Criminal Law Library Blog

Mary Alice Baish, Director of Government Relations and Emily Feldman, Advocacy Communications Assistant (both of the American Association of Law Libraries, AALL), have been doing a tremendous job serving as advocates for high quality and highly accessible legal information on the web in a format that can be authenticated.

The following is an e-mail from Emily which mentions the work of the White House open government working group and includes a request for suggestions regarding specific types of information and datasets you would like to see agencies publish. Although Emily's e-mail is directed primarily to law librarians I am posting it here because of the value of this initiative to the entire legal community.

FROM: Emily Feldman
March 10, 2010

The White House’s open government working group has held several meetings with stakeholders, including AALL, to develop criteria to measure agency open government plans, which must be published by April 7. At a meeting last Friday, I was pleased to learn that the working group adopted Mary Alice’s suggestion that Executive Branch agencies be evaluated based in part on whether they commit in their plans to publish new information (e.g., reports and publications) on their Web sites, in addition to new high-value datasets in XML on Data.gov.

We’re looking for specific types of information and datasets that you’d like to see agencies publish. The working group is also very interested in any cross-agency datasets you’d like to see added to Data.gov (e.g., crime data from DOJ/DHS, health data from EPA/HHS).

Some of the suggestions we’ve received so far include:

· All historic content that agencies have digitized (presuming that agencies followed the Paperwork Reduction Act and didn’t make exclusive deals)

· All the legislative histories that have been digitized by the Department of Justice Library

· Dataset on "charges of discrimination" filed from the EEOC

Are there other information holdings or datasets that you’d like to see added? Please email me the title and name of the publishing agency by COB next Wednesday, March 17.

Thanks,

Emily

Emily Feldman
Advocacy Communications Assistant
American Association of Law Libraries
25 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20001

202-942-4233

Fax: 202-737-0480
efeldman@aall.org

http://www.aallnet.org/aallwash

103nd Annual Meeting & Conference / Denver, CO. / July 10-13, 2010

Oregon County Law Libraries Planning Grant, Request for Proposals

"Summary: The Oregon Council of County Law Libraries (OCCLL), representing 36 county law libraries throughout the state, received a planning grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the LSTA, administered by the Oregon State Library. The OCCLL has administrative responsibility for implementing the grant project. The grant project team seeks the services of a professional library consultant who will guide the OCCLL through the planning process. The general duty of the consultant is to facilitate the accomplishment of project goals and activities".

Oregon Law Libraries RFP Rev4_1

For more information, contact:

Laura J. Orr

Law Librarian

Washington County Law Library

111 NE Lincoln St

Hillsboro, OR 97124

Phone: 503-846-8880

Email: lawlibrary@co.washington.or.us
URL: http://www.co.washington.or.us/lawlibrary
Oregon Legal Research Blog: http://oregonlegalresearch.blogspot.com/

Two days ago I posted information on this blog related to the New York Court of Appeals decision (Maron v. Silver, 16 ' Larabee v. Governor, 7 ; Chief Judge v. Governor, 18) addressing judicial compensation in that state within the framework of separation of powers. Today I have learned that the State of Connecticut is also confronted with separation of powers issues related to its judiciary. These issues relate at least in part to the unilateral reduction of Other Judicial Expense line items (where the law libraries are placed) by the Office of Policy and Management (Executive Branch) after the initial budget allocations have presumably been agreed upon.

Of special concern to many readers of this blog is the severe negative impact these judicial line item reductions are having on judicial law libraries in the State of Connecicut, as indicated in testimony of the Connecticut Chief Court Administrator to the Appropriations Committee included in this post and by the many expressions of concern among Connecticut citizens as reported elsewhere.

The Chief Court Administrator of Connecticut, Judge Barbara M. Quinn has argued before the Appropriations Committee on February 9 that the unilateral reduction of Other Judicial Expense line items by the Executive Branch infringes on the Separation of Powers and can be remedied by OPM simply transmitting the Judicial request unchanged to the legislature. Two sections of Judge Quinn's testimony are especially important and are highlighted below in this posting. The section on Law Libraries which highlights the importance of law libraries in Connecticut to both the Judiciary and the public has relevance both in Connecticut and throughout the nation. A second part of Judge Quinn's testimony highlighted below is her statement on "Concurrence in Allotment Reductions and Rescissions," which frames the issue nicely.

Sections of Testimony Highlighted:

Law Libraries
"The Governor's proposed budget provides no funding for law libraries. If this provision is enacted, it will be the second year in a row of zero funding. This is a critical gap; law libraries cannot function without updated research materials.

Let me explain something about law libraries that makes them different from your local library where perhaps you could curtail purchasing new books for a while and then start up again. Because the law is constantly evolving, the most up-to-date information must be made available to anyone who has cases pending before the court. Up-to-date legal research tools, in both electronic and printed form, are essential in order for judges to render rulings that are consistent with law and legal precedent because case law is only as good as the last case decided. And that case law is updated daily. This is what makes law libraries distinct from other libraries - just not buying the latest books is not an option"

Concurrence in allotment reductions and rescissions
Undoubtedly, the most critical budget reform that we seek is one that would curb the unilateral and increasingly untenable budget reductions that are imposed upon the Branch after the Legislature has adopted the budget. Virtually all of our budgetary problems over the past 2 years, and in particular this year, are the result of allotment reductions and rescissions about which neither the Branch nor the Legislature were consulted. I would respectfully propose to you that in the future, any post-budget adoption reductions that are made to the Judicial Branch should require the concurrence of the Legislature. The Branch will be submitting legislation for your consideration that would implement these vital budget reforms.

A bill, "An Act Concerning Funding For the Judicial Branch" (No. 5148) which seeks to correct the matter has recently been introduced in the Connecticut legislature.

Below are links to the full text of both the Testimony and pending legislation referred to in this posting.

Testimony of Chief Court Administrator to Appropriations Commett

An Act Concerning Funding For the Judicial Branch

SigInt Technologies, LLC seeks a Senior Level Digital Library Programmer
Analyst to support a US Government Agency.

Salary range: $125,000.00 - $135,000.00

We are growing our hardcopy-centric collection to include a substantial
amount of digital content. You will have the opportunity to chart the course
as we incorporate a variety of electronic data sources into the collection
and make them available to our users. You will have the freedom to select
the tools you deem best and implement them as you see fit. You'll work
directly with library management to collect requirements and propose and
implement solutions. You will lead and direct other developers who will
assist with the implementation.

