November 2004

Transcription

November 2004

AALL cover Nov 10/28/04 4:40 PM Page 1
AALL Spectrum
Volume 9 No. 2
November 2004
AALL: Maximizing the Power of the Law Library Community Since 1906
Law Librarians and
the Internet
How Does the World Wide Web
Affect the Profession?
In This Issue
Using Blogs as
Research Tools
Social Movements
Mobilize Online
How to Improve Catalogs’
Search Capabilities
www.aallnet.org
Expert knowledge partners
dedicated to your success
The LexisNexis
TM
Librarian Relations Group…personalized service for professional growth
It’s how you knowTM
• Personalized service and support in person,
by phone or e-mail: locally, regionally, nationally
• Professional development programs: LexisNexisTM
Librarian Certificate of Mastery, Information Professional
Education Conferences, Web Seminars, scholarships
and grants
• Information resources created exclusively for librarians:
the InfoPro Web site, LexisNexisTM Information
Professional Update newsletter, LexisNexisTM This Week
e-mail updates and more
...a focused mission, a proud tradition, a treasured relationship
LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used
under license. It’s How You Know is a trademark of LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
© 2004 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
AL6897
AALLSpectrum_Nov 10/22/04 3:11 PM Page 1
letter from the editor
Volume 9 No. 2
November 2004
The Web We Navigate
AALL Spectrum
Editorial Staff
Director of Publications and Managing Editor
Julia O’Donnell
jodonnell@aall.org
Editorial Director
Paul D. Healey
phealey@law.uiuc.edu
Copy Editor
Graphic Designer
Robert B. Barnett Jr.
Kathy Wozbut
2004–2005 Law Library Journal and AALL Spectrum Editorial
Board and Advisory Committee
Chair
Sarah Andeen
Members
Mary Ann Parker
Naomi J. Goodman
Maria E. Protti
Elizabeth A. Greenfield
Paul D. Healey (ex officio)
Bonnie L. Koneski-White
Frank G. Houdek (ex officio)
Richard A. Leiter
Raquel M. Ortiz (ex officio)
Kurt X. Metzmeier
Kathie J. Sullivan (board liaison)
Kristina L. Niedringhaus
2004–2005 Executive Board
President
Vice President/President-Elect
Secretary
Treasurer
Immediate Past President
Executive Director
Members
Kathy Carlson
Ann T. Fessenden
Anne K. Myers
Victoria K. Trotta
Claire M. Germain
Catherine Lemann
Joyce Manna Janto
Janis L. Johnston
Susan E. Fox
Nina Platt
Merle J. Slyhoff
Kathie J. Sullivan
AALL Spectrum (ISSN: 1089–8689) is published monthly except
January and August with combined September/October by the
American Association of Law Libraries, 53 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite
940, Chicago, IL 60604. Telephone: 312/939-4764, fax: 312/4311097, e-mail: aallhq@aall.org. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago,
Illinois and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to AALL Spectrum, 53 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 940, Chicago,
IL 60604.
Writers wanted — contribute to your Association’s magazine.
For guidelines, visit www.aallnet.org or contact Editorial Director
Paul D. Healey at phealey@law.uiuc.edu.
AALL Spectrum Deadlines
Articles are due on the following dates:
2004–2005
Issue
Deadline
Vol. 9, No. 4
February
December 2
No. 5
March
January 6
No. 6
April
February 3
Copy sent through a columnist or guest editor should be submitted
to him or her well in advance of the monthly deadline.
AALLNET: www.aallnet.org
Advertising Representatives
Benson, Coffee & Associates
1411 Peterson Ave., Park Ridge, IL 60068
Telephone: 847/692-4695 • Fax: 847/692-3877
E-mail: bencof@aol.com
AALL Spectrum is a free benefit of membership in the American
Association of Law Libraries. Of each year’s dues, $42 is for one year
of AALL Spectrum. Nonmembers may subscribe to AALL Spectrum for
$75 per year. For membership and/or subscription information, please
contact the American Association of Law Libraries at the address
above.
The American Association of Law Libraries does not assume any
responsibility for the statements advanced by the contributors to,
nor the advertisers in, the Association’s publication. Editorial views
do not necessarily represent the official position of the Association.
All advertising copy is subject to editorial approval. ∞ AALL Spectrum
is printed on acid-free, recycled paper.
All contents copyright 2004 by the American Association of Law
Libraries, except where otherwise expressly indicated. Except as
otherwise expressly provided, the author of each item in this issue has
granted permission for copies of that item to be made for classroom
use or for any other educational purpose, provided that (1) copies
are distributed at or below cost, (2) author and AALL Spectrum are
identified, and (3) proper notice of copyright is affixed to each copy.
For items in which it holds copyright, the American Association of
Law Libraries grants permission for copies to be made for classroom
use or for any other educational purpose under the same conditions.
by Paul D. Healey, phealey@law.uiuc.edu
The theme of this month’s issue of Spectrum started with a single
question that struck me one afternoon while I was doing something
else entirely. The question was, “How much do law librarians really use
the Web?” The Web has become so integrated into our professional
lives that it almost sounds like a silly question. And unquestionably
most of us use the Web quite a bit in our work.
Indeed, many of us deal with library users who feel that everything is on the Web
and question why we need libraries any more. But my impression was that librarians are
still relying mostly on purchased resources in their work. Some of those resources may be
accessed through the Web, but that’s something different than using the Web itself as a
primary resource. So, I wondered, how much are we really using the Web in our work?
My initial question developed over time into the theme for this issue: Librarians
and the Internet. In it, we look at how the Web is being used and can be used by law
librarians. There are no definitive answers here, but we do try to get a sense of what is
going on as the Web revolution changes the nature of our work.
Beth Greenfield stepped up to the task when I went looking for an author to address
my central question of how law librarians use the Web. I talked her into doing the article
at the AALL Annual Meeting in Boston, and she produced a very good article in a
very short time. I deeply appreciate her willingness to contribute and work within our
deadlines and conditions, as I do with all of our authors. In her article, Beth explores the
question of how we use the Web, and I think you’ll find her conclusions interesting.
One of the great benefits of editing Spectrum is that it allows me (and sometimes
forces me) to keep up with new developments in the profession and in the information
world. One example of this is Web logs—blogs. I’ve heard about blogs, and I have a
rough idea of what they are, but I haven’t had the time to really explore them or look
at how they might fit into my work. This month Paul Moorman has written a very nice
article about blogs in law libraries, including plenty of references to resources, that has
really helped me understand the concept better and has given me some tools to get
started. If you’ve been wondering about blogs as well, you should find his article useful.
There is a lot more in this issue; more than I have space to discuss. Look for Teresa
Stanton’s article on peace studies resources, as well as a very good public relations article
by Charlotte Graesser Henderson. Also, please take a moment to look at the back page
of this issue. Several new things are happening there that we think you’ll enjoy. For one
thing, you will see a couple pictures from our new series of library views. We are
encouraging readers to submit pictures of interesting views they have from their library
windows. As you can see, we have been supplied with some wonderful pictures, and we
plan to feature at least one new view each month. If you have an interesting view from
your library, let us know, and we can discuss featuring a picture of it on our back page.
The other thing you will notice on our back page is a call for comments and
thoughts from readers. We would like to use some of our back page space as a forum for
readers. We are looking for short submissions about AALL and about the profession.
They can be opinionated or thought provoking, humorous or poignant, but they must
be short. The ideal submission will be a paragraph or less and certainly shorter than a
letter to the editor.
We see this as a chance for AALL members to bring up issues or make statements
about their careers, the profession, or AALL. While anything is fair game for a topic,
please understand that we will edit submissions for style and length and select
submissions based on content and
other factors. There is no guarantee
that any particular submission will be
published. ■
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
1
table of contents
14
Mining Information Gold
in the Blogosphere
How to use Web logs as
reliable research tools
by Paul J. Moorman
18
How We Work the Web
Information professionals
must deal with public
perception that everything’s
online
by Elizabeth Greenfield
photo by Elizabeth Farina
20
Virtual Protest
Social movements use Internet
as key tool for mobilization
by Teresa C. Stanton
pg. 18
center insert
The CRIV Sheet
Students at the Suffolk University Law Library use their
computers in the reading room. Most students turn to the Web
first for research.
features
8
Professional Development:
Bringing Amazon.com to
the OPAC
One library’s mission to
enrich its catalog and
improve search capabilities
announcements
30
Awards Committee Calls for
Nominees for AALL Awards
31
31
31
AALL Elections Go Electronic
AALL Meets the Strait Funding
Challenge
Public Relations: Have
Librarian, Will Travel
A mentoring docu-drama hits
the road for public relations
by Charlotte Graesser Henderson
View from the Tarlton Law Library’s sixth floor window, looking
south into the heart of the University of Texas at Austin campus
and Texas Memorial Stadium. Submitted by Scott Webel, Web
and administrative assistant.
pg. 32
2
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
1
4
6
24
25
26
28
Letter from the Editor
From the President
Washington Brief
Chapter News
Committee News
SIS News
Membership News
departments
The Call for Papers Has Begun
by Patricia R. Monk
12
columns
28
29
32
Memorials
Ad Index
Views and Viewpoints
Practice of law…
meet business of law.
Bringing together the actual practice of law and the business aspects of
your practice can be a challenge. Your firm’s success depends on both.
Go Beyond Cases & Codes
M a n a g e Yo u r P r a c t i c e
G r o w Yo u r P r a c t i c e
Today, your firm’s success is increasingly tied to your ability to
accommodate the business aspects of your practice—such as building
a strong client base and maximizing your efficiency.
You know LexisNexis® for authoritative research tools. But did you
know we go beyond cases and codes to provide an array of easy-to-use
solutions that address the business needs of your practice as well?
From time-management tools that streamline your case and billing
activities, to in-depth company news and information that help you
know more about current clients and best prospects, LexisNexis has the
tools and 24/7 support you need to help manage your business and build
your client base. All with the same confidence that you practice law.
LexisNexis…more than research.
Visit www.lexisnexis.com or call 877.810.5324.
LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under license.
It’s How You Know is a trademark of LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
© 2004 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
AL7124
from the
by Victoria K. Trotta, victoria.trotta@asu.edu
president
Metaphors and
Magicians
I recently exchanged shoptalk with
a valued colleague. She relayed an
account of a frustrated senior law partner
who came to her in a crunch to find legal
authority on a particular proposition he
wanted to use in a pleading. She was able
to locate exactly what he wanted within five
minutes, using a print treatise. He was
incredulous and impressed. His clerks had
been searching for hours and had come up
empty handed.
This is my favorite type of law library
story, because it illustrates the seemingly
effortless competence that our colleagues
often demonstrate, as if by magic. Our
patrons probably don’t spend much time
thinking about how we know what we know;
they just know that they can count on us to
produce whatever it is they need—often
before they realize they need it. We know
that our unique talents and skills are hard
won and maintained through continuous
education and strategic thinking about
future needs. But to many of our patrons,
we are simply magicians. This is my favorite
metaphor for law librarians.
As for today’s AALL, I think of the
organization as a gigantic puzzle. Every
entity, every member, every service, and
every project represents a critical part of the
whole. No piece has a more important place
in the puzzle than any other piece. Each
piece contributes to the overall beauty of the
whole puzzle. It drives you crazy when a
piece is lost or when you can’t find just the
right piece to fill in a particular spot. But
in the end, it’s a very satisfying exercise to
complete a puzzle.
Once you complete the puzzle, there’s no
room to grow—the puzzle has finite borders.
Moving forward means starting a new puzzle
with new patterns and challenges. Although
this particular metaphor may seem too static
to represent today’s AALL, it is true that we’ve
achieved our last set of strategic objectives.
We’re at a place to rethink where we want
AALL to head in the future. From a goalcentered and visionary standpoint, it’s time to
start a new puzzle. Or find a new metaphor.
A new metaphor will have to embody
some of the traits we know are necessary for
both the law librarian and the Association of
the future: prescience, or at least sensitivity
to trends and challenges; a change agent;
knowledgeable; imaginative; clear on
4
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
principles and
values worthy
of defending;
and exuding
leadership in the
face of uncertainty.
What metaphors
best describe your
vision of the law
librarian and the AALL
of the future? Please e-mail me,
if inspiration strikes you. I’ll report back
with the more inspired metaphors.
Presidential Representations
Each year, your president represents AALL
at a number of international conferences.
Some of you wonder why the president
attends these meetings. Are these trips merely
junkets? What benefit does the Association
derive from such representations? I’ve
attended two international conferences to
date, and I thought I would tell you a little
about these trips and the purposes they serve.
The executive summary: fun was had, but
work was done.
In June I attended the British Irish
Association of Law Librarians (BIALL)
meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland. BIALL
is a creative and welcoming group of law
librarians. Its conference is an intimate,
collegial gathering, and it’s clear that these
are professionals who have known and
worked with each other for many years. I
imagine that our own Annual Meeting had
that same quality when our Association was
much smaller and everyone knew everyone.
The 35th Annual Study Conference’s
theme was “Challenging Times, New
Challenges: The Role of the Legal
Information Professional in Times of
Economic and Technological Change.” I
contributed to a panel on relations with
publishers and vendors, specifically reporting
on the AALL experience. BIALL members
were most interested in our latest effort in
this area, the AALL Guide to Fair Business
Practices for Legal Publishers. BIALL is
considering what activities it might undertake
to engage its publisher colleagues in dialog.
In August I traveled to Helsinki,
Finland, to represent AALL at the annual
meeting of the International Association of
Law Libraries (IALL). The 23rd Annual
Course on International Law Librarianship
and Conference’s theme was “Protecting the
Environment: A Challenge Across Borders—
Legal Issues and Information Resources in
Finland and Estonia.” This time no formal
