Law Librarian Blog

Cloud Computing Libraries and OCLC's "Web-scale Library Management Service" Strategy

Richard Wallis, Marshall Breeding, and Google associate product manager for Google Book Search, Frances Haugen discuss cloud computing and how it will influence libraries in this recent Library 2.0 Gang podcast. Cloudofdata.com's Paul Miller chimes in to provide an overview of this sometimes perplexing "cloud computing" phenomenon before the conversation moves on OCLC's strategy to move library management services to Web scale. See OCLC press release. "Interpreting the OCLC announcement, writes Richard Wallis, "it is clear that it is a approach to deliver hosted library management services from the  cloud in direct competition to the traditional ILS vendors such as SirsiDynix, Ex Libris, Innovative, Talis, and even those that OCLC have consumed over recent years,"

The podcast is an excellent introduction to these topics and issues. More generally, see Where is the cloud? Geography, economics, environment, and jurisdiction in cloud computing by Paul T. Jaeger, Jimmy Lin, Justin M. Grimes & Shannon N. Simmons on First Monday. (As an emerging new technology ... cloud computing raises significant questions about resources, economics, the environment, and the law. Many of these questions relate to geographical considerations related to the data centers that underlie the clouds: physical location, available resources, and jurisdiction. While the metaphor of the cloud evokes images of dispersion, cloud computing actually represents centralization of information and computing resources in data centers, raising the specter of the potential for corporate or government control over information if there is insufficient consideration of these geographical issues, especially jurisdiction.) [JH]

Will the WorldCat Copyright Evidence Registry Work?

OCLC launched the Copyright Evidence Registry six-month pilot program on July 1 to test the concept and functionality. Users can search the Copyright Evidence Registry to find information about a book, learn what others have said about its copyright status, and share what they know. During a later stage of the pilot, OCLC will add a feature enabling pilot libraries to create and run automated copyright rules conforming to standards they define for determining copyright status. The rules will help libraries analyze the information available in the Copyright Evidence Registry and form their own conclusions about copyright status. In Keeping Rights Registries Open, Peter Brantley reviews issues involving OCLC's pilot program. [JH]

On the Vendor-Law Library Relationship

Check out Alvin Podboy's (Director of Library Services at Baker Hostetler) recent article, Legal Information Needs a Little Kedging. [JH]

Adding Recommender Input to OPACs Using BibTip

In Adding Value to the Library Catalog by Implementing a Recommendation System (D-Lib Magazine, May/June 2008), Dr. Michael Mönnich, Karlsruhe University Library, Head of Collection and Cataloging Department, and Marcus Spiering, Karlsruhe University Library, IT Services, describe the recommender system BibTip, developed in Karlsruhe University, and discuss its application in libraries. For more information about BibTip, check out its website (German) and see the BibTip Flyer (pdf) (English). [JH]

Emerging Issues in Academic Library Cataloging & Technical Services

Produced by Primary Research Group, Emerging Issues in Academic Library Cataloging & Technical Services presents nine detailed case studies of leading university cataloging and technical service departments. It provide insights into how they are handling ten major changes facing them, including: the encouragement of cataloging productivity; impact of new technologies and enhancement of online catalogs; transition to metadata standards; cataloging of websites and digital and other special collections; library catalog and metadata training; database maintenance, holdings, and physical processing; relationship with Acquisitions; staff education; and other important issues. Survey participants represent academic libraries of varying sizes and classifications, with many different viewpoints. Universities surveyed are: Brigham Young; Curry College; Haverford College; Illinois, Louisiana and Pennsylvania State Universities; University of North Dakota; University of Washington; and Yale. [JH]

New Life for Good Old LC Subject Headings

Roy Tennant reports that LC's Ed Summers has launched http://lcsh.info/ to demonstrate what can be done with Library of Congress Subject Headings. Summers has taken the LCSH dataset harvested by Simon Spero (instead of official LC data) and parsed it into SKOS, an effort led by the W3C as part of its Semantic Web effort. More information on the project can be found on Summer's website, including some web slides of the project.

