december no. llam newsarchives.library.illinois.edu/erec/aall_archives/8501628...lyonette...
TRANSCRIPT
A Chapter of the Amer ican Assoc iat ion of Law L ibrar ies
Continued on page 11
President’s Message
La w L i br ary Ass o c iat i on o f M ary la nd
BY JANET CAMILLO Librarian Montgomery County Circuit Court Law Library
LLAM has gotten off to a great start this year. We had our annual Review of the Conventions program in September, thanks to Steve Anderson and Kathie Sweeney. In October, we hosted Lyonette Louis‐Jacques, our official AALL visitor. She impressed all of us with her knowledge about LLAM and her stamina. She visited three places in Annapolis and finished up with a reception in Baltimore, all in one day. I want to thank Joan Bellistri for picking Lyo up at the airport and tak‐ing her to Annapolis and I want to thank the Uni‐versity of Maryland and its staff for providing a wonderful reception. I should mention that I sin‐gle handedly ended the Maryland drought by driving Lyo between Annapolis and Baltimore in pouring rain – the standing joke in my office is that I always bring on rain or snow whenever I drive to LLAM events. Glad to be of service. Eleven years ago I attended my first ever confer‐ence in Toronto at the Third Northeast Regional Conference. I found attending a regional confer‐ence a great introduction to convention going. This yearʹs conference in Toronto was even better. LLAM was one of the sponsoring organizations and was well represented by the twelve of our members who attended and a presentation by Susan Herrick. I want to thank Jim Gernert and Pat Behles for their work on this conference. See
JUST STOPPING BY AALL Executive Board Member Lyonette Louis‐Jacques makes an official visit.......... 4
‘TIS THE SEASON Check out exclusive pics from our successful Holiday Party in Annapolis …….…. 6
LOOKING FOR SOMEONE? Trevor Rosen reviews free people search engines …..….……………...….…. 7
LIBRARIES WITHOUT BORDERS Jim Gernert and Thea Warner report from the 2007 Northeast Regional Convention in Toronto …………….….…....….…….. 9
CASE INFORMATION WANTS TO BE FREE An interview with Mary Hutchins and Robert Bruchalski at Judicial Information Systems about Maryland Judi‐ciary Case Search…………….…….………...………. 13
BOOKS, EH? In honor of the NE Regional in Toronto Joanne Dugan reviews Canadian authors ……...... 16
. . . AND MORE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
December 2007, Vol. 27 No. 2
L L A M N e w s
Jimʹs article inside for more on the conference. We finished our Fall programs with one in No‐vember on Medical Research. Our holiday party was on December 6 at the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library. It coincided with Midnight Madness, so those who had any money left after LLAMʹs silent auction got a head start on their holiday shopping. As in past years, half the pro‐ceeds from our silent auction benefit charity. Members could check out the auction items ahead of time on the blog that Anne Morrison set up. And because I didnʹt drive, the weather held up and we didnʹt have rain that night.
Archives Committee ‐ Joe Bennett Government/Vendor Relations ‐ Joan Bellestri Membership Committee ‐ Trevor Rosen Newsletter Committee ‐ Sara Witman Placement Committee ‐ Tonya Baroudi Program Committee ‐ Jean Hessenauer Public Relations Committee ‐ Catherine McGuire & Anne Morrison Publications Committee ‐ Maxine Grosshans Technology Committee/Webmaster ‐ Kurt Meyer
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Standing Committee Chairs 2007—2008
December 2007
President ‐ Janet Camillo Vice‐President/President Elect ‐ Jean Hessenauer Secretary ‐ Susan Herrick Treasurer ‐ Bijal Shah Immediate Past President ‐ Pat Behles Elected Board Member ‐ Joanne Dugan Elected Board Member ‐ Glen Spangler
Board of Trustees 2007—2008
LLAM News | Vol. 27, No. 2
The AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers has begun
Have you been thinking of writing an article of interest to law librarians? Need a push to get started? Well, here it is. The AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers Committee is soliciting articles in three categories: Open Division: for active and retired AALL members and law librarians with five or more years of profes‐sional experience. New Members Division: for recent graduates and AALL members who have become law librarians since July 1, 2003. Student Division: for students in library, information management or law school. Participants in this divi‐sion need not be members of AALL. The winner in each division receives $750 generously donated by LexisNexis plus the opportunity to present
BY JOSEPH L. GERKEN Reference Librarian University of Buffalo Law Library
the winning paper at a program during the AALL An‐nual Meeting in Portland! Winning papers are also considered for publication in the Association’s prestig‐ious Law Library Journal. A list of previous winners is available at the Call for Papers website. This list can give you an idea of the range of topics that law librarians have chosen. The website also has additional information about the com‐petition, including information on how to submit your entry and an application form. That website is at: http://www.aallnet.org/about/award_call_for_papers.asp Articles in the Open and New Members Division must be submitted by March 1, 2008. Articles in the Student Division must be submitted by April 15, 2008. If you have any questions, please contact a member of the AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers Committee: Chair, Joseph Gerken, [email protected]; James Donovan, [email protected]; James Heller, [email protected]. Good luck!
