News Center: News Releases

USD Law Librarian Bernau Discusses UELMA in San Diego Daily Transcript Article

San Diego (October 5, 2012) – University of San Diego (USD) School of Law alumnus and Pardee Legal Research Center Collections Development Librarian Brent Bernau, '85, was quoted in a San Diego Daily Transcript article that highlights California’s new Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act (UELMA). The bill, signed last month by Governor Jerry Brown, goes into affect on July 1, 2015.

"It’s a big step in the right direction," the article quotes Bernau.

UELMA establishes an outcomes-based, technology-neutral framework for providing online legal material with the same level of trustworthiness traditionally provided by publication in a law book. The law requires a method to determine that electronic legal material is unaltered. Along with this authentication, the law requires the material to be preserved, either in electronic or print form, and accessible for use by the public on a permanent basis.

According to Bernau, the bill makes it easier for people to do legal research and also benefits the law libraries themselves, giving them the opportunity to rely on electronicmaterials.

Bernau, who is the president of the San Diego Area Law Libraries (SANDALL), is a guest lecturer in USD law classes. Tapping into his former role as a government documents specialist, he lectures on legislative history.

Read the full article on sddt.com.