI, as well as the state of AI regulation and legislation across the world.

Chapter 6 on Policy and Governance shows that there has been an explosive increase in the level of attention that legislators are paying to issues relating to AI:

"An AI Index analysis of the legislative records of 127 countries shows that the number of bills containing 'artificial intelligence' that were passed into law grew from just 1 in 2016 to 37 in 2022. An analysis of  the parliamentary records on AI in 81 countries likewise shows that mentions of AI in global legislative proceedings have increased nearly 6.5 times since 2016."

There has been a rapid growth in commentary on artificial intelligence and its impact on sectors such as law.

It can be hard to follow the trends but legal tech blogs and websites and podcasts are a good source of information.

Sources to check out include:

• the Legal Tech column in the Canadian Bar Association's National Magazine
• the 3 Geeks and a Law Blog podcast co-hosted by Greg Lambert, former president of the American Association of Law Libraries who has spoken in the past at CALL
•  various university research centres such as the University of Ottawa's Centre for Law, Technology and Society, among others
• the AALL Spectrum published an article on Keeping Up With AI & Other New Tech Advancements in its May/June 2023 issue (pp. 48-50)

The Law Commission of Ontario also currently has an ongoing multiyear project looking into the issues related to AI. As part of its work, the Commission has published many reports and papers.

The Visible Minority Librarians of Canada Mentorship Program is now accepting applications for the 2023 session that will run from May 1st to June 30th, 2023.

Applications will close on April 21, 2023:

"The Visible Minority Librarians of Canada (ViMLoC) recognizes the need to help visible minority librarians, especially early career and new immigrant librarians, develop their professional careers, as well as the need to encourage and guide visible minority library students with career planning. Lack of mentorship is often cited as a challenge among visible minority librarians, and through our mentorship program, we found that small acts of mentorship were able to make an impact on our mentees. Applying for this program will help create a larger network of visible minority librarians and increase our representation in the library profession. The 2023 ViMLoC mentoring program will recruit experienced visible minority librarians as potential mentors, as well as facilitate the matching of potential mentors to mentees. ViMLoC membership is NOT required to participate in this program."

The CALL New-Professionals Special Interest Group (NP-SIG) is hosting a Speed Networking event at the 2023 CALL Conference in Hamilton on May 28 from 4:00-5:00pm. 

Do you like networking in a fun environment? Are you interested in connecting with legal professionals across a variety of disciplines? Are you a newbie with lots of questions, or a veteran who wants to broaden your knowledge?

Then, this session is for you!

Our goal is to encourage connections and dialogue between experienced Legal Information Professionals and students, graduates, and new professionals; however, we welcome anyone who would like to speed network to join us. 

Attendees will rotate through tables at regular intervals, with the chance to learn from our Coaches. We’ll provide some icebreaker questions to get discussions started. 

Our Legal Information coaches will share things like what a workday looks like for them, what research is interesting and ongoing, or any projects they are working on. 

If you are a Legal Professional interested in being a Coach please sign up by Wednesday April 19th, 2023 by filling out this form.  

Keep your eyes peeled for instructions on how to register as a Speed Networking attendee coming the end of April/ beginning of May.  

If you have any question about the event please contact NP-SIG co-chair Amanda Irvine at amanda.irvine@lawsociety.sk.ca. 

Le français suit plus bas.

Legal research skills are considered a core competency of law graduates as identified by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada.  Law Library and legal information services are an important part of legal research skills training for law students.

University libraries in Canada have been impacted by budgetary constraints. Some academic libraries have responded to external pressures by reorganizing library functions. The impacts of reorganization on law library services have not been studied yet.

This study will survey University Librarians and management, law librarians and staff to identify current law library reporting structures, budgets, human resources, and services, and to identify and evaluate changes to services that occur because of reorganization. The survey includes questions about reorganization decision-making, consultation, implementation, and follow-up.

Law Faculty members will also be surveyed, using qualitative questions to assess their use of library services. Use of library services prior to and after reorganization, as well as the level of faculty consultation in the reorganization decision-making process, will also be surveyed.

This study is intended to identify law library services that support legal education. It will also identify and articulate the impact of library reorganization on law library services It is designed to identify library reorganization decision-making and associated drivers to ascertain whether such decisions are made in alignment with the requirements of law faculties, or for other reasons. 

The goals of this survey include the following: 

1. To gauge the importance of law library services in meeting the needs of law faculties.
2. To articulate current standards and best practices for law library operations and services.
3. To assess organizational decision making and its alignment with the core requirements of the faculties being served.

To fulfill this, any librarian or staff member who works in a law library, law administrators and law faculty members will be asked to complete the survey. All law library employees will be invited to participate, regardless of whether the institution has engaged in reorganization or not, to allow for comparisons to be made.  The intention is to invite survey participants from around the globe, as academic law librarians are well-networked, and standards are shared among jurisdictions. 

