Criminal Law Library BlogQUESTION:
What is your policy on cell phones in the courthouse? Are you able to keep them with you? If not, what do you do with them while you are in the courthouse? Can you use them in the courthouse?
SOME RESPONSES:
Articles Posted in Commentary and Opinion
New 2008 Presidential Debates Web Site
The Commission on Presidential Debates has partnered with MySpace to create a new Web site, www.MyDebates.org. This site will become available in the days leading up to the first Presidential debate on September 26. The more questions submitted, the more likely a library question will be asked. This is an opportunity for the library voice to become an important part of the 2008 Presidential election. Librarians need to submit questions to this web site in order for their voices to be heard.
Support Ohio Draft Reform Bill SB 345 to Help Ohio County Law Libraries
Ohio Draft Reform Bill SB345
Increasingly, county law libraries face new challenges with regards to their funding, space and continued existence in the states with established systems. These challenges were addressed in 2005 with legislation in Ohio to cut back on funds going to county law libraries. Please take a moment to read this summary of the bill and let us know if you are in favor of SCCLL supporting Ohio county law libraries in their struggle. Please go to our website to share your read more and share your vote.
Robert Pear Highlights Concerns of Loss of Federal Electronic Government Information*
One of the historic functions of libraries has been preserving and providing access to information in various media. In many ways, digitization of information has positively altered the information landscape. However, with the dynamic nature of such information, vital information preservation issues arise.
In a timely September 13, 2008, New York Times article by Robert Pear that is entitled “In Digital Age, Federal Files Blip Into Oblivion,” the issue of institutional preservation of digital information is addressed. The author maintains that many federal records created by email, word processing, or posting on the Internet are being lost to history. This is due to federal employees failing to preserve such material due to the incredible volume being generated. Dramatic examples of these preservation issues include, the appearance of non-functioning links on government websites and removal of important reports such as those critical of the Bush administration.
There is another concern about information loss not addressed directly in Robert Pear’s article. The issue Mr. Pear raises regarding the apparent failure of federal employees to implement adequate procedures to preserve the huge amounts of significant digital materials being generated may also relate to the ongoing necessary maintenance of such information to keep it trustworthy and authentic. No matter how carefully information in digital formats is maintained on an ongoing basis there is always a possibility that it may become corrupted or otherwise tainted, making it untrustworthy and therefore “lost” in terms of its value and relevancy to users. The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) is very concerned about this issue because the trustworthiness of all online legal resources, including federal. is fundamental to permanent public access and is inherently a matter of great concern to the legal community
Justice Made Local: The Future of Town and Village Courts in New York State: A Report by the Special Commission on the Future of New York State Courts
September 2008
A special commission appointed by Hon. Judith S. Kaye, Chief Judge of the Courts in the State of New York, has issued a Report: Justice Most Local, The Future of Town and Village Courts in New York State, which recommends a significant consolidation of the “centuries-old” local court system.
Am excerpt from the Overview of Findings section of the Executive Summary”
The Jury Expert: The Art and Science of Litigation and Advocacy
Volume 20 Issue 3 September 2008
Table of Contents
The Preparation of Narcissistic Witnesses
Highlights and Lowlights of the Mozilla Firefox 3.1, Google Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Web Browsers
From: Government Computer News, September 19, 2008.
“InfoWorld breaks down the highlightsand the lowlightsfor the Mozilla Firefox 3.1, Google Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Web browsers. and lowlights of each offering and where it stands as far as a full release”.
Remarks of the Democratic and Republican Nominees at the 2008 Conventions
Some of our readers have suggested it would be helpful to have copies of the full text of remarks of all four nominees at the 2008 Democratic and Republican Conventions held in late August and early September.
Thanks to both the democratic and republican parties we are able to do so by downloading these documents from their respective websites, listed chronologically by convention dates:
2008 Republican Party Platform
Prior to the 2008 National Convention fo the Democratic Party we posted the Draft of the 2008 Platform of the Democratic Party. At that time we did not have comparable information from the Republican Party to post, even though we very much wanted to do so. To be fair and impartial we are now posting a link to the 2008 GOP platform as well.
Click here for access to the GOP platform and related information.
American Libraries Direct September 10, 2008
The e-newsletter of the American Library Association*.
Critics revisit library incident that paints Palin as censor
“Journalists and bloggers scrutinizing Sarah Palin’s record of public service have made national news out of a 1996 library incident in Wasilla, Alaska, where the Republican vice-presidential nominee was then mayor. The story that has emerged-in countless reports, from the blogosphere to the New York Times-paints Palin as a would-be censor and then–city librarian Mary Ellen Emmons as nearly losing her job for disagreeing….”