Comments Off on Our Future is Mapped: Join the Ride

By Tina, July 30, 2010 4:23 pm

by Tina Ching

It is an excellent time to be involved in AALL policy related activities.  Various events held at the AALL annual meeting in Denver highlighted some of the issues that are important to us as law librarians and demonstrated how at the state level you are needed to help advance the objectives of our organization.

AALL Vision 2010-2013 states, “Law librarians, possessing unique education and training, have the special responsibility to promote permanent public access, authentication, and preservation of public domain government information.”  There were several programs at the annual meeting this year, related to this part of our organization’s strategic direction that reflected the movement in this area and the need for involvement from our members.  Here are just some of the highlights: Continue reading 'Our Future is Mapped: Join the Ride'»

Comments Off on Response to the WAC and Session Laws Publication Survey

By Tina, July 30, 2010 9:48 am

Joint statement from the Law Librarians of Puget Sound and the American Association of Law Libraries Washington State Working Group To Ensure Access to Electronic Legal Information:

Although we understand that severe state budget cuts and increased publishing costs factor into the decision to eliminate print publications, we believe without appropriate safeguards, discontinuing the print versions of the Washington Session Laws and Administrative Code will have a negative impact on the ability to access and utilize these very important government publications. Such changes present serious concerns to the law libraries in the state of Washington, library users, and the preservation of the history of our state. Continue reading 'Response to the WAC and Session Laws Publication Survey'»

Comments Off on AALL Summit 2010: Report from Denver

By Newsletter-Blog, July 29, 2010 1:20 pm

by Jill Allyn

Receiving a scholarship from AALL and LLOPS to attend the annual meeting this year was exciting. Not only did it help persuade the firm to send me, but I had never been to Denver before. We flew in Friday evening; that way, we could go to the PLL reception and Mort could attend Chapter President Leadership training Saturday morning. The reception included a mariachi band and margarita slushies that hit the spot. I met a newer librarian from Rochester, NY who had questions about software, serials management, databases, contracts and all that goes with managing libraries. Continue reading 'AALL Summit 2010: Report from Denver'»

Comments (1)

By Newsletter-Blog, July 27, 2010 4:05 pm

by Philippe Cloutier

The Federal Register’s enhanced online presence is up and running. It is certainly dazzling, and in comparison to the black and white, impersonal, and sometimes too technical print document, the new web 2.0 version proves engaging. FR 2.0 adds photos, sections/categories, friendly navigation and interface, and digital bookmarks (see photo-click to enlarge).

It definitely feels like a web newspaper and represents itself as such, displaying the current date, latest issue, and a focus on browsing. The little things within each document make the experience better: font size and color control, easy access to PDF and XML versions, shortened links, and citation information. Also welcomed are RSS feeds by section, allowing us to stay on top of healthcare and banking systems in flux. Continue reading 'Federal Register Reborn'»

Comments Off on Program Committee Report

By Newsletter-Blog, July 26, 2010 10:54 am

The 2009-2010 Program Committee was composed of six LLOPS members: Barbara Swatt Engstrom (Seattle University): CO-CHAIR; Amy Eaton (Perkins Coie): CO-CHAIR; Rita Dermody (KCLL); Kerry Fitz-Gerald (Seattle University); Tim Sheehy (US Courts), and; Mort Brinchmann (Stokes Lawrence): Liaison to the Board.

We held 10 meetings this year, including a special session with Pat Wagner of Pattern Research. Thank you to the members who hosted meetings, shared their expertise, suggested session topics, and of course, attended our LLOPS meetings. We are looking forward to another successful year.