This study is intended to help identify and articulate the importance of law library services to legal education.  Additionally, it is designed to assess the impact of library reorganization on law library service to law faculties. Its findings could help to inform law library services, service standards and library reorganization planning in future.

This survey may take 10 - 15 minutes of your time. We encourage you to forward this invitation to any law faculty members, employees or librarians who work in the law library in your organization as well. Retirees are invited to participate.

This research has received clearance from the University of Windsor’s Research Ethics Board.

The deadline for participation has been extended and will close on Wednesday March 15, 2023.

Take the survey now.

Annette Demers, University of Windsor, Faculty of Law

Yemisi Dina, Osgoode Hall Law School

Gian Medves, University of Toronto Law School

La Fédération des ordres professionnels de juristes du Canada considère que la recherche juridique est une compétence clé que doivent acquérir les diplômés en droit. Les bibliothèques de droit et les services d’information juridique représentent un élément important de la formation en recherche juridique pour les étudiants en droit.  

Les bibliothèques universitaires au Canada ont été touchées par des contraintes budgétaires. Certaines de ces bibliothèques ont réagi aux pressions externes en réorganisant les fonctions de la bibliothèque. Les impacts de la réorganisation sur les services des bibliothèques de droit n’ont pas encore été étudiés.  

La présente étude vise à sonder les bibliothécaires en chef et la direction de même que les bibliothécaires de droit et le personnel afin de déterminer les structures hiérarchiques, les budgets, les ressources humaines et les services actuels dans les bibliothèques de droit ainsi que pour cerner et évaluer les changements apportés aux services en raison de la restructuration. Le sondage comprend des questions portant sur la prise de décisions, les consultations, la mise en œuvre et le suivi de la réorganisation.  

Les membres du corps enseignant des facultés de droit seront également sondés à l’aide de questions qualitatives afin d’évaluer leur utilisation des services de bibliothèque. Le questionnaire permettra aussi de sonder l’utilisation des services de la bibliothèque avant et après la réorganisation de même que le niveau de consultation auprès de la faculté dans le cadre du processus de prise de décisions de la réorganisation.  

Cette étude vise à identifier les services offerts par les bibliothèques de droit qui soutiennent les programmes d’enseignement en droit. Elle permettra aussi de déterminer et de préciser l’impact de la réorganisation des bibliothèques sur les services des bibliothèques de droit. Elle est conçue pour identifier la prise de décisions en matière de réorganisation des bibliothèques et les facteurs connexes afin de déterminer si ces décisions sont prises conformément aux exigences des facultés de droit ou pour d’autres raisons.   

Les objectifs de ce sondage sont les suivants:   

1. Mesurer l’importance des services des bibliothèques de droit pour répondre aux besoins des facultés de droit; 
2. Établir les normes et les meilleures pratiques actuelles en matière de fonctionnement et de services des bibliothèques de droit; 
3. Évaluer la prise de décision organisationnelle et sa pertinence par rapport aux exigences fondamentales des facultés desservies.  

Pour parvenir à ces objectifs, nous inviterons les bibliothécaires et le personnel des bibliothèques de droit ainsi que les administrateurs et les membres du corps enseignant des facultés de droit à remplir le sondage. Tous les employés des bibliothèques de droit seront invités à participer, que l’établissement se soit engagé dans une réorganisation ou non, afin de pouvoir établir des comparaisons. Nous souhaitons inviter des participantes au sondage de partout dans le monde puisque les bibliothécaires de droit en milieu universitaire ont des réseaux très bien établis et que les normes sont partagées entre les divers établissements.  

Cette étude a pour but d’aider à déterminer et à mettre en lumière l’importance des services offerts par les bibliothèques de droit à l’égard des programmes d’enseignement en droit. Elle vise aussi à évaluer l’impact de la réorganisation des bibliothèques sur les services offerts par les bibliothèques de droit auprès des facultés de droit. Les résultats pourraient contribuer à éclairer les services des bibliothèques de droit, les normes de service et la planification de la réorganisation des bibliothèques à venir. 

Vous aurez besoin d’environ 10 à 15 minutes pour remplir le sondage. Nous vous prions de transmettre cette invitation aux professeurs de droit, employés et aux bibliothécaires qui travaillent à la bibliothèque de droit de votre établissement. Les retraités sont invités à participer. 

Cette recherche a été approuvée par le comité d’éthique de la recherche de l’Université de Windsor. 

La date limite de participation a été prolongée et se terminera le mercredi 15 mars 2023.

Répondez au sondage maintenant.

Annette Demers, Faculté de droit, Université de Windsor

Yemisi Dina, Osgoode Hall Law School

Gian Medves, Faculté de droit, Université de Toronto