A masters degree in Library Science, Computer Science, or comparable is
required. Knowledge of Koha, MARC records, Linux, and a scripting language
such as Perl or Python is also required. Experience with PHP, Java/J2EE,
Tomcat, MySQL, STILAS, VuFind, and SOLR is preferred, but not required.

SigInt Technologies provides an outstanding compensation package, including
a Roth or Traditional 401K plan with 100% matching, full medical benefits, a
technology allowance, paid professional memberships and conferences, and a
very flexible work environment. The salary range is $125,000 - $135,000 and
depends on your level of experience. Ten holidays as well as three weeks of
vacation are included. A yearly allowance of $5,000 is provided for
technology, professional memberships, and conferences. Your contribution of
$16,250 (IRS limit) to your 401K plan will be matched by SigInt Technologies
for a total annual retirement contribution of $32,500.

The job is at Fort Meade, Maryland. You must be able to work on-site at
least three days per week. A security clearance is required. Individuals
already possessing a security clearance are highly encouraged to apply.

--
John S. Roberts
SigInt Technologies, LLC
John -AT- SigIntTech -DOT- COM

Since first hearing about the planned closure of of six of the fifteen courthouse libraries in Connecticut I have contacted I have heard from a number of people (both librarians and non-librarians) from throughout that state. By all accounts the announced closures will prevent attorneys, judges and members of the public from accessing the up-to-date legal materials they need. They will especially hurt disadvantaged citizens and pro se litigants, who are especially vulnerable and may be unable to access official legal resources and will be required to struggle to travel to far-away courthouses. While the dire budgetary circumstances are the state currently faces are understandable, it is essential that Connecticut’s public law libraries and courthouses remain open. They are irreplaceable.

To help spread the word, the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) has been working closely with the Southern New England Librarians Association (SNELLA) to oppose the announced closures . Kate Hagan the AALL Executive Director has distibuted an e-mail (see below) which details that effort. It includes some useful links for those who want to become active in saving Connecticut court libraries.

People are also urged to search the directory of state legislators and government employees at the of Connecticut Website for other contacts that could be helpful in this effort. This web site includes a directory of state employees, a directory of state legislators, and a directory of federal legislators serving Connecticut, all with links for e-mail contact information.

Additionally I have included a link at the end of this post to enable you to download the November 18, 2009 written testimony of Judge Barbara Quinn, Chief Court Administrator at an Appropriations Committee public hearing on Deficiencies. In this statement she includes a section on "Closing law libraries".

Please help spread the word about the importance of saving Connecticut courthouse libraries.

David Badertscher

AALL has been working closely with the Southern New England Law Librarians Association (SNELLA), to oppose the announced closure of six of the 15 courthouse libraries in Connecticut. They are jointly sponsoring online petitions to save the courthouse libraries in Bridgeport, Hartford, Litchfield, Milford, and Norwich. The sixth library, at the Willimantic Courthouse, is not staffed and its small collection will likely be moved to the local public university. Each petition includes a compelling statement by a leader of the local bar association, whose members stand ready to join forces with us. Attorneys and pro se litigants will be deprived of local access to current and historic legal materials, as well as the knowledge and expertise of professional librarians, if we do not stop these proposed closures.

The petitions are open to all residents of Connecticut, so please help spread the word so that our efforts are successful in quickly getting as many signatures as possible to keep these public law libraries open and staffed.

In addition to the petitions, on December 23, AALL and SNELLA sent joint letters to Connecticut's Governor Rell and to the leadership of the Appropriations Committee strongly opposing the decision, which was announced by Judge Barbara M. Quinn, chief court administrator. The closures became necessary, according to Quinn, after the executive branch cut $12.9 million from the budget for the judicial branch.

Kate Hagan
Executive Director
American Association of Law Libraries
Suite 3300

105 W. Adams Street
Chicago, IL 60603

Written Testimony of Judge Barbara M. Quinn, Chief Administrative Judge of Connecticut to the Appropriations Committee Public Hearing on Deficiencies, November 18, 2009

David Badertscher

Although not primarily a reviewer of legal materials, Kirkus Reviews is one of the most outstanding and respected review magazines devoted to book media. It was founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893-1981) a former head of the children's book department of Harper & Bros. with the idea of holding book reviewing to a very high standard, being selective in both the books reviewed and the people assgned to review them. The first year they received about 20 advance galley proofs.

By all accounts Kirus has managed to maintain these high standards throughout the years, becomeing one of the true standard bearers for the authoritative reviewing of all types of titles including those related to law. According to their website, Kirkus currently reviews about 5,000 titles per year "with the idea of of providing Kirkus regulars (librarians, newspaper editors, agents, film producers, booksellers, and those throughout the book world in general) with professional, informative, and impartial descriptive evaluations of forthcoming titles, and to do so on a timely basis."

This is a tall order whch even under the best conditions would be difficult to duplicate under present conditions. It was therefore distressing to hear last month that Kirkus Reviews would be shut down and cease publication..

Hopefully miracles do happen because I was informed today that a business deal is currently being worked out with a new buyer and that Kirkus will not suspend publication as announced earlier. This is great news for all who love and respect books. The world will remin a much better place if Kirkus and other organizations like it can be resurrected and continue setting high standards for all of us.

THOMAS was launched on January 5, 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress. The leadership of the 104th Congress directed the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. Since that time THOMAS has expanded the scope of its offerings to include many features and content including those listed below.:

Bills, Resolutions
Activity in Congress
Congressional Record
Schedules, Calendars
Committee Information
Presidential Nominations

Now, fifteen years later in response to user feedback and in celebration of its fifteenth
anniversary, THOMAS has been updated for the second session of the 111th
Congress.

As reported by Emily Carr of the Public Services Division at the Law Library of Congress, the new items include a bookmarking and sharing toolbar, top five bills of the week, a new RSS feed, highlighting how to contact Members of Congress, a tip of the week, enhanced visibility of bill PDFs, and an increased timeout interval.

The bookmarking and sharing toolbar, found near the top of most THOMAS pages, allows users to save or share a permanent link via bookmarks,email, or social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook. The toolbar also includes quick links to subscribe to THOMAS RSS feeds and to print.

The five most-searched-for bills from the past week will be listed in the center box on the right side of the homepage. Hovering the mouse over the bill number will display the title of the bill.

