Library News and Views

January 18, 2008

Librarian Nominations Sought for NYLINK* Achievement and Leadership Awards

We’re very pleased to announce the fourth annual Nylink Achievement Awards and the second year of the Leadership Award. The Achievement Awards provide recognition and appreciation for Nylink member institutions that make significant contributions to Nylink, library cooperation, or to library collaboration. The Leadership Award was established in 2007 to honor Mary-Alice Lynch, who served as Nylink Executive Director from 1997 to 2007, for her leadership and vision for libraries. The award is given to an individual in recognition of sustained service reflected in a significant and influential body of professional work furthering Nylink’s mission of library collaboration and/or the promotion of innovative technological solutions to shared library issues.

All librarians, professional, technical and ancillary staff, Nylink staff, and others in the profession are encouraged to submit nominations for the institutional Achievement Awards and for the individual Leadership Award. The nomination solicitation process will remain open until Friday, February 22, 2008.

All nominations will be reviewed by the Awards Committee of Nylink Council. We thank this committee for their time and effort to highlight the valuable contributions of Nylink member institutions and their staffs. Committee members: Gary Thompson, Siena College, chair; Susan Currie, Binghamton University; Barbara Liesenbein, Dutchess Community College.

January 17, 2008

Report: October 2007 OCLC Council Meeting

by David Badertscher

The following is an excerpt of a Report of the OCLC Council Meeting by Phyllis Post, Head of Technical Services at Capital University (Columbus, Ohio). Phyllis attended as an observer/representative of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL).. Speaking personnally, I am very happy to see AALL involved at this level with OCLC:

From the OCLC Members Council 2007/2008 Annual Plan:

The Members Council, along with the Board of Trustees, is one of the two governance bodies representing the Membership of the OCLC global, nonprofit, library cooperative. Members Council supports OCLC’s mission of furthering cost-effective access to worldwide information by serving as a key strategic discussion forum and the major communications link among Members, networks, and OCLC. By providing an open channel for recommendations and questions from delegates, approving changes in the Code of Regulations, and electing six Members of the Board of Trustees, Members Council helps shape the future direction of OCLC and libraries.

January 10, 2008

Wisconsin State Law Library Newsletter – January 2008

by David Badertscher

The January issue of WSLL @ Your Service has been published at http://wsll.state.wi.us/newsletter/0801.html In this issue:

* State Law Library Catalog Debuts New Look, New Features * Using the New “Preferred Search” Feature of the Catalog * Got Milk? How About a Library Card?
* This Just In… “New Titles” Lists * WSLL, MLRC & DCLRC Exhibit at Solo/Small Firm Conference * Learn @ the Law Library: Upcoming Classes * Odds ‘n’ Endings: January Notables

January 10, 2008

Final Report: Library of Congress Working Group on Bibliographic Control

by David Badertscher

This posting includes the Executive Summary followed by a link to the full text of the Final Report:

“The Working Group hopes that this Report is viewed as a ‘call to action’ that informs and broadens participation in discussion and debate, conveys a sense of urgency, stimulates collaboration, and catalyzes thoughtful and deliberate action. We anticipate broad discussion of the Report’s recommendations and their implications, and look forward to the development of specific implementation plans, research agendas, and educational programs.”

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In November 2006, Deanna Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library Services at the Library of Congress, convened a Working Group to examine the future of bibliographic control in the 21st century. The formal charge to the Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control was to:

January 4, 2008

News from American Libraries Direct

by David Badertscher

Here are some highlights from the January 3, 2008 issue of American LibrariesDirect.

National Film Registry selections for 2007 Librarian of Congress James H. Billington on December 27 named 25 motion pictures-classics from every era of American filmmaking-to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, including Bullitt, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Grand Hotel, Oklahoma!, and 12 Angry Men. The selections were made as part of a program aimed at preserving the nation’s movie heritage. This year’s selections bring to 475 the number of motion pictures in the registry….

Library of Congress, Dec. 27

January 4, 2008

The Prennial Issue: Library Funding

by David Badertscher

The following is a question regarding alternative approaches to library funding and a summary of responses to that question.

QUESTION

“The perennial issue – law library funding. Beyond civil filing fees, has any law library tried other avenues for funding, for example, a portion of the attorney registration fee, or other vehicle? I am interested whether or not the attempt was successful.”

December 21, 2007

Law Library Journal 99, No. 4 Fall 2007

by David Badertscher

Table of Contents:

——————————————————————————–

General Articles

December 17, 2007

Draft Report of the Library of Congress Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control and the AALL Official Response

by David Badertscher

View Letter from the Working Group – November 30, 2007 [PDF, 41 KB]

Read Draft Final Report of the Working Group [PDF, 315 KB]

The period for public comment on the report is open until December 15, 2007. Comments can be submitted via the Web site at http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/contact/. Electronic submission of comments is encouraged. Please note that public comments are a vital part of the Working Group’s deliberations and may be available for public access either online or in print.

December 17, 2007

Position Announcement: U.S. House of Representatives Manager, Library

by David Badertscher

The Legislative Resource Center of the Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives is looking for a Manager of Library Services. The individual will provide daily management, oversight and supervision of library operations and personnel. Applicants should have at least five (5) years of progressively responsible management and supervisory experience; an MLS from an accredited American Library Association (ALA)

school is preferred. Contact: Mr. Eddie Curry, Office of the Clerk,

Legislative Resource Center, B-106 Cannon House Office Building,

December 17, 2007

A Librarian’s Worst Nightmare: Yahoo! Answers, Where 120 Million Users Can Be Wrong*

by David Badertscher

The following is an excerpt from a December 7, 2007 article by Jacob Liebenluft posted on Slate

“When it does battle on the Web, Google rarely loses. Last year’s closure of Google Answers, however, marked a rare setback for the search giant. An even bigger shock is that Yahoo! succeeded where Google failed. Yahoo! Answers-a site where anyone can post a question in plain English, including queries that can’t be answered by a traditional search engine-now draws 120 million users worldwide, according to Yahoo!’s internal stats. The site has compiled 400 million answers, all searchable in its archives. According to the Web tracking company Hitwise, Yahoo! Answers is the second-most-visited education/reference site on the Internet after Wikipedia”

“The blockbuster success of Yahoo! Answers is all the more surprising once you spend a few days using the site. While Answers is a valuable window into how people look for information online, it looks like a complete disaster as a traditional reference tool. It encourages bad research habits, rewards people who post things that aren’t true, and frequently labels factual errors as correct information. It’s every middle-school teacher’s worst nightmare about the Web.”