Criminal Law Library Blog

Newsletter No. 5 of 2008

2008-2009 LGRMIF Grant Applications:

I know that many of you are wondering about the status of your 2008-2009 grant application. Here is where we are now: The first step in the review process, the formal evaluation by outside reviewers and staff members, was recently completed. All reviewers had to evaluate and score each proposal assigned to them and return it to the State Archives by April 18th. This information is now being compiled and shared with the other Members of each panel. Those panels, which are organized by grant category, meet on May 14th to make final recommendations on funding to be forwarded to the Commissioner of Education, who by state law authorizes all grant awards.

Applicants whose proposals were not funded will be notified in early June so, if you do not receive one of these letters, you know that your proposal will receive at least some funding, but not how much. Final award letters are due to be sent out by the end of June, if the awards have also been approved by the Division of the Budget and the Office of the State Comptroller. As many of you know from past experience, these additional approvals sometimes require more
time. Although time-consuming, our process goes to great lengths to be fair, impartial and to make the best possible use of available grant funds.

Workshops:

(Please note that workshops have been scheduled beginning March 2008 through July 2008. While the post-April workshops are listed here for your information, please hold off sending in your registrations because our newly-updated registration module can only accept registrations through June)

"All workshops are open to all who are interested in attending. To register, go to and click on "Workshops" on the left. Send Miki Torres an e-mail with your name, affiliation, phone number, and email address with the title and date of the workshop. We will contact you to confirm and complete the registration. Directions will be sent in the mail within a week of the workshop date. Contact <ARCHTRAIN@mail.nysed.gov> if you have questions about our workshops. Stay tuned for the full spring workshop schedule coming to our website in March 2008."

Disaster Planning & Response for Records Management Wednesday, May 21, 2008 from 9 AM to 1PM at 55 Hanson Place, 1st Floor Conference Room,
Brooklyn, NY. Disasters are all too common in New York State. Each year, records are damaged and information is lost as a result of floods, arson, fires, collapsed roofs, or computer viruses. This workshop will focus on:

• How to analyze your organization’s risk of experiencing a disaster
• How to reduce the chances that a disaster will destroy your records
• How to prepare your organization for a disaster
• How to respond to a disaster safely and effectively

Conducting a Needs Assessment or Business Process Analysis Thursday, June 19, 2008 from 9 AM to 1 PM at 55 Hanson Place, Room 346, Brooklyn, NY. A successful records management program functions under the well-founded belief that strong controls, if thoughtfully designed, can save money and time. One of the essential controls is careful planning of any system prior to implementation. This workshop will focus on the necessary steps to establish any new records management system, from inactive storage facilities to complex electronic recordkeeping systems. Issues to be examined include:

• The difference between a needs assessment and a business process analysis (BPA)
• How to decide whether to do a needs assessment or a BPA, and when
• The essential principles behind both needs assessments and BPA’s
• Steps to follow when conducting a needs assessment or BPA
• Steps to follow to implement the changes recommended by a needs assessment or BPA

Managing Maps & Plans Wednesday, July 16, from 9 AM to 1 PM at MTA: Office of the Inspector General, 111 West 40th Street, 5th Floor Conference Room
Manhattan, NY. Many organizations have difficulty dealing with large-format records, such as maps and architectural plans. The storage and retrieval of these records can be very difficult, yet many of them have long retention periods and are essential to the management of the organization. This workshop will focus on:

• Analysis of issues involving the management of maps and plans
• Solutions to common problems associated with these records
• Storage techniques; ways to improve access and retrieval; and preservation

11th Annual NYC FOIL Session: Robert Freeman, Executive Director of the Committee on Open Government, New York State Department of State, and well-known Freedom of Information Legislation (FOIL) expert, will conduct the session on Monday, June 23rd, from 1 to 4 PM at the conference room of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, 110 William Street, 4th floor, Manhattan.

I highly recommend that Records Management Officers and FOIL Officers attend the FOIL sessions because FOIL and records management issues are frequently very closely related. Response to FOIL requests requires efficient access to the records requested. Further, New York State FOIL legislation requires that agencies maintain a “FOIL listing” of records; the records retention and disposition schedules that the Records Management Officer is required to work with can easily serve this requirement.