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December 2007
LLAM News | Vol. 27, No. 2
February LLAM Reads: Nancy Taylor Robson Wednesday, February 27 Location TBA Author Nancy Taylor Robson will speak about her books, Woman at the Wheelhouse (a book about her ex‐periences working on a tugboat in the Chesapeake Bay) and Course of the Waterman (a novel about a young man’s life as a waterman on the Eastern Shore). More details about the program will be sent via the listserv. So, enjoy the books and stay posted for more information. Library Day at the Maryland Legislature Wednesday, February 6 Annapolis, MD At this annual event, librarians from many different
Events Calendar
January Long‐Term Care Issues Wednesday, January 30 12 Noon to 1:30 p.m. Tydings & Rosenberg, LLP 100 E. Pratt Street, 26th Floor Mark Pallack of the Chesapeake Financial Group will speak about retirement and long‐term care issues af‐fecting workers. He will also answer questions from attendees. Drinks and dessert will be provided. RSVP: Jean Hessenauer 410.752.9804
types of libraries and locations in the state visit their respective delegates and senators to let them know the scope, functions, and importance of libraries in their districts. Legislative Day takes place in conjunction with the Maryland Library Association. More informa‐tion will be provided via the listserv as it becomes available.
March Legal Research Institute Wednesday, March 19 University of Baltimore School of Law 1415 Maryland Avenue Baltimore, MD This year’s Legal Research Institute will be a half‐day program on general legal research targeted mainly at non‐law librarians, paralegals, and other legal support personnel. Currently, the plan is to have a 45‐minute program on primary source materials, a 45‐minute program on secondary materials, and a 90‐minute pro‐gram on the life cycle of a case. The day will be capped off with an interactive tour of the University of Balti‐more Law Library, with staffed stations where atten‐dees can reinforce their learning with hands‐on exer‐cises. If you would like to staff one of the interactive stations in the library, contact Joanne Dugan at [email protected]. LLSDC/SEAALL Conference “Intellectual Property for the Information Professional” March 26‐28, 2008 Westin Hotel Alexandria, VA The Law Librarians Society of Washington, DC and the Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries have teamed up for their annual meeting about intellectual property issues. Highlights include a program on internet licensing by LLAM member John Cannan and a program on patent search‐ing by LLAM member Joanne Dugan. For more infor‐mation, see the SEAALL chapter website at http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/seaall/.
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December 2007
I met Lyonette at the airport at 8 pm on a rainy evening. By the time we made it to Annapolis it was getting late, but we were able to drive around Annapolis and see some the sites at night. Lyonette was interested in the Naval Academy so we approached the city so that there was a view of the academy. I was sorry that we could not drive through the academy, but I was able to drive up to the gates and offer a view of the chapel over the wall. Before leaving Lyonette at the new Westin Hotel, we saw the State House, St. Anne’s Church, Government House, city dock, and Main Street. The day of Lyonette’s official visit was again rainy. We had breakfast at a local café, 49 West, where Lyonette enjoyed the artwork and atmosphere. Brian Cahallan, who attended college in Chicago, mentioned to us that the café is modeled after a café near Lyonette’s univer‐sity, the University of Chicago Law School. Over break‐fast, I briefed Lyonette on the libraries we would be visiting in Annapolis. We were also able to discuss LLAM and Maryland law libraries. Lyonette had lots of questions about our chapter. I could tell that she had done her research before coming to Maryland.
Lyonette Louis‐Jacques Visits LLAM, Annapolis
BY JOAN BELLISTRI Law Librarian Anne Arundel County Public Law Library
Our first stop was my library in the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court where we gave Lyonette a tour and she was able to make use of our computers. With the rain letting up, we were able to walk to the li‐brary in the Maryland Department of Legislative Ser‐vices. The director, Johanne Greer, welcomed us. Marilyn McManus then showed us around the library. Marilyn provided details about the workings of the legis‐lative library and the reference service they provide to legislators and the public. We then hopped the shuttle bus to the Maryland State Law Library where we met LLAM President, Janet Camillo. We started our visit in the office of Steve Ander‐
AALL Board Member, Foreign and International Law Librarian at the University of Chicago Law School, and Diet Coke aficionado, Lyonette Louis‐Jacques, visited our Chapter this October. At an af‐ternoon reception in Baltimore hosted by the Univer‐sity of Maryland School of Law, Lyonette briefed around 20 attendees on the latest AALL activities. Lyonette’s visit also included several stops in Annapolis. Joan Bellistri fills us in on that leg of the tour.
son, director of the Maryland State Law Library along with Catherine McGuire, Outreach Services Librarian there and learned the history of the State Law Library. Steve and Catherine showed us the law and government documents collections as well as the rare Audubon prints on display. Our tour of the library ended in the State Law Library’s new Special Collections Room. We were able to see a number of historic publications in‐cluding the Native American Book and the oldest book in the collection, from 1579, an abstract of penal statutes by Pulton Ferdinando. We were also able to see the li‐brary’s sign‐out book form the early 1800s. Addition‐ally, we learned about the Thomas Jefferson signatures that have been found in the early original laws in the
AALL Board Member Meets with LLAM
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December 2007
LLAM President Janet Camillo intro‐duced Lyonette Louis‐Jacques at around 3 p.m. at a reception at the University of Maryland School of Law. Lyonette gave a brief talk about the his‐tory of LLAM and what AALL has been working on recently. She then fielded questions about conference program se‐lection and vendor relations.
collection. The morning ended with lunch at the Reynolds Tavern on Church Circle in Annapolis attended by Steve, Cath‐erine, Janet, Johanne Greer and Anne Morrison of the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library. This historic building once housed the Anne Arundel County Public Library, adding another library to our tour. Lyonette was presented with a little stuffed lamb and potter from the Annapolis Pottery as mementos of her visit. From lunch, Lyonette was taken to Baltimore for the af‐ternoon reception at the University of Maryland School of Law.
Around 20 LLAM members attended the reception. After a casual discussion about relevant issues, attendees socialized with Lyonette and each other. For information about current AALL Ex‐ecutive Board activities, please see their website, www.aallnet.org/board.