presentation was required of me.
Again, this conference involved an
engaging and inclusive gathering of law
librarians from all over the world. The
conference included several international
issues having to do with copyright. During
the Boston meeting, Past President Janis
Johnston convened a meeting of the
international representatives that explored
strategies for forming an advocacy coalition.
Vice President Claire Germain and I met
with the outgoing and incoming IALL
presidents in Helsinki to discuss ways we
might contribute to this project. I have no
doubt that our face-to-face meetings, both in
Boston and in Helsinki, went a long way in
demonstrating our interest and willingness
to participate in this collaborative effort,
however it ultimately takes shape.
These representations continue to be
worthwhile activities for the Association.
Our “official” attendance signals support
and respect for our sister associations.
Participation in these meetings provides a
fresh perspective on AALL’s programs and
services. Lastly, meeting and socializing with
members of our sister associations can lead
to joint initiatives and projects that will
benefit both organizations. After all is said
and done, it is hard to pursue good ideas
from a distance.
Attending international conferences
is a very enjoyable part of serving as
AALL president, and I am grateful for the
hospitality and the collegiality extended
to me during these visits. AALL, too,
welcomes our sister associations’ presidential
representatives to our Annual Meeting
each year. We also make every attempt to
incorporate them into our conference as they
do with such care for us. It is a wonderful
tradition and one worth fostering.
Association News
The fall Executive Board meeting this
month will focus on our strategic directions
project. The board has spent a great deal
of energy seeking out information that will
foster an informed discussion about trends
and future challenges facing the legal
profession. One technique we used was
identifying and interviewing—through a
consultant—representative stakeholders that
are versed in trends and challenges facing
different sectors of the legal profession and
that are knowledgeable about the roles that
law librarians play in their organizations.
Interviewees included representatives
from legal education, courts, law firms,
publishers, and affiliated associations. We
asked them about their observations on the
future of their particular sector and how
they see law librarians contributing to
that future. We also appreciated member
(continued on page 29)
washington
brief
Update on the
INDUCE Act
Congress returned to work in
September and had a busy few weeks
before its October adjournment for the
fall campaign. In last month’s column
I described AALL’s opposition to S. 2560,
the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act
(INDUCE Act), which was introduced in
June by Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin
Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The bill is strongly
supported by Hollywood and the recording
industry because of their concerns about
peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks,
which they say are used mainly by consumers
to illegally share copyrighted materials.
It would also make companies and other
Internet service providers (ISPs) liable if their
software or technology encourages users to
violate copyright laws.
AALL is part of a large, diverse coalition
that opposes this bill because we believe
strongly that the solution is not to ban
technology simply because it can be used to
“induce” consumers to make illegal copies.
P2P technology is in fact used for many
important legal purposes. The bill is so
broadly drafted that it has many unintended
consequences far beyond targeting those
who infringe copyright. We are concerned
that it would chill educational innovation
and put universities at risk for lawsuits for
their file-sharing networks or universitycreated technology that enables file-sharing.
In late August, AALL was one of 20
organizations and businesses that sent a letter
to Senate leaders, including Sens. Hatch and
Leahy, to which we attached a draft alternative
to S. 2560, the Discouraging Online Networked
Trafficking Inducement Act (DON’T INDUCE
Act). Our proposal is a far narrower bill that
we believe fully meets Sen. Hatch’s mandate to
develop a “technology-neutral law directed at
a small set of bad actors while protecting our
legitimate technology industries from frivolous
litigation.”
The DON’T INDUCE Act states that
only someone who distributes a commercial
computer program that is “specifically
designed” for piracy on digital networks
could be held liable for copyright violations.
We intend it to be the starting point for
negotiating an acceptable compromise bill.
It also includes a specific provision ensuring
that an ISP would not be liable for thirdparty distribution of products designed to
facilitate mass, indiscriminate redistribution.
6
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
by Mary Alice Baish
As negotiations
were getting
off the ground
last week, the
Copyright Office
released a draft
discussion alternative to
the INDUCE Act that does
not reflect any of our concerns
with the original bill. Stay tuned because there
is a huge push by the entertainment industries
for P2P legislation this year, and very few days
remain in the 108th Congress.
AALL a Founding Member of the
Alliance for Taxpayer Access
On August 31, an unprecedented coalition
of public interest groups, including AALL,
announced the formation of the Alliance for
Taxpayer Access. The alliance is an informal
coalition of libraries, patient and health policy
advocates, and other stakeholders who support
reforms that will make publicly funded
biomedical research accessible to the public.
The alliance will urge the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) and members of Congress to
ensure that peer-reviewed articles on taxpayerfunded research at NIH become fully
accessible and available online at no cost to the
American public through PubMedCentral.
In joint library community letters to NIH
Director Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni and Senate
leaders, we noted that today the vast majority
of research funded with tax dollars is available
only through increasingly costly journal
subscriptions, often costing thousands of
dollars annually for a single journal. Users need
access to thousands of journals, and not even
the largest research libraries can provide the
research needed by scientists and other users.
We cited data that in 2001, U.S. research
libraries spent three times more money for
journal subscriptions than in 1986—and yet
received 5 percent fewer titles. During the
same period, the Consumer Price Index rose
just 62 percent. Lastly, we noted that the NIH
proposal balances the public interest in having
enhanced access to federally funded NIH
research while allowing publishers sufficient
market protections and time to implement new
economic publishing models.
Timely access to the results of NIH
funded research is critical to maintaining the
vitality of our nation’s investment in research
and education. This access is also critically
important to taxpayers seeking needed
information—information that they have
supported through their tax dollars—
concerning their health and welfare. Details
and FAQs on the new alliance may be found
at www.taxpayeraccess.org.
OpenTheGovernment.org Releases
Secrecy Report
As a member of the steering committee for
OpenTheGovernment.org (OTG.org), I’m
pleased to announce that in late August we
released the Secrecy Report Card: Quantitative
Indicators of Secrecy in the Federal
Government, our initial effort to establish
measurable benchmarks for evaluating the
level of secrecy in government. OTG.org
is a coalition of more than 30 organizations
calling for more democracy and less secrecy
in government. Government data confirmed
that secrecy has increased dramatically in
recent years. For every $1 the federal
government spent last year declassifying
documents, it spent an extraordinary $120
maintaining the secrets already on the books.
Here are some highlights from the
report. The federal government spent
$6.5 billion last year creating 14 million
new classified documents and securing
accumulated secrets—more than it has
for at least the past decade. For every new
classified document created, the federal
government spent $459 securing that
document and the accumulated mountain
of classified documents. Despite recent
recognition from government officials that
government classifies too much information,
the government continues to create more
secrets each year at an ever-growing cost
to taxpayers. This comes at a time when
public demand is rising, with more than
three million requests last year alone for
information from government agencies
under the Freedom of Information Act. For
more information about OTG.org or to
read the report, please visit www.OpenThe
Government.org.
McCabe Article on Pricing of
Legal Serials Now Available
Last, but certainly not least, Mark J.
McCabe, an economist at the Georgia
Institute of Technology, has just published an
article that will be of interest to many of
you: “Law Serials Pricing and Mergers:
A Portfolio Approach,” Contributions to
Economic Analysis & Policy, Vol. 3, No. 1,
Article 11. The article is freely available from
The Berkeley Electronic Press at www.
bepress.com/bejeap/contributions/vol3/iss1/
art11 or from McCabe’s Web site at www.
prism.gatech.edu/~mm284/bepress.pdf. ■
Mary Alice Baish, associate Washington
affairs representative, Edward B. Williams
Law Library, 111 G Street, NW Washington,
D.C. 20001-1417 • 202/662-9200 • Fax:
202/662-9202 • Baish@law.georgetown.edu •
www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash.
Who is using GSI’s LIVEDGAR ?
®
Every Am Law 100 Firm
The reason is elementary. It is a competitive world and LIVEDGAR has information that is unavailable from any
other online research service. Information that is essential to success in the area of corporate and securities
law. LIVEDGAR offers exclusive content, such as SEC Staff Reviews and M&A abstracts. Its advanced features
include hundreds of data fields for highly granular research. And perhaps, most importantly, GSI provides
immediate phone access to researchers 86 hours a week.
Lawyers, librarians and other legal researchers know that LIVEDGAR offers a level of research sophistication
that makes securities law work easier and better. Here’s your chance to get a free password for use at your own
desktop. If your firm already has an account we’ll make sure your ID and password is on the same usage terms
as everyone else in your firm. If your firm’s location does not have LIVEDGAR, we have several special offers for
you to choose from. Visit GSI at www.gsionline.com and click on Become a User. Find out for yourself why so
many lawyers use LIVEDGAR over other online services. Use promo code A704.
GSI and LIVEDGAR are registered trademarks of Global Securities Information, Inc.
419 7th ST NW Washington, DC 20004 | 800.669.1154
www.gsionline.com | mktgdept@gsionline.com
LEADING THE WAY IN SECURITIES RESEARCH
professional development
© 2004 Patricia R. Monk
Bringing Amazon.com to the OPAC
One library’s mission to enrich its catalog and improve search capabilities
by Patricia R. Monk
T
he Oklahoma City University
(OCU) School of Law Library
recently experienced an epidemic
of patrons unable to find materials in its
Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC).
Reference librarians and professors would
call me, the co-system administrator for the
integrated library system, when they were
unable to find books that they knew the
library must have. A professor did a subject
search for “elder law” that yielded no results.
And a reference librarian could not find
“mound builder” in a title search, although
she had initiated the purchase of
Moundbuilders: Ancient Peoples of Eastern
North America.
Though still underway, the OCU Law
Library’s mission to improve OPAC seems
to be a success. Now a keyword relevancy
ranked search for “elder law” yields a long
list of materials with chapter titles also
searched. A keyword relevancy ranked search
for “mound builders” finds 14 books, with
Moundbuilders: Ancient Peoples of Eastern
North America ranked number 12—even
though the search is for the two separate
words, “mound” and “builders.”
“Only librarians like to search, everyone
else likes to find,” says Roy Tennant,
user services architect at California
Digital Library. “[L]ibrary catalogs fail as
information finding tools [because] they
have too little information about items.”
Adding the tables of contents to catalogs
enriches the catalog and improves user
satisfaction by incorporating specificity and
current terminology. Searching the chapter
titles and authors in the keyword search,
rather than in an author search, maximizes
access to library materials without affecting
name authority control in the author index.
Question seven on the ABA Site
Evaluation Questionnaire 2004 reads,
“Describe the means by which the law
library provides adequate access to all
materials and resources in the law library’s
collections, regardless of format.” The
library’s OPAC should be one obvious
answer. Making that answer more intuitive
became my goal.
Enriching the Catalog
A keyword relevancy search for “UCC Harrell
Insolvency” brings up Professor Alvin Harrell’s
book, written with Professor Fred Miller, as the
first hit.
8
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
In an attempt to remedy the situation,
I studied the OPAC search logs. I found
keyword searches with the specificity of
Amazon or LEXIS/Westlaw searches, such as
“UCC Harrell insolvency,” “Louis Henkin,”
and “Reserve Mining.” Our library had
already agreed to set “keyword search” as the
default search and “full view”—that shows
all available analytic notes—as the default
view. Clearly more had to be done.
The OCU Law Library recently passed the
300,000 volumes and volume equivalents
mark. Under Library Director Judith
Morgan, the library has consistently
acquired many university press books as
well as treatises and loose-leafs during the
past 15 years. Finding all these materials
in the catalog soon became a problem.
IndexMaster provided library
information about catalog items through
URLs embedded in the bibliographic
records that linked to tables of contents and
indexes. While the information was often
extensive, the terms were not searchable
through the OPAC. The patron had to find
the bibliographic record first in order to
look at the table of contents and indexes.
Records provided by OCLC have the same
limitation; the tables of contents are
available within the bibliographic records
only as URLs so that the tables of contents
are not searchable in the OPAC.
The first suggestion, typing or scanning
the tables of contents into the bibliographic
records in-house, was dismissed as too labor
intensive and thus too expensive for most
items. The library decided to outsource the
project. In the past the OCU Law Library,
as part of the Mid-American Law Library
Consortium, had bought books through
Blackwell’s Book Services, so the search
for a vendor began there.
Comparing Vendors
Blackwell will enrich MARC records
regardless of where libraries purchase their
books. In addition to adding table of
contents information in the MARC 505
field, an enhanced 505 field, or 9xx field,
descriptive summaries may be added to the
520 field and author affiliations may be
added in a 9XX field. To take advantage of
Blackwell’s generous offer to provide a free
test load of 50 enriched records, OCU law
librarians filled out Blackwell’s TOC
Enrichment Profile and the Terms of Use
Agreement (www.blackwell.com/level2/TOC.
asp) and uploaded 250 MARC records to its
FTP site to ensure 50 enriched records.
A second vendor, Syndetic Solutions,
also supplies the tables of contents in the
basic MARC 505 field, enhanced MARC
505 field, or locally defined 9xx field. Book
summaries can be added in the 520 or 9xx
MARC field, and author notes and short
biographies added in a local 9xx field.
Syndetic Solutions is perhaps better known
for supplying book jackets (cover images)
for books, videos, and DVDs; first chapters;