News from the State Archives:
State Archives Supports 2008 MayDay Initiative: The New York State Archives supports the preservation community’s MayDay Call to Action. In 2006 the Society of American Archivists established this annual event to help remind institutions – and individuals – to develop and update our emergency preparedness plans.
We urge families to:
• Begin developing an emergency plan. Your family may not be together should disaster strike, so plan how you would contact one another.

• Conduct a drill to ensure that everyone understands the plan.
• Make sure that there are sufficient supplies on hand for emergencies: food, water, bedding; batteries, self-powered lights and radios; spare batteries.
For your personal family collections:
• Consider which items have the greatest value, either monetary or sentimental.
• Which of these may have been stored in a basement vulnerable to seasonal flooding, or in a rented storage unit? Are there alternatives available?
• Consider storing your precious items in boxes, a simple step which can provide a good measure of protection.
Many additional measures are suggested at SAA’s web site www.archivists.org/mayday/. And for the Council of State Archivists’ excellent manual entitled “Rescuing Family Records: A Disaster Planning Guide”, see this website http://www.statearchivists.org/prepare/families.htm
After Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma, and Rita and our own recent regional flooding and ice storms, we know we must be ready for the unexpected. Please join the State Archives in taking just one or two steps to better protect ourselves and our personal collections.

New York City Records Management Conference
New York City Records Managers Brown Bag Lunches: In keeping with the city-wide philosophy that directs the work currently managed by Fred Grevin at the New York City Department of Records, I am very pleased to announce a related project. You are all invited to Brown Bag Lunches to be held at 31 Chambers Street, Room 209 on a monthly basis. You bring your own lunch and we will either focus on a specific topic (such as the current draft e-mail guidelines the State Archives is developing) or any other topic or speaker. This is a wide-open opportunity to bring your ideas, experiences, questions, etc. to a welcoming forum where we all share dialogue.

Miki will send out the first notices – hopefully within the next few weeks – to invite you to the first session. Anyone with questions, ideas, etc., etc., and so forth (as the Yul Brenner used to say in that wonderful film, The King & I) please do not hesitate to contact Brenda or Miki.

Preserving the American Historical Record needs your help! The Partnership for the American Historical Record Task Force is seeking calls and letters to members of the House of Representatives to urge them to sign on to the “Preserving the American Historical
Record” legislation, which will be introduced soon by Congressman
Maurice Hinchey (D-NY, 22nd district). The Congressman would like to
have as many co-sponsors as possible before introducing the bill.
Current sponsors are: Jerrold Nadler (D-NY 8th), John McHugh (R- NY
23rd), Sanford Bishop (D-GA 2nd), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY 14th), and
Edolphus Towns (D-NY 10th).

This legislation is essential to the continued funding of the many cultural and historical programs that enrich our cultural heritage.

It is critical that we work now to enlist as many Members of Congress
as possible to sign on to the bill - and that the co-sponsors represent
a diversity of states and both parties. (The current list of sponsors
is heavily weighted to the East Coast and the Democratic party.)

It is essential that House members know that this bill is of concern to
their constituents so that they WILL sign on. Your efforts will ensure
that your Congressperson has this bill on his or her “radar.”

Here’s how you can help:

Contact the members of Congress who represent your region and tell them
how important this bill will be to your state. Please encourage others
to do so as well. Genealogists, local government officials, researchers
of all kinds, teachers, veterans, and even your favorite aunt can make
the case.

To facilitate this, we have posted a number of items on the Web at www.archivists.org/pahr

Resources
NEDCC ANNOUNCES PRESERVATION 101 - THE NEW ONLINE PRESERVATION COURSE: THE NORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER (NEDCC) is proud to offer
PRESERVATION 101, a free, comprehensive, self-paced online course on
The preservation of paper collections and related formats.

THE COURSE IS ACCESSIBLE FREE OF CHARGE at www.preservation101.org, and is intended to benefit professionals who are responsible for the preservation of library and archival materials. Participants will learn how to put preservation basics to work in the context of small and moderately- sized collections - how to identify deteriorated materials, how to care for collections, and how to set priorities for preservation.

THE NORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER is a nonprofit, regional conservation center specializing in the preservation and conservation of paper-based materials for libraries, archives, museums, and other collections-holding institutions.

