“Librarians” Reign of Terror Concludes

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By , March 28, 2014 12:34 pm

by Philippe Cloutier

PC-NukeCheatingRing

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.

Possible Elimination of FR and CFR indexes

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By , 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.

LLOPS Monthly Meeting

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By , 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.

New Google Maps Gallery!

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By , 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)

2013-14 LLOPS Membership Directory

By , 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.

You’re Invited to the 2014 SLA Annual Conference in Vancouver

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By , 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.

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