Law Librarian Blog

75 Years of IRS Criminal Investigation History

The Memory Hole has obtained and made available online an unredacted version of the IRS's  75 Years of IRS Criminal Investigation History. This is the uncensored version of a book-length report that the IRS pulled from depository libraries in 1996. In it, the IRS's  investigative division celebrates its biggest cases since 1919, provides stats, and profiles its leaders.

Duke University Press hires Library Relations Manager

From the press release:

To more proactively address and anticipate the unique needs of its institutional subscribers, Duke University Press is pleased to announce the creation of a new Library Relations Manager position.  Staffing this new position is Kimberly Steinle - formerly Duke University Press's Circulation Coordinator-who is charged with building stronger partnerships between Duke University Press and the library community.

"The development of this new position is in direct response to the evolving nature of the university press and university library relationship. We truly are sister institutions linked together by a related mission: a shared commitment to meaningfully expand and contribute to the international community of scholarship," commented Duke University Press Journals Marketing Manager Donna Blagdan. "As Circulation Coordinator, Ms. Steinle had already begun to develop relationships with many of our library customers, building a platform from which she can now further open the lines of communication to build strong partnerships with our institutional customers that will benefit the academic community as a whole."

In addition to acting as an advocate for libraries, representing their needs and concerns at Duke University Press with regard to key business decisions, Ms. Steinle will be introducing a business model for consortial and institutional subscriptions by coordinating the sale of the e-Duke Scholarly Collection (see below), negotiating site license agreements, and ensuring online access to Duke University Press journals by library subscribers. She will also represent Duke University Press at key library conferences.

Duke University Press, publisher of 32 journals, has recently launched a new electronic package of Duke University Press journals, the e-Duke Scholarly Collection, to be hosted by Stanford Libraries' HighWire Press.

For more information, please contact Mandy Dailey-Berman, Publicity Coordinator mdberman@dukeupress.edu www.dukeupress.edu/library

Selected New LexisNexis Databases and Information Updates for July 2005

Journal of National Security Law & Policy
Group file containing:  ALLUS, ALLREV, CALRV, MILTLR, INTLR, and CONLLR.

Library:  CAL, LAWREV
File:  JONSLP
Source Selection Hierarchy:  / Secondary Legal / Law Reviews & Journals / Individual Law Reviews & Journals / J-L
OR
/ Secondary Legal / Law Reviews & Journals / Law Reviews by Area of Law
OR
/ Secondary Legal / Law Reviews & Journals / Law Reviews by Jurisdiction

Sarbanes-Oxley Special Topics: Compensation Committee Essentials
Provides timely analysis of the role and composition of the compensation committee.

Library:  2NDARY, CORP, MATBEN
File:  SASTCC
Source Selection Hierarchy:  / Area of Law - By Topic / Corporate / Corporate Governance
OR
/ Area of Law - By Topic / Corporate / Treatises & Analytical Materials / Matthew Bender
OR
/ Area of Law - By Topic / Securities / Corporate Governance
OR
/ Area of Law - By Topic / Securities / Treatises & Analytical Materials / Matthew Bender
OR
/ Secondary Legal / Matthew Bender / By Area of Law / Corporate
OR
/ Secondary Legal / Matthew Bender / By Area of Law / Securities

Code of Federal Regulations Archive
Contains all archive versions of the Code of Federal Regulations.  The CFR is a codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published originally in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government.

Library:  CODES
File:  CFRARC
Source Selection Hierarchy:  / Federal Legal - U.S.
OR
/ Federal Legal - U.S. / Administrative Agency Materials

Opening: Reference Librarian, Appalachian School of Law

The Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Virginia, seeks a highly motivated, service-oriented professional to fill the position of Reference Librarian beginning Fall 2005.

The Environment
The Appalachian School of Law is unique in American legal education. Located in the scenic mountains of Southwest Virginia, ASL opened in 1997 as an institution designed to stimulate educational, social, and economic growth in a historically challenged area. The school offers a traditional curriculum augmented by community service training and practical experience for its students. The Library is housed in an attractive, functional building with excellent work space for patrons and library staff. The librarians and paraprofessionals interact cooperatively with each other and with leadership that encourages initiative and innovation.

