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By Newsletter-Blog, April 8, 2014 5:16 pm

by Philippe Cloutier

AALL offered their third Leadership Academy this month (prior academies were held in 2009 and 2011). Two days in Oak Brook, Illinois were filled with learning, hands-on exercises, and networking. Over those days Gail Johnson and Pam Parr, of Face to Face Communications and Training, conveyed the skills and assessment factors needed in quality leadership. Gail and Pam offered a healthy amount of laughter and their Laurel & Hardy routines kept the event lively. Their message relied on proven methods, contemporary studies and surveys, and experiential wisdom.

Continue reading 'Filters and Ambiguity'»

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By Newsletter-Blog, April 7, 2014 10:13 am

This post has been reposted from the Public Law Library of King County

Inmates with family support during incarceration are less likely to reoffend, according to the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC). One of the family support programs offered through the DOC allows for video visits with inmates at most facilities, at a cost of $12.95 for a thirty-minute visit.

The Public Law Library of King County is now offering free video conferencing between inmates housed in a DOC facility and their friends or family members who are on an approved visitors list.

The Law Library was awarded funds from a class action settlement regarding inmate collect calls. The settlement funds are generally limited to projects that directly benefit inmates and their families. The Law Library has used a portion of these funds to purchase video conference equipment at both library locations (at the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle and the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent). Each private video visit meeting room is equipped with a large flat-screen television, web camera with audio, and computer.

In addition, the settlement funds will be used to reimburse video visits participants for the cost of the visit. To qualify for reimbursement, the video visit must be scheduled in advance and take place at one of the Law Library locations. A participant will first schedule and pay for his or her appointment through the third party vendor’s website and then contact the Law Library to schedule a video visit appointment.  At the end of the visit, the participant will receive a cash payment of $12.95 as provided by the settlement funds.

For more information, visit http://kcll.org/services/inmate-video-visits, email videovisits@kcll.org or call 206-477-1305.

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By Newsletter-Blog, April 7, 2014 9:59 am

When: Wednesday April 30, 2014 at 12:00PM

Where: US Bank Centre in the “Palomino building”, 1420 Fifth Avenue Seattle, WA (4th Floor Conference)

What: Meet someone new and join in on the conversation. Share your thoughts on:

• Happenings in your library shop & tackling new issues
• LLOPS and LLOPS’ programming ideas
• General Information Science & Technology/ Cataloging & Technical issues / Professional Development concerns

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By Newsletter-Blog, April 1, 2014 9:55 am

The LLOPS grant application is available.  The deadline to submit your application is Friday, May 16.

Remember that the grant award is not only for AALL, and can be used for other continuing education programs as well!

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By Newsletter-Blog, March 28, 2014 12:34 pm

by Philippe Cloutier

Catching  the bus downtown from the quiet realms of Capitol Hill I often pop into the AP News app and apprise myself of the day’s latest. Imagine my shock upon seeing this headline. How dare these librarians sully our respected title in a cheating scandal, garnering national attention and vilifying us throughout the world! I always thought putting librarians in charge of nukes a safe prospect but alas: At Core of Nuke Cheating Ring: 4 ‘Librarians’. As I read further the single quote marks around our honored label was thusly processed:

Investigators dubbed them “the librarians,” four Air Force nuclear missile launch officers at the center of a still-unfolding scandal over cheating on proficiency tests. “They tended to be at the hub” of illicit exchanges of test information… it was the four “librarians” who allegedly facilitated the cheating, in part by transmitting test answers via text message.

Damn those four “librarians”! Yet, what exactly makes them “librarians” according to these so called “investigators”? All I gathered is that they were the hub for text messages, applying this logic: high school kids and one’s children who never call are “librarians” as well.

My jest aside, our membership continually faces label issues and debates. Every year a new gauntlet is thrown down hoping to remove “librarian” or “library” assignments, aiming for more modern “information”, “knowledge”, etc. types.  If the article says anything positive about “librarian”, in between the lines, it is that we are known for relaying, managing, and assessing quality information, even if by text. For better or worse, sensationalist headlines like this make it clear that the term “librarian” is generally and immediately recognizable; and, scandals excluded, esteemed.

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By Newsletter-Blog, March 20, 2014 4:09 pm

Please see the following message from Emily Feltren, Director of Government Relations for AALL, and contact her if you have any examples to share.