and book reviews through a URL request
automatically initiated by an ILS vendor’s
software—a free trial can be arranged
through Syndetic. Alas, the first chapters,
book cover images, and book reviews
accessed remotely can never be in the
MARC records owned by libraries because
of restrictions in the licensing agreements
between Syndetic Solutions and its
suppliers. OCU’s Endeavor Voyager OPAC
generates the linking dynamically. Both
A keyword relevancy ranked search for “elder law” yields a long
list of materials. The sixth entry was enriched with a book
cover image from Syndetic Solutions.
Blackwell and Syndetic Solutions work with
many different library systems and will
supply references that use the library system
that matches your library system.
At the Endeavor Integrated Library
System’s national meeting in Chicago in
April 2004, I compared Blackwell and
AALL Professional Development
Program Competencies of Law
Librarianship
1
2
3
4
5
6
Core Competencies
Library Management
Reference, Research, and
Client Services
Information Technology
Collection Care and Management
Teaching
This article addresses the AALL
Specialized Competencies on Reference,
Research, and Client Services;
Information Technology; and Collection
Care and Management. The complete
AALL statement of Competencies of
Law Librarianship is online at www.
aallnet.org/prodev/competencies.asp.
Syndetic Solutions. Both add tables of
contents, summaries—also called
annotations—and author information to
the MARC record for a one-time price per
record. Syndetic Solutions charges an
additional yearly subscription fee for remote
access to book jacket images, book reviews,
first chapters, tables of contents, summaries
from the book jackets, and author
information through URLs. Syndetic
Solutions can make its information available
only through remote access, but if a library
Clicking on “Additional Information” within the table of
contents leads to a link to annotations.
chooses to end its subscription, that
information would no longer be accessible.
Our library chose to pay a charge per record
to import the tables of contents into the
basic MARC 505 field, book summaries
into the 520 field, and author notes and
short biographies into a local 9xx field.
Blackwell’s Web site (www.blackwell.
com/pdf/TOCEnrichment.pdf ) includes a
complete explanation of the enrichment
process, titled Tables of Contents Enrichment
Service. Syndetic Solutions, upon request,
will send you Tables of Contents and Book
Summaries for Library Online Catalogs, Product
Guide. Both include contracts at the end.
Customers may request Blackwell’s Book
Services, LC Class TOC Report, which breaks
down, by Library of Congress code, the
number of titles with tables of contents
available. For instance, as of October 1,
2003, K Law (General) had 3,159 titles
with tables of contents. On the other hand,
Syndetic Solutions did an individual analysis
based on a match between the list of ISBN
numbers representing items in the OCU
Law Library’s OPAC and the ISBN
numbers in Syndetic Solutions’ database.
As of February 5, 2004, the overall match
rate between the ISBN records in Syndetics’
database and the OCU Law Library’s
MARC records was 55.49 percent (see
“Syndetic Solutions ISBN Match Report”
on page 10 for a complete breakdown).
For remote access, there is a price per
category plus a discount if a certain number
of the categories listed above are chosen.
Our library chose cover art, CHOICE
book reviews, summaries and annotations,
all tables of contents, first chapters, and
author notes.
Although the OCU Law Library opted
to buy both the enriched MARC record and
remote access to certain categories through
Syndetic Solutions, a library might buy its
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
9
professional development
Syndetic Solutions ISBN
Match Report
Total
enriched records from Blackwell and remote
access from Syndetic Solutions.
Percent
The New and Improved OPAC
Individual
Match Rates
Cover Art
Fiction and
Biography Profiles
Publishers Weekly
Library Journal
School Library
Journal
Booklist
CHOICE
Summaries and
Annotations
Tables of Contents
Blackwell’s Tables
of Contents
First Chapters
Author Notes
2,152
33
25.26%
0.39%
289
438
22
3.39%
5.14%
0.26%
386
1,211
3,088
4.53%
14.22%
36.25%
1,582
3,205
18.57%
37.62%
278
924
3.26%
10.85%
So far Syndetic Solutions has enhanced 1,435
MARC records out of 8,519 titles considered
eligible for enrichment—or 16.8 percent.
The OCU Law Library did not send
microforms and materials without ISBN
numbers, like serials, to Syndetic Solutions.
The library also re-wrote its guide with
directions for searching the OPAC to put an
emphasis on using the powerful default
keyword search first. This setting is more
fault tolerant than a subject search using
Library of Congress subject headings or an
author search with authority control. The
library began a campaign in fall 2004 to
advertise the OPAC’s Amazon.com-like
search qualities through a revised guide to the
OPAC, bookmarks, and on the OPAC entry
Web page.
Blackwell cites a small study done by
the University of New Mexico Health
Sciences Library that found that, “tables of
contents in book records increased in house
usage by 43 percent” and “increased
circulation by 33 percent.” Additionally,
“73 percent of the items with tables of
contents were used” as opposed to “66
percent of items without tables of contents,”
according to the study.
The poster session explaining the study,
“Online Tables of Contents: Impact on
Usage,” is available at www.blackwell.com/
news/issues/tocprint4.pdf. For information
about the technical details of the OCU Law
Library enhancement project, contact Kathy
Broad, systems librarian, at kbroad@okcu.
edu. Librarians at Endeavor Libraries may
also view our presentation, “Public and
Technical Services Work Together to
‘Amazonize’ WebVoyage,” the OCU Law
Library’s OPAC on Endeavor’s Web site. ■
Patricia R. Monk (pmonk@okcu.edu)
is associate director at Oklahoma City
University Law Library.
Softlink Liberty3.
Your ILS.
Visit
us at
in Boston!
Visit
usAALL
at Internet
Librarian
Booth#207
Booth- #526
IT'S YOUR LIBRARY. YOU DECIDE.
Softlink Liberty3 Legal Edition is fast becoming the preferred
automation software for law libraries all across the U.S.
Liberty3 works out of the box or can be completely customized.
It's your library. You decide.
> Fully Web-based & Easy to Use;
> Full text search and retrieval;
> MARC, XML & CSV compatible;
> Available in an ASP model - use your servers, or ours!
Call and schedule a web-based
demo today!
Liberty3: The ILS Solution for Law Libraries!
www.softlinkamerica.com | 1.877. 454.2725 | info@softlinkamerica.com
10
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
the
New
blue
Largest collection
of criminal records on Westlaw.
Westlaw® Litigator delivers complete coverage of criminal records
to your desktop, and lets you search all jurisdictions and record types
simultaneously. With a single query you can search millions of federal,
state and county records, sex offender records, corrections records
and more. Now that’s coverage!
For more information, call 1-800-733-2889
or go to westlawlitigator.com
© 2004 West, a Thomson business L-307652/7-04
Blue and You
© 2004 Charlotte Graesser Henderson
public relations
Have
Librarian,
Will Travel
A mentoring
docu-drama hits
the road for
public relations
by Charlotte Graesser Henderson
At a young age, Charlotte Graesser
Henderson knew that she could learn
much from her favorite Westerns. The
best advice—carry a business card, and
don’t be afraid to travel.
T
hose of us who are part of the
demographic of librarians due to
retire in the next 10 years will
remember many of the Westerns of the 50s
and 60s, including a show called “Have
Gun, Will Travel” that played from 19571963. The program featured a gravel-voiced
hero named Paladin, played by Richard
Boone. He was the hero dressed all in black,
a gunfighter-for-hire righting the wrongs
of the innocent victims of the wild and
ruthless West. He also carried a business
card that simply read: “HAVE GUN, WILL
TRAVEL.” If you remember nothing else
about that show, you will remember the
business card; he whipped that card out in
every episode.
12
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
So, what does Paladin and
a law library association mentoring
committee have in common? The answer
is a terrific public relations opportunity
that can be used in several different venues.
In 1998, Joe C. Morris and Rhea
Ballard-Thrower wrote a short legal
bibliography presentation, titled “Throw
the Book at Them,” for the Georgia
Commission of Media Organizations
(COMO). COMO consists of four separate
organizations: the Georgia Library
Association, Georgia Library Media
Association, Georgia Association for
Instructional Technology, and the Georgia
Association of Media and Educational
Representatives (GAMER). The
presentation was also
published in the fall
1998 issue Legal
References Services
Quarterly and quickly
caught my eye.
The Seeds of a
Program
I had been looking for
a different training
program for the Arizona
Association of Law
Libraries (AzALL) that
would work for the
association’s annual Legal
Research Institute. I quickly
adapted the play to Arizona
resources (with permission),
and, along with two
association colleagues, went
on the road to present Legal
Resources Can Be Murder
for paralegals and non-law
librarians.
The play and online
presentation were received with
great enthusiasm, partly because we
conveniently took the presentation
to the audience. We soon hatched a
plan to take the presentation down
to Tucson and the University of
Arizona for the advanced library
students, but obstacles, such as job
changes and mergers, put our road
trip on the back burner.
Fast-forward to 2003 where
this Annie Oakley was quietly hiding
out in the AzALL Mentoring
Committee, polishing dust off her
six-shooter when she received a call
from Beth Schneider, of Plattner
Schneidman and Schneider, who
was serving a second term as AzALL
president. With Schneider in town,
there was no more hiding out on the
Mentoring Committee. With her
encouragement and the support of the
AzALL Board, we could take the committee
to the next level. AzALL member Jan Wolter,
reference librarian II at Maricopa County
Law Library, joined me in putting together
a revised program. In January 2004, the
committee hit the road for Tucson to present
a program at the January association meeting.
“Legal Resources Can Be Murder:
Unlocking the World of Legal Information”
was a three-part, half-day program
completely sponsored by our generous
friends at Thomson West. The program
was designed for advanced students at the
University of Arizona School of Information
Resources and Library Science. The learning
objectives of the program were three-fold:
1) identify and explain basic legal
resources to students in a library
science program;
2) present a forum for understanding the
various types of law library settings
and how they work together and
differently to support
various patron
environments; and
3) identify core
competencies in law
librarianship and how
to obtain them in the
academic or work
environment.
At that time I had not
planned on a fourth
objective, which would
present itself in the long run.
Westlaw research pyramid and breakdown
of the digest system to guide students
through some basic legal mysteries.
The third part featured a panel
discussion with AzALL members from
various segments of the law library
Neither Rain, nor
Sleet, nor Presidential
Traffic Jam
As unique as living in the
Wild West is, nothing
could prepare us for the
The Arizona Association of Law Libraries Mentoring Committee traveled to Tucson to
present “Legal Resources Can Be Murder: Unlocking the World of Legal Information.” The
torrential rain during a
three-part, half-day program was designed for advanced students at the University of
seven-year drought,
Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science. The first part of the program
was a presentation of the murder mystery play, Legal Resources Can Be Murder!
accompanied by the
traditional secret service
halt of traffic in all directions during a visit
community fielding questions and discussing
by the president of the United States. But
similarities and differences in their various law
our spirits weren’t dampened, only our
library settings. Panel members were selected
handouts. The first part of the program was
by their individual longevity in the field, their
a presentation of the murder mystery play,
wit and wisdom, and their willingness to be
Legal Resources Can Be Murder! Players were
subjected to the grueling Q&A segment.
drawn from our unsuspecting audience: our
Representative panel members were from dotWestlaw librarian relations representative
coms, dot-edus, and dot-govs. This segment
and one of our local Westlaw account
proved to be especially interesting for law
managers. Totally unrehearsed, the play
librarians and students alike. AALL
went on, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the
headquarters was more than generous and
house. Or was that the torrential rainfall?
provided additional handouts for the students
The third part of the program featured a panel discussion with
AzALL members from various segments of the law library
community fielding questions and discussing similarities and
differences in their various law library settings.
Part two of our program showcased the
online version of the play’s legal resources,
as found on Westlaw, and was presented by
Gretchen Carlson from Thomson West.
West also put together a packet of basic
Westlaw research guides, including its
regarding roles of law librarians, frequently
asked questions about AALL membership,
core competencies, and more.
The morning concluded with a
Westlaw-sponsored luncheon and the sun
shining in the Western sky. An unexpected
outcome of the program, and probably the
most exciting aspect, was the opening of the
door between the library school and the law
library association. The school expressed
interest in additional programs and forums
to share information with the generations
of future librarians.
As I drove off into the sunset later that
day, I thought perhaps it was time to change
my business card to “Have Librarian, Will
Travel.” But then again, I shed my Annie
Oakley duds a long time ago, partner. ■
Charlotte Graesser Henderson
(chenders@quarles.com) is library services
manager for the Arizona offices of Quarles
and Brady LLP in Phoenix.
AALL Spectrum November 2004 13
© 2004 Paul J. Moorman
feature
Mining Information Gold in the Blogosphere
How to use Web logs as reliable research tools
by Paul J. Moorman
I
n many ways, the
Internet has become
both a blessing and
curse, especially for
librarians. While we
benefit from the ease of
having an incredible
amount of information
readily available at our
fingertips, we also have
seen a dramatic increase in
the questionable quality of
that same information.
Our goal of providing
reliable, trustworthy, and
relevant information for
our patrons has become
much more difficult
because of this vast
increase in the amount
and quality of information
available and produced—
infoglut.
14
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
One of the main reasons behind both
the increased availability of information
on the Web and the attendant information
explosion has been the ubiquitous Web log,
or blog. These chronologically ordered online
journals have made it possible for everyone
who wishes to publish his or her thoughts,
observations, analyses, and links for the
world to see. And while blogs have the
potential to be information gold mines,
wading through the blogosphere (the world
of blogs) to find nuggets of information gold
can be as time-consuming and unsuccessful
as panning for gold at the end of the
California Gold Rush.
However, all is not lost. With some
guidance, you can find information gold
in the blogosphere and learn to manage
infoglut.
Blogs as Information Sources
When it comes to blogs, not too many
people are neutral: you’re either a blog
detractor or a blog supporter. Blog
detractors point to the sheer number of
blogs and claim that navigating this ocean
of information is simply not worth the
effort. To make matters worse, much of
the information created in the blogosphere
