Join the LLAM Dine-Around in Philadelphia

Saturday, July 18th at 6:00 pm

If you are you attending the 2015 AALL Annual Meeting & Conference in Philadelphia, please consider joining the members of LLAM for the annual “LLAM Dine-Around.” This year, the group will meet at Alma de Cuba, 1623 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, a Cuban-fusion restaurant that is a 20 minute walk (shorter via Metro) from the Convention Center.  Vegetarian options are offered. The reservation, under the name of “James Durham,” is for 6:00 p.m. on Saturday evening, July 18. To view photos and a menu, visit www.almadecubarestaurant.com/. Vegetarian options are offered. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to james.durham[at] mdcourts.gov, so that the reservation can be amended to accommodate the actual size of our group. See you in Philly!

The Library of Congress has three positions available in Washington, D.C. Full vacancy announcements at USAJOBS.gov.

Job Title:Librarian (Preservation Specialist)
Agency:Library of Congress
Job Announcement Number:140308
Salary Range: $52,668.00 to $68,465.00 / Per Year
Open Period:Tuesday, June 16, 2015 to Tuesday, June 30, 2015

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/407169900

This Librarian serves as a preservation specialist in the Preservation Directorate of Library Services. The Librarian uses expert knowledge and skills to undertake preservation research to preserve the Library’s rarest, most valuable, and heavily accessed art, books, manuscripts, photographs, recorded sound, moving image, and other special media collections.

Job Title:Librarian (Manuscript – Historian)
Agency:Library of Congress
Job Announcement Number:150142
Salary Range:$90,823.00 to $118,069.00 / Per Year
Open Period: Friday, June 12, 2015 to Monday, July 13, 2015

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/406842800

The Librarian (Manuscript Historian Specialist) position has primary curatorial and acquisition responsibilities for the political, military, and legal collections of the Manuscript Division that fall in the modern period, roughly from 1900 to the present. Included in this time frame are hundreds of collections, notably the papers of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Calvin Coolidge as well as cabinet members from those and subsequent administrations; dozens of members of Congress; Supreme Court Justices; journalists and publishers; military officers and defense secretaries; diplomats and foreign intelligence officers; and countless other American luminaries. The Manuscript Division is one of the foremost special collections repositories of the world. The specialist works under the general supervision of the chief of the Manuscript Division, who provides guidance concerning the general scope, direction, and objective of assignments. This position is located in the Manuscript Division of Library Services.

Job Title:Librarian (Reference Librarian)
Agency:Library of Congress
Job Announcement Number:150026
Salary Range:$52,668.00 to $68,465.00 / Per Year
Open Period:Tuesday, June 9, 2015 to Monday, July 6, 2015

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/406371900

The Reference Librarian provides assistance to researchers in the culture, history, literature, politics, political structure, economies, humanities, and social sciences of the assigned countries and regions in the Asian Division. Clients include Congress, foreign and US Government agencies, national and international scholars, research and scientific institutitons, the professional and business communities, and the general public. Librarians respond to inquiries that are received in person, by telephone, by correspondence and by electronic media. Librarians recommend items for acquisition.

The work of law librarians will be a topic at the conference this year: “Access to Justice through Access to Legal Information” with Catherine McGuire, Dave Pantzer, Mary Jo Lazun and Sara Witman on the panel.  Here is the program description: Knowledge of the law and the legal system is an important component in providing Access to Justice. Everyone says “it’s all online” – but where?  Law librarians will showcase free resources that can be used by legal services providers for their own research or as referrals to clients or anyone interested in accessing legal information. The Maryland State Law Library website contains a wealth of information on legal resources and legal research including links to free online legal resources.  The Maryland People’s Law Library is “a legal information and self-help website maintained by the Maryland State Law Library.”  Everyone knows how to use Google but may not be familiar with the Google tools for accessing legal resources.  Learn the many ways that Google can enhance legal research for attorneys and non-attorneys alike.

The early bird rate – until April 24 – is only $95 ($105 after).  Considering this includes breakfast and lunch in addition to the great programming there is no good reason to miss this conference. In addition to the law library program another interesting program will be “Serial” – How the Popular Podcast Impacts the Court System.   It is great opportunity for law librarians to let the legal community know the role we play in access to justice.