Tennant believes this is a lead-up to doing something on the web that will use official LC data, live and updated. Now, if you think I understand all this next generation catalog stuff, you are dead wrong --  things have come a long way since my LIS days where we were programming truncated keyword searching of LC subject headings in MARC records back in the late 1970s -- so read more about it at Tennant's Digital Libraries blog post.

Browsing LCSH. Check out Bernhard Eversberg's LCSH Browser. You can browse an alphabetical list of the headings and cross-references, a list of all words occurring in the headings, personal and corporate names, and LC classification numbers. When you pull up the full record for a term there are links that will send you off to WorldCat, Google, LibrayThing and OpenLibrary with that term. Any "see also" references are also clickable. Hat tip to Roy Tennant. [JH]

LC Webcast on the Future of Bibliographic Control

After a year of careful and comprehensive study, the Library of Congress’ Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control presented its draft final report to the management and staff of the Library of Congress. View the webcast. [JH]

Future of Bibliographic Control Draft Report

Here's the press release:

WORKING GROUP ON THE FUTURE OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC CONTROL TO PRESENT DRAFT REPORT ON NOV. 13

In November 2006, Deanna Marcum, associate librarian for Library Services at the Library of Congress, convened a Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control to examine the future of bibliographic description in the 21st century in light of advances in search engine technology, the popularity of the Internet and the influx of electronic information resources.

After a year of careful and comprehensive study, the group will present its draft report to Library of Congress managers and staff in the Coolidge Auditorium at 1:30 pm EST on Nov. 13. A live webcast will allow librarians around the country to view the presentation, and a comment period on the draft report will open immediately following the presentation and last until Dec. 15, 2007.

During the past 12 months at three regional group meetings in Mountain View, Calif.; Chicago; and Washington, D.C., invited panelists delivered presentations on various aspects of bibliographic control, and audience members responded with both oral and written comments. The Working Group members have collaborated throughout the year to shape the public meetings and to discuss their ultimate recommendations to the Library of Congress.

�I have been very pleased with the progress of the group and the diligence with which they have gone about writing the report," Marcum said. "The three regional meetings gave them much material to consider, and they have already received a number of comments from members of the library community. I thank them all for their dedication, and I eagerly anticipate their findings and recommendations.�

Information on the Working Group and its findings is available at www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/. The webcast will be available from that address on November 13.

Members of the Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control, and Organizations Represented

�    Chair: Jos�-Marie Griffiths of the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
�    American Association of Law Libraries: Richard Amelung
�    American Library Association: Janet Swan Hill, Diane Dates Casey, Sally G. Smit
�    Association of Research Libraries: Brian E.C. Schottlaender, Olivia M.A. Madison (Working Group co-chair), Judith Nadler
�    Coalition for Networked Information: Clifford A. Lynch
�    Google: Daniel Clancy
�    Medical Library Association: Diane Boehr
�    Microsoft Corporation: Jay Girotto
�    National Federation of Abstracting & Indexing Services: Christopher Cole
�    OCLC: Lorcan Dempsey
�    Program for Cooperative Cataloging: Robert Wolven
�    Special Libraries Association: John Latham

The Library of Congress is the world�s preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled integrated resources to Congress and the American people. Founded in 1800, the Library seeks to spark the public�s imagination and celebrate human achievement through its programs and exhibits. In doing so, the Library helps foster the informed and involved citizenry upon which American democracy depends. Today, the Library serves the public, scholars, Members of Congress and their staff�all of whom seek information, understanding and inspiration. Many of the Library�s rich resources and treasures may also be accessed through the Library�s award-winning Web site at www.loc.gov.

# # #

PR 07-219
10-30-07
ISSN 0731-3527

[JJ]

The Dewey Decimal System Lives!