disappears almost as fast as it appears.
All this seems to support blog-detractors’
assertions that anyone looking for
information in blogs is living in a fool’s
paradise and is bound to waste time and
energy with little to show for the effort.
Blog supporters, on the other hand,
point to the prestige and the consistently
high-quality writing on some blogs. They
see bloggers at the top of their various
professions, using their blogs—read on a
daily basis by thousands of people in their
fields—to discuss weighty issues of the day
and undoubtedly influence policymakers
and the public. Blog-supporters can’t
understand how anyone can dismiss this
veritable information gold mine simply
because the presentation is unorganized
and time-consuming to follow.
But if you take a closer look at the
arguments for both blog-detractors and
blog-supporters, you will find that they
really aren’t that far apart. Blogs can be
both trivial and profound, and these traits
are evident even in the best blogs.
Blogs written by lawyers, law professors,
and law librarians are of particular interest
to law librarians. These law-oriented blogs
(often called blawgs) are taking the legal
world by storm. Some of the most highly
respected law professors, attorneys, and
law librarians have turned to the blog
format to present their opinions,
observations, and analysis to an everincreasing audience of readers.
One well-regarded blog filled with
information, including analysis of legal
issues, opinions, and links to various sources,
is the Volokh Conspiracy (www.volokh.
com) by UCLA Law Professor Eugene
Volokh. Volokh uses his blog to “articulate
ideas to scholars, other lawyers, and the
general population,” according to Susan
“
… just because
blogs are so
diverse and the
information difficult to
find, we librarians, as
information experts, do
our patrons disservice if
we fail to make an effort
at tapping into
[them].
”
Davis in the June 2004 issue of California
Lawyer Magazine. But for every Volokh
Conspiracy there are thousands of blogs
that can end up being nothing more than
attractive nuisances that eat up valuable
research time while offering nothing of
substance for the effort. However, just
because blogs are so diverse and the
information difficult to find, we librarians,
as information experts, do our patrons a
disservice if we fail to make an effort at
tapping into some of the information that
may only be found in the blogosphere.
Current Information is
Blogs’ Strength
The variety of useful information in blogs
is as varied as the blogs themselves, but for
librarians they are particularly useful in
finding current information. Since bloggers
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
15
feature
Tips to Navigate the Blogosphere
Finding Blogs
• Use search engines like www.google.com
(search term: “~blog inurl:archives”),
www.yahoo.com (search term: “blog
inurl:archives”), or www.teoma.com
(search term: “blog archives”).
• Check out the blogrolls of blogs you
trust and follow.
Following Blogs
• Review the blogger’s biographical
information.
• Use blog-specific search engines like
www.feedster.com or www.bloglines.
com.
• Evaluate the blogs you follow
on a regular basis and weed out any
unnecessary blogs.
• Check out Ari Paparo’s Big List of Blog
Search Engines at www.aripaparo.com/
archive/000632.html.
• Use an RSS reader to give you the
headlines of your favorite blogs in
one location. Download a free reader
(www.Feedreader.com) or sign up
through online blog services.
• Use a blog related directory like
www.blawg.org or www.Kinja.com.
• Ask for recommendations from friends
and colleagues familiar with the subjects
you are interested in following.
are often “in the trenches” of the fields
they discuss, they can provide unique and
valuable information, especially when
looking for new developments and changes
in a particular field. Genie Tyburski, Web
manager of the popular legal research site
The Virtual Chase (www.virtualchase.com),
agrees that blogs are a great source of
current information when found on
trustworthy sources.
“
The variety of
useful information
in blogs is as
varied as the blogs
themselves, but for
librarians they are
particularly useful in
finding current
information.
”
How do you find those information
nuggets in blogs? The best way is to use
either a general or blog-specific search
engine. While most general search engines,
like Google, Yahoo, or Teoma, have
changed their algorithms so that blogs are
no longer some of the most highly ranked
sites, blogs still appear in many search
results. With these tools you can also limit
your search to blogs by using specific search
16
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
• Check out “RSS for Non-Techie
Librarians” by Steven Cohen at
www.llrx.com/features/rssfor
librarians.htm.
commands in addition to your keywords.
For example, with Google, you can search
information in blogs by adding “~blog
inurl:archives” to your search command.
Similarly, for Yahoo, simply add “blog
inurl:archives” to your search terms, and for
Teoma add “blog archives,” according to
Christina K. Pikas in the March/April 2004
issue of B/ITe. By combining the terms blog
and archives, you get great precision in your
search results because almost all blogs have
an archive, she adds.
Another way to search for information
in blogs is to use blog-specific search engines
like Feedster or Bloglines. These engines
work much like general search engines but
limit their searching to blogs. For a more
comprehensive list of these tools, check out
Ari Paparo’s Big List of Blog Search Engines
at www.aripaparo.com/archive/000632.html.
Blogs Worth Following
One of the most useful ways to use the
blogosphere for information gold is to
develop a list of trustworthy blogs in subject
areas of interest to you and your patrons
and follow them regularly. However, finding
the right blogs to follow can be a timeconsuming and difficult task. One of the best
ways to start is to ask for recommendations
from friends and colleagues familiar with the
subjects you are interested in following.
You can also check out the “blogrolls” of
blogs you trust and follow. Blogrolls are lists
of blogs that a blogger recommends and/or
follows and are found on almost every blog.
Paying attention to blogrolls is a great way
to evaluate the relevancy, usefulness, and
potential bias of the blog. However, the most
valuable aspect of blogrolls is to help cherrypick the best blogs in a particular subject.
This will also allow you to let the bloggers
you trust do much of the deeper searching of
the blogosphere while you reap the rewards.
Another way of finding blogs is to use a
blog-related directory like www.blawg.org
or www.Kinja.com. Blawg.org has a great
selection of legal blawgs organized by
subject and popularity and is a particularly
valuable tool for a law librarian.
Once you’ve located a blog in your or
your patrons’ subject interest, the first thing
to do is to review the blogger’s biographical
information. If this information isn’t
provided, its value as an information
source is limited and probably is not worth
the time and effort to follow. Also, it’s
important to remember to evaluate the
blogs you follow regularly to verify that they
provide information of use to you and/or
your patrons, much like a library makes a
regular effort to evaluate its collection and
weed out materials it no longer needs.
RSS: The Smart Way to Follow Blogs
Once you’ve developed a blog list, your work
is just beginning. You can, of course, follow
them the old fashioned way and read each
blog directly. But a far more time-effective
and efficient way to read a large number
of blogs is to follow your selected blogs
through an RSS reader. RSS readers give you
the headlines of your favorite blogs in one
location that’s easy to skim and search.
Using an RSS reader is quite simple
once you’ve learned the basics. First, you
can either download an RSS reader
(www.Feedreader.com has a great free,
open-source version) or sign up through
online blog services like Kinja.com and
Bloglines.com to read the RSS feeds of the
blogs online. Once you’ve done this, you
can scan the headlines and highlights
of a blog without getting bogged down
in the details of each posting. For more
information about RSS and how it can be
useful for librarians, check out “RSS for
Non-Techie Librarians” by Steven Cohen at
www.llrx.com/features/rssforlibrarians.htm.
Finding reliable blogs in fields of value
to you and your patrons and using them to
find current information may help you find
information gold in the blogosphere
without drowning in infoglut. ■
Paul J. Moorman (paul.moorman@
pepperdine.edu) is reference/electronic services
librarian at Pepperdine University Law
Library in Malibu, California.
statement of ownership
NATION’S COURTS
-2005New editions now available!
This two-volume series, now in its 30th edition,
is the profession’s #1 court reference.
“The series are standard reference-desk fare...
packaging large quantities of information
that are now relied on by librarians everywhere.”
— Law Library Journal
Want’s Federal-State
Court Directory, 2005
Includes all U.S. appellate and district judges
and clerks of court; U.S. magistrate judges and
bankruptcy judges; places of holding court and counties
in federal districts; U.S. attorneys; State court
organization charts; State supreme court justices and
attorneys general; Federal and State Court web
addresses; State Bar Associations. Plus much more!
Softbound. 240 pages. $45.00.
Directory of State Court Clerks
& County Courthouses, 2005
An excellent complement to Want’s Federal-State Court
Directory. Includes name/address/phone numbers of
State appellate, trial court, and county clerks for all
50 states; listing of State court websites; State-by-State
guide to corporate and UCC filings; State offices of
vital statistics and how to order records; and trends in
State court litigation. Softbound. 350 pages. $75.00.
Nation’s Courts Online
Point-and-click access to the nation’s federal,
state and county courts. Plus federal court
nominations and confirmations. Plus much more!
See www.courts.com for additional information.
WANT Publishing Co.
420 Lexington Ave., Suite 300
New York, NY 10170
Voice: 212-687-3774 • Fax: (212) 687-3779
www.courts.com
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
17
© 2004 Elizabeth Greenfield
C
hris is a sixthgrader whose
history class is
studying the westward
expansion of the United
States. Arriving home
with an assignment to
write a report on the role
of the railroad in the
westward expansion,
Chris heads straight for
the home computer.
After navigating to
www.google.com, the
young student types the
following words into the
search box: expansion of
the railroad. Chris uses
no quote marks, no
connectors, and certainly
no advanced search
features. Chris hits enter,
scans the first 10 returned
hits, goes to a few of the
Web sites, prints the first
page of each one, and
says, “All done! Time for
soccer practice!” and flees
the bonds of rigorous
academic research.
18
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
How We Work the Web
Information professionals must deal with
public perception that everything’s online
by Elizabeth Greenfield
Again and again, research has shown
that this is also how most adults search, too.
The vast majority does little or no refining
of search terms, uses very general terms, and
does not question the sources of the records
returned from searches. The Internet, or
more specifically the Web, has become such
an integral part of life that any information
published on a Web site must be true. Twice
in the past few days I have heard someone
say, “Well, I saw it on a Web site!” when
questioned about statements they were
making. People’s search techniques reflect
this blind faith.
How do we, as information
professionals, use the Web? Do we ever
find ourselves in the midst of a random,
disorganized search, like young Chris? If
you look back several years, or even a few
decades, you’ll see a time when online
searches were restricted to dial-up services,
such as Dialog, which required thoroughly
organized, thoughtful, well-planned search
strings, thanks to the complexity and
expense of the systems. No sane layperson
would have dared try those searches—
as if they would ever be given such an
opportunity. People needed training and
experience to do online research, and so it
remained squarely the domain of librarians
and professional researchers.
A New Era of Research
Things certainly have changed. We no
longer need all that clunky, megabytehogging software or, even worse, dedicated
terminals. With so many systems now Webbased, it all seems to come from one place.
Sometimes, in a wide-ranging search, it’s
easy to move from one resource to another
and another, almost without realizing it.
Sure we still need and use Dialog and
other database services, but with so much
information now freely available, why
should we?
Sometimes, it seems that the rest of
the world agrees with that last sentence:
everything is on the Internet, it’s all free,
and anyone can do it. All you need is
Google—not an advanced degree—
to find information.
feature
Susan Vaughn, reference librarian at Suffolk University
Law Library, uses the computer at the reference desk. The
Internet has become an integral part of reference work.
We know that’s not true. But how
has this misperception affected our roles,
image, and the way we do our jobs? There
have been times when I’ve found the
answer to a requestor’s question simply by
running a well-constructed query through
www.vivisimo.com, my metasearch engine
of choice. How does using a freely available
search tool, such as vivisimo or Google,
affect our image?
When Librarians Google
Lyonette Louis-Jacques, foreign,
comparative, and international librarian
and lecturer in law at the University of
Chicago Law School, doesn’t feel that using
free resources affects our credibility. But, she
says, using Google while the library user is
at your elbow might be problematic; the
user might question whether you really do
know more about finding the information.
On the other hand, she points out, we
know search techniques and capabilities in
ways our users do not, whether we’re talking
about LexisNexis, Westlaw, or Google. As
Louis-Jacques points out, it’s our expertise
and knowledge of the resources, whether
high-priced or free, that sets us apart.
Sometimes, starting on the Web is both
time- and cost-efficient. Quoting a truism,
Kay Collins, head librarian at the U.S.
Railroad Retirement Board in Chicago, says
that time is money and there’s no point in
spending more than three minutes trying to
find a case on the Web when she knows she
can find it on a subscription service. For those
of us who bill our time, this is especially true;
excessive time spent fumbling on the Web in
search of a document can’t be justified when
one-tenth of an hour and a well-crafted search
on a for-fee service will yield the desired result.
What about those subscription services?
They can be expensive, and you actually
have to learn how to use them. Andrew
Larrick, reference librarian at the Columbia
University Law Library, points out what
many of us have found: the free Web is by
no means a substitute for even a small
amount of the traditional U.S.-based legal
research process or for any meaningful
research in foreign law. All those
organizational, searching, formatting, and
delivery options that the vendors tout do
have value in terms of making our work
processes more efficient and productive.
Nevertheless, the free Web is an integral
part of Larrick’s reference work, and I
imagine the same holds true for many of us.
How is our use of free Web-based resources
different from other people’s? Genie
Tyburski, Web manager of The Virtual
Chase, says a key difference lies in the way
we search for information; this distinguishes
us from someone without our background.
An important issue is whether and how
people find information and whether they’ll
recognize the value of the information when
(or if ) they do find it. As Tyburski says, we
have the persistence, attention to detail,
training and education, and subject
experience and expertise. Even if we’re using
a free resource, something that anyone
could use, it’s how we use it that matters.