The Position
The Reference Librarian will provide reference and research service to law students, faculty, the law school community, members of the Bar and the public using a complete range of print and electronic information sources. The Reference Librarian compiles bibliographies and user guides, provides bibliographic instruction and participates in the faculty liaison program. The Reference Librarian assists in selecting materials for purchase and for evaluating and weeding the collection. The Reference Librarian also assists in the reference desk rotation including evening and weekend hours. This position reports to the Public Services Librarian.

The Essential Qualifications
A master’s degree in library or information studies from an ALA-accredited program; a law degree from an ABA-accredited law school; demonstrated interpersonal skills; knowledge of electronic research technologies; organizational skills; ability to communicate clearly orally and in writing; flexibility; and a sense of humor.

The Salary and Benefits
The salary for this 12-month position will be commensurate with experience. The excellent benefit package includes: employee health, dental, short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance are fully paid by the law school; monthly employer contributions to a TIAA-CREF retirement account at the rate of 10.2% of the employee’s annual salary, with no contribution required by the employee (and immediate full vesting); 22 days of annual leave each year; 22 days of sick leave annually; and 11 paid holidays.

The Application Process
Send cover letter, resume and three professional references to:

ASL Law Library Librarian Search Committee
Rt. 5 Box 450
Grundy, VA 24614

ASL is an AA/EOE.

House Reauthorizes USA Patriot Act

Reuters is reporting that the House has reauthorized the THE USA PATRIOT ACT by 257-171 with several changes designed to increase judicial and political oversight of some of its most controversial provisions. In the Republican-controlled chamber, 44 Democrats supported the bill while 14 Republicans opposed it.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to recommend its own version of the act on Thursday, which included only four-year renewals of these two clauses. The full Senate is expected to take its bill up in the fall.

The Thomson Corporation Acquires Global Securities Information, Inc

The Thomson Corporation has announced that it has acquired Global Securities Information, Inc. (GSI), a leading provider of online securities and securities-related information and research services. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

On Browsing or Old School Library Research Techniques

In the July 18, 2005 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, don't miss Stacks' Appeal. One of my favorite quotes from the article addresses the value of browsing in the stacks:

Sometimes librarians think a book that hasn't been checked out in decades is seldom used. But many books are consulted in the stacks without being borrowed; if those books are not there, they will have to be obtained by more labor-intensive and costly methods. Most of my discoveries as a researcher come from the efficiency of being able to spend 10 seconds glancing at the contents of nearby books instead of having to make an elaborate and time-consuming plan to track down tangential leads.

My only objection is the author's reference to "librarians." We get it. I would replace that reference with one to provosts, deans, architects, and space consultants who oftentimes do not get it.

Legislative Research Using GPO Access and THOMAS

GPO Access and THOMAS for Legislative Research by Peggy Garvin reviews the relative merits of using GPO Access and THomas for Legislative Research. Peggy asks "which is better for the task at hand?" Peggy's recommendations: (1) for document retrieval, GPO Access is best; and (2) for topical research, Thomas' integration of data and documents from multiple sources is best.

Opeing: Multiple Postions at FAMU Law

The Florida A&M University College of Law Library is adding two professional library positions: #19302, Acquisitions Librarian and #19303, Reference/Electronic Services Librarian. We are also hiring, due to resignation, #19129, Assistant Law Librarian for Technical Services.

The College of Law received ABA provisional accreditation in August 2004.  The Law Library currently supports over two dozen full-time faculty and we will have over 400 law students with the addition of the entering class.  The Library has an expanding collection of nearly 300,000 volumes:  monographs, microforms and electronic databases.  The University is converting from NOTIS to ALEPH so the ideal Acquisitions Librarian candidate will have knowledge of ALEPH library system and PeopleSoft Financial System.  Further information on all three positions can be found on the web site listed below. 

The positions are university librarian tenure earning, twelve month contracts.  The salaries are negotiable depending upon experience.  The benefits include several medical vision and dental insurance and retirement plans. 

