Articles Posted in Library Reference and Research

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In her interesting and provocative article, “Transparency Chic”, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Senior Editor at Reason Magazine, writes: “…Privacy is dead. But one kind of information is still cozily tucked away, the law…[W]ith the possible exception of the ever-leaky CIA, no aspect of government remains more locked down than the secretive, hierarchical judicial branch. Digital records of court filings, briefs and transcripts sit behind paywalls like Lexis and Westlaw.”

Katherine also writes about PACER and recommends that we all check out RECAP (PACER spelled backward) a free extension of Firefox to help gain access to and download documents. RECAP is a project of the Center for Information Technology and Policy at Princeton University.that, among other things, helps PACER users build a free and open repository of public records and also facilitates the downloading of these reords. RECAP is not a substitute for PACER; rather it is meant to be somewhat like a PACER facilitator. It is my understanding that you cannot use RECAP effectively unless you are also a PACER user. I go into this detail because Katherine recommends RECAP be used to download her article which is reproduced here with her permission.

Whether you agree or disagree, Katherine Mangu-Ward’s article is well worth reading. Here it is: I am also providing a link to her article as it first appeared so that you can also read the comments at that location

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The following article published in the July 2009 issue of The Third Branch: Newsletter of the Federal Courts discusses a project conducted by U.S. Circuit librarians in the federal courts, and organized by the Fudicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management (CACM). The project involved observation and recording over a six month period of how court opinions and materials in court opinions are cited and hyperlinked in a representative sampling of web pages, resulting in a compilation of “suggested practices” for citing and hyperlinking these materials..

This type of resource is needed as a reference for citing primary materials in all branches of government – federal, state, local, and probably foreign and international as well.. With the increasing empsasis on “going green”, preservation of resources, etc. the rate of conversion from hard copy to digital, web based materials is accelerating to the point where it is urgent that we have authoritative sources now that we can rely upon for citing and hyperlinking primary source legal materials on the web.

With this article I am happy to see an example of how the federal courts are “stepping up to the plate” on this issue.

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People from the Online College sometimes send me various lists related to libraries and websites which they have compiled for publication on the web. Their latest is a compilation by Donna Scott of “100 Terrific Tips & Tools for Blogging Librarians“. Donna’s list contains a number of interesting observations. I hope you find it useful and entertaining.I

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Can the offering of goods and services such as Google searches free of charge be considered in violation of antitrust? Many librarians have expressed an interest in this issue. They are concerned about what any resolution of this question wll have on their continuing efforts to provide knowledge based goods and services (including new and enhanced products) in an increasingly financially constrained environment to patrons with ever increasing expectations. They want to be informed about what the producers and providers they depend on, such as Google, are thinking about this issue? Hence this postingl

In a July 10 posting on the Google Policy Blog Dana Wagner responds to comments by Chris Anderson, editor of Wired Magazine and author of the book Free in a piece Chris wrote for CNN and possibly to additional comments by Chris during his presentation at the Google D.C. office earlier in the week. In his D.C. presentation Chris explained how new business models and approaches to advertising will change the focus of global commerce.

What really seems to have caught Dana Wagner’s attention however is the following excerpt from Chris’s CNN piece:

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BY KAT SANDERS*

It’s easier to solve crime today than it was 50 years ago, because of the advances that have been made in the field of science, or to be more specific, forensic science. In fact, new and innovative crime solving techniques are being introduced by the day to help law enforcement officers solve cases that are baffling at first. If we took a long and hard look at the role that forensics play in the fields of criminal law and justice, we would see how important it is in solving crime because:

It helps establish the nature of the crime: There are some crimes that are accidents and others that are by design. Looking at the evidence through a forensic microscope allows cops and others in the law enforcement area to determine if the crime was a murder, suicide or other form of accidental death. In the case of a murder, forensic evidence tells them if the crime was accidental or carried out in cold blood. Forensic science is also used to investigate and solve burglaries, drug offenses, arsons and automobile accidents.

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On june 15, 2009 we received an interesting question by e-mail regarding law school journals and open access. Somewhat later we received another e-mail from the same person, summarizing the responses to her original query. Due to increasing interest and concern regarding information access issues, including open access to law journals we are posting both the original question and responses below. In order to preserve confidentiality we will not be mentioning names but are very grateful to the legal bibliographer who raised the original question and summarized the responses:

QUESTION:

Do any of your law school journals publish their open access contents through a repository (like DSpace, BePress, etc..), or use a system like OJS-Open Journal Systems (PKP) to publish online? Do they simply post their issues/articles as pdf’s to the law school server?

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Lyonette Louis-Jacques of the D’Angelo Law Library at the University of Chicago has conducted a quick, informal, but very interesting survey asking law school librarians how many of their faculty members use Kindles. As often happens with such surveys, the results or responses reveal more than was originally intended, thus creating interest among readers well beyond the range of the original audience. For this reason I have contacted Lyonette and requested her permission, which she has granted, to republish her questions and responses on this blawg for the benefit of our readers. David Badertscher

LYONETTE’S QUESTIONS:

I asked on Twitter, teknoids and the CSSIS-L lists. I got 21 responses. 6 responders indicated they own Kindles.

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The following is an announcement from Luis Villa, the outgoing Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Science and Technology Law Review (STLR). Beginning with Volume X STLR will become a “formal open access journal and comply with the recent Durham Statement on open access” and will become the first Columbia journal to publish through the Columbia University Library’s archival quality Academic Commons publication system:

ANNOUNCEMENT AND LETTER:

Most of you know me from past ventures; for those who don’t, my apologies for reaching out to you in this manner, but it is a one-time event that I hope you’ll find it worth your attention.

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The background information regarding U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor at our earlier posting has been updated to include her completed questionnaire which was delivered to the Committee of the Judiciary of the U.S. Senate on Thursday June 4, 2009. For those who have not seen it, that posting which is at:

https://www.criminallawlibraryblog.com/2009/05/judge_sonia_sotomayor_backgrou.html

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