For more information about NEDCC and its extensive online resources on
preservation, visit: www.nedcc.org

Professional Organizations

Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York: April meeting not yet listed. For information go to http://www.nycarchivists.org

ARMA, NYC Metro Chapter ARMA, NYC Metro Chapter’s next meeting will be on Wednesday, May 14th, from 5:30 to 8 PM at the Harvard Club, 35 West 44th Street, Manhattan. The speaker, Don Oppenheimer, will trace of evolution of records management from the days of “hard copy” through today’s collaborative workspace. You will take away a better understanding of the value of Wiki’s, Blogs, and Web 2.0 technology. For more information contact Frank LaSorsa at flasorsa@kelleydrye.com

News for Educators
Curate Your Own Exhibition at The New York Public Library, July 22 – July 25, 2008:

Learning at the Library, K-12 education outreach at the New York Public Library, will be offering $1,000 stipends to eight New York City area K-12 teachers to curate online exhibitions this summer, using materials from the NYPL Digital Gallery. Working with NYPL staff, educators will select images and research and create their own exhibitions. Participants will use a web-based publishing system to mount their exhibitions.

This work will unfold over the course of a week-long residency from July 22 – July 25, 2008. A portion of this time will be devoted to curator talks, collection visits and hands-on training for

teachers on conducting research in the Library. During the remainder of the time, participants will have the free use of our computer classrooms. Library staff will be available for consultation during this time for research assistance. Participants are also welcome to conduct research at any one of the four Research Libraries – The Humanities and Social Sciences Library, the Library for the Performing Arts, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Sciences, Industry and Business Library. The week will culminate with a presentation of individual exhibitions on Friday.

The guidelines for the exhibition are as follows. The show must:
Incorporate at least forty items, each with museum labels of approximately two hundred words,
Contextualize the forty items with museum or chat labels of at least five hundred words,
Be supported with at least three pages (one thousand words) of support our guide copy, and
Support some aspect of the New York State Learning Standards.

We also hope that this seminar will be a starting point for participants’ future research; that participating teachers will continue to use our collections and these projects to spawn new work, and that participants will continue to call upon the Library and our staff throughout their teaching career.

To apply, please send an informal, one-page proposal including your contact information, position, school and topic by Friday, May 30 at 5:00 PM to Samantha Seeley, Education Outreach Assistant, The Research Libraries, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018. (212) 930-0086

Stay tooned!

Anyone wishing further information – you know where to find us!

718-923-4300 bparnes@mail.nysed.gov for Brenda
718-923-4301 mtorres@mail.nysed.gov For Miki

New York State Archives Web Site: http://www.archives.nysed.gov
Archives Partnership Trust Web Site: http://www.nysarchives.org

Download Your Free Screensaver from the Archives: Enjoy historic images from the Archives’ outstanding collection of photographs. Go to: http://www.nysarchives.org/g/screensaver/index.shtml

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Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Conferences, Seminars and Webinars , News from Organizations , Publication Announcements and Reviews

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BY Keith Ecker

FROM: InsiderCounsel Magazine April 2008 Issue

Excerpt:

"Many lawyers believe the nature of their profession necessitates the hoarding of paper—a lot of paper—a misconception that through time has made them the enemy of tree"...

"Thanks to the advent of certain technologies, in-house counsel don’t have to be paper packrats anymore. Document imaging, e-billing software and matter-management systems have become much more commonplace in the corporate environment, and all help lawyers reduce their carbon footprint. This helps save the environment and also save on costs. "...

“ 'What I find most striking is that the most expensive course a law department can take is printing everything and being paper-centric,” says Ross Kodner, president of MicroLaw, a legal technology consultancy. “Focusing on building electronic case and matter files actually yields the least expensive operating approach, not to mention the inherent greenness. It just makes sense from all perspectives.' ”

To read the entire article click here.

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by: David Badertscher

For those who have not visited us, the New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library of New York County (sometimes referred to as the New York Criminal Law Library) is located in lower Manhattan near the Brooklyn Bridge, City Hall, and State and Federal courthouses. Like other Supreme Court libraries located throughout the State of New York, it operates under the
auspices of the New York Unified Court System and participates in the various state-wide initiatives sponsored by the OCA Office of Legal Information.