Sabrina Pacifici, a law firm librarian
with a global 50 firm, agrees. “Important
factors regarding online research, be it on
the free or fee-based Web or commercial
databases, encompass a relentlessness in
pursuit of the facts, data, and information
that fulfill the mandate of the assignment,”
Pacifici says. “This requires focus, skill,
knowledge of the scope, content, reliability
and applicability of sources for each
assignment, analysis of the relevant data,
effective use of time to minimize cost while
maximizing results, and flexibility in moving
seamlessly among sources.” Free or fee, our
characteristics and skills make the difference.
A Blessing and a Curse
How has this affected our work? Kay
Collins says her work has become both
easier and more difficult—easier because
of the amount of information more freely
available, but more difficult because her
users’ expectations have been raised so high.
Dan Campbell, head of reference and
computer research services at the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Second Circuit, agrees.
“The availability of Web-based information
has significantly reduced the quantity of
questions I receive and has thereby made my
life a bit less hectic,” Campbell says. “The
product of this, however, is that the more
difficult and in-depth questions are passed
to the library. This has resulted in [different]
responsibilities, moving me from
information facilitator to researcher.”
Students at the Suffolk University Law Library use their computers
in the reading room. Most students turn to the Web first for
research.
What’s interesting in all of this is that the
resources change and how we use them changes,
yet still our users need us. Collins refers to
users’ heightened expectations; Campbell finds
his role is changing. Is it all just a matter of
changing with the times? That’s really the
least of it. If there are resources out there that
“anyone” can use, we have to know how to use
them better. If there’s a for-fee service that will
get us what we need in a fraction of a free
search on the Web, then it’s probably worth the
fee. If there’s a skill or technique that will help
us search better, we have to know it.
As time goes on, more and more entities,
particularly governmental units, are making
information freely available on the Web,
allowing us to bypass the proprietary services
and their costly searches. As illustration, I
always caution summer clerks, fall associates,
and lateral hires to come to me for public
record and corporate information, not to
use for-fee services; it’s my role to know how
to get this information freely or at low cost.
As information professionals, our knowledge
of such resources justifies both our use of
the free Web—and our jobs. How those
proprietary services will deal with this is the
subject of another article.
While we use the for-fee services for the
hard-to-find research materials, their highly
refined capabilities, and their delivery options,
we use the free Web, too. And we use it in
careful, thoughtful searches, as well as in
random, free-ranging searches, much like
Chris, the young student described above. We
may be professionals, but we’re also human. ■
Elizabeth Greenfield (egreenfield@
pitneyhardin.com) is the research and reference
librarian at Pitney Hardin LLP, in
Morristown, New Jersey, and New York City.
Among her other activities, Greenfield serves
on the Law Library Journal/AALL Spectrum
Editorial Board Advisory Committee.
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
19
© 2004 Teresa C. Stanton
feature
Protesters hold placards as they attend an anti-war rally in Hong
Kong on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2003. About 600 people protested against
U.S. President George W. Bush's threat to attack Iraq if President
Saddam Hussein does not disarm. The rally was followed by a march
to the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Anat Givon)
Virtual Protest
Social movements use Internet as key tool for mobilization
by Teresa C. Stanton
O
n February 15, 2003, millions of people
around the world marched to protest the then
imminent invasion of Iraq by the United
States, United Kingdom, and their allies. Beginning at
dawn in New Zealand, the protests spread around the
globe from time zone to time zone. Marches were held in
every region of the world, from the Pacific Rim to Asia,
the Middle East, Africa, Europe, North America, and
South America. Together, this series of events represents
the largest anti-war demonstration ever.
20
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
As is to be expected, head counts by local
police and organizers differ greatly, but the
numbers are impressive either way. In Rome,
between one and three million people
turned out. In England, nearly one million
marched. More than one million people
joined the protest in Barcelona, along with
500,000 in Madrid. Paris and Berlin each
boasted about 300,000 marchers, while
10,000 people rallied near the U.S.
Consulate in Mexico City; 60,000 in
Oslo; 50,000 in Brussels; and 35,000 in
Stockholm. Thousands also marched in cities
across the United States, including rallies in
Chicago, Detroit, Miami, New York, and San
Francisco. This mass mobilization was due in
large part to the Internet.
E-mail, discussion forums, and the Web
have revolutionized the manner in which
grassroots organizations and activists
communicate and conduct their activities.
Conference calls, faxes, and mimeographed
or photocopied fliers are giving way to
electronic media. Activists can now
“telecommute” using personal computers,
no longer having to choose between
working for a better world and making it
to soccer practice by 4 p.m.
Digital Networking
The Internet gets the word out to more
people more quickly and provides the
opportunity to reach outside one’s own
community to find others of like mind.
The perceived anonymity of online
communication facilitates both exploring
and expressing alternative points of view.
This electronic word-of-mouth system gives
people the freedom to listen to political
messages at their convenience by reading
e-mail or joining conversations in chat rooms.
It has made mixing personal and political
conversation more socially acceptable. For
instance, forwarding an acquaintance an
e-mail with a social or political message is less
obtrusive than handing someone a leaflet at a
cocktail party, according to Andrew Boyd in
the August 4, 2003, issue of The Nation.
News reports about current peace
movements often mention the diverse
backgrounds of people who have heeded the
electronic “call to arms.” Beyond students
and left-wing activists, these anti-war
demonstrations have included blue-collar
and white-collar workers, families with
young children, and representatives from a
wide variety of social and religious groups.
David Paulsen, a journalist for the Wasau
Daily Herald in Minocqua, Wisconsin,
noted that a “refreshingly diverse coalition
of peace activists, anarchists, and church
leaders made the worldwide rallies possible.”
The Internet also allows mobilization to
arise from independent groups, rather than
the more traditional top-down hierarchy
model of mobilization. The February 2003
protests had no single identified leader and
no central headquarters. When no central
decision-making authority exists, protests
can be localized, or educational programs
can be made available to people living
outside areas where social protest
information is available. For example,
Mothers Acting Up was started by four
women sitting around a kitchen table in
Boulder, Colorado. With their Internet site,
www.mothersactingup.org, they have been
able to reach hundreds of like-minded
“
E-mail, discussion
forums, and the Web
have revolutionized
the manner in which
grassroots organizations
and activists communicate
and conduct
their activities.
”
people across the country, many of whom
participated in the February marches,
according to Jennifer Lee in the February
23, 2003, issue of The New York Times.
The Internet has broadened the base
of the anti-war movement, but it is also
important to remember that not everyone is
online. Almost half of U.S. households do
not have Internet access. It is beyond the
scope of this article to explore this topic,
but it is an important note to remember.
For information about who is, and who is
not, online, visit Digital Divide Network
(www.digitaldividenetwork.org).
New Information Sources
The Internet has affected citizen
participation and activism in more ways than
just increasing the speed and convenience of
communication and mobilization. Anyone
with access to the Internet can publish,
whether by e-mail, in a virtual forum, or by
posting materials on a Web site. This means
that news and information are no longer the
sole province of corporate or governmental
media. The Internet can carry the alternative
information that is essential to sustaining
social movements.
Working Assets and Peoples Video
Network may be on opposite ends of the
anti-establishment spectrum, but both are
examples of organized alternative media.
Working Assets (www.workingassests.com)
was founded on the premise that building a
business and building a better world are not
antithetical. It offers credit card, longdistance, and wireless services and donates a
portion of the monthly charges to nonprofit
organizations working for peace, equality,
human rights, education, and a cleaner
environment. Working Assets publishes
WorkingForChange (www.workingforchange.
com), an online journal of progressive news
and opinion from nationally syndicated
reporters and columnists.
Peoples Video Network (www.peoples
video.org) is a group of media activists with
public access shows around the United
States. As noted on its homepage, the
group has hundreds of videos “documenting
the struggle.” Its stated goal is to send
correspondents around the world to produce
and edit videos about issues the corporate
media does not cover.
The Early Days
The current protests against U.S. military
activities in the Middle East are one part
of the broader anti-war sentiment in the
United States. The pro-peace movement is,
most immediately, an outgrowth of the 19th
century peace movements in Europe and
North America. In 1815 and 1816, “friends
of peace” groups were established in Britain
and the United States due, in great part, to
the brutality of the Napoleonic wars. Early
membership was drawn from Quakers and
non-conformist Protestant sects.
By the end of the century, these groups
were highly active societies established
throughout Australia, Europe, and the
United States. Membership included
laborers, women’s organizations, educational
reformers, temperance activists, economists,
and sociologists. These different constituencies
shared a common mission to promote an
interstate environment that would provide
international security without force or
violence. Some groups looked to reform
social and economic policies, others looked
to international law.
The first peace groups in the United
States were established by strict pacifists
in New York and Massachusetts in 1815.
These community-oriented activists worked
with their counterparts in Europe and
exerted public pressure for disarmament and
international cooperation. They argued that
war was unnecessary, that pacifism was
logical and utilitarian, and that educating
people about the horrors and waste of war
would help prevent future wars.
The American Peace Society, founded in
1828, was the first national peace group in
the United States. Its leaders were successful
in business, law, and government service.
Not surprisingly, the society’s policies were
more establishment-oriented, focusing on
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
21
feature
Further Exploration
Barr, Robert. “Rallies Around the
Globe Pummel U.S. Stance.” Charlotte
Observer (February 16, 2003).
Boyd, Andrew. “Web Rewires the
Movement: Grassroots Power of the
Net.” The Nation (August 4, 2003).
Chatfield, Charles. “Peace Movement
in the United States.” World
Encyclopedia of Peace. 2d ed. Vol. 4:
235-240. New York: Oceana
Publications, 1999.
international law, especially arbitration of
disputes. Like the pacifists, they maintained
contact with their European peers and by
the 1870s were part of the groundswell
advocating peace congresses, an elaborate
international code, and the formation
of a permanent court for international
arbitration. These are the forces responsible
for a wide array of disarmament treaties,
the Hague Peace Conferences of 1899
and 1907, the League of Nations, and,
ultimately, the United Nations.
Today’s Pacifists and Activists
The two schools of thought on achieving
world peace are still a part of the anti-war
and pro-peace efforts of the 21st century.
Cooper, Sandi E. “Peace Movements
Educational and inspirational materials
of the Nineteenth Century.” World
representing both views proliferate on the
Encyclopedia of Peace. 2d ed. Vol. 4:241Web. Today’s pacifists and social activists are
245. New York: Oceana Publications,
represented by groups like United for Peace
1999.
and Justice (www.unitedforpeace.org), Win
Without War (www.winwithoutwarus.org),
Dictionary of the History of Ideas.
Peace Action (www.peace-action.org), and
International Peace. University of
Peace.Protest.Net (http://pax.protest.net).
Virginia Library: Electronic Text
These Web sites have their beliefs clearly
Center. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/
posted—not every activist Web sites does.
cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv3-55.
These sites are a well-organized
Eagleton-Pierce, Matthew. “The
collection of documents, publications,
Internet and the Seattle WTO
campaign and protest notices, press releases,
Protests.” Peace Review 13 (2001):
and links to other peace organizations and
331-337.
resources. Visitors can find organizing tips
and contact information for speakers and
Harmon, Amy. “A Nation Challenged:
trainers. The sites also include suggestions
The Dissenters.” The New York Times
for local action, posters and bumper stickers
(November 21, 2001).
for download or for purchase, and songs
Klein, Hans K. “Tocqueville in
and chants for peace. Activist toolkits
Cyberspace: Using the Internet for
include step-by-step instructions on teachCitizen Associations.” Information
ins, handling the press, and presenting
Society, 15, no. 4 (October-December
resolutions to city council.
1999): 213-221.
Proponents of peace through the rule of
law
and arbitration also have a strong Web
Lee, Jennifer. “The Nation: Critical
presence.
Some of the institutions and
Mass. How Protesters Mobilized so
organizations founded during the peace
Many so Nimbly.” The New York Times
movements of the 19th and early 20th
(February 23, 2003).
centuries are still with us today, including
Paulsen, David.
the Nobel Peace Prize
“Internet Draws
Committee. The
… news and
Peace Activists
Norwegian Nobel
information are
Together From
Institute (www.nobel
no longer the sole peaceprize.org) was
Manila to Minocqua.”
Wasau Daily Herald
province of corporate or founded in 1904 to
(March 1, 2003).
the Nobel
governmental media. The help
Committee
select and
Vrazo, Fawn.
Internet
can
carry
the
award
Peace
Prize
“Millions Rally
recipients.
Part
of its
alternative
information
Against War with
mission is to serve as a
Iraq.” The Miami
that is essential to
center for knowledge
Herald. (February
sustaining
social
related to peace and
16, 2003).
international affairs. To
movements.
this end, the institute
has built a library
collection with more than 181,000 volumes.
The library is open to the public, and its
22
AALL Spectrum November 2004
“
”
online catalog is searchable through the Web
(www.nobelpeaceprize.org/eng_ins_lib.htm).
The philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie
in the early 20th century is another
important factor in the 21st century search
for peace. Carnegie believed that war could
be eliminated with strong international laws
and organizations. In 1910, he announced
the establishment of the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (www.
ceip.org) with a gift of $10 million. The
endowment’s Web site has information
about the institution’s library and offers a
virtual library with links to resources for
“
[Peace Web site
v]isitors can find
organizing tips
and contact information
for speakers and trainers.