August: Blog Talk and SLA/ AALL roundup

September: Training Programs: Techniques for the Law Librarian (Catherine Horan, Warner Miller)

October: The Cancellation Conundrum (Kara Phillips, Rita Dermody, Karen Helde)

December: Holiday Party Hosted by Thomson Reuters

January: Business Meeting

February: Nakamura Courthouse tour

March 1: Pat Wagner presentation

March: AALL Visitor, AALL President Catherine Lemann and discussion of Emergency Preparedness (Jilly Allyne, Rita Dermody, Catherine Lemann)

April: No meeting

May: Conversation with King County Law Library (Barbara Holt, Rita Dermody, Judge Yu)

June: LLOPS 20th Birthday and Business Meeting

Respectfully submitted,

Amy Eaton & Barbara Swatt Engstrom

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By Newsletter-Blog, July 22, 2010 5:51 pm

by Kristine Lloyd

As if we needed more reasons to sprinkle ourselves with self-love, the BYU Old Spice parody video, like the UW Gaga video, has gone viral. People are talking about it, talking about us, which is good, right? Are we at, dare I say, the Tipping Point of total hipness? Even though that phrase is more used than Vol. 25 of the Washington Practice Series, it might be apt. This recent NPR story extolls the virtues of libraries and lists reasons why we might be on the verge of a pop culture breakthrough. A couple of the reasons she lists make great reasons why we should have our own reality show, as she titles it, The Stacks. We get in fights, maybe not the dramatic brawls worthy of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, but certainly fights over issues like funding and censorhip. In other words, we can show our mettle when we need to. She also points out that since we are open to the public, we have all kinds of juicy stories to tell. Those of us in private libraries may not have many, but I know Rick and Rita at King County have shared a few with me. I’m a little jealous, because public librarians have the best stories to share. I mean, did you hear about the lady throwing condiments down her public library’s book drop? Her mug shot just screams public library defiler and reality show star.

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By Newsletter-Blog, July 20, 2010 4:37 pm

If the new fad is creating fun library video clips to market your library, Brigham Young University just upped the ante with their slick and entertaining biblio-mercial (sorry, I could not resist!). This is almost Super Bowl quality people. Watch out librarians everywhere. Time to bring in the Mad Men.

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By Newsletter-Blog, July 16, 2010 2:28 pm

by Kristine Lloyd

Remember when the Federal Register was just 16 pages?* Ok, so none of us do, but apparently, that was its length when first published in 1936. Well, as they say, you’ve come a long way baby. From 16 pages to veritable tomes, the Federal Register has morphed from pamphlet to paperweight to pdf, and then most recently to XML. An exciting new development is underway. On July 26th, the Federal Register will unveil its new website, a site modeled after news sites. As the managing editor, Michael White says, “It’s like USA.gov meets USA Today.” The site will have six main categories: Money, Environment, World, Science & Technology, Business & Industry and Health & Public Welfare. Apparently, there will be more editorial selection and homepage prominence of rules which relate to hot topics. Hopefully, we’ll all still be able to get right to what we’re looking for online. I can’t recall the last time I watched an attorney walk out with a print version for a little light reading.

*According to The Washington Post article the first publication was 11 pages, but according to NARA, it was 16, published March 14, 1936.

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By Newsletter-Blog, July 14, 2010 5:05 pm

by Fred Hanson

Libraries may be morphing into coffee bars or disappearing via e-mail reference, but a more extreme development could impact our professional life. Librarians are disappearing from students’ lives.

At schools across the country – New Jersey, Michigan, Arizona, California, even Washington – school librarian positions have been eliminated. California’s funding problems are well known, but it’s startling to see a wealthy community like Bellevue jettison its middle and high school librarians. Continue reading 'Over the Horizon'»

Comments Off on How Much Do Lawyers Cost?

By Newsletter-Blog, July 12, 2010 6:29 pm

Would it be a down payment on a house, maybe in the Queen Anne area? I found this Seattle PI article interesting. The author notes that King County’s Library system costs about $72 per person per year. With Westlaw and Lexis thrown into the mix, I’d be frightened to look at the numbers. $72 sounds more like a quick shopping trip to Whole Foods. Do you keep track of these kinds of statistics in your libraries?