Find out more here:  http://probonomd.org/about-us/conference/?utm_source=2015PJC%20Early%20Bird%20Announcement%20%20&utm_campaign=PJC15%20Early%20Bird&utm_medium=email

It would be great to see more of the law library community this year!

Joan M. Bellistri
Law Library Director
Anne Arundel County Public Law Library
Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, RM 303
P.O. Box 2395, 8 Church Circle
Annapolis, MD 21401
joan.bellistri@aacounty.org
410-222-1387 P
410-268-9762 F

Earlier this week at the Maryland State Archives, Mary Alice Baish the U.S. Superintendent of Documents, presented the National Plant for Access to US Government Information to a group of LLAM members for our February Program. The attached PDF is a copy of her Powerpoint presentation.  Check it out for some really helpful nuggets of information!

LLAM_MSA_National_Plan FINAL (02242015)

Next Wednesday, February 18th is LLAM’s opportunity to make a real difference. It is Maryland Library Legislative Day, a chance to meet with your legislators and urge them to support libraries and UEMLA: House Bill 162 and Senate Bill 611. During the day members of the various county libraries visit with their delegations. LLAM has arranged to  have county delegations to adopt a LLAMer for a day so you do not need to worry about making appointments, finding buildings, and rooms. They are vets at this process and will welcome your expertise in UELMA.

The agenda for the day is below and the attached PDF includes the day’s agenda, map, and MLA talking points and info on UELMA.

• 8:00 AM   Continental breakfast (hosted by LLAM) briefing packets and candy giveaway will be available for pickup in the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Library (enter from Church Circle).  The legislative panel will brief us on general talking points to keep in mind as visits are planned.  The law library will be available all day if anyone would like a place to sit down and take a break.
• 9:15 AM   Proceed to State House for Senate presentation followed by House presentation. We will split up with a group going to House Balcony and a group going to Senate Balcony At conclusion, participants to make delegation visits.
• 1:00 PM UELMA Hearing at the House of Delegates Office Building Room 240.
• 5:30 PM Legislative Reception in the President’s Reception room in the Senate office Building. This is an opportunity to mix and mingle with legislators and other officials.  Be on the lookout for elected officials from your district and extend greetings to them.  When you make your visits to their offices, make a point of inviting them to stop by the reception. (All legislators were mailed invitations)

CLICK HERE: Md Lib Leg Day for LLAMers
for more information on the agenda, parking and other important information.

Need more info contact:
Mary Jo  Lazun
mjlazun@gmail.com  | mjlazun@mdcourts.gov
410-260-1441 work | 410-292-8882 cell

Good news! Last week The Maryland Uniform Legal Materials Act (HB 162) was introduced in the General Assembly and is sporting a growing list of sponsors throughout the state. Many thanks to Del. Cathy Vitale of Anne Arundel County who introduced the bill.

We need your help to increase the number of sponsors of the bill so we are asking LLAM members to contact their legislators to request their sponsorship of the bill.  If you do not know who represents you (there have been a lot of changes) see Locate Your Legislators.

Below is a sample message that will fit perfectly in the Contact Legislators form available for each legislator. FYI, this form has a 1,500 character limit and the sample message below is around 1400 characters.

Also, please mark your calendar for Maryland Library Legislative Day on February 18. The schedule begins with a terrific breakfast at the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court law library. Details will be forthcoming.

Time is of the essence so please contact your legislators right away and urge them to support UELMA.

For more information, you can contact:
Mary Jo Lazun
410-260-1441
mjlazun@gmail.com
-or-
Joan Bellistri
410-222-1387
joan.bellistri@gmail.com

SAMPLE MESSAGE TO DELEGATES

I write in support of House Bill 162, the Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal Materials Act (UELMA). I strongly urge to you to sponsor this important legislation.

UELMA ensures that online state legal materials that are deemed official — for example, the Code of Maryland, Maryland Rules, reported appellate court decisions, Attorney General Opinions, and the Code of Maryland Regulations — will be preserved in unaltered form and made permanently available to the public.

In Maryland, there have been efforts to discard traditional print access with no method to ensure access, preservation, or authentication to these materials. For example, The Division of State Documents recently proposed offering online-only access to the Maryland Register. Last year the General Assembly exempted the state judiciary from publishing rules committee materials in the Maryland Register if they are promptly posted on the Judiciary web site. Some states no longer publish important legal materials in print — a decision that Maryland may eventually make as well.