The new Bills Presented to the President RSS feed and email update lists bills that have passed both the House and Senate and have been sent to the White House for the President's signature.

It's now easier to contact your Members of Congress. A link to this page of tips about how to contact your Representative or Senator is included on the homepage.

Each week, a new tip about using THOMAS will be displayed on the right-hand side of the THOMAS homepage, below the “Top Five” list.

Based on user feedback, links to the bill PDF are more visible and accessible. Clicking on a PDF link will bring you to the Government Printing Office (GPO) PDF for a specific version of a bill.

Search results within THOMAS are displayed on temporary pages. The timeout interval has been increased from 5 minutes to 20 minutes..

THOMAS can be accessed at http://thomas.loc.gov.

BY: David Badertscher*

I have been following with great interest recent discussion on listservs and in the literature regarding a perception that libraries are becoming less relevant in a technologically-oriented society that relies increasingly on “instant gratification”(achieved largely through online searching and related techniques).

Technology is wonderful, and I think should it should be embraced, but not at the expense of alternative tools and methods that produce better results and may be more cost effective. If they are to accomplish their mission and remain relevant over time to their parent organizations, libraries must always be prepared to use a variety or mixture of techniques and materials, both technical and non-technical, to achieve results that are accurate, timely, efficient, cost effective, and deemed by patrons and managers to be trustworthy. The alternative is to increase the risk of libraries being perceived as no longer capable of meeting growing expectations and thereby becoming possible candidates for eventual closure.

How can libraries hope to escape this dilemma and continue to thrive in the highly competitive and dynamic environment where we live and work?

The discussions mentioned earlier include many excellent observations and recommendations which I think should be adopted. I agree that law libraries (and perhaps all libraries) need ready access to the services of a public relations department with the capability of responding quickly and professionally to articles denigrating libraries**. Discussions regarding these matters should be extended outside the library to include a broader population served by libraries, and more should be done by way of educating people “who work with librarians as to the value added elements a well-trained library staff adds to”*** the utility of both the library and its parent organization.

These and other excellent recommendations and suggestions being discussed are both necessary and useful, but are not by themselves sufficient to address the overall dilemma mentioned above. They need to be presented within a broader context which includes both core competencies of librarians such as the ones currently being revised by the American Association of Law Libraries for law librarians and a separate list of characteristics essential for libraries and library systems to maintain their relevance and effectiveness over the long term. If properly constructed, such a list should go far in helping libraries and library systems to be perceived as being essential components of our society due to their leadership role in both identifying and responding to information needs in a thoroughly professional manner. While much work continues to be done regarding the competencies of librarians, it appears that insufficient attention is being devoted to the complementary but distinct effort in identifying those overall characteristics or attributes of libraries, library personnel, and library systems essential for their assuming and maintaining a leading role in our increasingly dynamic and competitive world. Although other work has probably already been done in this area, I am not aware of it.

The following is my effort to compile such a list based on my own observations and conversations with colleagues. Hopefully it will stimulate both thought and further action. With that in mind the list of characteristics can be used as a point of departure for further development. A second equally important objective is to convey to the reader reviewing the list a sense of the vital, irreplaceable role libraries and librarians can play in meeting the information requirements of an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment. Thirdly, I would hope to convey my basic optimism regarding the future of libraries and library systems, provided that measures such as those discussed above are implemented and maintained consistently over time.

Some of the characteristics listed below apply primarily to librarians as a group. Others also include additional components of libraries such as the physical space, records, etc. Characteristics listed are assumed to incorporate a willingness to take actions and assume appropriate risks associated with those actions in the areas concerned. While all of the characteristics are considered important (even essential) to the relevance of libraries and library systems over the long term, some will be perceived as being more significant than others in particular situations and circumstances. Therefore, since the focus of this article is long term, no attempt is made in the following list to rank characteristics in terms of relative importance or significance. In my view they all play vital roles in the long term relevance and ultimate success of libraries. In addition to the characteristics (upper case and bold type) the following list includes some definitions and other illustrative material. Since the illustrative material is not intended to be all inclusive I have added the notation “Other, as appropriate” at the end of each grouping to underscore that fact.

The List:

ACCESSIBILITY
Ability, right, or permission to approach, enter, speak with, or use; obtainable; approachability.
Accessibility of library directors, managers, department heads, and others as appropriate to decision makers and to meetings and other forums where policies and procedures related to libraries and library systems are being discussed and deliberated.
Accessibility of library collections in all formats, including digital, to library users.
Other, as appropriate

ANALYTICAL:
Skill, aptitude, and motivation in the identification and detailed examination of components of systems, procedures, documents, organizations, or other entities and to infer meaning and communicate conclusions based on such examination..
Reports.
Studies
Evaluations (including evaluations of library collections)
Compilations (including bibliographies, development and continuing maintenance of library catalogues, indices)
Financial evaluation and analysis (includes financial planning - budgets)
Analysis related to strategic planning
Systems Analysis related to library applications and services
Other, as appropriate.

CREATIVITY::
The ability to transcend traditional ideas, techniques, rules, approaches
Originality
Develop new, improved approaches to resolving challenges
Exploration of new and emerging developments as to their possible application to library applications and services.
Other, as appropriate

CURIOSITY::
Desire, and drive, to learn and understand
Inquisitiveness
Urge and motivation to become more aware of ways to adapt libraries and librarianship to competitive, dynamic environments
Other, as appropriate

EMPATHY:
Ability to vicariously experience experiences, feelings, thoughts, attitudes of others
Sharing
Collaboration
Outreach
Caring about and relating to other people
Other, as appropriate

FLEXIBILITY:
Willing to adapt and adjust
Accepts and is reasonably comfortable with change
Willing to yield when appropriate
An important attribute in a rapidly changing library environment
Other, as appropriate.