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December 2007
LLAM Holiday Party Anne Arundel County Public Law Library, December 6, 2007
(Additional Holiday Party Pictures on Page 10)
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December 2007
“We have a case against attorney X. Can you find out everything you can about him?” “I have a meet‐ing with Jane Doe tomorrow. Can you give me some information about her background?” Librarians, particularly those of us in the private sector, are often asked to research information about people. Many of us are familiar with pay‐for‐access people search tools available through Accurint, Lexis, and Westlaw. Fewer of us, though, are famil‐iar with search tools available free online. These tools are important because they mine content avail‐able on the free web which often is not included in the people databases available through commercial vendors. Let’s take a brief look at some of what’s currently available. People search databases vary by the type of content they provide. There’s no shortage of contact infor‐mation databases which give you phone numbers and addresses for a particular individual. These in‐clude www.switchboard.com (which, by the way, is the same as www.infospace.com), www.anywho.com, and www.whitepages.com. Over the past year or two all of these search engines have advanced to pro‐vide not only phone numbers but address informa‐tion (along with a map), as well. Bear in mind, the success of these search engines depends greatly on whether or not the person you are researching owns property and has a landline. I only recently bought a house and currently do not have a landline. As a
result, none of the above search engines provided any information on me. The one exception was whitepages.com which
provided (I’m not sure how) my work contact infor‐mation.
O f t e n t i m e s , though, we want more than simply a person’s contact information; we want information which will help us make strategic decisions about a person. There are a number of tools which help us do that. Among the most well known people search engines is www.zooominfo.com. Using semantic search tech‐nology, Zoominfo first crawls the web for pages about a particular individual and then extracts infor‐mation from this content to produces a fully laid out biography of an individual. There are two interest‐ing features of a Zoominfo biography. First, thank‐fully Zoominfo documents its sources: if the page is still available online, it will provide you a link; if it is not, Zoominfo will provide you with a cached ver‐sion of the page. Aside from the Wayback Machine (www.archive.org), this is one of the few sources on the web for old webpages. A second feature of a Zoominfo biography is that the information can be changed by the user. The site encourages users to “manage [their] web presence” by modifying the information in their bio. The veracity of infor‐mation in a Zoominfo bio, there‐fore, must be taken cautiously; it may be accurate or it may be a modified version of what the subject would like it to be. Pipl (pipl .com), Wink (wink.com), Spock (spock.com), and PeekYou (www.peekyou.com) are four recent people search engines that have ap‐peared to mine the content available in social net‐working sites. The popularity of social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook has exploded. Un‐til recently, though, the content available in these sites was largely hidden from search engines. These people search engines are designed specifically to mine the content available in social networking sites. Let’s briefly examine each one in turn. Still in beta, Pipl bills itself as “the most comprehen‐sive people search on the web.” Like the other
People Search Engines A Review of Some Current Options
BY TREVOR ROSEN Librarian Shapiro, Sher, Guinot & Sandler
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December 2007
People Search: PeekYou www.peekyou.com Pipl pipl.com Spock spock.com Wink wink.com Zoominfo www.zoominfo.com Contact Information Directories: AnyWho www.anywho.com Switchboard www.switchboard.com ; www.infospace.com White Pages www.whitepages.com
search engines discussed here, Pipl focuses on searching the “deep web” to search personal pro‐files, public records, member directories, and other sources generally not found on the surface web. A search on my name yielded a Zoominfo profile, a
couple of MySpace and Face‐Book profiles, an Amazon user profile, and some general web results.
Wink claims to have over 200 million people profiles from across the web. A typical Wink profile includes a “Latest Activity” section which links you to the latest items posted by the individual from various social networking sites, a “Where I’m Online” sec‐tion which lists which social networking sites the person is registered with, and a “Friends” section which lists all of the person’s “friend” connections at the various sites where they are a member. One of the unique features about Wink is the flexibility it allows you in searching. Aside from the ability to search by name and location, the site also allows you to search by interests, school (e.g., where you went to High School), and career (e.g., librarian), to name a few.
Like Wink, Spock collects social net‐working information about a person and organizes it into categories: “tags,” “related people,” “news,” and “on the web.” Additionally, like Wink and Zoominfo, Spock allows users to man‐age their online profiles. Spock goes even one step further by allowing users
to contribute to other users profiles by “voting” on them. Indeed, Spock gives you an incentive to con‐tribute: the more you contribute, the higher your Spock Power (a value Spock gives to how much influence you have on the site). Launched in July of this year, PeekYou derives its name from a contraction of “people” and “seek.” Created by the same people as Ratemyprofes‐sors.com, PeekYou shares many of the same charac‐teristics as Wink and Spock, albeit with a slightly different look and feel. Users who register with PeekYou are able to modify other users’ profiles. In
addition, these modifications to other bios are transparent: other users are able to see a log of who updated a profile and when. At the same time, al‐though the site is heavily transparent, contributions to other people’s profiles are screened for appropri‐ateness by the PeekYou staff. This list of new people search tools is by no means exhaustive; there are many other tools already up and running and many others in the works. The tools mentioned here are simply some of the more well‐known sites with which one should have at least a passing familiarity. We should round out this discussion of people search tools by mentioning the benefits of a general web search (using a variety of general search en‐gines) as well as a news search (preferably using a commercial database) on the person’s name. We should also point out that the tools mentioned here do not replace a public records search on the indi‐vidual (if that is what is required); instead, these tools serve to supplement the information available through public records. If you’ve had experience you would like to share about using these or other similar people search engines, I would love to hear about it. My email is [email protected].