The sites also include
suggestions for local
action, posters and
bumper stickers for
download or for
purchase, and
songs and chants
for peace.
”
international affairs research (www.ceip.
org/files/news/newslibrary.asp). The
Endowment’s Democracy and Rule of Law
Project (www.ceip.org/files/projects/drl/
drl_home.asp) is a source for independent
research, analysis, and discussion on
promoting democracy.
Carnegie also gave us the Peace Palace
at The Hague (www.vredespaleis.nl). Built
in 1913 to serve as headquarters to the
Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Peace
Palace is also the seat of the International
Court of Justice and The Hague Academy
of International Law. Part of Carnegie’s
original plan, the Peace Palace houses a
library of international law and the law of
individual nations. Today, the Peace Palace
Library (www.ppl.nl) has one of the world’s
largest collections in the areas of public and
private international law. The library also
has a special collection of the works of
Hugo de Groot, or Grotius, often referred
to as the father of international law.
Founded in 1919 during World War I, the
League of Nations did not survive the Second
World War. However, it did pave the way for
the establishment of the United Nations
(www.un.org). The United Nations was
founded in 1945 to maintain international
A Few Movements on the Web
Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace
www.ceip.org
Mothers Acting Up
www.mothersactingup.org
Norwegian Nobel Institute
www.nobelpeaceprize.org
Peace Action
www.peace-action.org
United Nations
www.un.org
Win Without War
www.winwithoutwarus.org
Peace Palace
www.vredespaleis.nl
United for Peace and Justice
www.unitedforpeace.org
Working Assets
www.workingassests.com
Peace.Protest.Net
http://pax.protest.net
United States Institute of Peace
www.usip.org
WorkingForChange
www.workingforchange.com
Peoples Video Network
www.peoplesvideo.org
peace and security and to preserve and
promote human rights. U.N. programs exist
around the world, which is reflected in the vast
number of U.N. and U.N.-affiliated Web sites.
The United Nations sponsors programs for
peace (www.un.org/peace), economic and
social development (www.un.org/esa/index.
html), human rights (www.un.org/rights/
index.html), and international law
(www.un.org/law/index.html). Online access
to U.N. library resources and valuable
document guides is available through
www.un.org/Depts/dhl/index.html.
Whether a true peace organization or an
arm of government, mention should be made
of the United States Institute of Peace
(www.usip.org). Established by Congress in
1984 as a nonpartisan federal institution, its
activities include supporting policymakers in
the legislative and executive branches of
government. The institute focuses on
promoting the resolution of international
disputes in areas of interest to the United States.
The institute has a Rule of Law Program
(www.usip.org/ruleoflaw/projects.html) that
includes projects for constitution-making,
peace building, and national reconciliation.
What is old is made new again. The
desire for peace must have existed since time
immemorial, and it is likely that this wish
has played some part in all civilizations
throughout history. In the 21st century, the
Internet is a communication and mobilization
tool for peace activists and rule of law
traditionalists alike. The search continues. ■
Teresa C. Stanton (tstanton@email.unc.
edu) is the reference/foreign and international
law librarian and clinical assistant professor
of law at the Kathrine R. Everett Law
Library at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill.
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
23
chapter
by Diane D’Angelo
news
CALL Enjoys Raffle and
Rigatoni
and archived
issues can be
accessed via the
LLNE Web site,
www.aallnet.org/
chapter/llne. For
future issues, the
editors plan to include
a regular comic strip,
regular reviews of high-tech
resources, and an accompanying blog.
SEAALL Adds Scholarship and Grant
The Southeastern Chapter of AALL
(SEAALL) has created a new scholarship
to a library school student residing in
SEAALL’s geographic area, beginning this
fiscal year. The board initially decided to
grant a single scholarship for $1,000 to a
student interested in law librarianship.
The Scholarship Committee hopes to
have the applications received this fall
with the committee review completed by
Thanksgiving.
SEAALL has also created a grant to
pay for a newer law librarian to attend the
Conference of Newer Law Librarians at the
AALL Annual Meeting. The grant would
include payment for the registration plus
one night’s stay in a hotel. Any newer
librarian who is a member of SEAALL
may apply for the grant.
At the AALL Annual Meeting in
Boston, the Chicago Association
of Law Libraries (CALL)’s table
featured chapter awards and photos of
chapter meetings and activities. Visitors
were invited to take bookmarks featuring
the CALL logo and candy. The chapter also
AALL/Aspen Grant Recipients Help Assess
held a raffle again this year. The drawing
Information Literacy among First-Year
represented souvenirs of Chicago. TwentyStudents
five people left their business cards for the
LLNE’s Stephanie Burke, senior reference
gift, which was won by Carol Bredemeyer
and international law librarian at
of the Northern Kentucky
Boston University School of Law,
University Salmon P. Chase
along with Kathryn Hensiak,
College of Law Library.
research and instructional
The annual CALL noservices librarian at
host dinner was held at
Northwestern
Tony’s Restaurant.
SNELLA to Hold Professional
University’s
Twenty-five people
Development Events
Pritzker Legal
attended a
The Southern New England Law Librarians
Research Center,
wonderful
Association (SNELLA) will offer members
and Donna
Italian meal
a professional development workshop on
Nixon, head of
with fabulous
Nov. 19 in Hartford at the Connecticut
reference services at
Boston iceState Library’s Van Block Conference
Duke University
cream for
Facility. Marie Radford, assistant dean of
School of Law
dessert.
the Pratt Institute School of Library Science
Library, received an
Attendees
in New York City, will present “Learning to
AALL/Aspen Research
The Chicago Association of Law Libraries raffled off Chicago
included a mix of
Say No: Time Management.” The workshop
souvenirs at its table in the Activities Area of the AALL
Grant for $3,100 to
current members,
will be underwritten by LexisNexis.
2004 Annual Meeting in Boston.
conduct a survey and
new members, and
This fall, SNELLA will also offer a
evaluate skills of firstold friends, such as
one-day legal bibliography course to the
year law students. Their project is titled
July Gaskell, who is now at the U.S.
members of the Fairfield County Chapter of
“Assessing Information
Supreme Court Library. The dinner was a
the Special Libraries
Literacy Among Firstgreat way to start off the conference, and a
Association. The
Year Students—A
wonderful time was had by all.
course will be held
Survey to Measure
at the Kelley Drye
Research
LLNE’s New Editors, Grant
and Warren
Experiences and
Recipient’s Work
Law Firm
Perceptions.”
Newsletter Gets Two New Editors
Library in
The three grant
After editing the Law Librarians of New
Stamford. In
recipients and
England (LLNE) newsletter, LLNE News, for
the spring,
LLNE’s Kelly
the past three years, Michelle Pearse,
SNELLA will
Browne, head
bibliographer for Anglo-American Law at
offer the same
of reference
Harvard Law School Library, has passed
course to the
services at
the torch to Sharon Persons, faculty
members of the
University of
research and legal instruction librarian at
Fairfield County
Connecticut
Northeastern University School of Law
Paralegal
Stephanie Burke (left),
School of Law
Library, and Susan Vaughn, reference
Donna Nixon, and Kathryn Hensiak (not pictured) presented
Association and to
Library, presented results of their survey about information literacy among firstlibrarian at Suffolk University Law Library.
students at Sacred
year law students at a program during the AALL 2004 Annual
a program at the
Kim Dulin, associate librarian for research
Heart University in
Meeting in Boston. Burke, Nixon, and Hensiak received an
AALL Annual
services at Harvard Law School Library, is
AALL/Aspen Research Grant to complete their survey.
Fairfield, where the
Meeting in
the new layout editor, and John Pedini,
course will be held. ■
Boston titled
director of media services at Boston’s Social
“What in the World Do They Know?:
Law Library, will stay on board as co-editor.
Diane D’Angelo, Suffolk University Law
Information Literacy and Today’s Law
Pearse is stepping down to devote time to
Library, 120 Tremont Street, Boston, MA
Students.” The results of their survey are
her new position as LLNE vice-president/
02108-4977 • 617/573-8608 • fax:
available at www.bu.edu/lawlibrary/working/
president elect. The LLNE newsletter has
617/723-3164 • ddangelo@suffolk.edu.
stephanie/surveyresults.htm.
been available online since 2002. Current
24
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
committee
news
Mentoring Committee
Wrap-Up
The 2004 AALL Mentoring
Committee had a successful year
thanks to outgoing committee chair
Joyce Manna Janto and committee
members Glen Bencivengo, Carol
Bredemeyer, Joe Custer, Connelly
Johnson, Connie Lenz, Kristy Moon,
Jennifer Murray, and Chris Tighe. The
committee’s success was due in part to the
well-received implementation of several
new ideas.
AALL Centennial Celebration Committee members Frank
Mao, Jim Heller, Frank Houdek, and Carol Billings provided
CONELL participants with a brief history of the Association
in a skit, “Overheard at the Bar.”
For example, for the first time, the
committee worked in conjunction with the
ALL, PLL, and SCCLL Special Interest
Sections to consolidate AALL’s efforts in
mentoring. This collaboration resulted in
58 new mentor and mentee matches. For
those who were either a mentor or a mentee,
you will receive a feedback survey soon, if
you haven’t already.
by Therese A. Clarke
As usual, the
Conference of
Newer Law
Librarians
(CONELL) was
also successful and
played to a sold-out
crowd. This year the
committee added a new
feature to CONELL. In
“Overheard at the Bar,” AALL Centennial
Celebration Committee members Carol
Billings, Jim Heller, Frank Houdek, and
Frank Mao provided participants with a brief
history of AALL in a skit format. CONELL
participants said they found this segment
informative and useful. Another new CONELL
feature that we plan on making a tradition is the
Dutch Treat Dinner option for participants
arriving on Friday night.
The 2005 AALL Mentoring Committee
looks forward to another great year. We
have some big ideas and new projects on
the way, but we still need your help. As you
interact with newer law librarians, please
mention CONELL and the Mentor Project.
Also, please continue to scan this column
for updates on mentoring activities in which
you can participate. We look forward to
working with as many of you as possible
in our mentoring efforts.
Submitted by Jennifer S. Murray.
Publications Committee
Encourages Publishing
The AALL Publications Committee invites
and encourages members to publish with
AALL. The Association sponsors the AALL
Publication Series, a wide-ranging set that
includes professional development materials,
bibliographies, research guides, and library
management resources. If you have an idea
for a new publication or need an outlet for
your research, consider contacting AALL
with your idea.
Full information for submitting a
proposal, procedures for review, and
publishing policies are available at the
Publications Committee ’s Web site,
www.aallnet.org/committee/publications.
Don’t miss this opportunity to advance
your profession, impart useful information,
and enhance your own professional
standing. AALL is eager to publish new
materials and actively welcomes proposals
for publications.
Submitted by Mary L. Wells.
New Research Committee Members
The AALL Research Committee is charged
with reviewing and proposing changes
to the Association’s Research Agenda.
The committee works within the
Association and with other library
associations to encourage research and
administers the Association’s research grant
program by reviewing applications, making
awards, and monitoring research activities.
This year’s committee members are:
Chair Michael J. Slinger, Cleveland State
University; Duncan Alford, Georgetown
University; Karen Beck, Boston College;
Joel Fishman, Duquesne University/
Allegheny County Law Library; Trina
Tinglum, St. Thomas University; Susan
Tulis, Southern Illinois University; and Eloise
M. Vondruska, Northwestern University.
Information regarding opportunities to
apply for research grants will be forthcoming
soon.
Submitted by Michael Slinger. ■
Therese A. Clarke, Northern Illinois
University College of Law, David C. Shapiro
Memorial Law Library, DeKalb, IL 60115
• 815/753-9497 • fax: 815/753-9499 •
tclarke@niu.edu.
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
25
special interest
section
CS-SIS Breakfast Meeting,
Roundtable Discussion,
and Karaoke with Ken
Computing Services-SIS
rediscovered a bit of its own history
at its early morning Breakfast Meeting
on July 12. Attendees were privileged to
hear from speakers Betty Taylor and Dan
Henke, two giants in our field, who talked
about the development of CS-SIS from
an AALL Special Committee to Study
Mechanized and Scientific Devices for Legal
Literature to its current form as a special
interest section. The speakers gave us
fascinating insights into the way technology
challenged AALL members then and
continues to do so now.
The CS-SIS Roundtable on Web design
and maintenance was a rousing success this
year. Participants included librarians from all
types of libraries with a range of skills and
resources. The discussion covered subjects
such as SQL, ASP versus Cold Fusion, Web
statistics, third-party vendors, universal Web
pages, and resources Web designers cannot
live without. Several CS-SIS-sponsored
program proposals for the upcoming AALL
Annual Meeting grew out of this roundtable.
For those unable to attend or who did not
hear the announcement at the roundtable,
CS-SIS has posted special resources on
Adaptive Technologies, XHTML, Templates,
and Cascading Style Sheets on the CS-SIS
Web site, www.aallnet.org/sis/cssis.
CS-SIS members took the opportunity
to unwind and have fun at their annual
karaoke night. Every year since 1997
(officially sponsored by the section in 2001),
intrepid CS-SIS members find a local
karaoke bar near the Annual Meeting
location and sing their cares away. This year
was no exception. Led by Ken “Karaoke”
Hirsh, members had a good time as they
sang, laughed, and hung out. “Karaoke with
Ken” took place on July 13 at Maluken
Japanese Restaurant after the ALL-SIS
reception in Boston. All meeting attendees
are invited to join us next year.
Submitted by Susan Boland.
FCIL-SIS Spirit Award and Web Site
Recognizing the best in our profession has
become a tradition within the Foreign,
Comparative, and International Law-SIS.
This year in Boston, Jean Wenger,
immediate past chair, presented the 2004
“Spirit of the FCIL SIS” awards to MarieLouise Bernal, special assistant to the law
librarian of the Library of Congress, and
26
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
by Don Arndt
Herbert A.
Somers, foreign/
international
librarian at
George
Washington
University Jacob
Burns Law Library,
for their work on the
Law Library of Congress
workshops held before the American Society
of International Law annual meetings. The
awardees were honored at the FCIL-SIS
business meeting.
Another important event that deserves
to be mentioned is the redesign of the
FCIL-SIS Web site by Ann T. Davey, a
student member. The site, with updated
content, had migrated to AALLNET
(www.aallnet.org/sis/fcilsis), although
Anne Burnett, editor of the FCIL-SIS
newsletter, maintains a link to the new site
from the old site at the University of
Georgia. Syllabi and other course materials
will be continuously added to the home
page (http://brkl.brooklaw.edu/screens/
fcilsis.html). FCIL-SIS Teaching Resources
home page is an important teaching and
research tool for the entire community at
large. The course descriptions, syllabi, and
mega-collections of research guides linked
