Law Librarian Blog

For an Introduction to or a Refresher for the Topic: Heller, Hellyer and Keele's The Librarian's Copyright Companion, 2d ed.

Andrea Alexander, Ohio Northern Univ. Law Library, reviews the second edition of Heller, Hellyer & Keele's The Librarian’s Copyright Companion (Hein, 2012). A brief quote from her AALL Spectrum Blog post:

Although The Librarian’s Copyright Companion is organized in a way that makes it easy to look up specific topics in copyright, it reads more as a treatise than as a reference resource; ideas introduced in one section are referred to in later ones, making it difficult to take a section out of context for quick answers to specific questions.  However, as an introduction to copyright for librarians or as a refresher for those who aren’t up to date on recent developments, it works very nicely.  Some particularly helpful organizational choices are the inclusion of  “The Bottom Line,” a concluding note at the end of some sections that summarizes more complex legal issues; Question and Answer sections on topics of frequent interest; and Comments on examples, offering suggestions and opinions when black letter law is not available.

[JH]

Who Owns the Law: Private Ownership of Public Law and How to Stop It

As a follow up to several recent LLB posts, the video of Fastcase CEO Ed Walters' presentation at last month's ReInvent Law Silicon Valley 2013 Conference is now available for viewing on the ReInvent Law Channel. Here's the direct link to Walters' Who Owns The Law: Private Ownership of Public Law, and How to Stop It. Highly recommended as are the other presentations available on the ReInvent Law Channel. [JH]

Presentations from the IFLA-CILIP eBooks and Libraries Seminar

IFLA's Management of Library Associations Committee and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) conducted a seminar entitled Ebooks and Libraries: A Global Challenge of Survival? on February 21, 2013. Hat tip to LJ InfoDocket's Gary Price for providing links to the presentations here. The presentations can also be downloaded from CILIP's site. [JH]

Duke/UNC Workshop for Scholarship on Legal Information and Information Law and Policy (LiiLP)

From the press release:

On April 4-5th, the J. Michael Goodson Law Library and the Kathrine R. Everett Law Library at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill will host the first Duke/UNC Workshop for Scholarship on Legal Information and Information Law and Policy (LiiLP).  The workshop is organized by Richard Danner, Rufty Research Professor of Law & Senior Associate Dean for Information Services and Anne Klinefelter, Director of the Law Library & Associate Professor of Law at UNC-CH.

“Our aim is to provide writers interested in topics involving legal information, and information law and policy the opportunity to have their works-in-progress read and critiqued in a workshop setting,” said Danner.  “We hope to offer the participants a rich experience that provides not only peer review, but the perspectives of experienced writers and editors noted for the quality of their scholarship and writing.”

Seventeen writers, chosen from nearly thirty applicants, will present papers at the workshop. Among the authors are four members of the Goodson Library staff:  Kristina Alayan, Jane Bahnson, Kelly Leong, and Hollie White.  The faculty includes Professor Danner and Lecturing Fellow Guangya Liu from Duke, and former Duke librarians Mike Chiorazzi of the University of Arizona and Janet Sinder of the Brooklyn Law School.

The workshop will be held at the Rizzo Conference Center in Chapel Hill, with sponsorship from Bloomberg Law and support from the Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries. The full list of authors and faculty, abstracts of the papers, the schedule for the workshop, and other information can be found at http://library.law.unc.edu/LiiLP/

Sounds very interesting. [JH]

Reminder: Registration for AALL's eBook Webinar Due by March 21

Sue Polanka is presenting an AALL sponsored webinar on eBooks. Note well that registration is due by Thursday, March 21st.

E-books: Opportunities, Obstacles, and Trends
Date: Wednesday, March, 27, 2013
Time: 11 A.M. (Central Time)
Fee: AALL Members - $30; Non-AALL Members - $60;
Site Registration (one per physical location) $150
Register by March 21
 
E-books are a moving target, presenting many opportunities – and obstacles. Wherever you are in the e-books evolution, do you know how to move forward? Are there best practices for the future? Please join e-books expert Sue Polanka, a 2011 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, award-winning e-books blogger, and columnist for a discussion on the growth, challenges, and trends of the e-book industry. Topics to be discussed include licensing and managing content across locations, business models and their impact on access and budgets, locally hosting versus proprietary platforms, and managing content in a mobile environment. Get a jump start (and a leap ahead) into the ever-changing world of e-books.
 