LEADERSHIP:
Ability to make things happen
Provide direction
Take initiative and assume risk
Strategic planning
Ability to ensure that quality of organization and service are maintained at a high level
Ability to persuade and articulate at a high level
Take lead in encouraging coordination, collaboration, and sharing as considered appropriate
Take lead in introducing new technologies as appropriate
Ability to say “no” when situation warrants
Other, as appropriate

PERSEVERANCE:
Ability to stay the course and be steadfast in working toward objectives of the library, especially in difficult, challenging situations
Other, as appropriate

STABILITY:
Includes all areas related to maintaining the integrirty of library records, including bibliographic records as well as financial and business records associated with the library
Cataloging, indexing, issues related to authentication of digital records and materials over time Preservation of materials and records over time
Maintain consistent and steady relationships with parent and other organizations as needed Maintain stable physical environment in library or library system
Other, as appropriate

RESOURCEFULNESS:
Ability to deal skillfully with new or difficult situations
Ability to adapt quickly
Skillful in finding ways of doing more with less as situation warrants
Other, as appropriate

Comments are welcome.
_____________________________
*Although David Badertscher is the Principal Law Librarian of the New York State Supreme Court Criminal Term, First Judicial District, the opinions, conclusions, and observations expressed in the above article are entirely his own and should not in any way be attributed to that organization, the State of New York Unified Court System, or any other organization or group with which he has been associated, past or present. He also wishes to thank Theodore Pollack, Senior Law Librarian at the New York County Public Access Law Library for his assistance in editing the final version of this paper.

**E-mail from Mary Matuszak, Director of Library Services, New York County District Attorney's Office, December 18, 2009.

***E-mail from Joni L. Cassidy, President and Technical Services Librarian, Cassidy Cataloguing Services Inc., December 17, 2009/

There are a variety of webcasts of lecture series both law-related and general interest available from courts, law libraries, public libraries, and other organizations. Below is a non-comprehensive listing of links to transcripts and related videos (if available) of various types of programs compiled by our Senior Law Librarian for Public Access, Theodore Pollack. These programs are free and accessible via the Internet.

New York Court of Appeals webcasts of lectures and arguments:
http://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/crtnews.htm

Law Library of Congress Webcasts related to legal subjects:
http://www.loc.gov/law/news/webcasts.php

Various Law School webcasts of lectures:
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/live.htm

United States Supreme Court Justices lecture transcripts:
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/publicinfo/speeches/speeches.html

New York Public Library lecture series programs (variety of subjects):
http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/pep/transcripts.cfm

Library of Congress webcasts (variety of subjects):
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/index.php

Book TV (archive of current and old nonfiction-related book discussions)
http://www.booktv.org/Series/AW/After-Words.aspx

Compiled by Ted Pollack, Senior. Law Librarian, NY County Public Access Law Library

In the e-mail below Camilla Tubbs, Chair of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Government Relations Committee provides useful information regarding efforts by the Obama admiinistration to create greater transparency and openness in and among federal departments and agencies. She is also asking what types of information people want to see on federal agency web sites? These are important questions that merit serious consideration. Although this e-mail was originally directed to a group of law librarians everyone should be concerned about these issues. Comments from both librarians and non librarians are welcome. We will be glad to forward comments on to Camilla upon request.

E-mail from Camilla Tubbs:

In his Memorandum on Transparency and Open
Government http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Transparency_and_Open_Government/
President Obama instructed the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) to issue an Open Government Directive. Responding to that
instruction, on December 8, 2009, a
memorandum http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-06.pdf was
issued directing executive departments and agencies on how to take
specific actions to implement the principles of transparency, participation,
and collaboration. The memo was broken up into four main points, each
having their own action items: (1) Publish Government Information Online;
(2) Improve the Quality of Government Information ; (3) Create and
Institutionalize a Culture of Open Government; and (4) Create an Enabling
Policy Framework for Open Government

Aside from the major points mentioned above and the action items posted in
the memorandum http://www.whitehouse.gov/open/documents/open-government-directive ,
*what types of information would you want to see on agency web sites? *For
example, some ideas from the open government community include:

1. List of government agency employees and how to reach them.

2. Visitor logs of each agency and calendars for top-level agency
officials should be made public in timely fashion. The public has a right
to know who agencies are consulting, and a "timely fashion" needs to be
narrowly defined.

3. Contract and award documents include Requests for Proposals,
Contracts, Task Orders, Contract Modifications, etc.

4. Communications between the agency and Congress, including responses to
inquires, testimony before committees, reports mandated by Congress, etc.

5. A records retention policy along with a schedule of records that will
be declassified and the timetable for such action, as well as a list of all
FOIA requests.

*What else would you like to see? What types of documents are your patrons
requesting? What suggestions should be passed along to make the federal
government more transparent and participatory?

Librarian (Preservation)

Salary Range: 102,721.00 - 133,543.00 USD /year

Open: Monday, December 07, 2009 to Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Series & Grade: PG-1410-14

Position Information: Full Time Career/Career Conditional

Duty Location: 1 vacancy - Washington DC Metro Area, DC

Who may be considered: US Citizens and Status Candidates

JOB SUMMARY:
Come be a part of one of the largest digital information facilities in the world! Make Your Mark on the reinvention of a major government enterprise. The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) is Keeping America Informed by providing excellent publishing and dissemination services for official and authentic government publications to Congress, Federal agencies, Judiciary, Federal Depository Libraries, and the American public. We have developed new product lines, employed new strategies, reengineered processes, and significantly restructured our organization into a digital-based facility. Established by Congress in 1861, GPO was founded on values of integrity, teamwork, commitment, and dependability. Be a part of history as we continue this tradition through new technologies and strategic initiatives.

This position is located in the Collection Management and Preservation Office of the Library Services and Content Management organization, Washington, DC.

Duties:
Develop and implement operational policies, procedures, and guidelines for the Government Printing Office (GPO) collections and preservation program for informational products.

Establish, review, and maintain comprehensive plans to participate in nation-wide preservation programs.

Serve as an expert liaison with U.S. Government agencies and libraries on issues associated with the maintenance of materials made available in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) collections, including FDsys, GPO Access, and the FDLP Electronic Collection.

Represent GPO in major studies related to new technologies for preservation and issues related to the management of collections in all formats.

Provide oversight and executive strategy for preservation projects with agency-wide impact.

Develop comprehensive strategies to eliminate problems or barriers to mission accomplishments, promote team building, and implement quality improvement as related to preservation and policy goals.

http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=84985851&aid=40670666-8129&WT.mc_n=125

We just received word about the outcome of the vote on the proposal to change the name of Special Libraries Association (SLA) to the Association for Stategic Knowledge Professionals. The name change proposal stemmed from the findings of the Alignment Project, an intensive two year research effort aimed at understanding the value of the information and knowledge professionals in todays environment and how to communicate that value.