UELMA is the people’s insurance policy that our state’s laws are available, preserved, and authenticated online.

To date, twelve states have passed UELMA. By adopting UELMA, Maryland will establish itself as a national leader and demonstrate its commitment to providing its citizens with access to legal materials regardless of format.

Let’s talk about DRM.

Digital Rights Management, or DRM for short, can be generally defined as a system that restricts how one is able to view, save or share digitally acquired information. Much like the now ubiquitous “Terms of Use” agreement required to use most digital services, DRM is a way that publishers can control who, how and where material is being viewed.

DRMs can be particularly problematic for libraries. Librarians are being put in the position of either breaking the electronic locks in order to exercise their legal rights under the Fair use Exemptions or letting a company determine how best to serve library patrons. Fortunately, those put in this predicament now have some recourse. You might recall that in October there was mention of upcoming opportunities for public comment. That day has come! The Copyright Office published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  <Proposed rule: http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2014/79fr73856.pdf >

Here are a few highlights of the proposed rules:

• Space & Format shifting. “This proposed class would allow circumvention of access controls on lawfully made and acquired literary works distributed electronically for the purpose of non-commerical space-shifting or format shifting. This exemption has been requested for literary works distributed electronically in e-books.” (Proposed Class 10: Literary Works Distributed Electronically—SpaceShifting and Format-Shifting, 79 Fed. Reg. 73856, pg.73863 (B) (2).)  This would allow for the stripping of DRM or reformatting of content, for purposes of “backup copies” and other (Legal) purposes. This issue came up before in 2006 and was not adopted. Support and good examples might help it pass this time.

• Jailbreaking-Dedicated E-book readers. “This proposed class would permit the jailbreaking of dedicated e-book readers to allow those devices to run lawfully acquired software that is otherwise prevented from running.” (Proposed Class 18: Jailbreaking—Dedicated E-Book Readers, 79 Fed. Reg. 73856, pg.73867 (3).) This would return some freedom of choice to consumers and library systems in how to purchase and read e-books. It could potentially reduce some of the administrative friction of getting an e-book to a patron. Imagine reading a book purchased on Amazon via a Nook rather than a Kindle or vice versa.

Re-reading the preamble, prior to commenting, is encouraged. The required formatting is very specific and it might be best to use the long or short form guidelines provided by the Copyright office.  <Link is here: http://copyright.gov/1201/comment-forms/>

Each of us is in a different and unique position to provide insight, guidance and advocate for our users. Go forth! February 6, 2015, is the deadline for comments.

Part 4 of our Copyright Series is forthcoming.

by Rachel Englander

A vacancy announcement for a Law Librarian (GS-1410-11) has been posted on USAJOBS. The vacancy number is #150003. The application deadline is Friday, February 6, 2015. Additional details are available at: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/391828900 .  Please share the announcement with anyone you feel might be interested in the position. Questions should be addressed to the Library of Congress Employment Office at (202) 707-5627 JobHelp@loc.gov.

On Tuesday, October 28, after LLAM’s fall board meeting, the Thurgood Marshall Law Library hosted a brown bag lunch and program featuring two presentations by Gail Warren, Director of the Virginia State Law Library and Treasurer of the American Association of Law Libraries. In the first, Ms. Warren looked back at the predictions made by AALL’s Special Committee on Law Libraries in the Digital Age in its 2002 report Beyond the Boundaries: Report of the Special Committee on the Future of Law Libraries in the Digital Age. This report provided impetus for the formation of Legal Information Preservation Alliance in 2003, and the Chesapeake Digital Preservation Group in 2007. Predicting the future of law libraries is more art than science, and her frank assessment will be useful for those members who are called upon to make long term planning decisions in their own shops: Beyond the Boundaries, LIPA and Chesapeake (slides).

In the second presentation, Ms. Warren was joined by Mary Jo Lazun, Head of Collection Management at the Maryland State Law Library, and Joan Bellistri, Director of the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library, for an update on the work of the Chesapeake Digital Preservation Group. The Chesapeake Digital Preservation Group is a collaborative effort of Legal Information Preservation Alliance members to address the challenges of born-digital legal information shared by the Virginia and Maryland State Law Libraries, Georgetown University Law Library, and Harvard University Law Library: The Chesapeake Digital Preservation Group (slides).

