Commentary and Opinion

May 5, 2008

Web Based Services at the New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library, New York County*

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.

May 5, 2008

Results of Survey: Library Use of E-Books

by David Badertscher

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:

May 2, 2008

Unusual Judges

by David Badertscher

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.”

May 2, 2008

Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control – Resource Description and Access (RDA)

by David Badertscher

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

May 2, 2008

ABA Journal Weekly Newsletter May 2, 2008

by David Badertscher

New York Chief Judge Judith Kaye Writes Governor to Deny Slowdown of Judges

by David Badertscher

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….”

April 29, 2008

NY Legislature: Bill would Add 39 Judges to Family Court Bench

by David Badertscher

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

April 28, 2008

Judge Explains Not Guilty Verdicts in Sean Bell Case

by David Badertscher

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

April 25, 2008

10 Tips for Finding Great Web Design and Development Services

by David Badertscher

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.”