Articles Posted in Library Organization and Planning

The e-newsletter of the American Library Association – January 7, 2009
Selected highlights*

Judge overrules Philadelphia branch closings A Philadelphia judge has ordered Mayor Michael Nutter to halt his planned closing of 11 branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Court of Common Pleas Judge Idee C. Fox (right) issued the ruling December 30 in response to an emergency motion filed by three city council members who argued that the closures would violate a 1988 city ordinance requiring the mayor to obtain council approval before shutting any city-owned facility….
American Libraries Online, Jan. 5
Protect patrons’ privacy ALA Editions has released a new title, Privacy and Confidentiality Issues: A Guide for Libraries and their Lawyers, by Theresa Chmara. In this clear and concise guide, set up in an FAQ format, First Amendment attorney and litigation expert Chmara shares her decades of experience in easy-to-understand, jargon-free language. Interspersed within the questions and answers, actual court case studies lend a sense of urgency to the explanations….

Date change for Los Angeles Lawyers for Libraries ALA will present a Lawyers for Libraries training institute February 27 in Los Angeles. The previously announced date was February 20. The Lawyers for Libraries Institute is primarily intended to equip attorneys with tools they need to effectively defend the First Amendment in libraries….

Internet use grows at meetings Until recently, travelers attending conferences had simple internet needs. They would check email messages and look up information on the Web or connect to the home office. Now, meetings are likely to include streaming video and online interaction. Back in their rooms, travelers are downloading movies and logging onto peer-to-peer networks. Event organizers and hotels and conference centers are struggling to keep up and prevent internet gridlock….
New York Times, Dec. 29 Continue reading

We received the following e-mail today from Jennifer S. Murray of the Maricopa County Superior Court Library in Arizona and would like to share it with you:

For those who might be interested, I wanted to share this link to today’s Diane Rehm Show audio file on the role of libraries in economic hard times:
http://wamu.org/programs/dr/09/01/07.php#24509

The Copyright, New Media Law and E-Commerce News is prepared by copyright lawyer Lesley Ellen Harris with the help of Beth Davies. Issues are posted here in their entirety for strictly noncomercial use in accordance with guidelines stipulated by Ms. Harris.:

Vol. 13, No. 1, January 5, 2009

ISSN 1489-954X

At the beginning of 2007, the steering committee of OpenTheGovernment.org put a spotlignt on the importance of developing recommendations for the next administration and Congress to strengthen government transparency. OMB Watch agreed to spearhead such a project and to work with the OpenTheGovernment.org coalition and others including the AALL Government Relations Office staff in fashioning recommendations for providing a new roadmap for openness in the federal government that will in turn provide greater government transparancy, accountability and usability of government information.

The resulting report “Moving Toward a 21st Century Right-to-Know Agenda: Recommendations to President-elect Obama and Congress,” was delivered to President-Elect Obama’s transition team the day after the election. It includes more than 70 prioritized recommendations on issues relating to national security and secrecy, usability of government information, and how to create an environment for greater transparency. Those who are concerned and would like to make their own positions known can go to a special website established by OMB Watch and endorse the findings of the Report.

All subscribers to journal titles published by Haworth Press should have received the following e-mail. Although it is only addressed to current subscribers, others may also be interested in this information; we are therefore posting the letter here:

Dear subscriber,

I am delighted to let you know that from today all journal titles formerly published by Haworth Press are now available at www.informaworld.com. This marks the first stage in migrating the ejournals from www.haworthpress.com to www.informaworld.com. The following information will help you to prepare for a smooth platform transition for you and your users.

Michael Gartenberg’s predictions as reported in Computerworld – December 17. 2008.

“Well, it’s that time of the year again. Time to enjoy the glow of a nice LED-backlit display and huddle with the warmth that only an overclocked PC can produce. Yep, it’s time to take a look at what’s going to happen in technology in 2009. Here are my five predictions for the new year.”

“The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded nearly US$7 million to fund a pilot program aimed at helping public libraries in seven states get faster Internet connections, the foundation announced Thursday. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded nearly US$7 million to fund a pilot program aimed at helping public libraries in seven states get faster Internet connections, the foundation announced Thursday”. Click to Continue.
_____________________ CIO Insider, December 19, 2008.

Source: AALL: From the Desk of James E. Duggan, December 18, 2008.

Some welcome news is today’s tough economy, U.S. News and & World Report last week named librarianship as a “Best Career 2009.” The overview dispels the image of librarians as “mousy bookworms,” reporting that librarians have become “high-tech information sleuths, helping patrons plumb the oceans of information available in books and digital records, often starting with a clever Google search but frequently going well beyond.” Special librarianship in particular is named the field’s fastest-growing job market.

From: New York State Archives – Region 1 Newsletter, December 2008
The New York State Archives is pleased to announce the release of its email policy development guidelines. These guidelines are intended as a starting point for state agencies and local governments to use for writing policies and procedures that will guide a program for managing email. Given the complexity of managing email, not all agencies will have the same needs and issues. Users should adapt the guidelines to meet their own needs and capabilities, and continue to update their policies on an as-needed basis. If users have questions or comments regarding the guidelines, please contact Ann Marie Przybyla at aprzybyl@mail.nysed.gov, or 518-474-5834.

A copy of the guidelines is available at http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/records/mr_pub85.shtml. If you have problems accessing the guidelines, please contact Sarah Durling at durling@mail.nysed.gov or 518-473-6803.

According to libraryjournal.com, a libraries taskforce has been formed to investigate the recent OCLC policy changes regarding the use and transfer of WorldCat records.

According to libraryjournal.com:

“Taking a step likely to be welcomed by many in the cataloging community, the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) have formed an ad hoc task force to study the recently disseminated OCLC policy governing the use and transfer of WorldCat records.

Contact Information