Authors of Articles

December 3, 2007

Public Access Libraries: An American Institution

BY: Theodore Pollack Senior Law Librarian New York County Public Access Law Library

The United States Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal….” Perhaps no more beautiful words have ever been written. However, self-represented litigants who are attempting to protect their rights, often discover the vast gulf between the political platitude and the reality of becoming self-educated attorneys competing against trained litigators before the courts.

In order to bridge this gulf, self-represented litigants look to a variety of resources. New York State established by statute the existence of a public access law library in each New York State county. These libraries are part of the New York State Unified Court System and are charged with providing access to legal materials in the hope of making the legal process more equitable and transparent. Legal databases, case reporters, encyclopedias, codes all provide a means for the self-represented litigant to learn the law and educate him/herself.

November 30, 2007

Should the Web Be Changed From WWW to GGG (Giant Global Graph) ?

by David Badertscher

David Badertscher

“Why we need to move from thinking about Web pages to thinking about the information on those pages.”

http://www.gcn.com/blogs/tech/45477.html

October 22, 2007

Information Retrieval and Records Management: The 2007 Sedona Conference

by David Badertscher

Best Practices in Information Retrieval and Records Management: Analysis and Recommendations from the 2007 Sedona Conference

By Steven Essig

The Sedona Conference Journal, Volume 8, Fall 2007, includes much relevant commentary on possible best practices and other important concerns on effective information retrieval of legal documents. Issues raised range from effective precision and recall searching, appropriate sorts of indexing strategies, word choice, email retention policies for courts and other legal organizations among other major concerns. Of particular interest to librarians should be the section of the issue entitled “ESI Symposium”, which contains a report from “The Sedona Conference ® Working Group on Best Practices for Document Retention and Production (WG1), Search & Retrieval Sciences Special Project Team” (the August 2007 Public Comment Version).

October 1, 2007

Domestic Violence and Youth at Risk

by David Badertscher

Each quarterly issue of the Judges Journal , the official publication of the Judicial Division, American Bar Association, emphasizes a particular theme of interest and concern to the judiciary. The Summer 2007 issue, Volume 46 Number 3 is devoted primarily to matters related to domestic violence and youth at risk. The following is an overiew of the various articles and other features included. I am grateful to Steven Essig, our professional law librarian intern for special projects for his able assistance in compiling this material.

Domestic Violence and Youth at Risk

BY Steven Essig

September 14, 2007

Law, The Brain and DSM

by David Badertscher

David Badertscher

Usually four times a year I make a presentation to Psychiatric Fellows associated with our forensic psychiatric clinic. In these presentations I discuss updated reference sources including databases, and review with them various searching and other techniques useful in their research. When preparing for an upcoming session I noticed two items, one a small OP-ED article in the New York Times, and the other a review of a book published by Oxford University Press.

One book that is consulted repeatedly is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, a respected reference source, currently in its fourth edition, prepared by the American Psychiatric Association. While this source is often relied upon without question, there is a concern among some that future editions may need to focus in a more precise way on issues such as symptoms and the linkage between diagnosis and treatment.