Although the primary focus of this library is to provide reference and research support to personnel of the Criminal Term, its actual responsibilities and obligations are quite broad. Using its various collections in all formats, including digital, in conjunction with various web and online services, including a website and a weblog, this library functions as both an information repository and an information service. These resources and services enable it to reach out to patrons both local and worldwide, as time and resources permit. Part of the library's responsibility is to provide support as needed and operational oversight to the New York County Public Access Law Library, which is charged with serving those members of the public who need law-related information.

In order to discharge these responsibilities with limited staff, it has been necessary for the library to work cooperatively with library consortia and other groups to provide the added resources and services required to maintain an acceptable level of service. One of the organizations that has been especially helpful to us is the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO). The library has been a member of METRO since 1981. It was through METRO that we first learned of QuestionPoint and were invited to participate in a 2002 pilot project. With some initial apprehension we accepted the offer and became an active participant in the latter part of that year. The New York County Public Access Access Law Library has also been very helpful in enabling this library to maintain an acceptable level of web based reference services. Since may of our QuestionPoint users are public patrons a majority of those questions are now handled by that library; Theodore Pollack, the Senior Law Librarian at the Public Access Library also serves as my backup administrator for QuestionPoint. We are grateful for the assistance of Ted and his staff in helping support this effort.

Despite some initial reservations that we might not be able to keep up with expectations and workflow, the use of QuestionPoint has been quite successful for us. It serves as a useful and important adjunct to our other web based services in both reaching out to our patrons and through its referral features. It enables us to augment our resources in ways otherwise impossible. For example on more than one occasion we have used QuestionPoint to search worldwide for materials that would otherwise have been unobtainable. In order to make it work for us, however, we have needed to avoid some of the features that are essential to others. We do not use chat or any form of instant messaging because we simply do not have the appropriate staff resources to make this work satisfactorily for us. We have not, however, found the lack of chat a limitation at all.

Over the past few years many libraries, including this one, have been involved in lively discussions as to how best to respond to demands for digitized information which can be retrieved at any time from a variety of devices, both stationary and mobile. After some experimentation, our response has included the use of blogging technology coupled with rss feeds. In 2004 we introduced the New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library blog powered by Bloglines, http://www.bloglines.com/blog/pll . It incorporates many features including a link to our QuestionPoint form for submitting reference questions, RSS feeds, and the capability of storing online reference, legislative, and other information useful to patrons. This blog based outreach service also serves as a vehicle for sending New York Legislative Activity Reports, updated information regarding appellate court criminal decisions originating from this court, and other relevant updated information directly to the work stations of judges and judicial staff on a regular, ongoing basis. It is popular with both court personnel and public users and remains our most effective outreach service on the web. As of April 29, 2008 it is visited by an average of 153 patrons per day and 1,069 per week. We obtain this and additional statistical information through special software designed to collect statistical information regarding website use. Reports are sent to me weekly.

Although the New York Supreme Court Criminal Term blog remains both useful and popular, we have found it necessary to also create a new blog, www.criminallawlibraryblog.com, to take advantage of added features which cannot be incorporated effectively into the original blog. For example, the new blog includes both a QuestionPoint form for submitting questions and a direct link to the public portion of the QuestionPoint knowledgbase. Using this feature, users are able to type in key words which will in turn retrieve questions/answers in the knowledgbase which correspond to their queries. The global knowledgbase feature is located near the upper left part of the screen of our newest blog. This particularly innovative feature has been developed and included as a direct result of the inspiring online QuestionPoint presentation this summer by Peter Armenti of the Digital Reference Team at the Library of Congress. This blog also includes the capability for uploading documents not currently on the web, a useful feature not included in the original blog. Finally, the Criminal Law Library Blog has substantially greater search capabilities. In order to adequately describe the added features included in the Criminal Law Library Blog, we are calling it an "added value blog."