Online People Search Engines Reviewed
Links
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December 2007
Free Range: Libraries Without Borders II A Report from Northeast Regional Conference in Toronto
BY JIM GERNERT Former Government Documents & Reference Librarian University of Baltimore Law Library
After more than three years of planning and prepa‐ration, the 2007 Northeast Regional Law Libraries Conference – Libraries without Borders II – was held in Toronto from October 17‐20. It had been 11 years since the last Northeast Regional meeting in 1996, and the planning and logistics of bringing the conference to fruition were significant. LLAM played its part in the organization of the conference, with Pat Behles, Joan Bellistri, Janet Camillo, Carol Mundorf, and myself forming a LLAM committee that planned our program for the conference and handled registrations for the U.S. chapters. There were over 300 people attending the confer‐ence, most from the ten sponsoring chapters in the Northeast and Canada, but with a small number
from elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad, including representatives from Australia and Brazil. LLAM was well‐represented, with 11 members attending, including two newer members who had never attended a law librarians’ conference before. The conference presented three “tracks” of educational program‐ming over the three days of the
meeting, with an emphasis on technology, law, and librarianship generally. A number of excellent pro‐grams were presented on substantive Canadian Law, on new initiatives in teaching in law schools, and in competitive intelligence. LLAM’s program on “Education Without Borders,” focused on distance education, and featured panel members Ed Greenlee of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Susan Herrick from the University of Maryland School of Law, and Juanita Richardson, representing the Spe‐cial Libraries Association and its “Click University” project. A very stimulating keynote speech was also
featured, with Michael Ignatieff, a writer, academic, commentator, and current member of the Canadian Parliament speaking about the continued impor‐tance of libraries in the digital age. There was also a sizeable exhibit area, with representatives from both American and Canadian book publishers and dis‐tributors. The conference presented a number of interesting social activities, as well. The opening reception was held in Ontario’s main Legislative Building, located in a very impressive Victorian building in Queen’s Park. Tours of the main legislative assembly room were provided, with guides who explained how the legislature operates and presentations of some his‐torical characters as well, including the first female member of the legislature. The legislative library was also open during the reception, and members of the staff were stationed throughout the library to provide information on everything from their oldest book (an incunabulum of unknown origin) to their many computer resources. Tours of other libraries in Toronto were provided the next evening, includ‐ing several law firm libraries that are located in the “Tall Towers,” or high‐rises of downtown Toronto. In contrast to the modern high‐rise libraries, the Great Library (used by the judiciary and local bar) was also included on one of the tours, and is located in a very ornate structure dating from 1846. There were also a number of “dine‐around” options on Thursday evening, which gave conference‐goers a chance to get to know some of their peers in a more relaxed setting. LLAM had its own dine‐around on Friday evening, which was held in the City Grill res‐taurant in the Eaton Centre, located adjacent to the conference hotel. The conference wrapped up on Sat‐urday, with a half‐day of programming, followed that evening by a closing banquet. I think that I can speak for all of the conference or‐ganizers when I say that everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the successful completion of the long‐anticipated Northeast Regional Law Librar‐ies Meeting.
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December 2007
cial events and walking around on my own before and after the conference. There were several things that I believe helped me to make the most of NE2007. I looked over the program in detail before departing for Toronto, noting the sessions that I was most interested in attending. Networking with LLAM attendees, all of whom were very collegial and seemed to have a great deal of conference experience, was also quite helpful. I found NE2007 to be a valuable learning experience. Among other things, it helped me get up to speed a bit on some of the recent developments in law librarianship. I feel that I brought back some new insights to my posi‐tion as a law firm librarian. I also started to think about future professional experiences that might expand upon my current set of skills. I am looking forward to the next conference, whatever that may be!
Not long after receiving Jim Gernert’s e‐mail announc‐ing NE2007 (Fourth Northeast Regional Law Libraries Meeting in Toronto), I set the wheels in motion for at‐tending this conference. I had completed two years as a law librarian and had never attended a conference in the area of law librarianship. My thinking was that this would be an ideal meeting to start with, due mainly to its relatively small size. This assumption turned out to be accurate. I found that I was able to attend nearly all of the ses‐sions that interested me. The size of the meeting also facilitated networking. I even had the opportunity to see a bit of Toronto while attending the conference so‐
NE2007 — ideal first conference experience
BY THEA WARNER Librarian Niles, Barton & Wilmer, LLP
LLAM Holiday Party Anne Arundel County Public Law Library, December 6, 2007
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December 2007
copies of LLAM publications, membership directo‐ries, photos and web page data on disks. Materials connected with the AALL meeting in Baltimore in 1997 – along with the proposals submitted to AALL – are also here. Not all of the resources are made of paper. The Archives are also the place to find video‐tapes of the 2001 Legal Research Institute, audio cassettes from the 1997 AALL annual meeting, and the actual banner that hung over Pratt Street during the AALL meeting. Access to this collection is by appointment only. Please contact Maxine Grosshans at [email protected] for assistance.
The LLAM Archives have found a new home! For many years LLAM Archivist Beverly Rubenstein carefully organized, stored, and cared for the Ar‐chives at the Office of the Attorney General. But now they have been moved to the Thurgood Mar‐shall Law Library of the University of Maryland School of Law. Janet Camillo delivered the first six boxes on September 12. They are located on Level 1 in locked storage. The Archives contain a wide variety of items: BLISS (the precursor of LLAM) files, LLAM general files from 1981 to the present, LLAM incorporation docu‐ments, LLAM Constitution and bylaws, newsletters,
LLAM Archives Find New Home at UM Law BY MAXINE GROSSHANS Research Librarian University of Maryland School of Law Library
recently signed a reciprocal agreement to allow LLAM members to attend programs offered by other library organizations at the reduced member rate. Our member directory is now on the LLAM web‐site and is password protected. The password will be sent to members via e‐mail. This is just another great feature of our web site which is the product of much hard work by Kevin Vrieze. Unfortunately Kevin is leaving the library field to go back into computer work. I think everyone will agree he did a wonderful job as our Technology Committee Chair. He deserves our thanks and we will miss him. One of our newest members, Kurt Meyer, from the Uni‐versity of Maryland School of Law, has agreed to accept the challenge of chairing the Technology Committee and take charge of the web page. I hope to see all of you soon at one of our upcoming programs. Have a wonderful holiday season.
