Libraries

Published on: October 3, 2008

Let’s Kill All the Law Libraries

By Laura Orr

For the past 20 years, at least, law school deans, legislators, law firm managers, lobbyists, jail and prison managers, among others, have been asking why their organizations need law libraries, and heaven forbid, law librarians. After all, “isn’t all the law online?”

My brief response is:

1) No, it’s not all online; only a fraction of it is, and most of that is just online versions of (allegedly official and current) primary sources and a lot of very bad “legal advice”. In other words, the easy-stuff is online, but not the right-stuff (that treatise, that superceded statute, that legislative history, etc.). And, if you don’t know how to use these primary sources in any format, print or otherwise (i.e. do legal research!), woe to those of you who try to make sense of these materials, e.g. the Oregon Laws, online.

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Published on: September 30, 2008

Banned Books Week: a “Kafka Comes to America” Book Talk

By Laura Orr

Banned Book Week event:

Café Banned, at the Multnomah County Library, features a talk by the Oregon Public Defender, Steve Wax, who will talk about his book, Kafka Comes to America (also available at other libraries and bookstores).

Published on: September 18, 2008

Library Book Censorship and Challenges in Oregon

By Laura Orr

The Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse is the first place to begin if you want to start researching censorship issues in Oregon schools and public libraries. Annual reports and other resources are available through their website.

Published on: September 14, 2008

Libraries (back) on Wheels: Digital Libraries on Wheels

By Laura Orr

One of my first full-time library assistant jobs out of high school was on a bookmobile. It was a great job for so many reasons, for the people who would not otherwise have had any library service and for the library staff who got to visit hidden pockets of our city while listening to the Watergate hearings on the radio. (It was great prep for college, law school, and library school 🙂

But bookmobiles have been phased out over the years, or so I thought. Here’s a creative use of a Library-mobile, rather than a Book-mobile. I could see doing this with Oregon public law library research materials!

The next phase of libraries rolls into town, by Sarah More McCann, Christian Science Monitor, September 5, 2008 edition (found via Library Link of the Day),

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Published on: August 14, 2008

Star in your own (bibliophile’s) READ poster: Woof!

By Laura Orr

From WisBlawg, we learn that YOU (or your favorite pet or food) can star in your very own mini-READ poster from the American Library Association (ALA).

A great gift for those wanting to stop spending money on STUFF no one really needs or spending money that could go into that retirement fund (compounding! not that there is anything truly wrong with a little bit of Live for Today! 🙂

Published on: August 8, 2008

Consumer Reports (Magazine) Free, Online and the Google Insights Service

By Laura Orr

I was looking at the Google Insights service (prompted by PI Buzz’s exploration of the service) and thought I’d run my [free, online] Online Consumer Reports “test” on it, i.e., just how many people do search for Consumer Reports via Google and how do they search for it?

The results were interesting to say the least. I limited my search to United States and the past 12 months, 9 months, and 30 days (all different results, all useful).

Three possible conclusions (of many others one could likely draw):

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Published on: August 4, 2008

Skip Tracing (aka Public Sleuthing) at King County Law Library (Seattle, WA)

By Laura Orr

If you can’t make it to the King County (Seattle) Law Library (KCLL) class, you may still partake of their law librarian generosity: you can read class handouts, including the invaluable skip tracing checklist, links, and class outline.

Link to this web site to find these skip tracing documents, but if you want an excuse to visit Seattle for an invaluable educational opportunity, here’s how to sign up for the class.

Published on: July 30, 2008

Response-Ability: Defending the Yoga Instructor When a Student is Injured

By Laura Orr

While reading a magazine article “Play Your Part: Accept responsibility for what you bring to each moment and enjoy the power of truth,” by Sally Kempton, printed in the September 2008 issue of “Yoga Journal” (see Note below to find articles online), I realized it was not only an essay on blame, responsibility, truth, and strength (among many other things), but also a presentation on possible defenses a yoga instructor (and his/her lawyer) could sort through if a student is injured while in a yoga class.

(One of course would hope that a conversation would be the first choice for dispute resolution for yoga teacher and student, rather than litigation, but life is what it is and one is not entirely hopeful, though maybe a little more hopeful in the world of Yoga than the world of Medicine, which is no more an exact science than Yoga, or Law, or Life.

Doctors and their lawyers have been discussing for years (decades?) this alternative approach to “it’s your fault,” though not quite reaching the full spirit of disclosure, honesty, and “truth and reconciliation,” at least making the effort. I suspect, however, and the medical malpractice attorneys may pitch in here, that this approach is still present in only a small percentage of cases. Doctors are no more able than lawyers or politicians, or people generally, to say, “I’m sorry” (as opposed to “mistakes were made”).)

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