We are encouraged by the positive responses from library patrons both inside and outside the courts to these services. These responses along with statistics gathered and staff observations demonstrate that by introducing these initiatives along with others sponsored by the Office of Legal Information, the library has been able to meet reference, research, and access needs of patrons far more effectively than in the past. Our hope is to be able to continue developing web based services and to work together with others to improve access and services for all of our libraries. Recently I have taken classes offered by the Unified Court System in the setting up and use of WIKI's, preparing and tabulating web based surveys, aa well training in the development of public access applications using specialized web based software. Only time will tell if we are able to inplement additional services using these applications.
_____________________________________
*This posting is based on an article recently prepared for publication in a future issue of Pro Se the newsletter of the New York State Unified Court Law Libraries Association.

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Primary Research Group has published Library Use of E-books, 2008-09 Edition, (isbn 1-57440-101-7) and would like to share some of the results. *

Data in the report is based on a survey of 75 academic, public and special libraries.. Librarians detail their plans on how they plan to develop their e-book collections, what they think of e-book readers and software, and which e-book aggregators and publishers appeal to them most and why. Other issues covered include: library production of e-books and collection digitization, e-book collection information literacy efforts, use of e-books in course reserves and inter-library loan, e-book pricing and inflation issues, acquisition sources and strategies for e-books and other issues of concern to libraries and book publishers.

Some of the findings of the 110 page report are:

• Libraries in the sample expected to renew over 77% of their current contracts.

• Well over 81% of the sample cataloged their e-book collection and listed it in their online library catalog.

• E-book spending by libraries is growing rapidly in 2008 but by significantly less than in 2007.

• For the most part, librarians in the sample felt that their patrons were less skilled in using e-book collections than they were in using databases of magazine, newspaper and journal articles.

• The libraries in the sample had MARC records for a mean of approximately 74% of the e-books in their collections.

• Many libraries reported significant use of electronic directories. 12.5% reported extensive use and 30% said that use was significant. The larger libraries reported the heaviest use.

• Use of e-books in the hard sciences was particularly high. More than 30% of participants said that use of e-books in the hard sciences (defined as chemistry, physics and biology) was quite extensive and another 26% noted significant use.

• Libraries in the sample maintained a print version for a mean of 24% of the e-books in their e-book collections.

• Nearly 21% of the libraries in our sample have digitized out-of-copyright books in their collections in order to make their contents more available to their patrons.

• E-books account for only about 3.9% of the books on course reserve, with a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 30%.

• Nearly 70% of the sample’s total spending on e-books was with aggregators, while just over 24.6% of the total spending was spent with individual publishers.

Data is broken out by library budget size, for US and non-US libraries and for academic and non-academic libraries. The report presents more than 300 tables of data on e-book use by libraries, as well as analysis and commentary.

For further information view our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com.
____________________________________
*It would be interesting to know how many, if any, of the respondents to this Survey were law libraries. While doing some work in related legal reference information in digital formats, I was suprised at how few references I found which mentioned e-books.
David Badertscher

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The following was first posted on the InChambers weblog compiled by boppanny@aol.com, May 2008.

[From Mark Levin’s book, “Men in Black”]

“Robert C. Grier (U.S. Supreme Court Justice). Appointed by James Polk in 1846, Grier suffered paralysis in 1867 and thereafter began a slow mental decline. Grier’s case is most troubling because he was the swing vote in one of the more important cases of his era, Hepburn v. Griswold, which struck down the law allowing the federal government to print money. “Grier’s demonstration of mental incapacity during the conference discussion was such that every one of his colleagues acknowledged that action had to be taken.”

“Nathan Clifford (U.S. Supreme Court Justice) . Clifford was appointed by James Buchanan in 1858. After a period of mental decline, Clifford suffered a stroke in 1880 just before the beginning of the October term of 1880. ‘Justice Miller described the situation bluntly: ‘Judge Clifford reached Washington on the 8th [of] October a babbling idiot. I saw him within three hours after his arrival and he did not know me or any thing, and though his tongue framed words there was no sense in them.’ Clifford kept his seat until his death in July 1881.”

“Henry Brockholst Livingston (U.S. Supreme Court Justice). Appointed by Thomas Jefferson in 1806, Livingston had killed a man in a duel before his appointment to the Court.”

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Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Lawyers and Law Librarians, News Humor Etc. , The Judiciary

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As information becomes available to us, we post information about the status of various initiatives including the Working Group for Bibliograph Control and RDA. On May 1 we received the following correspondence from Richard Amelung, the AALL representative to this group:

Dear all--

As your AALL representative on the Working Group on the Future of
Bibliographic Control, I have been asked to forward to you the letter
below released today by Deanna Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library
Services, Library of Congress.