We will have an equally busy Winter/Spring with a program on retirement issues in January; Library Day at the Legislature in February; the Legal Re‐
search Institute in March; the LLSDC/SEAALL March confer‐ence in Alexandria, Virginia; and another LLAM Reads program. Jean Hessenauer will send out information on the upcoming programs as the dates are set. This Fall, thanks to Joan Bellistri, LLAM has also been active lob‐bying for libraries on the Fed‐eral and State level and is partici‐pating in the Maryland Library Organizat ion Counci l . The Council is an organization that joins the forces of statewide li‐brary associations to network on
library issues. As members of this organization we
Message from the President
Our Holiday Party
coincided with
Midnight Madness,
so those who had money
left after LLAMʹs silent
auction, got a head start
on their
holiday shopping.
Continued from page 1
clerks to their respective Circuit Court law libraries, and presented these to the group for discussion and comment. Both programs introduce the law clerks to the print and online resources available at their respec‐tive law libraries. Anne Arundel has a two‐day program that invites the judges and members of the court administration to meet the new law clerks. The clerks also have their pictures taken for a sheet that is distributed around the courthouse to introduce the clerks to all of the depart‐ments. The library provides an orientation packet to the clerks that includes a guide to information re‐sources, library map and favorite web sites of the law library, along with other helpful information. The li‐
brary also provides lunch on the sec‐ond day, when there are training ses‐sions provided by other departments. Prince George’s provides each clerk with a packet that includes a list of Maryland Resources available on the Internet, a list of print resources that is alphabetized and includes library lo‐cation information, and a copy of Law Clerk Handbook : a Handbook for Law Clerks to Federal Judges, edited by Syl‐van A. Sobel. Tonya also provides assistance to the law clerks during the year on transitioning out of their clerk‐
ships into firms and other permanent positions. After these presentations, Sharon Sturgis and Jeannette Tweedy reported on an updated catalog of materials in the Worcester County Bar Library. They created the catalog using Excel and provided partial copies to group members. The spreadsheets are easy to read and the entries very thorough, including not only the usual bibliographic information for each title, but also the date of the most recent update and the date the update was received. Sharon and Jeannette used a relatively simple and inexpensive tool to create a very useful information resource. This is an excellent exam‐
On a rainy Friday in late October, the Maryland Cir‐cuit Court Libraries held their tenth annual meeting at the Judiciary Education and Conference Center (JECC) in Annapolis. The group included librarians, adminis‐trators and one law clerk (librarian for a year) from Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Cecil, Charles, Fre‐derick, Montgomery, Prince George’s, St. Mary’s and Worcester Counties, as well as the State Law Library and the Attorney General’s Office. The meeting was organized and moderated by Cath‐erine McGuire, Outreach Services Li‐brarian, Maryland State Law Library. In her letter announcing the meeting, Catherine said that past meetings have offered participants the opportunity “to learn about updates in areas relevant to court law libraries and to discuss issues of concern to our community,” and the tenth was no exception. At the start of the meeting, all of the participants shared something that had happened or been started at our respective librar‐ies during the past year. Joan Bellistri introduced a new online catalog at the Anne Arundel Circuit Court law li‐brary. Other group members mentioned new online databases, larger numbers of pro se patrons, and some problems as well. Here, as during the rest of the meet‐ing, the participants offered relevant suggestions, helpful comments, and discussion. Some of the best things about this group are the collegial atmosphere, and the mutual interest in, and excitement about, all of the Circuit Court law libraries. Law clerk orientation and training are topics that are never far from most law librarians’ minds from late Spring through early Fall, when the annual law clerk turnover takes place. Joan Bellistri, director, Anne Arundel County and Tonya Baroudi, director, Prince George’s have developed programs to orient new law
Report from the Maryland Circuit Court Libraries Annual Meeting: October 26, 2007 BY MARY RICE Law Librarian Charles County Public Law Library
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December 2007
Some of the best things about this group
are the collegial atmosphere and the excitement about all of the Circuit Court law
libraries.
Continued on page 14
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December 2007
Deputy Director of Planning and Application Ser‐vices at JIS, recently agreed to answer a few ques‐tions via email about the website. Describe the history of Case Search. Bruchalski: The impetus for Case Search was two‐fold: 1– The Judiciary adopted new rules for clarify‐ing access to court records in paper and electronic format, effective October 1, 2004, and 2– the existing electronic access methods (dial‐up modem) were obsolete. Hutchins: The Judiciary has provided dial‐up access to court records since 1989. As this technology became out‐dated and difficult to main‐tain, Case Search evolved. Bruchalski: The Case Search system concept and planning began in early 2004. In 2006, the Judiciary launched the new Case Search website. In this initial version, Case Search provided summary data on all cases maintained by the Judiciary. Work continued through 2007 to increase the amount and timeliness of data available, including a major milestone — to make criminal case information available as updates are entered into court systems. (Previously, criminal case information was current as of close of business the previous day.)
Hutchins: The beauty of Case Search, but also the difficulty, is that Case Search users are unaware that the data they are inquiring about comes from many different sources. Case Search has data replicating from Circuit Court UCS, District Court and 8th Circuit Court IMS databases and separate feeds from Prince George’s and Mont‐gomery Counties. What was the biggest difficulty in getting the site up and what’s the biggest diffi‐culty today?