Law librarians tend to forget that the DDC is alive and well. Check out the Dewey Blog. It's edited by Jonathan Furner, assistant editor of the DDC, with contributions from other members of the Dewey editorial team. [JH]

Federal Depository Library Handbook Final Draft Released

From GPO FDLP Listserv:

"Library Services and Content Management (LSCM) and volunteers from the Federal depository community worked to consolidate and update the Instructions to Depository Libraries and the Federal Depository Library Manual, including its supplements, into one online publication. All the chapters were reviewed by key stakeholders, including the Depository Library Council and the professional library associations. Each chapter was also posted for public comment. LSCM staff reviewed comments, integrated them as appropriate, and served as final editors. The resulting publication is the Federal Depository Library Handbook."   [Rj]

Guide for Cataloging Legal Websites

Check out LaTisha D. Lankford's Master's Paper, Guide for Cataloging Legal Websites: Using MARC and Dublin Core. Here's the abstract:

For many catalogers, web sites that are pertinent to their users’ needs are particularly challenging to catalog. While AACR2 has addressed the standards for cataloging electronic resources, including web sites, the structures and constantly changing information within web sites makes cataloging them problematic. This guide provides new catalogers who are not familiar with cataloging web sites with strategies for effective copy cataloging using the OCLC Connexion cataloging tool. Some of the topics explored are the development of the Internet, reasons for cataloging web sites, problems with cataloging web sites, and maintaining web addressing, using AACR2 rules or Dublin Core metadata schemes and the fields and code typically used in catalog records for web sites.

ALCTS Sponsors Digiblog

ALCTS -- the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services -- is sponsoring Digiblog as a forum for dialogue on critical issues to tech services and collection development. The blog is specifically related to controversial statements that will be used by a panel as part of the ALA Midwinter 2007 symposium entitled “Definitely Digital: an Exploration of the Future of Knowledge on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of ALCTS. [JH]

Caring for Your Collections: Guides and Ideas from the Preservation Directorate at LC

From the Library of Congress:

"Need advice on the care of books, photos, videos, and other media in your collections? These publications from the Preservation Directorate answer many questions about the care, handling and storage of your valuable collections."

[RJ]

Resources for Acquiring Foreign and International Law Books

NEEDSANDOFFERS-L (Needs and Offers Discussion List)
"Needsandoffers-l was created to facilitate the exchange of legal library materials between/among libraries. It provides a quick and easy means for the inexpensive acquisition of, and for the disposal
of no longer needed, legal materials. It is meant to carry lists of titles or general descriptions of materials either needed or offered."

LAW-ACQ-L (Law Library Acquisitions e-mail list)

W.S. Hein (reprints classic international law books and has e-book/digital versions in its Legal Classics Library via HeinOnline)

Law Book Exchange (their International Law catalogue)

Kloof Antiquarian Booksellers (includes international law book search)

See also Kloof's "Used Law Book Dealers in the World"

Abebooks

Alibris

Bookfinder.com

Better World Books (they take discarded library books and sell them via sources like Abebooks.com)

Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Foreign and International Law Librarian and Lecturer in Law, D'Angelo Law Library, University of Chicago Law School

Discuss the Future of the Book on the Foreign Collection Development Blog

"Print versus Electronic, or, Books are Dead?" is the current topic under discussion at the Foreign Collection Development Blog (FCIL-SIS). Comments are being solicited. Check it out!

Lee Peoples, Oklahoma City University Law Library

New Blog Covers Foreign and Int'l Law Collection Development

FCIL-SIS just launched Foreign Collection Development Blog .  It will discuss new titles and current issues in collection development for law librarians who collect foreign and international law at their institutions.  The blog is administered by Heidi Kehul, FCIL webmaster and Research and Instructional Services Librarian with a specialty in FCIL at Northwestern L.S. and Moderated by Dan Wade, Associate Librarian for Foreign & International Law and Lecturer in Law at Yale L.S.  They invite posts about FCIL collection development issues.

Lee Peoples, Oklahoma City University Law Library

2006 AALL: Gov Docs Speakers Needed

Do you have experience with handling the transition from print to electronic? If you are already going to AALL, please contact Michele Pope (Loyola-New Orleans). We need 2-3 speakers to address processing, cataloging, reference, long term maintenance etc.

Legal Information Buyer's Guide & Reference Manual - 2005 edition out late May - early June

From Ken Svengalis, Rhode Island LawPress:

About this time every year, people start E-mailing me privately to inquire about the release of the next edition of the Legal Information Buyer's Guide & Reference Manual.