Applications will be accepted immediately and the positions are open until filled.  The job applications, which must be received by Tallahassee prior to interview, can be found at www.famu.edu/about/admin/hrfaculty.  Interested applicants can contact Grace Mills, Director, at College of Law Library, One North Orange Avenue, Orlando, Fl. 32801, 407-254-3231 or grace.mills@famu.edu.

Condon Appointed Law Library Director at Appalachian School of Law

Charles J. Condon will be joining Appalachian School of Law in August 2005 as Director of the Law Library and Assistant Professor of Law. He previously served as a faculty member and as Computer Services/Reference Librarian at Northern Illinois University College of Law, where he taught law school courses in Legal Research and Advanced Legal Research and undergraduate courses in Criminal Law and School Law. He also has worked as a Public Services Librarian at the University of Toledo College of Law and has published several articles in law library journals. He received his B.A. from Florida Atlantic University, his J.D. from Nova Southeastern University College of Law, an LL.M. in Agriculture Law from the University of Arkansas College of Law, and an M.L.S. from the University of Southern Mississippi.

On the 18th edition of the Bluebook

Unless you have been asleep for the past several weeks you know that the 18th edition of the Bluebook is out. One of the major headaches with Bluebook citation format has been electronic materials.  For the new edition, Rule 18 (Electronic Materials) has been extensively rewritten:

Rule 18 (Electronic Media and Other Nonprint Resources) has been almost completely rewritten to account for increasing use of Internet citation. Major changes include the categorization into two kinds of Internet citations (direct and parallel), the expanded use of analogy in Internet citation, and the addition of citation formats for blogs.

Rule 21 (International Materials) also has been completely rewritten to correspond to majority citation conventions in the foreign and international legal fields

Overview of Changes | Detailed List of Changes

Mark Giangrande, DePaul Law Library

California Supreme Court Expands the Definition of Sexual Harassment

The California Supreme Court has decided that when someone receives preferential treatment because of sexual relations with their supervisor, those who do not receive favoritism may have a claim for sexual harassment.  The case involved prison workers who were passed over for promotion in favor of several of the then-warden's on-staff paramours.  Lower courts had dismissed the suits by the workers but the California Supreme Court ruling 6-0 reinstated them saying that widespread "sexual favoritism'' at work may amount to sexual harassment. See Miller vs. Department of Corrections (pdf).

The sordid details are available in a San Francisco Chronicle story.

Mark Giangrande, DePaul Law Library

CS-SIS Blawgs Committee Has Relocated

The CS-SIS Blawgs Committee has moved to http://cssisblawgs.blogspot.com A RSS feed is available for the blog at http://cssisblawgs.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Anyone interested in joining the CS-SIS Blawgs Committee should contact Co-Chairs Bonnie Shucha or Debbie Ginsberg

GPO Extends Deadline for Nominations for Federal Depository Library of the Year Award

The nomination period for the 2005 Federal Depository Library of the Year Award has been extended until August 15, 2005. The award ceremony will be held in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, October 16th, as part of the fall Depository Library Conference.

Additional information, including the criteria for the award and an online nomination form, is available at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/fdlofyear/application05.html. Nominations may also be submitted through the mail, but need to be received by GPO no later than August 15, 2005.

Opening: Library Services Manager, Regional Law Firm

Regional law firm seeks experienced Manager of Library Services to manage all aspects of the firm’s multi-office law libraries including acquisitions, budgets, personnel, and legal research. Specific duties include supervising and training library staff, developing and implementing library services, policies and procedures, providing research assistance, supervising electronic and print collection development, liaising with all offices, and providing excellent customer service in research and reference services. Responsible for all offices, preparing library bills and vendor invoices for payment, negotiating contracts, coordinating firm wide Library and Information Systems staff on implementing new technology developments. Must be able to train, motivate and counsel direct reports.

Ability to work in a fast paced environment with minimal supervision is essential. Familiarity with Windows XP, Microsoft Word, and Inmagic are highly desirable. The firm offers excellent compensation and benefits. Requires a Masters in Library Science, 5-10 years of law firm library experience, proficiency with online research databases such as Lexis and Westlaw and familiarity with library database system(s). Supervisory and managerial law library experience is required. Weekly travel also required.