It’s hard to believe that Maryland Judiciary Case Search (http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiry‐index.jsp) has been online for less than two years. The web source for public access to the Judici‐ary’s case records has quickly become a necessary tool for Maryland law librarians and many others. Maryland Judiciary Case Search allows users to search for Circuit and District Court cases in Mary‐land and to see party and event information about those cases, often back to the late 1990s. Needless to say, the site is helpful for attorneys or others who require information about specific cases. It is also a great resource for someone who, for example, is interested in whether or not a person’s drivers li‐cense is suspended or if person has a history of as‐sault charges. Popular? The 200,000 hits a day speak for themselves. As far as the future of the site, it turns out that re‐cent enhancements, such as as‐it’s‐entered criminal case information, are just the beginning. Mary A. Hutchins, Security Administrator at Judicial Infor‐mation Systems (JIS) in the Maryland Administra‐tive Office of the Courts, and Robert Bruchalski,
Freedom of (court case) information A look at the past, present, and future of Maryland Judiciary Case Search
BY SARA WITMAN Research Librarian Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander
“We are working on providing bulk data, a judgments
and liens search, and we’re working with the Registers of Wills to add their data.”
Page 14 LLAM News | Vol. 27, No. 2
December 2007
Bruchalski: The biggest challenge with the initial pro‐ject implementation was balancing openness with pri‐vacy requirements. That said, JIS is implementing the necessary security architecture supporting the various levels of secure access. Balancing openness with pri‐vacy requires a design that is more complex and, go‐ing forward, will continue to require increased levels of support and oversight. What kind of usage are you seeing? Hutchins: Case Search currently has over 12 million cases and averages 200,000 hits per day. What is the feedback like? Bruchalski: The response has been overwhelmingly positive, but as with any system that displays public yet sensitive information, we do get some negative feedback, which normally comes from a defendant or party to a case who does not like their personal infor‐mation on a web site. What suggestions would you give to new users of the site?
Maryland Judiciary Case Search interview Hutchins: In my opinion, it is important that every user know that the site does not constitute a criminal background or credit check on an individual. Unfortu‐nately, I have had many persons contact me regarding losing housing or employment from someone misread‐ing a court document. Do you have any plans for the future of the site? Hutchins: We are beginning the testing process with Prince George’s County to bring their civil records into the Case Search System. Bruchalski: Future plans include providing District Court traffic and civil data, as well as wider‐ranging and program‐specific court information such as civil domestic violence orders. Additionally, we are work‐ing on providing bulk data, a judgments and liens search, and we’re working with the Registers of Wills to add their data. We are also working towards secure access so criminal justice agencies can obtain access to non‐public information. We are very excited about the future of Case Search.
ple of the ingenuity of this group of librarians, often doing more with less because of increasingly limited budgets. After lunch, Janet Camillo, director of the Montgom‐ery County Circuit Court Law Library, reported on a new system for keeping library statistics that was de‐veloped by assistant law librarian John Cannan. Janet passed out sample count sheets and described the li‐brary’s method for tracking library reference ques‐tions. She also passed out copies of an article written by John on the development of the tracking system. The article, “Nearly 7000 Questions Later,” discusses the 6,972 reference questions that he logged in his first year of employment at the library, and how he used Excel to organize and analyze the questions. John di‐vided the questions into two categories, directional
and substantive reference, and subdivided the sub‐stantive questions into general and subject‐specific. To date, the system has collected quantitative and de‐scriptive information, and the goal is to figure out a way to obtain qualitative statistics. Despite Disraeli’s assertion that there were “three kinds of lies‐‐lies, damned lies, and statistics,” Montgomery County’s system gives the lie to Disraeli, in demonstrating that statistics, when properly collected and analyzed, pre‐sent an accurate and very useful picture of library us‐age. John’s article was published in the Fall 2007 SCCLL News, v. 33, issue 3, and is well worth reading: www.aallnet.org/sis/sccll/membership//newsletter.htm Overall, the meeting was well planned and executed, thanks to Catherine McGuire, the other presenters, and the participants. It proved to be educational, thought‐provoking, and fun.