on this page are creations of FCIL-SIS
members. These contributions are meant
to assist our membership in its pursuit of
teaching research skills to members or
students of the legal profession.
Submitted by Mirela Roznovschi.
OBS-SIS Educational Programs
and New Officers
The Online Bibliographic Services-SIS was
fortunate to have many programming
opportunities for its members at the AALL
Annual Meeting in Boston. Among the
programs sponsored by OBS were: “OPAC
Usability Assessment: Your Passport to an
Effective Web Presence,” coordinated by
Mary Jane Kelsey; “XML and MARC:
Should We Remodel or Build Anew?”
coordinated by Kevin Butterfield;
“Two-stepping with Technology Returns,”
coordinated by John Nann; and “MARBI
Report: What’s the Latest on MARC
Standards?,” coordinated by Susan Goldner.
In Boston, OBS also had a change of
officers for the upcoming year. Vice-Chair/
Chair-Elect Georgia Briscoe assumed the
role of OBS chair from Butterfield, while
Richard Jost was elected to fill the vicechair/chair-elect slot. Caitlin Robinson
was elected as the new member-at-large
for 2004-2006, while Michael Maben
continues to serve as secretary/treasurer and
Andrea Rabbia continues to serve as the
member-at-large for 2003-2005.
The OBS Education Committee,
chaired by Briscoe, met in Boston to prepare
the program submissions for the upcoming
AALL Annual Meeting in San Antonio.
OBS anticipated having numerous programs
ready for consideration, some co-sponsored
with the Technical Services-SIS, to meet
the continuing education needs of its
membership.
Submitted by Richard M. Jost.
PLL-SIS Luncheon in Boston and
Goals for the Coming Year
An overflow crowd at the Private Law
Libraries-SIS luncheon in Boston
enthusiastically welcomed the Boston British
Consulate-General John Rankin, who
spoke on law and diplomacy in a changing
world. Rankin, a Scot and lawyer by
background, won the hearts of the audience
when he said, “The first thing I should
do, therefore, is to acknowledge the debt
that lawyers owe to law librarians.”
He mentioned several famous Scottish
cases that impacted law, not only in
England, but many in other countries as
well. The most famous case was Donoghue v
Stevenson, which addressed the concept
of duty of care for the first time. In
keeping with the convention’s theme of
globalization, Rankin stressed the growing
influence of European Commission law
and the necessity of access to law in many
different foreign jurisdictions and networks
of contacts in these jurisdictions.
BNA generously underwrote the cost
of the delicious lunch and donated the
nominal cost of the tickets to the PLL
treasury. We wish to acknowledge again
BNA’s much-appreciated contribution.
One of my goals for the 2004-05 year
is to have every committee, group, and
caucus chaired and functioning well. To this
end, I am delighted that the once dormant
One-Person Library Group and the MultiLocation Library Group are both active
again. You may find information about
them on the PLL Web site, www.aallnet.
org/sis/pllsis, and I encourage everyone who
fits either category to contact the respective
chairs and join the online discussion forums.
We also have an enthusiastic SLA liaison in
Linda Defendeifer; if you belong to both
AALL and SLA and have questions or
suggestions on furthering a relationship
between the two, please contact her.
I am excited about the upcoming year
as your chair. I welcome contact from all
of you and look forward to many, many
e-mails, voice-mails, and even snail mails.
Let me hear from you.
Submitted by Sue Johnson.
Invisible Literature” on July 14.
Submitted by Pamela Melton.
RIPS-SIS Highlights Workshop
and Programs in Boston
SCCLL-SIS Program Planning and
Fundraising
The Research Instruction and Patron
Services-SIS sponsored two programs at
the AALL Annual Meeting in Boston: a
workshop and a program by a RIPS
member. They enlightened, educated, and
entertained—as RIPS programs always do.
About 50 people participated in the
RIPS workshop, “Quick Start Basic Legal
Reference,” on July 9. Joan Shear, of
Boston College Law Library, coordinated
the workshop. The following speakers
taught participants how to be clairvoyant
and omniscient in their reference jobs:
Stephanie J. Burke, of Boston University,
Pappas Law Library; John B. Nann, of
Lillian Goldman Library, Yale Law School;
Mary Ann Neary, of Boston College Law
Library; Anne Stemlar, of Hale and Dorr
LLP; Mark Sullivan, of Boston College
Law Library; Susan C. Sullivan, of Boston
College Law Library; Christine H. Swan,
of New Hampshire Law Library; and
Karin Thurman, of Commonwealth of
Massachusetts Office Attorney General
Library.
Librarians who teach were encouraged to
be creative in “Let Me ‘Edutain’ You: Game
Shows and Other Unconventional Teaching
Techniques in Legal Research Classrooms”
on July 11. Christopher Vallandingham,
of the University of Florida Levin College of
Law Legal Information Center, started
things off by discussing his innovative
advanced legal research class.
Coordinator and moderator
Pamela Rogers Melton, of the
University of South Carolina,
Coleman Karesh Law Library,
shared games she uses in her basic
legal research class. She also shared
some game show adaptations
created by Corrin Gee, of LexisNexis, who was unable to be in
Boston.
Burke, Donna Nixon, of
Duke University School of Law
Library, and Kathryn Hensiak, of
Pritzker Legal Research Center,
Northwestern University School of Law,
revealed some of the results of their survey
of incoming law students at their respective
institutions in “What in the World Do
They Know?: Information Literacy and
Today’s Law Students” on July 12.
RIPS member Deanna Barmakian, of
Harvard Law School Library, coordinated
and spoke on “Electronic Law Journals: The
Education Chair Marcus Hochstetler and
his committee received more than 13
proposals for educational programs from
State, Court, and County Law LibrariesSIS members for the 2005 AALL Annual
Meeting. The proposals have been narrowed
down to a select few that will be sponsored
by the SIS and submitted to the Annual
Meeting Program Committee for inclusion
in next year’s program.
SCCLL-SIS raised an additional $1,000
for travel grants through challenges to our
membership. Cynthia Fellows started
things off by challenging the group to
meet her $150 donation. Her challenge
was met quickly and followed by another
challenge from Sandy Marz. Donations
from members exceeded the two $150
challenges and raised $1,000. Thanks to all
the members of SCCLL-SIS for responding
to these challenges and contributing to the
travel grant fund.
Submitted by Sandy Marz.
SR-SIS Book Drive a Success
I am pleased to announce that the final
numbers are in from the Make Way! Book
Drive 2004 sponsored by the Social
Responsibilities-SIS. This year’s book drive
raised a total of 562 books and $1,721 in
monetary donations—nearly triple the
previous year’s donations and an incredible
gift to this year’s recipient, Read Boston.
Thank you to everyone for your
generous donations
and support of this
initiative!
As coordinator of
this year’s book drive,
I would like to
extend a special
thank you to a
number of people
who volunteered their
time to support this
initiative, including
Ann Hemmens,
Alison Alifano, Janet Katz, Karen Moss,
Juliana Hayden, and the Association
Luncheon Committee, Stephanie Burke
and the LLNE Service Committee, Jill
Robin Roff, Beth Adelman, Jim Gernert,
Andrea Rasmussen, Katherine Coolidge,
Carol Wellington, and the other volunteers
who lent a last-minute hand with the final
wrap-up. Thank you sincerely for your hard
work. Thank you also to AccuFile Inc. for
its donation.
Watch for next year’s book drive, and
let’s continue to make this terrific initiative
grow in future years.
Submitted by Annette Demers.
New TS-SIS Positions, Chapman
Award, and Grants Awarded
Technical Services-SIS officers for 20042005 are: Cindy May, chair; Karen
Douglas, vice-chair/chair-elect; Chris Long,
secretary/treasurer; and Jolane Goldberg
and Brian Striman, members-at-large.
Committee chairs include: Diane Altimari,
acquisitions; Janice Shull, awards; Amy
Lovell, cataloging and classification;
Chris Tarr, nominating; Pat Turpening,
preservation; Michael Maben, program/
education; and Frank Richardson, serials.
Eloise Vondruska will continue to
chair the Joint Research Grant Committee.
Striman has assumed editorship of Technical
Services Law Librarian, with Julie Stauffer
as layout editor. Our American Library
Association representatives are Kathy
Winzer for the Committee on Cataloging:
Description and Access and Marie Whited
for the Subject Analysis Committee.
Winzer has also agreed to chair an ad hoc
committee on AACR3, the new cataloging
code targeted for publication in 2007.
Our new MARBI (Machine-Readable
Bibliographic Information) representative
is Karen Selden. Continuing are Martin
Wisneski as Web master and Betty Roeske
as discussion forum administrator.
This year’s winner of the Renee D.
Chapman Award for Outstanding
Contributions in Technical Services Law
Librarianship is Patricia K. Turpening.
Turpening is the head of preservation and
archives at Robert S. Marx Law Library,
University of Cincinnati College of Law.
She is an expert in the field of preservation
and an active member of AALL and TS-SIS.
She has chaired the Preservation Committee,
been a member of the TS-SIS Executive
Board, edited and served as preservation
columnist for Technical Services Law
Librarian, presented and coordinated many
AALL and chapter programs, and authored
numerous publications on preservation.
TS-SIS has awarded a 2004-2005
research grant to Chris Long, catalog
librarian at Ruth Lilly Law Library, Indiana
University School of Law-Indianapolis,
for a project titled “Citation Practices of the
Indiana Supreme Court and the Indiana
Court of Appeals.” This project is a
bibliometrics study of the two courts’
citation practices and will be published in a
(continued on page 29)
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
27
membership
by Sarah Mauldin
news
librarian at
Winstead
Sechrest and
Minick PC and
the University of
Houston O’Quinn
Law Library.
O’Brien received both
her MLS and JD from
the University at Buffalo.
New Librarians
Joey Hernandez joined the
Florida Coastal School of Law in
April as a reference librarian.
Hernandez has a JD and an MLIS
from the University of Iowa. In her
previous life, Hernandez was a police
officer for the Nashville Metropolitan Police
Department and is a Gulf War veteran.
New Places and Responsibilities
Coral Henning has been named director of
the Sacramento County Public Law Library.
She succeeds Shirley Hart David, who is
retiring in October. Henning has worked at
several law libraries in California and was
most recently the training coordinator for
Sacramento County Public Law Library.
Susan Lewis-Somers was recently
named associate director for public services
at the American University, Washington
College of Law Library. Lewis-Somers came
to American University in 1999 as senior
reference and educational services librarian.
Before that she was a reference librarian
at the Yale, Northwestern, and Willamette
University libraries.
Jana Maginness joined the Sacramento
County Public Law Library as a public
services librarian in March. Maginness
worked as a librarian at Sacramento Public
Library. She holds a master’s degree in library
and information science from San Jose State
University and a bachelor of science degree
in conservation biology from the University
of Washington.
Maryellen O’Brien joined the Florida
Coastal School of Law in February as a
reference librarian. O’Brien comes to Florida
from Houston, where she was a reference
Retirements
Ruth Nunez has retired from the
Sacramento County Public Law Library.
Nunez was assistant director for public
services. She was a librarian at McGeorge
School of Law Library for 15 years previous
to her 15 years of service at Sacramento
County Public Law Library.
Professional Activities
Shirley Hart David was honored by the
Sacramento Bar Association with her picture
on the cover of the September/October issue
of Sacramento Lawyer. Her “Law Library
News Column” has appeared in every issue
of the magazine for 21 years. In addition,
she has served on the Sacramento Lawyer
advisory board since its beginning, writing
articles and profiles, suggesting topics, and
finding authors for the magazine.
Joey Hernandez, reference librarian at
Florida Coastal School of Law, has recently
been listed by the army to be crossed-trained
into a job that can be used in Iraq. She is
attending 31B training (military police)
in the fall. The school will be held at Ft.
Leonard Wood, Missouri, and will be
conducted in two phases to last a total of
30 days. She will most likely return to
Florida for a short period to anxiously await
deployment orders (currently the tour of
duty is 18 months).
Maryellen O’Brien, reference librarian
at Florida Coastal School of Law, has
recently been accepted to the Sunshine State
Leadership Institute. The institute is a
comprehensive series of learning sessions
that focus on developing an understanding
of leadership within a conceptual framework
and with practical applications. ■
Sarah Mauldin, Lionel Sawyer and
Collins, 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1700,
Las Vegas, NV 89101 • 702/383-8988 • fax:
702/383-8845 • smauldin@lionelsawyer.com.
Memorials
AALL Spectrum has been
advised of the death of Vaclav
Mostecky. Mr. Mostecky died on
September 11. He served as an
assistant law librarian at Harvard
Law School in the International
Studies Library and then as director
at Buffalo and at University of
California-Berkeley before he
retired.
AALL Spectrum carries brief
announcements of members’
deaths in the “Memorials” column.
Traditional memorials should be
submitted to Frank Houdek, Law
Library Journal, Southern Illinois
University Law Library, Mail
Code 6803, Lesar Law Building,
Carbondale, IL 62901, houdek@
siu.edu.
Matthew J. Perry
The Man, His Times, and His Legacy
Edited by W. Lewis Burke and Belinda Gergel
“If the civil rights struggle were a war, Matthew Perry
would receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.”
—The Honorable Ernest F. Hollings, U.S. Senate
“An extraordinary testament to an extraordinary man.”
—The Honorable James E. Clyburn, U.S. Congress
$24.95, cloth, 1-57003-534-2
28
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
University of
South Carolina Press
718 Devine Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29208
800-768-2500 • 803-777-5243
fax: 800-868-0740
Visit us online at
www.sc.edu/uscpress
special interest section - continued from page 27
peer-reviewed legal publication. The grant is awarded in conjunction
with its co-sponsor, the Online Bibliographic-SIS. Each board fully
endorses the concept of the project, which offers promise of
providing research findings that will enhance law librarianship in
service to our users.
TS-SIS also awarded eight grants for the Boston pre-conference
workshop on cataloging integrating resources. Additional information
on TS-SIS educational grants may be found at the TS-SIS Web site,
www.aallnet.org/sis/tssis/grants/educational, or by contacting Janice
Shull, chair of the Awards Committee, at jshull@lasc.org.
Submitted by Cindy May. ■
Don Arndt, University of Toledo, Law Center, Mail Stop 508,
Toledo, OH 43606-3390 • 419/530-2945 • fax: 419/530-5121 •
donald.arndt@utoledo.edu.
from the president - continued from page 4
contributions received by the moderated discussion forums, the
AALLNET bulletin board/blog, and direct communications with
board members.
Having armed ourselves with information about the legal
profession and its future challenges, we will brainstorm about how
AALL can best position itself to support members in that future.
I am confident that we can create a plan that will be responsive now
and in the near future, yet also be flexible enough to enable future
boards to take decisive action when emerging challenges and strategic
opportunities present themselves.
Last, but not least, the holiday season is soon upon us. May you
have a restorative and enjoyable holiday, whether filled with family,
friends, or travel. ■
Ad Index
BNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Court Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inside back cover