The following is the first offering of a multi part series on Copyright that will be published over the next month.

Copyright.
In library circles it’s a dirty word.
When I use the word “copyright” in my professional capacity, it is usually when I am trying to convince someone to desist from something, preferably immediately.  As a librarian, it is my least favorite conversation.  I’m sure you hate having it as well.  And copyright probably comes up far more often than you would like.  I don’t know about you, but the reason I hate the conversation is because there is so much debate about what copyright law is exactly and how it works.

Copyright law can be loosely defined as the combination of laws governing the rights of the producers or owners regarding the use, sale and availability of works. As professionals, we work with copyright material every day.  We also rely on a number of exceptions written into copyright law that apply specifically to libraries in order to serve our patron’s needs. Copyright is not just the law that protects the owners rights. It is also a framework that allows for fair use or license agreements with people who want to use what they created (Us!).

Deceptively straightforward looking, isn’t it?
Sorry to burst your bubble.  Those of you who breathed a sigh of relief upon reading the last paragraph will be distressed to learn that the copyright landscape is changing in a number of significant ways.  By “changes”, of course, I mean lawsuits.
There are two recent cases in particular which we as a profession should be looking at very closely.  The first is  Authors Guild,Inc. v. HathiTrust. The second, the  Google Books case, is currently before the Supreme Court.  Both have significant implications regarding the role of technology, accessibility and the transformational nature of fully searchable titles. There have also been rumblings of changes coming from the Legislative branch of the Government.  The times, they are a’changing (was that a copyright violation?  Read on!)

The Honorable Maria A. Pallante (who is the U.S. Register of Copyrights) gave a well-received lecture at Columbia Law last year. Her remarks set off a firestorm of discussion. Her basic position is that the law governing copyright needs an overhaul. Changes in technology have always driven changes in copyright law.  Usually, law has lagged behind somewhat.  In the past, when technology did not change quite so quickly, that lag was a drag race between a souped-up hot rod and a VW bug.  In the last few decades however, the lag is more like a bicycle trying to keep pace with a space shuttle.
Not surprisingly, Congress has been holding hearings on this subject in the last year. Sources in the know have hinted that a series of bill will be introduced in the near future. These bills will amend copyright law for the first time since 1976 (legislation passed in 1976 but effective date was January, 1978).  As a point of reference, 1976 was the year that Steve Wozniak designed a single board computer for hobbyists called the “Apple 1”.  Everyone take a moment now to glance at your i-phone and marvel at the fact that we are working off legislation that was created when the fanciest technology available looked like something from The Flintstones.

Photo Credit: Ed Uthman / Flickr

I am an unabashed policy nerd, so I am looking forward to the upcoming opportunities for public comment.  While this definition of excitement may call into question my quality of life, I think that, in this instance, the entire profession really ought to be excited about this opportunity. Because 2016 will be an election year (and we all know how much legislation gets passed in an election year), this next cycle may be the next window for quite some time in which THE LAW MIGHT ACTUALLY CHANGE.  Look at your i-phone again.  Think of that vintage 1976 Rube Goldberg device you just saw.  Judging by the historical record of copyright revision, this is possibly the only time in our professional careers that copyright law will be rewritten. Think of what you do daily at work.  You make decisions about purchasing information and granting access to information.  You help people find and use information.  You are the information guide and sherpa.   Your voice, the voice of the library professionals, is the most knowledgeable voice in the arena of the use of copyrighted information.  Shouldn’t it logically be the loudest voice in the debate over what the laws that govern copyright say?

Yes, it should be.  It should be (I say loudly with exclamation points)!  We, the librarians, the information lighthouses that lead the meandering ships of knowledge seekers towards safe shores, we should be the ones advocating for changes in antiquated laws!
We should advocate the heck out of it! And other, stronger, words! Think of every time you’ve been confounded by usage, every time you’ve had to warn someone (using very sharp words) to read but not copy under pain of death by copyright infringement lawsuit.  We have a duty to our library patrons, our profession, and (dare I say it) to our own sanity to advocate for laws that actually reflect the technology that we are using.
Don’t touch that dial (as they used to say in the days when our current copyright laws were written). I will be keeping all of you informed of opportunities for public comment as the process of revision goes forward in Congress.  Stay tuned to this station (or blog in the current technological parlance) for part 2 of our series on Copyright!

-Rachel Englander