Maryland Circuit Court Libraries Annual Meeting Continued from page 12
views of medical condi‐tions, try MedlinePlus. For official guidelines, Debra suggested Guideline.gov, (yes, that’s guideline, singular) a na‐tional guideline clearing‐house. Several websites gather medical information from multiple sites. The University of Iowa site Hardin MD, the University of Colorado site Medical Refer‐ence for Non‐Medical Librarians, and Emory Univer‐sity’s MedWeb all contain long lists of relevant links in categories, such as dictionaries or cancer resources. To make search results more meaningful, health sciences librarians have teamed up with Google for the Google Health Co‐op. Librarians provide input, which is then weighted heavily in the search algo‐rithm. At present, the Co‐op only affects a limited number of search topics, but topics are continually being added. Debra also pointed out that many websites now offer free online access to full‐text to journal articles. Some key access points include PubMed Central, PLoS, Freemedicaljournals.com, and Google Scholar. For access to even more resources, the University of Maryland Health Science & Human Services Library in Baltimore is open to the public, and electronic databases are available to all in‐house users. For borrowing privileges to the book collection and a discount on article copy requests ($8 vs. $25), the library also offers corporate membership, currently for $1000/year, through the HS/HSL Membership Program. For information about corporate membership, con‐tact Aphrodite Bodycomb, 410‐706‐8853, [email protected]. To contact Debra Berlanstein about medical research, call 410‐706‐8862 or email [email protected]
Page 15 LLAM News | Vol. 27, No. 2
December 2007
Debra Berlenstein, Liaison to the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland Heath Sciences & Hu‐man Services Library in Baltimore, talked to a group of LLAM members about medical research for law librarians on November 15. In her enjoyable, informal presentation, Debra first provided information about general databases. For scientific articles, she gave some basic tips on using PubMed, a free online interface with the Medline database. Highlights included checking the “Details” tab for subject headings and using the “Limits” tab to hone in search results. For consumer health informa‐tion, such as guidance from the Mayo Clinic or over‐
Medical Research Made Easy UM Librarian offers tips on finding medical information online
BY SARA WITMAN Research Librarian Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander
General Databases: PubMed www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez Toxnet toxnet.nlm.nih.gov Clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov MedlinePlus medlineplus.gov Guideline.gov guideline.gov Medical Information Websites Hardin MD www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/ Medical Reference for Non‐Medical Librarians denison.uchsc.edu/outreach/medbib3.htm LLRX — Researching Medical Literature www.llrx.com/features/medical2005.htm MedWeb www.medweb.emory.edu/ MedScape www.medscape.com/home?src=google Online Journal Access: PubMed Central www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov PLoS www.plos.org Free Medical Journals.com freemedicaljournals.com Google Scholar scholar.google.com
Links
d i t i on t o nove l s , Shields wrote poetry, plays, and – most nota‐bly – a scholarly biogra‐phy of Jane Austin. The men are not completely absent from Canadian literature. The two most successful share this in common with Carol Shields: they are most closely identified with a single hugely successful work. Michael Ondaatje was born in Sri Lanka and emigrated to Canada as a child. In 1992, he wrote the novel The English Patient, which won the Booker Prize and the Governor General’s Award. It is most
Page 16 LLAM News | Vol. 27, No. 2
December 2007
In my last column, I featured books set in New Or‐leans, in honor of the site of AALL’s Annual Meet‐ing. This issue, I’ll feature books by Canadian au‐thors, in honor of the Northeast Regional Meeting that was held in October in Toronto. Canada seems to have more than its fair share of superb female authors – it must be those long, cold winters. A favorite daughter of Ontario is Margaret Atwood. If you haven’t read any of her work, I sug‐gest you start with The Blind Assassin, which won the 2000 Booker Prize. Atwood is a controversial and politically active figure. Unlike many public figures, though, she has an active sense of humor about her‐self. That sense of humor is evident in her website: www.owtoad.com. Alice Munro is another famed Canadian author hailing from Ontario. Unlike Margaret Atwood, who is most famous for her novels, Munro specializes in short stories. Several of her collections have been bestsellers, a rarity for short fiction, and two have won the Governor General’s Award, Canada’s high‐est literary award. Vintage Munro, a 2004 compila‐tion, is a good place to start – a “Best of” collection. Munro’s story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” has been adapted for the screen and played at the Charles Theatre as the film “Away from Her.”
Carol Sheilds was born in the United States, but she became a Canadian citizen when she mar‐ried. Though she died of breast cancer in 1993, Shields is still a prominent figure in Canadian lit‐erature, especially for her novel The Stone Diaries (1993). That book won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Governor General’s Award. In ad‐
Quick Takes
BY JOANNE DUGAN Assistant Director for Public Services University of Baltimore Law Library
on Canadian Authors
Continued on page 17
Like Books? Like LLAM?
Mark your calendar for the next “LLAM Reads” program on February 27. Author Nancy Taylor Robson will speak about her books, Woman at the Wheelhouse (a book about her experiences working on a tugboat in the Chesapeake Bay) and Course of the Waterman (a novel about a young man’s life as a waterman on the Eastern Shore). More details about the program, including time and location, will be sent via the listserv soon.
famous, though, for the film version, which won the Academy Award in 1996. Yann Martel is another Canadian by choice rather than birth. He was born in Spain and has spent much of his life traveling the globe. His travels served him well in Life of Pi, the 2002 novel that won the Booker Prize and spent many months on best‐seller lists. Notably, Martel is a fan of libraries and literacy. He spent the year following Pi’s release as the writer‐in‐residence for the Saskatoon, Saskatche‐wan public library, and he is active in promoting
Page 17 LLAM News | Vol. 27, No. 2
December 2007
Quick Takes on Canadian Authors Continued from page 16 literacy programs such as the One
Book movement. Finally, the Northeast Regional Con‐ference Keynote Speaker was Mi‐chael Ignatieff, a noted Canadian legal scholar, politician, and author. In addition to several historical and scholarly works, Mr. Ignatieff also wrote the novel Scar Tissue, which was short‐listed for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread. Those of you who heard him speak will definitely want to check this out!
Review of the Conventions Tydings & Rosenberg LLP, September 12, 2007
Kathie Sweeney reported from the SLA Conven‐tion in Denver, with information from sessions such as “Pensions 101” and “the Science of Beer.”
Susan Herrick described her experience putting together AALL programs and provided some inside tips on getting programs accepted at AALL.
Steve Anderson reported from the AALL Con‐vention and Executive Committee.
