Articles Posted in Commentary and Opinion

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Late in October 2008 rumors were circulating around the lbrary community that OCLC was in the process of updating its Guidelines for the Use and Transfer of OCLC Derived Records These rumors proved true; OCLC published its new policy on Sunday November 2, 2008. The reaction to these changes was sufficiently “swift and harsh” that on November 19, 2008 OCLC removed the original updated version and released a second updated version on November 19. Since that time reaction has continued to be animated, resulting in a continuing series of meetings, proposed changes, commentaries etc.

What is the present status of this discussion? To help answer that question Phyllis Post, who attended the May 2009 OCLC Members Council Meeting where a presentation was made by OCLC, has provided a brief but most helpful update which I received as an e-mail. With the permission of Phyllis I am posting her message below:

Colleagues,

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The Justice Policy Institute, an advocacy organization based in Washington DC, has just issued a report, Pruning Prisons: How Cutting Corrections Can Save Money and Protect Public Safety, which argues that states can improve public safety and save millions of dollars by investing in community based alternatives to incarceration. Quoting from the Introduction: “as the United States grapples with harsh economic realities, states and localities continue to cut budgets, shed jobs, and trim institutions that are not cost effective. Among the least cost effective are prisons and jail systems. Bulding on these observations the remainder of the of the report outlines a number of findings and recommendations supported by charts and other data .

More from the Introduction:

The United States’ prison system continues to grow every year. Over 2.3 million people are incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails. As state prisons hold nearly 60 percent of the people incarcerated, yearly increases in the prison system are most keenly felt by states.

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In a recent e-mail Robert Richards, a Law Librarian and Legal Information Consultant from Philadelphia, mentions a recent Associatiion of Research Libraries (ARL) preservation report, “Safeguarding Collections at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Describing Roles & Measuring Contemporary Preservation Activities in ARL Libraries,” http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/safeguarding-collections.pdf .. More details are at http://www.arl.org/news/pr/preservation-14may09.shtml The report is organized around three main sections: Preservation Functions; Networked Digital Environment; and Collaboration. Within each section, background and analysis are provided and recommendations offered for consideration by ARL

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Meghan McCain, John McCain’s daughter, writing in the Daily Beast discusses her love of guns. Here are some excerpts from her posting.

According to Meghan: “…I find it empowering, especially as a woman, to fire off a few rounds….Lets get something straight: Individual responsibility and personal liberty are inherent Republican philosophies. And nothing could be more essential in protecting those ideals than the Bill of Rights. Its no accident the second of the first 10 amendments protects the right to bear armsand has done so for more than 200 years. Obviously, I realize the Second Amendment has been heavily scrutinized. Its simplicity is sometimes mistaken for ambiguity. But it stands as a fundamental right, ensures the conditions for a ‘free state,’ and rewards responsible, trained citizens with the freedom to protect themselves. Thats what the NRA is truly about: providing Americans who choose to take advantage of their Second Amendment rights the appreciation for the serious responsibilities and safety precautions necessary to ensure gun owners safety and the safety of others.”

Although some of us don’t especially love guns or agree with her interpretation of the Second Amendment, Meghan does have a right to express her opinion. See her entire posting at http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-14/trigger-happy/ and don’t forget to read the comments.

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Top Ten Stories of the Week ending May 8, 2009:

Law Practice Management Downturn’s Losers: BigLaw, ‘Entitled’ Associates, Top Schools May 7, 2009, 10:12 am CDT

Law Schools Blog Questions ‘Rankings Malpractice’ by Law Schools

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A Report of the New York State Inspector General, Joseph Fisch, released on May 13, 2009 concluded that Herbert Titelbaum Executive Director of the New York State Council on Public Integrity and a close friend exchanged at least 165 phone calls and held regular dinners over a five month period in 2007, during which Mr. Titelbaum disclosed the progress and details of the inquiry conducted by the panel, the Commission on Public Integrity, into the handling by former governor Spitzer’s administration of the travel records of longtime Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno. Since the Report was released there have been calls for the resignation of Mr. Titelbaum

Below are links to two news articles which discuss the Report and its implications, followed by links to the Executive Summary and Findings of the Report, ending with a link to the complete Report itself:

New York Times Article May 13, 2009 “Paterson Asks Ethics Panel to Quit by Danny Hakim.

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