Richard Amelung

May 1, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

The Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control submitted its
final report, On the Record, to me on January 9, 2008. I have
distributed the document to three groups within the Library of Congress
for analysis and comment. I expect to respond formally to the report in
early June.

On the Record contains more than one hundred recommendations aimed at
the Library of Congress, other specific organizations and entities, and
to the broader library community. In the words of the members of the
Working Group, they envision "a future for bibliographic control that
will be collaborative, decentralized, international in scope, and
Web-based…change will happen quickly, and bibliographic control will be
dynamic, not static." The group urged the readers of the report to view
it as a " 'call to action' that informs and broadens participation in
discussion and debate, conveys a sense of urgency, stimulates
collaboration, and catalyzes thoughtful and deliberative action." The
many recommendations suggest ways in which the necessary systemic change
can take place.

When the Library of Congress issues its response, we will be focusing
on how it will position itself to work in this new, networked, and
collaborative environment, not simply on single recommendations. We
recognize that any cataloging code (AACR2 or the proposed Resource
Description and Access--RDA) is but a part of this environment.

It may seem counterintuitive that we issue a joint statement with our
colleagues from the National Agricultural Library and the National
Library of Medicine on RDA before we issue a full response to On the
Record, but we do so because the international Joint Steering Committee
and the Committee of Principals continue their work, and because so many
librarians are asking about the national libraries' plans to implement
the proposed code.

We are pleased to report that we three libraries have worked together
to establish an approach to the consideration of RDA in the attached
joint statement.

We ask that you bear in mind that it is the entire bibliographic system
that needs to be considered and reworked, and the cataloging code is
only one small piece of the work that lies ahead.

Sincerely,

Deanna B. Marcum
Associate Librarian for Library Services
The Library of Congress

Joint Statement of the Library of Congress, the National Library of
Medicine, and the National Agricultural Library on Resource Description
and Access

May 1, 2008

Leaders of the Library of Congress (LC), the National Library of
Medicine (NLM), and the National Agricultural Library (NAL) met on March
10, 2008 to discuss the recommendation from On the Record: the Report of
the Library of Congress Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic
Control to suspend work on RDA.

The group agreed that the Joint Steering Committee for Development of
RDA's work on Resource Description and Access (RDA) is an important
international initiative that has been underway for several years and is
one that requires continued collaboration with our international
partners who have joined with the United States in a global initiative
to update bibliographic practices to make the library resources more
accessible and useful to users. The participants also agreed that their
decisions whether or not to implement this new standard must be made
jointly. Further, participants agreed that LC, NLM, and NAL have
collective leadership responsibilities to assist the U.S. library and
information community to remain relevant and vital in an increasingly
digital future. Key to this role is providing a broad assessment and
commitment to RDA if they believe this standard will further national
strategic goals for improved bibliographic control and access.

Colleagues from NLM and NAL are most concerned that a systematic review
of RDA has not yet been possible and, given the potential magnitude and
broad impact of the changes, such a review is essential. While draft
chapters of RDA have been available, a clear, concise, and cohesive
understanding of the overall impact of the entire standard is needed.
Until the completion of the rules and the availability of the RDA online
tool, reviewers will not be able fully to assess their impact on:

--Description, access, and navigation practices for a broad array of
users and types of materials

--Current and future electronic carriers and information management
systems to support RDA goals

--Estimated costs for implementation and maintenance during a time of
flat, even reduced, budgets

The three national libraries agreed on the following approach: First,
we jointly commit to further development and completion of RDA. Second,
following its completion, a decision to implement the rules will be
based upon the positive evaluation of RDA's utility within the library
and information environment, and criteria reflecting the technical,
operational, and financial implications of the new code. This will
include an articulation of the business case for RDA, including benefits
to libraries and end users and cost analyses for retraining staff and
re-engineering cataloging processes.