Send cover letter and resume to atl20050622@atlresume.com or mail to: Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, HR Dept., PO Box 77707, Atlanta, GA USA 30309-3964

Opening: Reference Librarian, Stanford

The Stanford Law Library is seeking a friendly, motivated, and hard-working reference librarian.

Stanford Law School has approximately 550 JD students, 34 LL.M and JSM students, 33 JSD students, and a faculty of over forty permanent members.  The Robert Crown Law Library is one of the most complete legal research centers in the nation, containing computer-based legal information systems, facilities for online data retrieval, wireless Internet access, an online CourseWork database, and a very popular digital reserves collection.  As a member of the Research Libraries Group, the Robert Crown Library provides access to the holdings of other leading universities as well. The library holds almost  500,000 books, 408,000 microform and audiovisual items, and more than 8,000 current serial subscriptions. The Robert Crown Law Library has an annual budget in excess of $3 million, 8 professional library staff members, and 18 support staff members.

The reference librarians provide premier level reference desk service, and librarians receive a flood of requests for assistance from an accomplished faculty and student body.  Because our reference team is small and without subject specialists, a reference librarian will have the opportunity to answer a wide range of questions from across the disciplines. In addition, the reference team must have the good humor to deal with interrupted interruptions and to smile while solving problems as mundane as jammed printers.  The reference team collaborates on a wide range of academic projects and instructional resources.

The reference librarians are actively engaged in teaching and comprise the core of the legal research instruction to first year students.  The librarian instructions provide in-class lectures, library small group instruction, and create and develop legal research exercises.

Reference librarians at Stanford also have an opportunity to formally teach advanced legal research and receive Lecturer in Law status.

Reference librarians are also involved with a wide variety of publication and on-line resource creation -- from traditional bibliographies and pathfinders to Web resources.  Our motto here is that we are a little library that does a lot.

Reference librarians are encouraged and supported to seek opportunities for professional growth and education evolvement, both here in the education-rich Bay Area and nationally.

Candidates must have a knowledge of basic legal research sources and be skilled at using print and electronic materials.  Qualified applicants should have a JD and/or MLS degree, or equivalent law and/or library degree or a related advanced degree, and candidates with two graduate degrees are preferred, but this is not required.  The ideal candidate will have a very strong service ethic, and the ability to blend harmoniously with his or her colleagues and the law school and university communities.  A commitment to continuous service improvement and innovation is important -- we are always looking for ways to provide even better service than before.

This is a full time position.  Schedule and hours are somewhat negotiable.  Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.  Stanford University offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package.  All librarians are eligible for continuing term appointments.

To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to:

Paul Lomio
Library Director
Stanford Law Library
559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA  94305-8612

Background Information of SCOTUS Nominee John Roberts

Personal notes
• Full name: John Glover Roberts Jr.
• Born January 27, 1955, in Buffalo, New York
• Currently resides in suburbs of Washington, D.C.
• Religion: Roman Catholic
Family
• Current marital status: Married
• Spouse: Jane Marie Sullivan
• Children: Josephine and Jack
• Parents: Jack Roberts Sr. and Rosemary Roberts
Education
• Harvard Law School, J.D., 1979; magna cum laude (managing editor of The Harvard Law Review)
• Harvard College, A.B., 1976; summa cum laude (history major)
Professional career
• 1979-80: Law clerk for Circuit Judge Henry Friendly
• 1980-81: Law clerk for Associate Justice William Rehnquist
• 1981-82: Special assistant to the attorney general
• 1982-86: Associate counsel to the president
• 1986-89, 1993-03: Partner/head of appellate division, Hogan & Hartson
• 1989-93: Principal deputy solicitor general
• 2003-Present: U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit
Federal judicial history
• First nominated for his current position on the D.C. appellate court in 1992 by former President Bush but was never brought to a Senate vote
• Previously nominated for same post in May 2001, but nomination stalled after Democrats took control of Senate in June 2001
• Nominated by George W. Bush on January 7, 2003, to his current seat, which was vacated by James L. Buckley; confirmed by the Senate on May 8, 2003, and received commission on June 2, 2003
Notable cases
As deputy U.S. solicitor general on behalf of the George H.W. Bush administration:
• Rust v. Sullivan (1990): About Roe v. Wade, he argued that "we continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled."
As a federal judge:
• Hedgepeth v. WMATA (2004): Also known as the "French fry" case. Roberts upheld the arrest and detention of a 12-year-old girl who ate a French fry inside a D.C. subway station.
As an attorney:
• United States v. Microsoft (2001): Represented 18 states and the District of Columbia in the Microsoft antitrust case
• Smith & Botelho v. Doe (2002): Defended Alaska's version of "Megan's Law," which allowed publicizing the names of sex offenders to members of the general community.

