Criminal Law Library BlogMarch 6, 2009.
To see the following articles recently published on LLRX go to http://www.llrx.com
**Guide to International Refugee Law Resources on the Web
Articles Posted in Library Reference and Research
CBS News Show 60 Minutes to Report on Eyewitness Identification
SPECIAL BULLETIN FROM THE AMERICAN JUDICATURE SOCIETY
60 Minutes to Report on Eyewitness Identification Reform
The CBS News show, 60 Minutes will air a two-segment report on Eyewitness Identification Reform on Sunday, March 8, 2009, at 7pm EST.
American Association of Law Libraries Research Committee is Accepting Applications for Research Grants
The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Research Committee is accepting applications for research grants from the AALL Research Fund: An Endowment Established by LexisNexis®. A single grant of up to $1,425, or multiple grants totaling $1,425, may be awarded. The committee will award one or more grants to library professionals who wish to conduct research that supports the research and scholarly agenda of the profession of law librarianship. The deadline for applications is Friday, March 27, 2009.
For more information, consult the Research and Publications Committee website at http://www.aallnet.org/committee/respub/.
U.S. Federal Trade Commission Rescinds Enforcement Policy Regarding Advertising of Books
On February 20, 2009 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced that it is rescinding the book advertising policy sometimes known as the “mirror image doctrine”. Below is an excerpt from that announcement with links the complete FTC Announcement, the forthcoming notice in the Federal Register, an an article in the National Law Journal discussing this action:
“The Commission has approved the publication of a notice in the Federal Register rescinding the agency’s enforcement policy for advertising of books, also known as the Mirror Image Doctrine (MID). As detailed in the notice, which will be published soon and is available now on the FTC’s Web site and as a link to this press release, the agency is rescinding its stated policy that it will not ordinarily challenge advertising claims that promote the sale of books and other publications when the advertising purports only to express the opinion of the author, or to quote, i.e., ‘mirror,’ the contents of the book or publication….”
As noted above the National Law Journal has also published a Web-only article, FTC Rescinds Decades-old Enforcement Policy on Book Advertising, ” by Marcia Coyle. (February 24, 2009)
Digital Books and the Impact on Libraries: An Overview of the Summer 2008 Issue of Library Trends
BY STEVEN ESSIG*
Library Trends Volume 57, issue 1 focuses on “Digital Books and the Impact on Libraries”. Issue Editor Peter Brantley, Executive Director for the Digital Library Federation (DLF), introduces the discussion by summarizing several cataclysmic developments in the library and publishing worlds that are forever changing the production, delivery and acquisition of books and other print materials: namely, the increasing centrality of Google and the resulting uncertainties over the disruption of the traditional relationships between authors publishers and libraries and the disruptive effects of ubiquitous internet technology on people’s everyday lives. Brantley asks whether there are alternatives to Google-shaped agreements for librarians and publishers and what economies would be necessary to sustain these alternative agreements.
Among the articles that follow this introduction, particularly interesting discussions include that of Jason Epstein’s “The End of the Gutenberg Era” (pages 8-16). Epstein, formerly the editorial director of Random House and founder of Anchor Books, foresees a continued place for most current versions of the physical book (though purely reference materials such as encyclopedias will go totally online) but emphasizes a change in the manner of its distribution. Increased digitization will cut back elements of the previous supply chain reducing costs of the physical inventory, packaging etc. and replacing this costly and elaborate setup with a “practically limitless digital inventory”, making it possible to “email an entire book with all necessary metadata as easily as a letter” (15). Epstein then discusses his involvement with “On Demand Books”, a company marketing an “Espresso Book Machine” which prints books on demand from online digital files. He foresees this print-on-demand technology being setup as a sort of “ATM for books” where readers could order a title at their computers (much as they currently do at Amazon.com) and then collect the item at a nearby machine, perhaps located at a Kinko’s, Starbucks or local library or bookstore. For this setup to become widespread, there would need to be cooperation with publishers and other content providers; Epstein sees it as in the latter’s interest in cutting back on the current costly distribution infrastructure as well as in the chance to “exploit new technologies and markets” (16).
ABA: Standards for Criminal Justice
“The “black letter” Standards for Criminal Justice are available on the Standards homepage at www.abanet.org/crimjust/standards/home.html Standards that heve been published with commentary since 1991 are also available in book format on the Web site as well as in hard copy. Listed below are the individual sets of Standards and the dates of publication.”*
Collateral Sanctions and discretionary Disqualification of Convicted Persons (published 2004)
Criminal Appeals (published 1980, 1986 supp.)
Recent Comments on Google and the Future of the Book
Sometimes it seems as though Google has become ubiquitous in the world of searching and may want to repeat its act in the world of books. While thinking about this, two articles, one forthcoming and one published Febrary 1 have come to our attention>
The forthoming article Google and the Future of Books* by Robert Darnton, Director of the Library and Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor of Harvard has much to say on the subject and should be required reading for all who are concerned about these developments. He writes:
“How can we navigate through the information landscape that is only beginning to come into view? The question is more urgent than ever following the recent settlement between Google and the authors and publishers who were suing it for alleged breach of copyright…”
New York Times: A Tool to Verify Digital Records, Even as Technology Shifts
The above titled January 27, 2009 article by John Markoff, published in the New York Times is relevant because it discusses digitization, preservation and authentication of records (and by extension information) in terms of continuously preserving these qualities in an authentic state as the underlying technology constantly changes or “shifts” over time, thus taking into account and emphasizing the importance of both the initial authentication of information in accordance with accepted polices and practices and the urgency of maintaining that authenticity over time. In terms of this discussion the question for law librarians and others throughout the legal profession working with digital legal information is how to best provide assurance that primary and other legal information officially authenticated at a given time can be safely perceived as remaining reliably authentic over a much longer period of time in the midst of these constant shifts? Since John Markoff’s article may help us at least clarify these issues I wanted to share it with you.
David Badertscher
Here are some excerpts:
Results from Marshall Breeding’s 2008 Library Automation Survey
In case you missed it, the results from the 2008 version of Marshall Breeding’s Library Automation Survey are available at http://www.librarytechnology.org/perceptions2008.pl. This Survey is international in scope. There were 1,450 responses.
AALL: Technical Services Law Library Newsletter
The September 2008 issue of the Technical Services Law Library Newsletter (TSLL) Volume 4 Nol 1 is now published.and can be viewed at http://www.aallnet.org/sis/tssis/tsll/34-01/34-01.pdf