Hi Advocates—

Last week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee reported out the Federal Register Modernization Act (HR 4195). The bill, introduced the night before the mark up, changes the requirement to print the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations to “publish” them, eliminates the statutory requirement that the CFR be printed and bound, and eliminates the requirement to produce an index to the Federal Register and CFR. The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register governs how the FR and CFR are published and distributed to the public, and will continue to do so.

While the entire bill is troubling, I most urgently need examples of why the Federal Register and CFR indexes are useful and how you use them. Stories in the next week would be of the most benefit, but later examples will help, too. I already have a few excellent examples from our Print Usage Resource Log – thanks to all of you who submitted entries! But the more cases I can point to, the better.

Interestingly, the Office of the Federal Register itself touted the usefulness of its index when it announced the retooled index last year: https://www.federalregister.gov/blog/2013/03/new-federal-register-index.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Emily Feltren
Director of Government Relations

American Association of Law Libraries

25 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 500

Washington, D.C. 20001

202/942-4233

efeltren@aall.org

Follow AALL’s Government Relations Office on Twitter.

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By Newsletter-Blog, March 13, 2014 5:18 pm

When: Wednesday March 26, 2014 at 12:00PM

Where: Foster Pepper PLLC, 1111 3rd Avenue Seattle, WA (30th Floor Conference Room)

What: Lisa M. Stone, Executive Director of Legal Voice, will speak with us about the organization’s work advancing women’s legal rights and the pro-bono initiatives in which Seattle and other law firms assist. Legal Voice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1978 as the Northwest Women’s Law Center. Legal Voice pursues justice for all women and girls in the Northwest, through ground-breaking litigation, legislative and policy advocacy, and educational tools to help individuals understand their rights and the legal system.

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By Newsletter-Blog, March 7, 2014 10:02 am

by Anna Endter
This post has been reposted from the Gallagher Law Library blog

From the Google Maps Blog:
If you’ve ever wondered which trails Lewis & Clark traveled for their famous expedition, or looked for maps of the best schools in your region, you may have found yourself scouring the web without much luck. The best results for your search may come from governments, nonprofits and businesses, but historically that information has been hard to find or inaccessible to the public. Well, now, with the new Google Maps Gallery, it’s easier for you to find maps like those all in one place.

I poked around a little and found a map from the World Bank that shows the percentage of internet users across the world, a topic that is often of interest to the legal community.  I also noticed that you can explore by topic to find things like historical and environmental maps.  Give it a try!
(Hat tip to beSpacific)

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By Newsletter-Blog, March 5, 2014 1:24 pm

by Anna Endter

A PDF copy of the current LLOPS Membership Directory is now available under the “Member Resources” tab of the website.  Please note that you can print a copy of the Directory if you wish; we are not planning to have them printed for LLOPS members this year since it’s so easy to access online!

You can also use this link to get to the Directory: http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/llops/members/search.asp.

You’ll need to log-in with the same LLOPS username and password that we normally use for members only resources.  If you don’t have this information, email Kim Ositis.

If you have corrections to the Membership Directory please contact me.

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By Newsletter-Blog, March 5, 2014 12:47 pm

by Jessica King

You may have already heard that the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Conference and Information Expo will be held on June 8-10, just a train ride away in Vancouver, BC. As a member of the SLA Legal Division Executive Board and the SLA Pacific Northwest Chapter, I encourage you to think about attending. SLA membership is a mix of legal, corporate, government, medical, museum and other information professionals. The annual conference presents an opportunity to meet librarians of all kinds of specializations.

Registration and travel information can be found on the conference website. The SLA Western Canada Chapter has a great website with local Vancouver information (which might come in handy if you are planning a visit at any time). If you want to take a closer look at what sessions and meetings will be offered, head over to the conference online planner. I’ve listed some sessions that I plan to attend:

• 60 Sites in 60 Seconds – A popular session every year introducing you to websites that you can use at work or at home. The topics range from desktop sharing to language learning to foodie blogs.
• Analysis of Patent and Other Large Bibliographic Data Sets
• Bringing Parks to the People: Online Access to the Scenery and History of Our National Parks
• Legal Division Unconference – This is always an interesting session because any topic can come up.

Of course, there is always the IT Dance Party to look forward to and the Legal Division has a breakfast and business meeting every year where award winners are recognized. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have. I hope you take a minute to consider going to Vancouver this year. I think you will find it to be a rewarding professional experience.