Although not a member of SLA, I have followed developments related to this issue on the SLA listserv and have been very impressed with both the dedication and passion exhibited by the SLA membership.

As for the outcome, I think this is good news. As a professional librarian (an information and knowledge professional) I am very concerned about libraries and librarianship being viable now and remaining so in the future. An important part of that viability, it seems to me, relates to the essential need for libraries and librarians to maintain a clear identity as the preeminent information and knowledge professionals in the world, both now and in the future. There is a danger that proposals such as the one we are discussing here will, if ratified, result in a dilution of that identity and by extension diminish the perceived value of librararies and librarians (whatever their names) in the marketplace as compared to other organizations and occupations that are somewhat comparable. I commend the SLA membership for its decision.

David Badertscher

Here is a note from SLA Headquarters concerning the outcome of the vote of the SLA membership:

Continue reading "Special Libraries Association Members Fail to Approve Proposal to Change Organization's Name" »

Document aims to facilitate library resource sharing* **

November 11, 2009 - Baltimore, MD - The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) Voting Members have approved a new work item to develop a Recommended Practice related to the physical delivery of library materials. NISO is pleased to announce that the Working Group roster for this project is now finalized, and work will be commencing with a kick-off call of the group on November 18, 2009. Building on the efforts of three recent projects--Moving Mountains, Rethinking Resource Sharing's Physical Delivery Committee, and the American
Library Association's ASCLA ICANS' Physical Delivery Discussion Group-the recommended practice document is proposed to include recommendations for: packaging, shipping codes, labeling, acceptable turn-around time, lost or damaged materials handling, package tracking, ergonomic considerations, statistics, sorting, a set of elements to be used for comparison purposes to determine costs,linking of regional and local library carriers, and international
delivery.

"A recent study found that 77% of academic libraries participate in state or provincial resource sharing networks above and beyond the 10,000,000 interlibrary loan (ILL) transactions that OCLC annually processes," Valerie Horton, Executive Director, Colorado Library Consortium (CLiC), who proposed the project and will be serving as co-chair, explained. "The increased volume and costs of library delivery is creating a demand for more information about how to run efficient and effective delivery operations." Diana Sachs-Silveira, Virtual Reference Manager, Tampa Bay Library Consortium, will be co-chairing the group with Ms. Horton.

"We can't ignore the tremendous number of books, journals, DVDs, and other physical library resources that continue to be borrowed by patrons," commented Tony O'Brien, co-chair of NISO's Discovery to Delivery Topic Committee, which reviewed and approved the proposal
prior to its submittal to NISO's voting membership. Added co-chair Tim Shearer, "In today's economic environment, libraries have become borrowers too, sharing more of their resources with each other and across greater geographical distances. New services and technologies
offer opportunities to improve the traditional ways such sharing and delivery has been done."

"The three groups that have already done work in this area expressed interest in working with NISO to further develop their efforts into a set of recommended practices," states Todd Carpenter, NISO Managing Director. "We are also hoping to involve carrier organizations and
consultants for the delivery industry in addition to libraries, consortia, and cooperatives."

An interest group list for this project is available for those who would like to receive updates on the Working Group's progress and provide feedback to the group on its work. Information on how to subscribe is available at www.niso.org/lists/physdelinfo. Visit the Working Group website at www.niso.org/workrooms/physdel. Additional questions may be directed to Karen A. Wetzel, NISO's Standards Program Manager at kwetzel@niso.org.

About NISO
NISO fosters the development and maintenance of standards that facilitate the creation, persistent management, and effective interchange of information so that it can be trusted for use in research and learning. To fulfill this mission, NISO engages libraries, publishers, information aggregators, and other organizations that support learning, research, and scholarship through the creation, organization, management, and curation of knowledge.NISO works with intersecting communities of interest and across the entire lifecycle of an information standard. NISO is a not-for-profit association accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). More information about NISO is available on its website: www.niso.org

. For more information please contact NISO on (301) 654-2512 or via
email on nisohq@niso.org.

For More Information, Contact:
Victoria Kinnear
Business Development and Operations Manager, NISO
Phone: 301-654-2512
Email Victoria Kinnear
Karen A. Wetzel
Standards Program Manager, NISO
Phone: 301-654-2512
Email Karen A. Wetzel
_______________________
*Thanks to Ellen McGrath Head of Cataloging at the State University of New York Buffalo, Charles B. Sears Law Library for sharing this information..

** From David Badertcher. As someone who helps to oversee the operations of a public access law library, I hope, and strongly urge, the scope of the above described initiative be sufficiently comprehensive to address document delivery issues related to library to patron as well as library to library. I am thinking in particular of those disabeled patrons who may have a legitimate need for materials to bedelivered to them at home and who may not have an organization or person at their disposal to provide these services. We are seeing an increasing need for these services and programs.

Jurimetrics, The Journal of Law, Science and Technology (ISBN 0897-1277), published quarterly, is the journal of the American Bar Association, Section of Seience & Technology law and the Center for Study of Law, Science and Technology of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University. It was first published in 1959 under the leadership of Layman Allen as Modern Uses of Logic in Law (MULL). A former name, Jurimetrics Journal, was adopted in 1966. The current name was adopted in 1978. Until now Jurimetrics has been published and distributed in hard copy. Soon ( beginning with the Winter 2010 issue) Jurimetrics will be electronic only.

According to the American Bar Association, here is how this works: Subscribers will receive an e-mail message letting them know when a new issue is available. That e-mail will include a link to a Web site where subscribers can lood at all of the abstracts and then download-or print out-any of the articles they want to read in PDF format.

The electronic version will be fully searchable, so subscribers can scan Jurimetrics for topics that are of interest. According to ABA this enhanced format also means that subscribers can be provided with more articles, "packed with more information--and get them to you much faster."

Members and non-members of the ABA Section of Science & Technology Law will still be able to obtain an additional print-on-demand version for a fee at the end of each publishing year.