Together, we will:

--Jointly develop milestones for evaluating how we will implement RDA

--Conduct tests of RDA that determine if each milestone has been
reached; paying particular attention to the benefits and costs of
implementation

--Widely distribute analyses of benefits and costs for review by the
U.S. library community

--Consult with the vendor and bibliographic utility communities to
address their concerns about RDA

Included among the tests that will be developed to assist in
formulating implementation decisions:

--Usability testing with cataloging staff, i.e. librarians and
technicians, experienced and newer staff from the three national
libraries in consultation with representatives from the U.S. library
community (including OCLC and library vendors) about its participation
in the process

--Testing of records for a broad array of materials created during
usability studies to determine compatibility with existing record sets
and ensuring records are usable and understandable for our end users

--Testing the feasibility of integrating this new cataloging standard
into all relevant technology systems

The three institutions agreed that these steps will be followed and, if
there is a decision to implement RDA, that the implementation would not
occur before the end of 2009.

The collective resolve is to complete the development of RDA, to
conduct appropriate tests that will inform and involve the broader U.S.
library community as to the utility of the code, and to ensure a product
that is useful, usable, and cost effective. The Library of Congress
will continue to work with its international colleagues on the Joint
Steering Committee for Development of RDA and the Committee of
Principals and keep them apprised of the evaluation progress and
outcomes as the three national libraries, representing their
constituents, undertake the tests outlined above.

--
Richard C. Amelung, Ph. D.
Professor of Legal Research
Associate Director
Saint Louis University Law Library
Tele.: 314-977-2743
Fax: 314-977-3966

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TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK:

Legal Ethics

Judge Smacks Law Firms & Partner With $150K Sanctions, But Spares 2 Associates

Apr 29, 2008, 03:14 pm CDT
"A federal bankruptcy judge in Massachusetts has sanctioned two law firms and a name partner a total of $150,000 for incorrectly claiming that their client owned a mortgage that had in fact been reassigned at least twice.."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Law Professors

Law Prof Sues Students, Says They Defamed Him by Calling Him a Racist
May 1, 2008, 05:47 am CDT

Lawyer Pay

Skadden, Wachtell Top AmLaw 100
May 1, 2008, 01:07 pm CDT

Legal Ethics

Lawyer Who Made Snarky Comments Ordered to Write Civility Article
Apr 30, 2008, 06:12 am CDT

Terrorism

Mistakenly Revealed Logbook Has Lawyers Convinced They Are Monitored
Apr 28, 2008, 05:36 am CDT

Legal Ethics

Lawyer Who Wouldn't Stop Talking Suspended From Federal Practice
Apr 30, 2008, 08:41 am CDT

Criminal Justice

Suit By 308-Pound Inmate Says He Is 'Literally Being Starved to Death'
Apr 28, 2008, 07:55 am CDT

Law Firms

Paul Hastings Deals With Aftermath of Secretary's Murder Outside Office
Apr 29, 2008, 06:03 am CDT

Careers

Worried Partners Secretly Seek Business Development Help
Apr 28, 2008, 02:45 pm CDT

Criminal Justice

18th Innocent Man Freed in 1 Texas County; Officials Vow Change
Apr 30, 2008, 06:15 pm CDT

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Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Lawyers and Law Librarians, News Humor Etc. , News from Organizations

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From: Vesselin, Mitev and Daniel Wise. " Kaye Writes Governor To Deny Work 'Slowdown' ", New York Law Journal, April 30, 2008. p. 1,6.

"Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye wrote Governor David A. Paterson yesterday to assure him that reports of judicial "slowdown" were 'without basis.' "

"In addition, the court system's Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics issued an opinion Monday determining that Chief Judge Kaye's recent lawsuit to compel an increase in judicial salaries does not require judges to recuse themselves, but they may do so as a matter of individual conscience...."

Letter from New York Chief Judge Judith Kaye to Governor Paterson Denying Slowdown

See: UCS Advisory Ethics Opnion referenced above

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Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , News from Organizations , The Documents Corner , The Judiciary

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An article in the April 29, 2008 New York Law Journal ( http://www.nylj.com)reports that the state Assembly's Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote tomorrow (April 30) on the bill A10615/S7585 which would create 14 additional family court judgeships in New York City and 25 elsewhere in the state of New York. Click on the links below to see the text of the bill and its sponsoring memorandum:

Text of Bill A10615/S7587 Additional Family Court Judges

Sponsors Memorandum for Bill A10615/S7587 Additional Family Court Judges

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Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Legislative Information , The Documents Corner , The Judiciary

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New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman issues a statement explaining his verdict as he announced that he was acquitting three New York Police Department (NYPD) officers in the death of Sean Bell. To see that statement, click on the link below:

Statement issued by Justice Arthur Cooperman explaining verdicts in the case of Sean Bell

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Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Criminal Law and Justice

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BY: Molly E. Holzschlag

"Losing tens of thousands of dollars is something we all want to avoid. Yet in today's confusing world of Web development, it's a daily occurrence, says Web doyenne Molly Holzschlag".

