Criminal Law Library BlogNew on LLRX.com for January 2008, www.llrx.com
From Sabrina I. Pacifaci, Founder, Editor, Publisher LLRX.com
**Many thanks to all the authors whose work appears in this month’s issue.
Articles Posted in Library Organization and Planning
Report: October 2007 OCLC Council Meeting
The following is an excerpt of a Report of the OCLC Council Meeting by Phyllis Post, Head of Technical Services at Capital University (Columbus, Ohio). Phyllis attended as an observer/representative of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL).. Speaking personnally, I am very happy to see AALL involved at this level with OCLC:
From the OCLC Members Council 2007/2008 Annual Plan:
The Members Council, along with the Board of Trustees, is one of the two governance bodies representing the Membership of the OCLC global, nonprofit, library cooperative. Members Council supports OCLC’s mission of furthering cost-effective access to worldwide information by serving as a key strategic discussion forum and the major communications link among Members, networks, and OCLC. By providing an open channel for recommendations and questions from delegates, approving changes in the Code of Regulations, and electing six Members of the Board of Trustees, Members Council helps shape the future direction of OCLC and libraries.
Lessons from the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill: The Gold Mouse Report
The information below is from the Press Release announcing the Report, followed by a link to the complete Report:
Washington, D.C. – A new report from the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) on congressional Web sites says the overall quality “continues to be disappointing,” with more than 40% of congressional Web sites earning a substandard or failing grade. The report also contains recognition and praise for the best Web sites on Capitol Hill with the announcement of the winners of the 2007 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Mouse Awards.
“The good news is that 19 more offices won awards in 2007 than did in 2006, including 16 freshmen Members. The bad news is that there were 20 more D’s and F’s,” said Beverly Bell, Executive Director of CMF, a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded 30 years ago to promote a more effective Congress. “We were glad to see good sites getting better, but discouraged to see the bad getting worse.”
Final Report: Library of Congress Working Group on Bibliographic Control
This posting includes the Executive Summary followed by a link to the full text of the Final Report:
“The Working Group hopes that this Report is viewed as a ‘call to action’ that informs and broadens participation in discussion and debate, conveys a sense of urgency, stimulates collaboration, and catalyzes thoughtful and deliberate action. We anticipate broad discussion of the Report’s recommendations and their implications, and look forward to the development of specific implementation plans, research agendas, and educational programs.”
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In November 2006, Deanna Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library Services at the Library of Congress, convened a Working Group to examine the future of bibliographic control in the 21st century. The formal charge to the Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control was to:
The Prennial Issue: Library Funding
The following is a question regarding alternative approaches to library funding and a summary of responses to that question.
QUESTION
“The perennial issue – law library funding. Beyond civil filing fees, has any law library tried other avenues for funding, for example, a portion of the attorney registration fee, or other vehicle? I am interested whether or not the attempt was successful.”
Draft Report of the Library of Congress Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control and the AALL Official Response
View Letter from the Working Group – November 30, 2007 [PDF, 41 KB]
Read Draft Final Report of the Working Group [PDF, 315 KB]
The period for public comment on the report is open until December 15, 2007. Comments can be submitted via the Web site at http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/contact/. Electronic submission of comments is encouraged. Please note that public comments are a vital part of the Working Group’s deliberations and may be available for public access either online or in print.
A Librarian’s Worst Nightmare: Yahoo! Answers, Where 120 Million Users Can Be Wrong*
The following is an excerpt from a December 7, 2007 article by Jacob Liebenluft posted on Slate
“When it does battle on the Web, Google rarely loses. Last year’s closure of Google Answers, however, marked a rare setback for the search giant. An even bigger shock is that Yahoo! succeeded where Google failed. Yahoo! Answers-a site where anyone can post a question in plain English, including queries that can’t be answered by a traditional search engine-now draws 120 million users worldwide, according to Yahoo!’s internal stats. The site has compiled 400 million answers, all searchable in its archives. According to the Web tracking company Hitwise, Yahoo! Answers is the second-most-visited education/reference site on the Internet after Wikipedia”
“The blockbuster success of Yahoo! Answers is all the more surprising once you spend a few days using the site. While Answers is a valuable window into how people look for information online, it looks like a complete disaster as a traditional reference tool. It encourages bad research habits, rewards people who post things that aren’t true, and frequently labels factual errors as correct information. It’s every middle-school teacher’s worst nightmare about the Web.”
Information Organization Future for Libraries
Library Technology Reports 43:6 2007 By Brad Eden
Excerpts from ALA TechSource publication announcment:
“As library technologists and librarians are well aware, since the advent of the Internet, the relationship between the user and his/her library has changed”.
December Newsletter for the Wisconsin State Law Library Now Available
Wsll @ Your Service, an E-publication of the Wisconsin State Law Library is now available. It contains an interesting variety of news under heading such as: What’s New, This Just in, Tech Tip in Brief, Learn @ the Law Library, and Odds & Endings. Those who are concerned about the conversion to Digital TV on February 17, 2007 will find the information and links in the Tech Tip in Brief section especially valuable.
To see the entire issue click here.