The Maryland Authentication Working Group and the print discontinuation of the Maryland Register are both discussed in the following e-mail from Joan M Bellistri, a member of the Working Group:

The AALL Maryland Authentication Working Group has been created. Ideally, this working goup would have been formed before there were any issues in Maryland but we now have the immediate issue of the conversion of the Maryland Register to pdf distribution only. The Working Group is composed of librarians from court, academic and firm libraries and consists of Joanne Colvin, President of LLAM, Janet Camillo, Chair CMCLLD, Pat Behles, Carol Mundorf, Andy Zimmerman, Steve Anderson and myself. We hope to be adding members from the public library government docs community and the academic libraries and the Maryland State Bar Association. The ultimate purpose of the group would be to monitor
Maryland's legal resources in terms of e-life cycle management (authentication, permanent public access and preservation) and work to educate the appropriate officials about the importance of these issues through the creation of a policy paper as a follow up to the
state-by-state report.

However, the Maryland Division of State Documents of the Office of the Secretary of State just announced plans to discontinue the paper publication of the Maryland Register* *because of State budget reductions. In its place, the Division plans an e-Subscription, consisting solely of a biweekly e-mail with an attachment in PDF of that issue of the Register. The planned e-Subscription as stated in the notice contains this limitation (my emphasis is in bold):

"The new e-Subscriptions will be priced by user and sent to one email address per user. *Keep in mind that subscribers may not make copies of the pdf for others, may not send the pdf to others, and may not engage in any commercial or other distribution of the pdf, in whole or in part*."

The notice is available at the main web page of the Maryland Register: The notice is dated November 2009, and the change will be effective January 4, 2010. There was no public comment period.

This issue of the Maryland Register will be the first work of the group. Steve Anderson, Director of the Maryland State Law Library, is already working on a briefing for the Judiciary. The following are ideas for action from the phone call that we had with Mary Alice Baish
of AALL's GRO on Friday:

find a way to stop or delay the end of the print create a one page issue brief detailing "why this is a bad idea" contact news outlets, write an op-ed piece form a coalition of library and legal organizations create a base of allies: consumer groups (MARYPIRG?), watch dog
groups, ... get testimonials of users who would be affected

We are also working with the LLSDC Government Relations Committee.

Joanie

Some Excerpts From Comments Received By E-mail Regarding the Discontinuation of the Print Version of the Maryland Register

"This is horrible news! It doesn't appear that they will offer any kind of library subscription. We need to have copies in the library for historical use. Many times what people are looking for isn't current news. Yikes! Does anyone know who we need to complain to?"

"I share your concern, but am not certain how serious this is. This is probably an issue that needs to be thought through, and I expect to see more conversions like this given budgetary constraints. The State Government article section cited on the notice says that lawyers may give advice and incorporate portions text into documents without any problem. It also talks about the prohibition on reproducing these materials for commercial purposes. I'd love to hear from somebody involved in the COMAR campaign and/or who has thought about these portions of the code and what they mean for us. I can't remember who handled the COMAR issue off the top of my head."

"This is an issue that we should bring to the attention of the AALL Government Affairs Office. They are in the process of creating state working groups on the issue of digital authentication of official online versions of government publications. I will get in touch with them now.....The implications I see for our library would be the use restriction to one user and the prohibition of distribution or making copies, the availability of past/archived issues and the authentication issue."

"Hello! Division of State Docs [Maryland] just returned our print subscription
payment. Contrary to the directive in their letter, they suggest we
print the PDF and place it on the shelf. However, this "alternative"
must be confirmed by Gail Klakring, the Administrator. I left Ms.
Klakring a v-message asking for her advice/direction how to handle as
this was a library subscription not a personal one. Have you called that
office and have you received any direction/advice how to handle for your
libraries?"

Gail Klakring's initial response:

"We are in the process of working out the 'kinks' regarding the conversion of the Maryland Register from the print version to the PDF version. As of right now, I have been telling librarians that they may print out the PDF version of the Register and place it on their shelves. Some of them have indicated that they will then delete the email containing the PDF. I am seeking advice from our assistant attorney general regarding this issue, and will let you know if something changes. This is also very new to us, and we appreciate you bearing with us as we work through the conversion."

Gail S. Klakring

Acting Administrator

Division of State Documents [Maryland]

The e-Newsletter of the American Library Association - November 11, 2009.*

Highlights:

Extending the library’s reach
Tom Storey writes: “For 10 years, Brian Mathews has focused his passion for librarianship on students—specifically, how to mesh the student lifestyle with library services. Mathews, assistant university librarian for outreach and academic services at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is one of a growing number in the profession who are taking library services to users, rather than expecting users to come to the library. These professionals want the library to be anywhere and everywhere—particularly in places where it is not expected (such as at the beach).”...

Experts: Copyright law hinders scholarship
Day two of the annual Educause higher-education technology conference in Denver, November 3–6, saw at least two presenters speak out about the unfair application of strict copyright protections to scholarly journals—a practice, they said, that hinders academic endeavors. Stanford law professor and activist Lawrence Lessig said that restrictive copyright laws are “destructive of science and education” because academia has adopted a copyright model that largely mimics that of the entertainment industry....
eSchool News, Nov. 6

Libraries: A bridge over the Digital Divide
The Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Public Library consistently ranks as one of the nation’s busiest library systems. In 2008, it ranked 7th in the nation in the volume of materials circulated—with 17.8 million items, mostly print books, checked out by patrons. This September report on “Broadband and the Digital Divide: The New Role of Public Libraries” by the Knight Center of Digital Excellence offers a case study in the library’s pursuit of broadband connectivity, the impact of these efforts in Northeast Ohio, and the potential role CCPL exemplifies for public libraries in bridging the digital divide....
Knight Center of Digital Excellence, June 16

101 ways to promote a new blog
David Turnbull writes: “Promoting a new blog can be quite daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. As you might expect, breaking down blog promotion into small, actionable tasks eliminates the mental roadblock you’ve probably experienced when trying to wrap your head around how to get people’s attention. You don’t have to do everything in this list, and some items will have a greater effect then others, but every tactic will at least drive some traffic, and any traffic is better than no traffic.”...
Daily Blog Tips, Nov. 4

Twitter joins up with LinkedIn
Allen Blue writes: “LinkedIn is announcing a partnership with Twitter—and some new features. The idea is simple: When you set your status on LinkedIn you can now tweet it as well, amplifying it to your followers and real-time search services like Twitter Search and Bing. And when you tweet, you can send that message to your LinkedIn connections as well, from any Twitter service or tool.” Watch LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman (left) and Twitter cofounder Biz Stone discuss (2:29) the great potential of the integration between their companies....
LinkedIn Blog, Nov. 9; YouTube, Nov. 9

Click here to see complete issue of this Newsletter.
________________________
*Thanks to Philip Y. Blue, Senior Law Librarian New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library (New York County) for submitting this information.

