Articles Posted in Library Organization and Planning

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.

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:

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

Jonathan L. Zittrain has written an interesting, informative and innovative book titles The Future of the Internet: And How to Stop It. . I use the word “innovative” because the web version, which is available in full text at http://yupnet.org/zittrain/ incorporates added features to engage the reader.

To quote from his introduction:

“…The Internet’s current trajectory is one of lost opportunity. Its salvation lies in the hands of its millions of users. Drawing on generative technologies like Wikipedia that have so far survived their own successes, this book shows how to develop new technologies and social structures that allow users to work creatively and collaboratively, participate in solutions, and become true ‘netizens.’ “

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.”

The Organisation of South African Law Libraries (OSALL) is one of the sponssors and will be participating in this Conference:

NINTH Southern African Online Information Meeting

Tuesday 3rd of June to Thursday 5th of June 2008 CSIR Conference Centre

National Library Week is being observed April 13-19, 2008 with the theme, “join the circle of knowledge @ your library.”

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries – school, public, academic and special – participate.

National Library Week affords a wonderful opportunity for librarians and non-librarians to both promote and reflect on the importance of libraries to our society. Here are some examples of various groups are observing National Library Week:

SIX CRITICAL STEPS TO MANAGING ELECTRONICALLY STORED INFORMATION

“(Mark Diamond) – Litigation always, has been, and will continue to be, a reality of doing business. What is changing, however, is discovery and its focus on electronically stored information (often abbreviated ESI). Recent amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure concerning the discovery of ESI coupled with the explosive growth of electronically stored documents are exposing organizations to new risks and costs during litigation and the subsequent discovery”
__________________________ From: Findlaw, Modern Practice Newsletter, April 11, 2008

Writing in the April/May 2008 issue of State Tech: Technology Insights for Leaders in State and Local Government, Michele Hope concludes by writing: “Only time and a few real-world installations will tell.” Here are some excerpts from Michele’s article:

FROM THE INTRODUCTION:

“The first commercial holographic storage products are slated for release in mid-2008. With first-generation products boasting write-once, read many (WORM) characteristics, a lifespan of 50-pls years, initial disk capacities of 300 gigabytes per disk and a 20 magabyte-per-second data rate, proponents are aiming this technology at the long term archival needs of government entities, highly regulated health-care and medical organizations, and professional media and film industries

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