Program participants will:
 
• Explore different business models and degrees of accessibility
• Examine budgeting for collection building versus access-only materials
• Compare locally hosted content with content on proprietary platforms
• Determine criteria for evaluating e-book vendors
• Gain tips and ideas for moving forward with your own e-book offerings

[JH]

E-Books: What Librarians Need to Know Now and for the Future: An ALA eCourse that starts on March 4th

Instructor Mirela Roncevic is offering this asynchronous eCourse beginning on March 4 and continuing for 4 weeks. Topics include:

• Defining e-books and understanding how they work
• Where e-books are available and how are they delivered and distributed
• How e-books are used in libraries—in physical branches, digital branches, library websites, and in classrooms
• The current issues relating to e-books in libraries and what you need to know to be prepared for the future

Additional information about the course, plus registration costs for single users and bulk purchases, can be found on the ALA Store here. [JH]

Mary Minow's ALA TechSource Workshop on Copyright, Licensing, and the Law of E-Books Tomorrow

From the description:

Copyright, Licensing, and the Law of E-Books (ALA TechSource Workshop)
A 90-minute workshop, Wednesday, February 6, 2013, 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific

Along with their popularity and convenience, e-books bring their own set of challenges to libraries. If you manage an existing e-book collection or are in the planning stages, the following questions will already sound familiar: as your library acquires e-books, do you acquire ownership or access? How do the rights granted for lending print books change in a digital environment? How does the concept of First Sale apply to library materials, and what is its current application to library e-books? Lending and licensing models are in flux, and new players are entering the e-book marketplace, making up-to-date guidance even more necessary. In this workshop Mary Minow from LibraryLaw.com will take you on a pragmatic journey through the law of e-books, cutting through the jargon to give straight answers to common questions. With an understanding of the legal underpinnings of library e-book lending, you’ll be able to plan an effective e-book strategy for your library. Among the topics to be explored:

An introductory review of major e-book platform vendors and emerging library-based projects

• Is First Sale in jeopardy, as some say?
• The implication of a recent court decision, The Authors Guild v. Hathitrust, with regard to Fair Use
• How the so-called Library Exception (Section 108), which permits libraries and archives to make copies for interlibrary loan, preservation and replacement, applies to e-books
• Conditions and e-book applications of Section 121, also known as the Chafee Amendment, which allows authorized entities to copy and distribute some copies to persons with print disabilities
• What to look for in licensing language and provisions 

Go here for registration information about this online event. [JH]

Google+, Thomson Reuters and Metadata in Free Law

Google+, Thomson Reuters and metadata in OA law were the topics discussed in Friday's episode of LawLibCom. Jean O'Grady and Elmer Masters joined hosts Richard Leiter and Marcia Dority Baker and panelists, Ken Hirsh, Sarah Glassmeyer and Elizabeth Farrell. If you missed the live podcast, you can listen to it here. [JH]

What Law Librarians Should Know About Aaron Swartz

That's the title of Scott Frey's (Reference Librarian, Western State College of Law) AALL Spectrum blog post about "programmer, hacker, internet activist, and information activist" Aaron Swartz (1986-2013). Frey's post provides a concise review of Aaron Swartz's all too human but also far too brief life's work and concludes with the following summary:

Aaron Swartz was very interested in information and how people can access and use it.  He worked to make books, academic articles, and legal documents more available, and to foster freedom on the internet.  I think that these interests gave him much in common with law librarians.  Of course, some librarians would disagree with particular positions or actions that Swartz took.  Few would go as far as Swartz did to further access to information, which led to federal investigation and prosecution.  A librarian might reasonably be nervous about allowing someone like Swartz to use the library's computers!  Nevertheless, I think that law librarians can take inspiration from Swartz's goals of information access and internet freedom, and his willingness to work for them.

Highly recommended for that (as well as hopefully signaling an editorial turning point for AALL Spectrum).

For a tribute to Aaron Swartz as a transparency activist and a legal analysis of the the criminal charges that plagued him, see the links at this LLB post. [JH]

ABA Section on Litigation to Commemorate 50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright with Live Webcast Friday, Jan. 18th

From the announcement:

The 50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright

Friday, January 18, 2013 / 10:30 am – 12:00 pm EST

A program commemorating the 50th anniversary of the landmark decision, Gideon v. Wainwright will be live streamed on January 18, 2013. This decision recognized a constitutional right to the appointment of counsel for indigent criminal defendants charged with felonies. Mr. Gideon was in prison when he submitted his handwritten petition to the U.S. Supreme Court requesting counsel.

Speakers include:

Professor Bruce Jacobs, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Criminal Law at Stetson Law School and Anthony Graves, an exonerated death row prisoner from Texas. Moderating will be Joanne A. Epps, Dean of Temple Beasley School of Law.

To view the live event on Jan. 18th, go here.