I was delighted to receive the following e-mail this morning from Camilla Tubbs, Chair of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) because it illustrates how librarians are working together to provide an improved information environment for the benefit of us all --librarians and non-librarians alike. Clearly these are the types of initiatives that need to be shared with our readers.

Some of the links below may be accessible only to members of AALL but others are potentially valuable research links which should be accessible to all. We encourage readers to comment. Anyone can send comments and provide other feedback directly from this posting. Those who are members of AALL and its Chapters can also subscribe to the Library Advocacy listserv at http://www.aallnet.org/aallwash/aalladvocsubscribe.asp and post directly from there. Without further discussion from me here is Camilla's e-mail. I am greateful for her permission to publish. David Badertscher.

From: Camilla Tubbs

Below are just a few examples that emphasize the power of librarian collaboration to make a bigger difference in information policy matters. The Government Relations committee was able, with your feedback, to create a state-by-state bill tracking guide, here: <http://www.aallnet.org/committee/govr/billtrack.htm>. This was the first step in creating a larger community for advocacy. Now we would like to hear more from you:

Are you a member of your Chapter's local Government Relations Committee or active in librarian advocacy on the state level?

Are there issues like this brewing in your State that you are tracking?

Hearing rumors of new legislation to be introduced affecting information policy?

We need you to post the news to this list-serv and keep us informed - not only of pending library issues but also examples of mobilization. Every bit helps!!

Here are just a few examples of recent Chapter efforts:

Recently, the Government Relations Chairs of three AALL local chapters in California (Northern California (NOCALL); Southern California (SCALL); and San Diego (SANDALL)) and Anne Bernardo for the Council of California County Law Librarians held a brainstorming session about how to move forward on various state issues impacting libraries and access to information. The meeting was a huge success and energized all of the participants.

An AALL member recently brought to attention to Massachusetts Governor's Office proposing the closer the State Library of Massachusetts as a cost-saving measure. The State Library of Massachusetts now has an online petition to ensure that these collections remain freely accessible to all members of the public: <http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveyourstatelibrary/?e>. And the Law Librarians of New England (LLNE) are mobilizing to try to keep the library open.

In Wasington, D.C., LLSDC chapter has also been very busy monitoring proper authentication/chain of custody of DC Municipal Regulations (DCMR) and the DC Register, as DC is planning to completely replace its print-based system with the online system . As part of this outreach, LLSDC hosted an event with Andrea Garvey, the Director of the DC Office of Documents and Administrative Issuances so that she could get a better sense of law librarian concerns regarding authentication.

And now, thanks in part to the hard work of members of this listserv and the participants of AALL's Day on the Hill, there is a House and a Senate Bill open CRS reports up further to the public. These efforts continue with our action alert: http://www.aallnet.org/aallwash/aa10162009.pdf

Your work can make a difference!

This posting is prompted out of concern for the need to provide open, online access to public documents including CRS reports, two e-mails received during the past two weeks, and two recent requests for recent CRS report referenced in a previous post to this blog.

First the e-mails. About a week ago I received a widely distributed e-mail from Emily Feldman, Advocacy Communications Assistant for the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) framing the issues related free online access to CRS Reports and emphasizing the urgency of taking action now to help get this accomplished. Emily can be contacted at either 202-942-4233 or efeldman@aall.org This was followed up today by an e-mail from a law librarian Susan Nevelow Mart responding to Emily's e-mail and reinforcing Emily's call for action. Here are the two e-mails

From Emily Feldman:

Last week, AALL held a free online advocacy training session, Join AALL’s Advocacy Team: How to Deliver Our Message, with Director of Government Relations Mary Alice Baish, Advocacy Communications Assistant Emily Feldman, and “Advocacy Guru” Stephanie Vance. Many of you on this listserv participated, and we thank you for making this Webinar a success! Webinar resources are now available in AALL’s Advocacy Toolkit and the recorded Webinar will soon be available on AALL2go.

Whether or not you were able to participate in the Webinar, we need your help to keep the momentum going on one of the key topics we covered: free online access to Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports. In the Senate, we need you to put pressure on Sen. Schumer (D-NY), Chairman of the Rules and Administration Committee, to bring S. Res. 118 before the committee immediately. In the House, we need your help in getting additional co-sponsors for H.R. 3762.

We have issued an Action Alert that makes it easy for you to write to your senators and House representatives. The Alert includes our specific asks, sample emails, and links to the Webmail forms of your members of Congress so that you can start writing an email with just a click of your mouse. Please help us ensure access to these valuable, tax-payer funded reports by writing to your members of Congress today!

Thanks,

Emily Feldman
Advocacy Communications Assistant

American Association of Law Libraries
_________________________________________

Susan Nevelow Mart's followup:of 10/28/2009:

About a week ago, Emily Feldman posted an action alert about CRS reports, with a link: http://www.aallnet.org/aallwash/aa10162009.pdf. If you care at all about getting public access to CRS reports, take a look at this link. It not only tells you what is going on in Congress with CRS reports, it lists the sponsors of the legislation, and what to say to them. The alert lists the committee members, and what to say to them. And if your senators and representatives are not sponsors and not on the relevant committees, there’s a message for every other legislator. And it’s all linked. In other words, the alert makes it so easy, if this is an issue you’d like to be heard on, there is no excuse. Please take a look, and just cut and paste and click send your legislators an email.

As for me, I have long been concerned both as a librarian and a concened citizen about the accessibility of public documents including CRS Reports. That concern has been reinforced by the inability of readers to gain access, online or otherwise, to a CRS Report I discussed in a recent posting on this blog,, CRS Report-Juvenile Justice: Life Without Parole., September 14, 2009. Although the Report is summarized at some length, I was unable to post a link to it because no link was yet available. Almost immediately I started receiving inquiries from readers as to how they could obtain a copy of the entire Report. They too were unable to obtain a complete copy. This example points up the need for online access to very recent CRS reports as well as those that have been around awhile.

David Badertscher

Histories of libraries are important because they help to both validate the existence of libraries and authenticate their records of service over time. This is why we are so grateful to our colleague Julie Gick for writing and granting us permission to post her meticulously researched article, HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK COUNTY SUPREME COURT LIBRARIES, on this blog. It includes information about both the Civil Term and the Criminal Term libraries of the New York County Supreme Court and certainly meets the criteria mentioned above regarding the importance of library histories. We encourage you to read this very informative and entertaining article

David Badertscher.

