Articles Posted in Library Organization and Planning

The Federal Register has announced the launch of a new Electronic Public Information Desk to Provide free public access to public documents.*

To view these documents, go to www.federalregister.gov (link opens in a new window). See “View Documents on Public Inspection” (link opens in a new window) on the left hand side. This new desk grants the public access to documents that will be published in the next day’s Federal Register as early at 8:45 a.m. EST. Previously, such documents could only be seen by viewing the documents physically located at the Office of the Federal Register in Washington, DC.

See Press Release at: http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2009/nr09-06.html

“About 450 librarians and library supporters rallied against budget cuts at the New York State Capitol in Albany November 18. Gov. David Paterson has proposed $20 million in cuts to libraries, which the New York Library Association says will reduce library aid for the state’s 73 library systems to a level not seen since 1993. State aid to libraries was flat between 1998 and 2006. Paterson called lawmakers into an emergency session to make mid-year budget cuts, but legislators did not take any action…”
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White Plains (N.Y.) Journal News, Nov. 18; New York Library Association

For the Announcement check the press release at http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2008/08-190.html..

Questions have been raised as to how this might impact law cataloging. Here is a response from AAron Wolfe Kuperman at the Law Catagoging Section of the Library of Congress:

The impact on the LAW team is limited. We are renamed the “Law Section”,

On Thursday November 6, 2008 the Law Library Association of Greater New York (LLAGNY) presented in conjunction with the Electronic Legal Information Access and Citation Committee of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) a program at the New York County Lawyers Association in New York City regarding how findings of the 2007 authentication report published by AALL and its ELIAC Committee can be adopted in the State of New York.

The program consisted of a panel of representatives of AALL, its Electronic Legal Information Access and Citation (ELIAC), and two agencies of New York state government, the New York State Reporting Bureau and the Office of General Counsel of the New York State Department of State discussing the AALL Authentication Report, published in 2007 and approaches, strategies, and challenges to adopting its findings to authenticating and otherwise validating in accordance with accepted standards New York State primary source legal information published on the web.

The following are links to the opening remarks of the moderator, David Badertscher, Slides frm the presentation of Mary Alice Baish,and a summary of the program kindly provided by Theodore Pollack, Senior Law Librarian at the New York County Public Access Library, who attended the program, and to the program announcement from LLAGNY. Other links will be added if they become available.

2009 LARRY J. HACKMAN RESEARCH RESIDENCY PROGRAM AT THE NEW YORK STATE ARCHIVES The New York State Archives and the Archives Partnership Trust announce the availability of awards for qualified applicants to conduct research using historical records at the New York State Archives. The Larry J. Hackman Research Residency Program is intended to support advanced research in New York State history, government, or public policy. The program encourages public dissemination of research products. The Hackman Research Residency Program honors the New York State Archivist who headed the dramatic development of the State Archives between 1981 and 1995.

Applicant/Project Eligibility – Applicants must be engaged in an original research project using historical government records held by the New York State Archives. Preference will be given to projects that: (1) have application to enduring public policy issues, particularly in New York State, (2) rely on holdings that have been little used and are not available on microfilm or electronically, and (3) have a high probability of publication or other public dissemination. Research in records held by other institutions is not eligible for support.

Previous residents have included academic and public historians, graduate students, independent researchers and writers, and primary and secondary school teachers. Projects involving alternative uses of the Archives, such as research for multimedia projects, exhibits, documentary films, and historical novels, are welcomed.

Electronic publlications from William S. Hein & Company:

HeinOnline’s U.S. Federal Agency Library

The U.S. Federal Agency Library is a complete collection of the official case law of some of the United States’ most important government institutions. This case law, also known as decision law, is the body of reported judicial opinions that are published by each agency and thereby become precedent and the basis for future decisions. This Library contains titles from various government agencies, including the FCC, NLRB, FTC, ICC, IRCB and many more. Continue to brochure.

The EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2008 is available at http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERS0808/RS/ERS0808w.pdf.

Although this study was done with undergraduate students, it provides useful information relevant to all students in all fields at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Of particular interest to lawyers and law librarians might be Chapter 4: Ownership of, Use of, and Skill with IT; Chapter 5 IT and the Academic Experience; Chapter 6 Social Networking Sites, and the Bibliography included at the end of the study.

FROM THE OFFICES OF LESLEY ELLEN HARRIS Copyright, New Media Law & E-Commerce News

NOTE: THIS CONTENT IS BEING REPRODUCED FOR NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSES ONLY.

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The fall issue of the State Court and County Law Libraries (SCCLL) Newsletter has been published at:

http://www.aallnet.org/sis/sccll/pdfs/news/2008fall.pdf

There is an inoperable hyperlink on page 12. The link to the article “Law Libraries Keep FOL in $titches” is: http://www.friends-library.org/about/footnotes2008/footnotes-0808.pdf

Kelly Sonora of the bestcollegeonline blog recently sent us an article by Jessica Merritt recently posted on their site and invited us to post it here we thought our readers would be interested. We do think it will be of interest to many of our readers, particulary those law librarians who serve public patrons and appreciate the opportunity of posting it here. Because the article contains many links we will include only the first paragraph here but will provide a link to the bestcollegeonline blog so you can read the entire article:

25 Important Legal Issues Every Librarian Should Research

By Jessica Merritt

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