Law Librarianship In The Digital Age

It is absolutely essential that today’s law librarians are digitally literate and possess an understanding and awareness of recent advancements and trends in information technology as they pertain to the library field. Law Librarianship in the Digital Age offers a one-stop, comprehensive guide to achieving both of those goals.

This collection of essays by legal scholars explores the digital revolution that has transformed legal education. It discusses the way digital materials will be created and how they will change concepts of authorship as well as methods of production and distribution. The book also explores the impact of digital materials on law school classrooms and law libraries, and the potential transformation of the curriculum that these materials are likely to produce.

While the digital revolution has touched every aspect of law librarianship, perhaps nowhere has the effect been more profound than in the area of collection development. Many of the materials law libraries traditionally collected in print form are now available in electronic format. Digital technology has affected the way we select, order, and process legal materials. The World Wide Web has created an explosion of both commercial and private online publishing. The cost of electronic publishing has caused many traditional law book publishers to sell their companies rather than invest in the needed technologies to compete in the 21st century. Small publishers and book jobbers have been forced to reinvent themselves. The amount of legal information available and its costs continue to soar. Law Library Collection Development in the Digital Age deals with these and other issues related to law library collection development. Chapters range from the theoretical to the practical. Inspired by Penny Hazleton’s seminal paper “How Much of Your Print Collection is Really on Lexis or Westlaw?” the editors and chapter authors of Law Library Collection Development in the Digital Age endeavor to expand on professor Hazleton’s work, with examinations of: the role of law libraries in strategic planning for distance learning Web mirror sites trust vs. antitrust issues access vs. ownership issues how law libraries deal with electronic court records, dockets, and filings the growth of e-journals as they relate to legal publishing how the Hein Greenslips and Blackwell North America’s Bookservice cover legal materials past, present, and future roles of specialized book jobbers and more! Anyone interested in law librarianship or the information industry will find this book informative and useful. Make it a part of your professional collection today.

Including real-world scenarios and best practices, this text presents the important topics of patents, trademarks, and copyrights in relation to intellectual property creators and consumers. • Includes ways to identify the basic types of intellectual property and related laws • Offers ways to recognize and distinguish the conceptual difference between intellectual property creators (authors, inventors, etc.) and consumers (users) in information-based situations • Includes examples of fair use and First Amendment rights • Explores legal and ethical issues involving intellectual freedom, internet regulations, privacy, cybercrime, and security • Showcases ways to comprehend and examine intellectual property job-related applications for multiple types of library customers, media creators, and business branding specialists

While there are common misconceptions regarding the definition of a public law library, it can be defined as a government mandated library which provides the public with access to legal resources. Largely, public law libraries are instituted by state or federal law. Public Law Librarianship: Objectives, Challenges, and Solutions aims to introduce firsthand knowledge on the funding, organizational structures, and governance related to the public law library. This book includes comprehensive research for current and future public law librarians to provide administrative guidance and professional sources essential for running a public law library.

Around the world, legal information managers, law librarians and other legal information specialists work in many settings: law schools, private law firms, courts, government, and public law libraries of various types. They are characterized by their expertise in working with legal information in its many forms, and by their work supporting legal professionals, scholars, or students training to become lawyers. In an ever-shrinking world and a time of unprecedented technological change, the work of legal information managers is challenging and exciting, calling on specialized knowledge and skills, regardless of where in the world they practice their profession. Their role within legal systems contributes substantially to the administration of justice and the rule of law. This International Handbook addresses the policy and strategic issues with which legal information managers and law librarians need to engage in the context of the diverse legal environments in which they work. It provides resources, analysis, and considered studies on an international basis for seasoned professionals, those about to enter the field, and anyone interested in the evolution of legal information in the twenty-first century.

The second edition of this popular handbook has been thoroughly updated by the original team of experts and some new contributors, to provide current best practice guidance on the key legal information issues for every type of service. Each of the chapters is updated to reflect general changes in law libraries and their users in the past seven years. In particular, the handbook covers new information technologies, including social networking and communication. New chapters also focus on the key topics of outsourcing, and the impact of the 2007 Legal Services Act. The second edition of this valuable handbook continues to be an important professional reference tool for managers and staff of all types of legal information services, and will help them with the challenges they face in their work every day.

Academic and public libraries are much different today than they were even 15 years ago. And with even bigger changes on the horizon, what lies in store? In this systematic attempt to speak to academic and public librarians about the future of library services, Hernon and Matthews invite a raft of contributors to step back and envision the type of future library that will generate excitement and enthusiasm among users and stakeholders. Anyone interested in the future of libraries, especially library managers, will be engaged and stimulated as the contributors *Examinw the current state of the library, summarizing exsting literature on the topic to sketch in historical background *Project into the future, using SWOT analysis, environmental scans, and other techniques to posit how library infrastructure (such as staff, collections, technology, and facilities) can adapt in the decades ahead *Construct potential scenarios that library leaders can use to forge paths for their own institutions The collection of knowledge and practical wisdom in this book will help academic and public libraries find ways to honor their missions while planning for the broader institutional changes already underway.

Law Librarianship in the 21st Century, a text for library and information science courses on law librarianship, introduces students to the rapidly evolving world of law librarianship. With no prior knowledge of the law required, students using this book will find practical answers to such questions as: What is law librarianship? How do you become a law librarian? How does law librarianship interrelate with the legal world? Individual chapters provide a concise treatment of such specialized topics as the history of law librarianship, international law, and government documents. Standard topics are dealt with as they apply to the law library, including collection development, public services, technical processing, administration, technology, and consortia. The textbook also includes an explanation of the common acronyms and special terminology needed to work in a law library. This new edition updates the text throughout and adds two new chapters.