Global Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Instant Information Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
LexisNexis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inside front cover, 3
Purdue University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
RoyaltyStat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Softlink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
University of South Carolina Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Want . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, back cover
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
29
announcements
Awards Committee Calls for Nominees for AALL Awards
The AALL Awards Committee recognizes
the accomplishments of its members
and others who excel in law librarianship.
The Awards Committee will consider
candidates for the awards described below.
Additional information for all awards,
including application forms and previous
recipients, may be found on AALLNET
at www.aallnet.org/about/awards.asp.
Recipients will be recognized at the Annual
Meeting in San Antonio. All nominations
must be postmarked by February 1,
2005, unless otherwise noted.
The AALL/West Excellence in
Marketing Award honors outstanding
achievement in public relations activities by
an individual, group of individuals, library,
chapter, SIS, consortium, caucus, or any
other group affiliated with AALL. Awards
are given in five categories: Best Brochure,
Best Newsletter, Best Campaign, Best
PR Toolkit, and Best Use of Technology.
Please submit four copies of the entry, e.g.,
brochure, newsletter, or handbook. In
the case of a campaign or home page,
submit four hard copies of all supporting
documentation—a campaign notebook
or printout of at least the main page and
introductory material of a home page.
Entries must be signed and dated, and the
submission must have been used or
implemented during 2004. All entries
must be postmarked by February 10,
2005. Additional guidelines and the
application form can be found online at the
AALL Public Relations Committee’s Web
site, www.aallnet.org/committee/pr/. Please
send entries to: Lori Hedstrom, Manager,
West Librarian Relations, 610 Opperman
Drive, D5-N190, Eagan, MN 55123;
651/687-5891; fax: 651/848-2737;
lori.hedstrom@thomson.com.
The Chapter Professional
Development Award recognizes significant
achievements in designing outstanding
professional development programs by AALL
chapters. Two awards are given: one for a
single program or workshop of one-half day
or more and the other for a comprehensive
professional development program of up to
one year in length. Send four copies of the
application and documentation to: Johanna
Bizub, Prudential Insurance, 751 Broad
Street-22 Plaza, Newark, NJ 07102-3714;
973/367-3175.
The Joseph L. Andrews Bibliographical Award is presented to honor
a significant contribution to legal
30
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
bibliographical literature. To be eligible,
a work must be “a compilation of titles,
published in any format, organized to serve
as a reference tool or finding aid for such
publications. Each nominated work will
be measured primarily by its creative,
evaluative elements and the extent to which
judgment was a factor in its formation.”
The works must have been published
during 2004 to be considered. Send nominations, including a complete description,
to: Mark Estes, Holme Roberts and Owen
LLP, 1700 Lincoln Street, Suite 4100,
Denver, CO 82803; fax: 303/866-0200;
estesm@hro.com.
The Law Library Journal and AALL
Spectrum Article of the Year Awards
honor outstanding writing in both of those
publications. Recipients will be chosen
from articles published in volume 96 of
the Law Library Journal and volume 9
of the AALL Spectrum. Nominees will be
determined by the LLJ/Spectrum Editorial
Board and forwarded to the Awards
Committee for final decision.
The Law Library Publications Award
recognizes achievement in creating
outstanding in-house library materials.
There are two categories for the award:
print and non-print. Recipients of the
award may be any individual or group
affiliated with AALL. Entries are judged
according to the quality of the materials,
creativity, and usefulness to the target
audience. Send four copies of the
application and supporting documents
to: Michael Saint-Onge, LexisNexis, 611
W. Sixth Street, Suite 1900, Los Angeles,
CA 90017; michael.saint-onge@lexis.nexis.
com.
The Marian Gould Gallagher
Distinguished Service Award is presented
to an individual nearing or following
completion of an active professional career
and recognizes extended and sustained
distinguished service to law librarianship
and AALL. Honorees may be recognized
for achievement in a particular area of law
librarianship, for service to the Association,
or for outstanding contributions to the
professional literature. The individual must
be or have been a member of AALL. The
award may be given posthumously. Address
these criteria in nominating letters and
include either additional supporting letters
or the names of others to contact for
further information about the nominee.
Documents in electronic form attached to
an e-mail are preferable. Send nominations
and supporting documents to: Shirley H.
David, 77-207 Ho’owaiwai Place, KailuaKona, HI 96740; sdavid@saclaw.lib.ca.us.
The New Product Award honors a new
commercial legal information product that
has been in the library marketplace for no
more than two years. The product must be
commercial, enhance or improve existing
law library services or procedures, and be
an innovative product that improves access
to legal information, the legal research
process, or procedures for technical
processing of library materials. Products
that have been re-introduced in a new
format or with substantial changes are
eligible. CRIV’s New Product Award
Subcommittee screens nominations and
makes recommendations to the AALL
Awards Committee. To submit a
nomination, complete the New Product
Award Nomination Form available on
the CRIV Web site at www.aallnet.org/
committee/criv/news/newproductform.pdf
and send eight copies to: Beth DiFelice,
Ross-Blakley Law Library, Arizona State
University, P.O. Box 877806, Tempe, AZ
85287-7806; fax: 480/965-4283; beth.
difelice@asu.edu. Nominations must be
postmarked by January 15, 2005.
The Public Access to Government
Information (PAGI) Award honors
significant contributions by persons or
organizations involved in the protection
and promotion of greater public access to
government information. Recipients need
not be law librarians or members of AALL
and may not be members of AALL’s
Washington Affairs Office. Criteria for
selection include: 1) a contribution that
significantly improves public access to
government information; 2) the individual
or organization has had a positive impact
on protecting and promoting public access
to governmental information; and 3) the
effort advances the AALL mission and
Government Relations Policy. The award
is jointly administered by the Government
Relations and Awards Committees.
All nominations are considered on
an individual basis, with complete
confidentiality, and according to the criteria
listed above. Nominations (one copy,
preferably in electronic format), must be
sent to: A. Hays Butler, Rutgers University
Law School Library, School of Law,
217 N. 5th Street, Camden, NJ 08102;
ahbutler@crab.rutgers.edu.
announcements
AALL Elections Go Electronic
2005 AALL election schedule and candidates
The schedule for the 2005 AALL elections
will change dramatically this year. Instead of
sending ballots out by postal service, the
Association will distribute and tabulate
ballots electronically. The elections will also
occur four months earlier in November
instead of in March. Following is the 2005
election schedule:
November 15, 2004
Ballots distributed electronically to all voting
members.
December 15, 2004
Deadline for receipt of electronic ballots at
AALL. Ballots tabulated at AALL, and
results of elections announced immediately.
2005 Candidates
The AALL Nominations Committee
nominated the following individuals for office
in AALL. Full candidate profiles and platforms
will be made available on AALLNET at
www.aallnet.org/vote and published in a future
issue of Law Library Journal.
Vice President/President-Elect
Sarah G. Holterhoff, government
information/reference librarian at Valparaiso
University School of Law Library
Lawrence R. Meyer, law library director at
the Law Library for San Bernardino County
Executive Board
Sarah Andeen, director of research at
Greenberg Traurig
Steven P. Anderson, director of research
services at Gordon Feinblatt Rothman
Hoffberger and Hollander LLC
Alvin M. Podboy Jr., director of libraries at
Baker and Hostetler LLP
Francis L. Drake Jr., director of library
services at Arnstein and Lehr
Secretary
Darcy Kirk, associate dean for law and
technology and professor of law at the
Lyonette Louis-Jacques, foreign and international law librarian and lecturer in law at the
University of Chicago D’Angelo Law Library
The Call for Papers Has Begun
Have you been thinking of writing an article
of interest to law librarians? Maybe you just
need a push to get started? Whether for
fame or for fortune, this is your chance to
enter the AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers
Competition.
The AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers
Committee is soliciting articles in three
categories:
•
Open Division for AALL
members and law librarians with
five or more years of professional
experience
University of Connecticut School of Law
Library
•
New Members Division for
recent graduates and AALL
members who have been in the
profession for less than five years
•
Student Division for budding law
librarians still in school (students
need not be members of AALL).
The winner in each division receives
$750, generously donated by LexisNexis,
plus the opportunity to present his or her
paper at a special program during the AALL
Annual Meeting in San Antonio. Winning
papers will also be considered for
publication in the association’s prestigious
Law Library Journal.
For more information, a list of previous
winners, or an application, visit AALLNET
at www.aallnet.org/about/award_call_for_
papers.asp. Submissions must be postmarked by March 1, 2005.
If you have any questions, please contact
any member of the AALL/LexisNexis Call
for Papers Committee: Chair Virginia
Davis, Davis@UH.edu; Renee Rastorfer,
rrastorf@law.usc.edu; or Patricia Wellinger,
pwelling@law.du.edu.
115
AALL Meets the Strait Funding Challenge
Thanks to the contributions of more than
300 individuals, chapters, special interest
sections, and corporations, AALL surpassed
its goal to raise $100,000 for the AALL and
West George A. Strait Minority Scholarship
Endowment—and a year early, too!
After West contributed $150,000 in
2001 to endow the George A. Strait
Minority Scholarship, the company
challenged AALL to raise an additional
$100,000 for the endowment. AALL
immediately accepted the challenge and
set a deadline of 2005 to reach its goal.
90,
000
,00
0
80,
000
The income generated from the
endowment will provide a permanent
funding source, allowing AALL to award
two to four Strait Scholarships per year.
A portion of the income earned each
year will be returned to the endowment’s
principal to assure its long-term viability.
Congratulations!
To contribute to the endowment,
please visit www.aallnet.org/services/
strait-br.asp.
,97
0
100
70,
000
60,
000
50,
000
40,
000
30,
000
20,
000
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
31
views and viewpoints
AALL Member Thoughts, Comments, and Anecdotes
Share Your Views
AALL Spectrum would like to publish
your thoughts and comments. We
are looking for short submissions
about AALL and about the profession.
They can be opinionated or thought
provoking, humorous or poignant,
but they must be short. The ideal
submission will be a paragraph or less,
and certainly shorter than a letter to
the editor.
We see this as a chance for
AALL members to bring up issues or
make statements about their careers,
the profession, or AALL. While
anything is fair game for a topic,
please understand that we will edit
submissions for style and length
and will select submissions based on
content and other factors. There is
no guarantee that any particular
submission will be published.
Please send submissions to AALL
Spectrum Editorial Director Paul
Healey at phealey@law.uiuc.edu or to
AALL Director of Publications Julia
O’Donnell at jodonnell@aall.org.
View from the Tarlton Law Library’s sixth floor window, looking south into the heart of the
University of Texas at Austin campus and Texas Memorial Stadium. Submitted by Scott Webel,
Web and administrative assistant.
Do You Have a Beautiful View
from Your Law Library?
Many law libraries have interesting or
dramatic views of cityscapes, mountain
ranges, or beautiful vistas. If your law
library has a great view, this is your
chance to share it with AALL.
In order to be publishable, pictures
must be of relatively high quality.
While we can work with a print,
digital submissions are better. Digital
submissions must be high-resolution
(300 dpi). When scanning photos, set
the scanner at high-resolution/print
quality/300 dpi. When taking pictures
with a digital camera, make sure that
the camera is set to take the largest
photo possible.
Depending on the number of
submissions received, we will publish
one or two photos in each issue of
Spectrum and post them on
AALLNET at www.aallnet.org/view/
view_month.asp. Publication of a
submitted photo is not guaranteed. If
you have questions about submitting
photos, please contact AALL Director
of Publications Julia O’Donnell at
jodonnell@aall.org.
32
AALL Spectrum
November 2004
View from the Vermont Law School Julien and Virginia Cornell Library. Submitted by Charles
Papirmeister, reference librarian for electronic resources.
Litigation Trend Reports
NEW from CourtEXPRESS
Litigation Trend Report
Work smart. Look good.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
B
Litigation Trend Reports
Provide the Competitive Intelligence
You’ve Been Searching for!
Litigation Trend Reports make quick work
of finding the clients, practice areas and
market segments best suited for your
firm’s business development efforts.
comprehensive, multi-faceted perspective
that lets your firm:
They’re interactive! See the big picture
then drill down to the details that interest
you. Reports are online, can be emailed
and are easy to use.
B Determine a client’s full roster of cases,
B Expand existing client relationships,
B Learn of other firms representing your
clients,
B Identify thriving practice areas and
jurisdictions,
Litigation profiles, client histories,
competitive law firm overviews and
market trend lines provide the
and much, much more.
View a Sample Report Online and Order Your Reports Today
at www.CourtEXPRESS.com
or call us at (800) 542-3320
washington, dc
new
york
los
angeles
richmond
chicago
Q.
UESTION:
Why does West support
Law Librarians?
NSWER:
Because we understand the value
they bring to the legal profession.
Anne Ellis, Senior Director,
Librarian Relations
Law librarians have always been integral to the practice of law, and West has been their partner all along.
That’s why our Librarian Relations program exists – to offer the support and resources you need to help you
better serve your patrons and demonstrate your value to your organization.
From a company that’s been supporting the law for over 130 years, you shouldn’t expect anything less.
Visit us online at west.thomson.com/librarians.
Real People. Real Partners.
© 2004 West, a Thomson business L-309645/10-04

November 2004

Transcription

Similar documents

announcements

AALL President Holly M. Riccio

Preliminary Program 2000

Sacramento County Public Law Library 2008 Annual Report

SANDALL Newsletter Mar 2009 - restored

Alison Brettle - CILIP Conference

tenure track faculty position announcement librarian ii

Find the structure for the following molecules: Problem 1.

Rally Flyer - The Massachusetts Teachers Association

November Newsletter - J. Douglas Hodgson Elementary School

E-Health and Digital Services Boston Children`s Hospital

LexisNexis® SmartLinx® User Guide

rose fitzgerald kennedy greenway financial district