"The problem, as many CIOs learn after being burned, can be solved by gaining a better understanding of what to look for in a Web design and development company, how to ask for it and how to ensure that what you pay for is really what you need."

Click here to see Molly's article referenced in the CIO Insider April 25, 2008.

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Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Information Technology , Library Organization and Planning

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Law Practice Management

Why Associates Leave is Clear, But What Would Lure Them to Stay?

Apr 21, 2008, 12:41 pm CDT

"Associates are leaving in ever-increasing numbers because of grueling hours, boring work and a poisonous law firm culture, experts say. But it isn't as clear what can be done to lure many to stay on after their first four to five years in practice".

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Constitutional Law

I'm Conservative, But Not Biased, Scalia Says ... So Get Over Bush v. Gore
Apr 24, 2008, 02:49 pm CDT

Legal Ethics
Lawyer Surrenders License After Bar Says He Left Innocent Client in Jail
Apr 24, 2008, 05:53 am CDT

Lawyer Pay
London Partners to Associates: At $125K, We're Paying You Too Much
Apr 24, 2008, 01:13 pm CDT

Evidence
Child Protection v. the Constitution: Did Removal of 437 Kids Violate Parents' Rights?
Apr 22, 2008, 01:28 pm CDT

Office Attire
Womble Partner: Suit-Wearing Lawyers Earn More?
Apr 21, 2008, 11:07 am CDT

Legal Ethics
Ex-Quarles Partner Suspended For Not Reading Partnership Fine Print
Apr 22, 2008, 09:23 am CDT

Law Schools
N.Y. Dean Complains of 'Glut' of Law Schools
Apr 23, 2008, 05:35 am CDT

Legal Ethics
Judge's $14K Sanction Against Lawyer Overturned
Apr 21, 2008, 09:06 am CDT

Attorney-Client Privilege
26-Year Inmate Freed After Lawyers Reveal Real Killer
Apr 21, 2008, 04:52 am CDT

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BY: Hon. Juanita Bing Newton, Matthew Weiner, and Moise Waltner*
p.28 - 32 of Judges Journal Vol. 46 No. 4 (Fall 2007).

This article describes how Judge Juanita Bing Newton and her staff in New York have successfully collaborated with the Interfaith Center of New York to reach out to more than 600 religious leaders in New York City to enhance the religious communities' understanding of the legal system and to help court system personnel understand the diverse communities they serve.

Following a general introduction this article includes the following sections:

Background of the New York State Court System's Religious Communities Initiative.

Initial Development of the Initiative

Further Development with the Interfaith Center

Phase One: Assessment

Phase Two: Town Hall Meeting

Phase Three: Rountables

Phase Four: Conflict Resolution Training for Religious Leaders

Phase Five: Further Collaborations Between Judges and Religious Communities

Conclusion:

The following is quoted from the Conclusion:

"The religious communities and the New York State Courts iniative has proved extremely successful--from the perspectives of both the courts and the religious communities. Recognizing the unique social role that religious leaders play in the lives of their communities, the court system has tapped into this structure to reach communities for positive interactions that might otherwise not occur. The program has provided religious leaders in New York City the opportunity to learn about the court system as well as to engage in a useful two-way discussion. As important, the initiative has informed religious leaders of opportunities for greater involvement of themselves and their congregants in their secular communities..."

__________________________________________
*Hon. Juanita Bing Newton is the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives of the New York State Unified Court System and Administrative Judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York.

Matthew Weiner is the Director of Program Development at the Interfaith Center of New York and a doctoral candidate at Union Theological Seminary

Moise Waltner is the former Director of Operations at the Interfaith Center of New York.

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