I am pleased to report that shipment is expected in about two weeks at which time we will ship out copies to all our standing order customers. For those not on standing order, we are now accepting pre-publication orders for the 2005 (9th) edition of this indispensable legal reference tool. A standing order will guarantee that you receive the book in a timely manner for use in your budget reparations.

The 2005 edition, which updates and replaces the 2004 edition, includes updated information on thousands of legal information products, including reviews of over 1,400 legal treatise and specialty titles (including dozens of new titles). For example, the 2005 edition includes an 1,100 word content rich review of the ABA's 2003 Legal Technology Survey Report: Online Research. The book contains current bibliographic and pricing information on over 1,600 state primary law and secondary titles, and hundreds of additional products, including federal statutes, state and federal digests, legal encyclopedias, annotated reports, citators, administrative codes, legal newspapers, CD-ROMs, and much more. Our annotated bibliography of law-related reference titles (chapter 22) has been expanded to over 75 titles and our Legal Information Acquisitions Toolbox now includes 41 print titles and web sites. Chapter 28 includes the most complete and up-to-date listing of state legal bibliographies and research guides. The book contains a mind-boggling amount of pricing data, both current and historic--all compiled to make your job easier.

The supplementation costs provided for most titles are subscriber costs. These include the subscriber costs of all West Group titles which are not available on their company web site, but painstakingly gathered with the kind assistance of several dozen of law librarians around the country.

In addition, the complete text has been updated to reflect the current state of legal publishing in the United States as of March, 2005 (down to Reed Elsevier's recent acquisition of Weil Publishing), including every title, edition, and pricing reference. Moreover, the 2005 edition is 720 pages, an increase in size of 15 pages over the 2005 edition.

Our unique legal treatise pricing spreadsheet (Appendix H) provides basic bibliographic and pricing information on over 1,400 titles, including the 2000-2004 supplementation costs for each title (2005 for Matthew Bender and some Aspen titles). Nowhere on this planet will you find such a convenient source of comparative pricing data designed to help you make wise acquisition (or cancellation) decisions regarding print titles, CD-ROMs, and CALR services.

Dartmouth Library's Simple Repair Manual Now Online

While academic law libraries have preservation technologists readily available to repair books, etc., many corporate, firm and county law libraries do not. The web version of Dartmouth Library's Simple Book Repair Manual is a very good resource for law libraries that do not have trained staff on hand.

GPO Adds OCLC Holdings Symbol for Regional Depository Libraries

From the GPO:

Beginning February 1, 2005, the OCLC holdings symbol of 30 Regional depository libraries will be added to the bibliographic records GPO contributes to OCLC WorldCat. Working with GPO, OCLC has developed an automated batch loading process to set the holdings, which will be run daily.

This project will bring improved public and library community awareness of resources available in Federal depository library collections through an increased number of bibliographic access points and facilitated interlibrary loan of tangible U.S. Government publications.

Adding OCLC symbols to GPO-produced cataloging originated as a suggestion from Regional depository librarians.

If you have questions or comments, please use the GPO online help service. To ensure that your question is routed to the correct area, choose the category "Federal Depository Libraries" and the "National Bibliography" subcategory under Additional Information.

List of Participating Depository Libraries

Auburn University at Montgomery (AAM)

Arizona State Library (AZP)

California State Library (CAX)

University of Colorado (COD)

Connecticut State Library (CZL)

University of Florida (FUG)

University of Georgia (GUA)

University of Idaho (NTD)

University of Iowa (NUI)

University of Kentucky (KUK)

Louisiana State University (LUU)

Louisiana Tech University (LRT)

University of Minnesota (MNU)

University of Mississippi (MUM)

University of Montana (MTG)

University of Nevada, Reno (NNY)

University of New Mexico (IQU)

New Mexico State Library (NMS)

New York State Library (NYG)

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (NOC)

University of North Dakota (UND)

State Library of Ohio (OHI)

Oklahoma State University (OKS)

State Library of Pennsylvania (PHA)

University of South Carolina (SUC)

University of Memphis (TMA)

Texas State Library & Archives Commission (IKM)

University of Virginia (VA@)

Washington State Library (WRJ)

West Virginia University (WVU)