Hat tip to Cocky Law Blawg. [JH]

PLL Summit Resuscitated for 2013

Perhaps I missed the "memo" but I think I would have noticed the news if posted on either AALL's Members Open Forum or PLL-SIS web communities. It certainly was not a news item in the October 2012 issue of the AALL E-newsletter. Not newsworthy enough for what would have been a logical vehicle of web communication to all members?

Buried fairly deep in the Board Book for the E-Board's November 2-3 meeting comes this information:

AALL Executive Board Conference Call Meeting Minutes
Monday, October 1, 2012

MOTION FOR BOARD ACTION:

That the AALL PLL-SIS Summit can be held in 2013, as it has in the past with the PLL-SIS responsible for planning and logistics and that the appropriate charges will be made for administrative service costs incurred by AALL in support of the Summit. These charges to include, but not limited to, room charges, registration costs, credit card fees and bank processing charges.

The motion carried.

(Emohasis added.)

If you attended the Members Open Forum in Boston, the podium people clearly indicated that the Summit was "history" but mumbled that perhaps some sort of PLL-SIS "workshop" sessions could be conducted the day before the Annual Meeting officially commenced instead. The Summit "as it has in the past" was not workshop-oriented. It was and hopefully this announcement means it will remain an exchange of ideas about emerging issues that are impacting the private sector in 2013. Whatever happens in the private sector market will eventually impact the government and academic markets.

PO-ing the PLL-SIS members including something like 300 who attended the 2012 Summit (of which 54 members only attended the Summit) plus the vendor community that financially supported the Summit because the private sector is their major food group just was not smart.

However, do note well that the Board action says nothing about 2014. "Can be held in 2013" is not the same thing as "can continue to be held until further notice." [JH]

Measuring the North American eBook Market By the Numbers

The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) with Digital Book World (DBW) are offering a three-part live webcast series entitled "Getting Grounded with E-Books: The Latest Statistics and What They Mean". All three may be of interest, particularly tomorrow's webcast on the eBook marketplace. (Cost to register for single sessions in the series is $49 for BISG and/or DBW Members and $99 for non-members.):

Measuring the North American E-Book Market By the Numbers
Tues, Oct 30, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
Presented by Len Vlahos, BISG, and Noah Genner, BookNetCanada

In this session, the first in our three-part "Getting Grounded with E-Books" webcast series, we will use data culled from multiple sources to take the mystery out of today's digital marketplace. Looking at the landscape from the point of view of publishers sales into the trade, as well as from consumer purchases and behavior, attendees will learn which categories are showing the strongest e-book growth, how multifunction tablets are competing with e-reading devices, how consumers are spending their discretionary time, and much more. You will leave with a better understanding of where e-books are today, and with a strong foundation to make business decisions about tomorrow.

Parts 2 and 3 in the live webinar series are:

E-Books in the Global Marketplace
Tues, Nov 6, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
Moderated by Ed Nawotka, Publishing Perspectives, with presentations from Jo Henry, Bowker, and Sebastian Posth, Publisher and Consultant

How to Define an E-Book Bestseller
Tues, Nov 13, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
Presented by Jeremy Greenfield, Digital Book World, and Dan Lubart, HarperCollins Publishers

Study Group ... hum. If the publishing industry can do this "study group" work-around antitrust thing, so too can library institutional buyers. [JH]

ARL Hosting Webcast on HathiTrust Decision This Afternoon

From the press release:

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) will host a webcast on Wednesday, October 24, 2012, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. eastern time, to discuss the Authors Guild v. HathiTrust decision and the implications of this victory for research libraries. The webcast will be moderated by Brandon Butler, Director of Public Policy Initiatives at ARL, and will feature discussion from:

• Jonathan Band, of policybandwidth, an expert in copyright law and the co-author of the Library Copyright Alliance amicus brief in the HathiTrust case
• Peter Jaszi, Professor of Law at American University’s Washington College of Law, as well as co-facilitator of the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries and a member of the legal team that represented the National Federation of the Blind
• Dan Goldstein, a partner at Brown, Goldstein & Levy, acts as counsel for the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and has initiated a national legal campaign to ensure access to technology
• Jason M. Schultz, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at the University of California Berkeley School of Law

To register for the webcast, please visit http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=90208.

An archive of the webcast will be made available on ARL's YouTube channel after the event.

For background, see Mark Giangrande's Authors Guild Loses Its Suit Against HathiTrust and Authors Guild Responds To Loss In HathiTrust Case. [JH]

CALI Lessons for Paralegal Students and Programs

From Sarah Glassmeyer's CALI Spotlight Blog post:

For paralegal students and programs, we just made it a little easier to find lessons that would work for your courses.  The CALI for Paralegal Students and Programs page on our website has links to several model paralegal course syllabi.  Within those syllabi are links to CALI lessons that would work for those courses.

