Authors of Articles

October 22, 2007

Information Retrieval and Records Management: The 2007 Sedona Conference

Best Practices in Information Retrieval and Records Management: Analysis and Recommendations from the 2007 Sedona Conference

By Steven Essig

The Sedona Conference Journal, Volume 8, Fall 2007, includes much relevant commentary on possible best practices and other important concerns on effective information retrieval of legal documents. Issues raised range from effective precision and recall searching, appropriate sorts of indexing strategies, word choice, email retention policies for courts and other legal organizations among other major concerns. Of particular interest to librarians should be the section of the issue entitled “ESI Symposium”, which contains a report from “The Sedona Conference ® Working Group on Best Practices for Document Retention and Production (WG1), Search & Retrieval Sciences Special Project Team” (the August 2007 Public Comment Version).

October 1, 2007

Domestic Violence and Youth at Risk

by David Badertscher

Each quarterly issue of the Judges Journal , the official publication of the Judicial Division, American Bar Association, emphasizes a particular theme of interest and concern to the judiciary. The Summer 2007 issue, Volume 46 Number 3 is devoted primarily to matters related to domestic violence and youth at risk. The following is an overiew of the various articles and other features included. I am grateful to Steven Essig, our professional law librarian intern for special projects for his able assistance in compiling this material.

Domestic Violence and Youth at Risk

BY Steven Essig

September 14, 2007

Law, The Brain and DSM

by David Badertscher

David Badertscher

Usually four times a year I make a presentation to Psychiatric Fellows associated with our forensic psychiatric clinic. In these presentations I discuss updated reference sources including databases, and review with them various searching and other techniques useful in their research. When preparing for an upcoming session I noticed two items, one a small OP-ED article in the New York Times, and the other a review of a book published by Oxford University Press.

One book that is consulted repeatedly is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, a respected reference source, currently in its fourth edition, prepared by the American Psychiatric Association. While this source is often relied upon without question, there is a concern among some that future editions may need to focus in a more precise way on issues such as symptoms and the linkage between diagnosis and treatment.