A Report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) prepared by R. Eric Petersen, Analyst in American National Government November 5, 2009.* Summary Periodically, concerns have been raised about the number and variety of products created to document congressional activity. Other concerns focus on the process for authorizing and distributing printed…
I was delighted to receive the following e-mail this morning from Camilla Tubbs, Chair of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) because it illustrates how librarians are working together to provide an improved information environment for the benefit of us all –librarians and non-librarians alike. Clearly these are the…
October 2009 In January 2009, the Library of Congress (LC) contracted with R2 Consulting LLC (R2) “to investigate and describe current approaches to the creation and distribution of MARC records in US and Canadian libraries”, with a primary focus from a primarily economics perspective on “in effect” mapping “the marketplace…
For week ending November 6, 2009 Top Ten Stories: Law Firms Ropes & Gray Associate Arrested in Galleon Probe Nov 5, 2009, 09:39 am CST Criminal Justice Sidley Austin Rescinds Offer to New Hire Suspected of Setting Fire to 9-11 Chapel Nov 2, 2009, 01:05 pm CST Media & Communications…
David Badertscher One hundred years ago last Tuesday (November 3, 1909) the criminal court building in Manhattan (bounded by Centre, Lafayette, Franklin, and White Streets) was declared unsafe for human occupancy and everyone in the building at the time was ordered to leave immediately. According to a New York Times…
The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 includes a section requiring restitution for victims of sex crimes. Although “Amy” was videotaped being sexually abused as a child, she has been given awards ranging from the millions to nothing. One judge in Arkansas claimed there was no way to assess and…
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has about 50 officers working on a small but growing gang problem within the city. Deputy Chief William Benjamin told an audience at Arlington High School that, “We have a small problem compared to other cities, but we have a problem.” The main speaker at…
A hearing will be held Wednesday on the effects of a bill that would legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana. Tax officials estimate the legislation could bring about $1.4 billion a years. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has indicated he would be open to a “robust debate” on the issue. The separate initiatives…
An update to the federal hate crime statutes originally passed by Congress in 1968 will be signed by President Obama. This update will include protections to gay, lesbian, transgender, and disabled people. Despite this, many of the people who worked on this bill do not expect more people to be…
This posting is prompted out of concern for the need to provide open, online access to public documents including CRS reports, two e-mails received during the past two weeks, and two recent requests for recent CRS report referenced in a previous post to this blog. First the e-mails. About a…