Source: CNN

Official text of July 19, 2005 Announcement by President Bush with Remarks by US Supreme Court nominee John Roberts.

U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Senate Judiciary Committee News

Commentary and analysis on the Law Professor Blogs Network:

Professor Douglas Berman (OSU), editor of Sentencing Law & Policy

• Robert's round-up
• Pondering Judge Robert's mold
• Judge Roberts' DC Circuit sentencing opinions
• Is Judge Roberts personally against capital punishment?
• What might Justice John Roberts mean for sentence jurisprudence?

Additional blog commentary and analysis:

• The Supreme Court Nomination Blog
• The National Women's Law Center's Nomination Watch
• The Republican National Lawyers Association's Judicial Confirmation Blog
• Redstate.org's Confirm Them
• Nomination Nation

Blogging in the Early Republic

In Blogging in the Early Republic, W. Caleb McDaniel traces the history of blogging back to early reading habits and journal writing of our ancestors. McDaniel concludes

[B]logging demonstrates the persistence of a key truth in the history of reading, an insight as obvious to Tocqueville as it should be to most bloggers today. The insight is that readers, in a culture of abundant reading material, regularly seek out other readers, either by becoming writers themselves or by sharing their records of reading with others. That process, of course, requires cultural conditions that value democratic rather than deferential ideals of authority. But to explain how new habits of reading and writing develop, those cultural conditions matter as much—perhaps more—than economic or technological innovations. As Tocqueville knew, the explosion of newspapers in America was not just a result of their cheapness or their means of production, any more than the explosion of blogging is just a result of the fact that free and user-friendly software like Blogger is available. Perhaps, instead, blogging is the literate person’s new outlet for an old need. In Wright’s words, it is the need "to see more of what is going on around me." And in print cultures where there is more to see, it takes reading, writing, and association in order to see more.

Thanks to Carol Bredemeyer (Chase College of Law Library, NKU) for the tip.

LII's Released New Edition of Annotated Constitution

The LII is pleased to announce our release of a new edition of the Annotated Constitution of the United States.  Substantive work was done by the Congressional Research Service; LII added hyperlinking of Supreme Court opinions and significant enhancements to navigation and presentation.  Another job will done by Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute.

Recent Studies by the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

In Signposts in Cyberspace: The Domain Name System and Internet Navigation (2005), the Computer Science and Telecommunication Board (CSTB) of the National Academies reports on its assessment of the current state and the future prospects of the Domain Name System, noting that the DNS faces challenges arising from technological change and from from institutional pressures with a wide variety of commercial, cultural, social and political agendas. The report can be downloaded in pdf format at no charge.

Building an Electronic Records Archive at the National Archives and Records Administration: Recommendations for a Long-Term Strategy (2005), is the CSTB's final report on the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) program of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The report makes six recommendations:

1. Get ready for a rapidly rising tide of electronic records.
2. Plan for continuing technology change and increasing user expectations.
3. Reengineer relations with federal agencies to help them create records that are archive-ready.
4. Do not assume that ERA is unique: become more involved with other organizations that have interests in preserving electronic records.
5. Learn how to exploit the enthusiasm and capabilities of the research community and work with others who do that well.
6. Take strong measures internally and provide government-wide leardership to ensure record integrity and provenance.

The report can be downloaded in pdf format at no charge.