All three speakers fielded questions from attendees.
dire questions. If any of the answers were in the affirma‐tive, the panel members were to stand and state their panel number. We were asked if any of us knew either of the litigants, or any of their attorneys. Did we belong to any victims’ legal rights organizations? Did any of us have any medical or legal training? (I stood for that one, stating my panel number.) After the questions were over, certain panel members were called up individually to be questioned at the bench. I was called up to the bench. The judge asked me to con‐firm that “Ms. Morrison, you are a law librarian, are you not?” I answered that I was, and that I had a master’s
degree in Legal Studies from the University of Baltimore. One of the attorneys then asked where I was employed as a law librar‐ian. I answered, “Here, at the circuit court’s library, which is right down the hall.” (I sort of knew I was done at that point!) The attorneys then took a few moments to confer with their clients and co‐counsel as to which jurors they would strike from the panel. Both sides then presented the court
clerk with a list of names I assumed were the panel members they wished to omit from the jury. The court clerk and the judge reviewed the lists together, striking panel members from the list and then comparing to as‐sure that their lists matched. The court clerk then called jury members names, one at a time, with the bailiff calling out their juror number as they were seated. The rest of us were then excused, and told to return to the jury lounge. We each checked back in with the jury office and sat down to watch some more television. (I did get to have my first glimpse of Drew Carey serving as host of “The Price is Right,” but I digress.) My day as a juror ended a short while later when a bailiff announced that no more jurors were needed for the day, and we were free to go. My day serving jury duty was over. It was a somewhat anti‐climatic experience, but one that I was happy to have.
The notice came in the mail in September. “You have been chosen for Jury Duty.” I was to report for jury duty the week of October 23. After 24 years as a law librarian doing research on case law and court procedure, I was excited. I had never been called for jury duty, either while a citizen of Baltimore County where I grew up, or in Anne Arundel County where I’ve lived for the past fifteen years. I would finally get the chance to see court operations from the perspective of the “regular citizen.” In Anne Arundel County, jury service is one week or one trial. I was assigned a high number, so for the first two days, I did not have to report for duty at all. I found that I was to report on the third day. After viewing the video describing the trial process, having the bailiff describe our re‐sponsibilities as jurors, and hearing the presentation on the “Generous Juror” program, we were left to sit in the jury lounge to read and watch television until a judge called for a jury. When the televisions went blank, it sig‐naled to everyone that they were about to call for a panel of jurors. I quickly found myself becoming voir dire panel member #1 for a civil trial. We were lined up and directed to fol‐low the bailiff into a courtroom. The courtroom was then cleared of everyone but the court clerk, the bailiff, the
attorneys and the litigants, plus the 24 members of our panel. The judge entered the courtroom and the voir dire process began. The judge explained the matter that was being litigated in this civil case, and then proceeded to ask the panel a series of voir
A Law Librarian Serves Jury Duty Catching a Glimpse of the “Other Side”
Page 18 LLAM News | Vol. 27, No. 2
December 2007
BY ANNE MORRISON Librarian Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Law Library
I did get to have
my first glimpse of
Drew Carey
serving as host of
“The Price is Right.”
New LLAM member, Kurt Meyer, has accepted a posi‐tion both as a Research Librarian at the University of Maryland School of Law and as LLAM’s new Technol‐ogy Committee Chair and webmaster. John Cannan, Assistant Law Librarian at the Montgom‐ery County Circuit Court Library, recently had two con‐ference programs accepted. At the LLSDC/SEAALL con‐ference this March he is doing a program on ʺTerms of Useʺ dealing with internet licensing, and AALL SCCLL is sponsoring his program titled ʺWe are the World,” dealing with foreign law in county public law libraries. We’re looking forward to those, John. Joanne Dugan, Assistant Director for Public Services at the University of Baltimore Law Library and LLAM
Page 19 LLAM News | Vol. 27, No. 2
Member News
The December 2007 issue of Style magazine featured past President Pat Behles, along with other librarians on staff, in an article, “After Hours Club,” about the Enoch Pratt’s evening telephone reference service.
Sora Tova Greenfeld and LLAM Mem‐bership Committee Chair Trevor Rosen were married on October 28th in Cleve‐land, Ohio. Congratulations, Trevor and best wishes to both of you!
Anna Cole, Head Librarian at Miles & Stockbridge, PC, announced that her husband, Miles, retired from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Devel‐opment as a lobbyist as of October 1, 2007. Additionally, Anna’s daughter Elizabeth started gradu‐ate school in Library and Information Services at the University of West England, in Bristol, at the end of Sep‐tember.
December 2007
Personal Tidbits Board Member, also had a program accepted for the LLSDC/SEAALL March conference. She will be speaking about patent research. Do you have news you’d like to share with your LLAM col‐leagues? Please send any professional or personal news you’d like to share to Sara Witman at [email protected].
Professional Updates
LLAM is on the Web! www.aallnet.org/chapter/llam/
Law Library Association of Maryland c/o Sara Witman 233 East Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21202
your experiences and your insights into our profession. The editor will be glad to assist with the process of bringing your ideas to print. Send articles, letters to the editor, news updates, advertising inquiries, photo‐graphs, comments, and suggestions to the Newsletter Committee, preferably via e‐mail. Photographs and print‐only materials are also welcome by post mail. Newsletter Committee Chair: Sara Witman [email protected], 410‐576‐4010 Gordon Feinblatt Rothman Hoffberger & Hollander 233 E. Redwood St., Baltimore, MD 21202
The LLAM Newsletter Committee wel‐comes submissions from LLAM mem‐bers on a variety of engaging topics, including but not limited to legal re‐search tips, member news, and local events. Submit your contribution by February 15 for inclusion in the March 2008 issue! LLAM News is a quarterly publication of the Law Library Association of Mary‐land, a chapter of the American Associa‐tion of Law Libraries. LLAM members are the most important part of this news‐letter. The articles appearing herein are by us and for us. We encourage all members to submit articles to LLAM News. Please share
Electronic archives of LLAM News are available on the LLAM web site at www.aallnet.org/chapter/llam/publications.htm For membership inquiries, please visit the LLAM Membership page at www.aallnet.org/chapter/llam/membership.htm or contact Membership Committee Chair Trevor Rosen by e‐mail at [email protected]
Requesting Submissions for LLAM News