Advanced Introductions to Law - new ebooks

Titles within the Advanced Introductions series by Elgar Publishing aim to provide an overview of a particular subject, introducing the essential principles and providing insights which encourage readers to think critically. 

There are 12 titles in the series, with more planned in the coming months. Current titles are:

• Advanced Introduction to Comparative Constitutional Law - Mark Tushnet
• Advanced Introduction to Private Law - Jan M. Smits
• Advanced Introduction to International Sales Law - Clayton P. Gillette
• Advanced Introduction to International Environmental Law - Ellen Hey
• Advanced Introduction to International Intellectual Property - Susy Frankel and Daniel J. Gervais
• Advanced Introduction to the Law of International Organizations - Jan Klabbers
• Advanced Introduction to International Tax Law - Reuven S. Avi-Yonah
• Advanced Introduction to International Trade Law - Michael J. Trebilcock
• Advanced Introduction to Law and Development - Michael J. Trebilcock and Mariana Mota Prado
• Advanced Introduction to International Human Rights Law - Dinah L. Shelton
• Advanced Introduction to International Conflict and Security Law - Nigel D. White

Birkbeck staff and students can access the titles via the library catalogue, or by going directly to the Advanced Introductions web site.

New resource - Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice

The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice is an excellent resource if you're looking to gain insight into a particular topic. It's possible to either search or browse the encyclopedia. Broad subject areas are outlined below: 

Each entry provides a detailed discussion of the subject matter, and includes suggestions for further reading, and a reference list. New entries are regularly being added to the encyclopedia, and so it will continue to grow in scope. 

Highly recommended for criminology students. 

Key Legal Concepts Library on Westlaw UK

I've recently discovered the Key Legal Concepts Library on Westlaw, which is a kind of mini law encyclopedia. Each note looks at a legal concept, and relevant case extracts, legislation and Hansard material are referenced.
At the moment it is only possible to browse this resource, and the coverage of concepts is far from exhaustive, but you may find it useful. It can be accessed via the Legislation tab.

Podcast - Caught: The Lives of Juvenile Justice

Caught, a WNYC Studio podcast is 9 episodes in, and has already covered a range of topics around child imprisonment in the US.

The associated web site provides some context:

America incarcerates more people than any country in the world. It starts with kids. On any given night, roughly 53,000 young people are in some form of lockup. Nearly 60 percent are black or Latino. We all make dumb mistakes in our youth. But for these kids, those same destructive choices have a lasting impact.
Caught: The Lives of Juvenile Justice tells the stories of young lives forever changed by collisions with law and order. We’ll also hear from their parents, guards, counselors and judges, who hold the power, but whose hands are often tied by laws that ultimately fail our children.

A difficult but enlightening listen about the impact imprisonment has on children, as well as an exploration of alternative interventions.

Ejournal package from Duke University Press

We now have access to a range of Duke University Press journals via the eDuke Scholarly Collection. The collection includes 49 journals, and whilst not purely legal in focus, covers subjects such as gender and sexuality studies, anthropology, history, cultural studies and theory, environmental studies, international regional studies, political theory and literature - and so will be of interest to a number of the School's students and staff.
All the journals can be accessed in the normal way via the ejournal search.

Podcast - Get out of jail: time for prison reform

I'm a regular listener to Ed Miliband & Geoff Lloyd's 'Reasons to be Cheerful' podcast, and thought that this particular episode would be of interest to those studying criminology and/or the penal system. It comes in at just under an hour & a half, so not a quick listen, but it raises some interesting points. 

From the podcast's web site:

Hello! Our prison system is in crisis. Overcrowding, re-offending, self-harm and riots. What is to be done? Our guests tell us there is reason to think things can change for the better. Nils Oberg tells us how they do it so much better in Sweden, Vicky Pryce tells us what the economics teaches us, and former Lord Chancellor Charlie Falconer tells us how we can navigate the politics.

Family Law - from Jordan Publishing to Lexis Library

Following the acquisition of Jordan Publishing by LexisNexis UK, our online access to the following titles is now via LexisLibrary.

• Child & Family Law Quarterly
• Family Law Journal
• Family Law Reports

To access the two journals, you can either search within the Journals tab, or use the Browse option. For the law reports, use the Cases tab where the same options are available.

Our access to the Jordan Publishing website is due to be switched off on Monday 18th December, but given that content is already available via LexisLibrary, this should not cause any problems.