Note: This article has been updated to include additional information provided by the author on October 27, 2008

History of the New York County Supreme Court Libraries

BY Julie Gick*

Beginnings
The New York County Supreme Court Law Library’s enabling statute was Chapter 722, Laws of 1865, effective May 12, 1865, although Griswold gives a starting date of 1852. (1)
The library was first known as the New York Law Library, and justices of the Supreme Court of the First Judicial District were its trustees.

The statute required trustees of the State Library to place in the new library any duplicate books in their possession which they deemed proper and the Clerk of the Court of Appeals was required to send one copy of the printed cases and points in all Court of Appeal cases. Any person who willfully injured any of the books, furniture or property of the new library was guilty of a misdemeanor. The sum of $5000 was appropriated for the use of the library. In 1879 the librarian’s salary was $1,500. The New York Times expressed concern about the court’s expenditures. (2)

Buildings

The law library was first located at 32 Chambers Street. This building is variously known as the Court of General Sessions, Marine Court and City Court. (3) The architect may have been John McComb,Jr. who designed the new City Hall and other buildings in the area.

Architects John Kellum and Leipold Eidlitz designed the Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers Street at an estimated cost of $11-12 million. Also known as the Old New York County Courthouse, the library relocated to this new facility when it was completed in 1881. Over the years the library served as a lounge room, reference room, and sometimes as a courtroom. Although a handsome edifice the courthouse suffered from inadequate space and unsanitary conditions. The deaths of several justices and many clerks and court officers had been attributed to a malodorous and pestilential atmosphere pervading certain courtrooms. (4)

After the appellate branch was created effective January 1, 1896, the books and the Supreme Court librarian were assigned to the new court’s temporary quarters on the third floor at 111 Fifth Avenue corner of 18th Street. The Supreme Court Library was replaced by books from other courts, and an assistant librarian was hired to maintain its collection. In 1900 the Appellate Division 1st Department moved to its present quarters at 27 Madison Avenue. James B. Lord was the architect. He completed the building under budget for approximately $630,000. He died of a lingering illness said to be directly caused by a court proceeding. (5)

In 1907 the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, located at 49 Chambers Street, purchased the adjoining property at 43 - 47 Chambers Street. An architect named Raymond F. Almirall was hired to design a new building for the entire expanded lot. This was completed in 1912. At seventeen stories it was one of the tallest of the early skyscrapers in the downtown area. On March 15, 1912 the justices of the Supreme Court decided to move their offices and the library to this building. The library was located on the 12th floor. It was 25 x 100 feet and contained 5110 feet of shelving. (6)

The present day New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, was completed in 1927 at an estimated cost of $30,000,000. It was modified into a hexagonal structure from the original plan. The architect was Guy Lowell who in 1913 won a competition for his striking circular design. A week before the scheduled opening, Mr. Lowell died suddenly in Madeira, Spain. This is the home of the Supreme Court Civil Term Law Library. (7)

The New York County Supreme Court Criminal Term Law Library is located in the Criminal Courts Building. This edifice was completed in 1938 at a cost of $14 million, and was designed by architects Wiley Corbett and Charles B. Meyers. Until the merger in 1962 the Law Library served as the library for the Court of General Sessions which had its own impressive history. The first Presiding Judge (then called a Recorder) was James Graham who served from 1683 to 1688. At the time it was discontinued and made part of the Supreme Court in 1962, the Court of General Sessions was known as the oldest continuously functioning criminal court in the United States. (8)

Prior to the creation of the 12th Judicial District Bronx Supreme Court Library was a part of the New York Supreme Court 1st JD. The courthouse was built in 1933 at a cost of $8 million and designed by Max Hausel and Joseph H. Freedlander. It is also known as the Mario Merola Building. (9)

The New York County Courts Public Access Law Library opened February 14, 1995 and provides legal materials and information to the public. It is located at 80 Centre Street. The building, completed 1928-1930 at a cost $6 million was designed by William E. Haugaard, the state architect, under a height restriction so that it would not overshadow the nearby courthouses. (10)

Continue reading "History of the New York County Supreme Court Libraries" »

**The Government Domain: Tracking Congress 2.0

http://www.llrx.com/columns/govdomain42.htm

With the 111th Congress of the United States reconvening on September 8th, e-gov expert Peggy Garvin highlights new tools and sources that enhance and expand your ability to track and monitor the action.

**Re-Hashing the Hash Tag - Crowd Competition and Community Standards at the AALL2009 Conference

http://www.llrx.com/features/twitter.htm

Roger V. Skalbeck and Meg Kribble describe how the majority of social media activity during the 2009 AALL conference took place on Twitter, and how this technology impacts the profession and the free exchange of information, moving forward.

**The Legal Profession and Five Responses to Technology

http://www.llrx.com/features/fiveresponses.htm

Lawyer, writer and blogger Nicole Black's informed commentary reminds fellow professionals that technology and the Internet are here to stay.

**Burney's Legal Tech Reviews: The Dell Mini 9 and the Averatec All-in-one PC

Legal tech guru Brett Burney reviews the pros and cons of one of the smallest netbooks on the market, as well as a low-end all-in-one model PC, sporting a big monitor, all of which can easily be accommodated on just about any desktop.

**Law Practice Technology Information Sources and Tools

http://www.llrx.com/features/lawpracticetechinfo.htm

Ken Strutin identifies core sources to learn about new technologies that apply to legal research and law practice. In addition, he has identified specific tools that will contribute to managing research, communication and information-based tasks.

**LLRX Court Rules, Forms and Dockets - updated by law librarian Margaret Berkland

http://www.llrx.com/courtrules

**See also Sabrina'a blog - beSpacific.com, www.bespacific.com - comprehensive, accurate, focused news and recommended sources on law and technology issues, authored and updated daily since 2002 by Sabrina I. Pacifici, with a searchable database of over 21,000 postings. Topics include: the financial system, government documents, key federal legislation, privacy, cybercrime and ID theft, freedom of information, legal research, e-government, knowledge management, and more.

Subscribe to free daily beSpacific.com email updates here:
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html

Sabrina I. Pacifici
Founder, Editor, Publisher
LLRX.com - established in 1996
www.llrx.com
spacificATearthlinkDOTnet