[JH]

Keynote Sessions from LITA's 2012 National Forum

LITA's 2012 National Forum was held in Columbus, OH Oct. 4-7. Gary Price has embedded the videos of the three keynote presentations on InfoDocket:

• Eric Hellman: “Building a Public Sector for eBooks”
• Ben Shneiderman: “Fresh Thinking about Information Technology: Visual Analytics, Social Discovery & Networked Communities”
• Sarah Houghton: “Library Futures: Star Trek or Starbucks?”

[JH]

Pro Bono Net's Libraries and Access to Justice Webinar Series

Quoting from Pro Bono Net's free webinar series announcement:

With funding from a Legal Services Corporation Technology Initiative (TIG) grant, Pro Bono Net is producing four national training webinars for librarians, in collaboration with the Legal Aid Society of Louisville, Central Minnesota Legal Services and Legal Services State Support (MN). The goal of the series is to increase awareness among librarians and community stakeholders about online access to justice resources that are available to them, how librarians can access and utilize those resources to better educate and assist their patrons with legal needs, and models for legal aid-library collaborations to connect people with legal information.

The first webinar, Welcoming Librarians to the Access to Justice Movement, conducted on September 13, 2012, provided an overview of legal information needs among low-income and vulnerable Americans, the nonprofit legal aid, court and community groups that serve them. Here's the schedule for the remaining webinars:

• Webinar 2: Connecting Library Patrons with Legal Information: Key Resources
  Date: Thursday, September 27, 2012
• Webinar 3: Helping Patrons Find Legal Assistance in their Community: Online Referral Tools
  Date: Thursday, October 11, 2012
• Webinar 4: Developing Legal Aid-Library Collaborations: Models and Replication Resources
  Date: Thursday, November 1, 2012

Details on Pro Bono Net's Libraries and Access to Justice webinar series can be found here. The webinars will be archived and made available along with all presentation materials.

Hat tip to LISWire. [JH]

Reminder: Today's Law Librarian Conversations "Summer 2012 Wrap-up/Fall Look Ahead" Podcast

According to the recent announcement, today's LawLIbCon program will cover "this past summer's annual meeting, a look at a group of new, specialized mini-conferences that will be offered this fall, new developments in legal publishing, new technologies, progress of UELMA, AALL news, the death of How To Find the Law, and much more."  Sounds interesting.

Co-hosted by Rich Leiter, Roger Skalbeck and Marcia Dority Baker, anticipated panelists include Greg Lambert, Ken Hirsh, Sarah Glassmeyer and Connie Crosby. The Summer 2012 Wrap-Up/Fall Look Ahead program will start at 1:00 PM Central Time. Here's the link. [JH]

In re Books Conference on Oct. 26-27

Organized by the Institute for Law and Information Policy, In re Books: A Conference on Law and the Future of Books will be held at the New York Law School on Oct. 26-27, 2012. Program topics include rightsholders, bookstores, libraries, eReaders and more. Details including registration information here. [JH]

Three Questions about Programming Future AALL Annual Meeting Sessions

While off in a post-op narco-haze (read painkillers for minor knee surgery) late last week, AALL President Jean Wenger posted a message about AMPC's new procedures to screen programming submissions to the Members Open Forum on August 17th. Read it yesterday. More importantly, yesterday Cheryl identified what many may think are the three most important issues in this controversy in Question, Answer, quoting from Wenger's statement, and her issue-specific "Musing" format:

Question 1:  Is it the intention of AALL to bring the currently independent type model of the PLL Summit into the fold of the larger AALL Annual meeting?

Question 2:  How will the "blind review" process that is to be used by AMPC for choosing programs for the annual meeting in Seattle work?

Question 3:  Is it true that all SISs will also be limited to sponsoring only one independent education program?

I don't know if Cheryl was intentionally trying to minic AMPC's FAQ but her takeaways aka musings from AALL President Wenger's Members Open Forum post are more direct and to the point than anything written by AALL officially. Of course, they are Cheryl's own opinions about the issues but her 3 Geeks post, Rethinking My Musings on Future AALL Annual Meetings and the Fate of the PLL Summit, is recommended for deconstructing the matter. [JH]

Rai's Access to Legal Information in the Digital Age

The 2012 FCIL Schaffer Grant for Foreign Law Librarians receipent Priya Rai's powerpoint for her AALL Boston 2012 talk entitled Access to Legal Information in the Digital Age: A Comparative Study of Electronic Commercial Databases and Public Domain Resources in Law is available for download from the FCIL SIS website. Rai is the Deputy Librarian In-Charge at the Justice T.P.S. Chawla Library, National Law University Delhi, India. [JH]