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Judge Clarifies Trust on Yacht Racing Rules
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.”
Q & A: Preemploymenrt Background Checks in Courts
QUESTION
” I was curious about what courts are doing regarding preemployment background checks. Are courts systems obtaining fingerprints of new hires and running the background checks? For all jobs? We currently do it for judges and magistrates, but not routinely for court clerks or deputy clerk positions. Thanks.”
ANSWER 1:
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”.
U.S. Legislative Update from GalleryWatch 12/14/2007
Basil Tilmon of GalleryWatch in Washington, D.C. prepares informative and sometimes enertaining updates of the comings and goings in the Washington legislative world. Here are exerpts from his update for the week ending December 14:
The omnibus appropriations bill is still in limbo as both the House and Senate on Thursday passed a third continuing resolution to keep the government funded until Dec. 21. The House took advantage of this free time and decided to take today off. Appropriators will work over the weekend on a new plan for an omnibus package, which could hit the House floor as soon as Monday.
Homeland Security
Senator George Mitchell’s Report on Performance Enhancement Drugs in Major League Baseball
Former senator George Mitchell released his Report on Performance Enhancing Drugs in Major League Baseball on Thursday December 13, 2007. Here is an excerpt from a news release on the Major League Baseball (MLB) website:
” — Former Sen. George Mitchell said on Thursday that performance-enhancing drug use has been pervasive in the sport for more than a decade as he released his findings in the shape of a 311-page report, which was fashioned during the past 20 months of investigations.”
” ‘Everyone involved in baseball shares responsibility,”‘Mitchell said during a news conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. ‘Commissioners, club officials, the Players Association and players. I can’t be any clearer than that.’ “
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.
December 2007 Issue of Technical Services Law Librarian is Available
For librarians and others who are interested, the December 2007 issue (Volume 33 Number 2) issue of the AALL Technical Services Law Librarian has been published. To see the issue online, click here.
Audio Conference: Best Practices for Businesses Exploring, Exploiting, and Expanding in Web 2.0
Pike & Fischer Audio Conference
Best Practices for Businesses Exploring, Exploiting, and Expanding in Web 2.0
An interactive audio event
New Jersey Nears Repeal of Death Penalty
The New Jersey Senate voted Monday December 10 to make the state the first in the country to repeal the death penalty since 1976, when the United States Supreme Court set guidelines for the nation’s current system of capital punishment.
Legislators on both sides of the debate said they expected the measure to pass easily on Thursday in the General Assembly, where Democrats hold 50 of the 80 seats.
Gov. Jon S. Corzine, a staunch opponent of the death penalty, has said he would sign a measure ending executions