Current Legal Issues in Publishing sheds light on important issues of the ever-changing, often-confusing world of copyright, licensing, and taxation as we move into the twenty-first century. You'll see how the questions of ownership, fair use, and licensing have become exacerbated by the fact that information is no longer static, but rather fluid and transportable. In an age of advancing technology, this book anticipates how Congress and the courts will be called upon with more and more frequency to maintain a balance between the copyright holder’s economic interests and society’s right to have access to information. Reading this book wil give you an understanding of the fundamental aspects and concepts of the Copyright Act--such as what constitutes an original work, for what categories copyright protection is available, and the basic rights of the copyright holder--and how they are being challenged in the digital world. The information and copyright landscape, as you will quickly percieve, becomes even more hazy in the context of the public library and university where special rights to information exist to facilitate learning and scholarship. Using this book as a tool, you will learn that because the future of the electronic age is unpredictable, copyright holders and university and library communities must work together to remain flexible and recognize the others’interests, particularly in the legislative arena. Comprehensive and informative, Current Legal Issues in Publishing looks at the copyright debate from many different perspectives, including from the creator, user community, and legal angles. Among the important topics you will read about are: the Uruguay Round Agreement the responsibility of copyright university ownership of faculty copyrights American Geophysical Union v. Texaco Inc. the Newark Morning Ledger Case library privileges and fair use legal aspects of electronic publishing on-line distribution rights As you read Current Legal Issues in Publishing and are introduced to the origins and development of copyright conventions, the measures taken to combat book piracy, and the conflict between industrial nations and developing ones over copyright issues, you will form your own conclusions to the arguments for and against the current worldwide copyright system. You will also see that questions of ownership and economic and market rights are inextricably linked with questions of power and who can or cannot have access to information.

In the last two decades, advancement in technology has transformed every aspect of librarianship. Law Librarianship in Academic Law Libraries discusses issues and model practices in academic law libraries. This text will help librarians and library school students understand the operation, resources and facilities that are available in the academic law library. It explains the practices and trends that are widely practiced in different parts of the world. This book describes the expectations of an aspiring professional with an interest in specializing in law librarianship; revealing facts pertaining to management and administration which are not necessarily taught in library schools. The first chapter introduces the history of academic law libraries, and defines law librarianship. The remaining chapters are dedicated to different aspects of law librarianship including the importance of emerging technologies and how they are implemented in the academic law libraries setting, finishing with a concluding chapter on global opportunities available for law librarians. Provides an insight to academic law librarianship practices Practical tips on building a career in academic law librarianship Describes in detail the education and professional development opportunities for academic law librarianship Features customized classification schemes that have been used in academic law libraries

Privacy is a growing concern in the United States and around the world. The spread of the Internet and the seemingly boundaryless options for collecting, saving, sharing, and comparing information trigger consumer worries. Online practices of business and government agencies may present new ways to compromise privacy, and e-commerce and technologies that make a wide range of personal information available to anyone with a Web browser only begin to hint at the possibilities for inappropriate or unwarranted intrusion into our personal lives. Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in a Digital Age presents a comprehensive and multidisciplinary examination of privacy in the information age. It explores such important concepts as how the threats to privacy evolving, how can privacy be protected and how society can balance the interests of individuals, businesses and government in ways that promote privacy reasonably and effectively? This book seeks to raise awareness of the web of connectedness among the actions one takes and the privacy policies that are enacted, and provides a variety of tools and concepts with which debates over privacy can be more fruitfully engaged. Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in a Digital Age focuses on three major components affecting notions, perceptions, and expectations of privacy: technological change, societal shifts, and circumstantial discontinuities. This book will be of special interest to anyone interested in understanding why privacy issues are often so intractable.

The world of law is a world of information. Rules, judgments, decisions, interpretations, and agreements all involve using and communicating information. Today, we are experiencing a significant transition, from letters fixed on paper to information stored electronically. The digital era, where information is created, stored, and communicated electronically, is quickly approaching, if not already here. The future of law will no longer be found in impressive buildings and leather-bound books, but in small pieces of silicon, in streams of light, and in millions of miles of wires and cable. It will be a world of new relationships and greater possibilities for individual and group communication, an environment where the value of information increases as it is shared. In Law in a Digital world, M. Ethan Katsh explores how these new technologies will alter one of our most central institutions. He considers the different ways in which people will not only electronically read and write, but also interact with our vast storehouses of legal knowledge and information. He envisions how sounds and pictures will play into the largely imageless print world of law, and looks at the future importance of graphic and nontextual communication. He explores how the flexible, personalized organization of data will transform the way we gather information, and whether information can or cannot be contained, raising questions of copyright and privacy. What happens to the law when information is more plentiful and accessible? What happens to those people who suddenly have access to information never before available? Does the use of information in a new form change the institution, the user, and those who come in contact with the user? And, what role does the lawyer play in all of this? For citizens, for lawyers, for all those who will be part of the digital world rushing toward us, Katsh answers these questions while considering the implications of this new era.

A revitalized version of the popular classic, the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, Second Edition targets new and dynamic movements in the distribution, acquisition, and development of print and online media-compiling articles from more than 450 information specialists on topics including program planning in the digital era, recruitment, information management, advances in digital technology and encoding, intellectual property, and hardware, software, database selection and design, competitive intelligence, electronic records preservation, decision support systems, ethical issues in information, online library instruction, telecommuting, and digital library projects.

The Special Committee on the Furure of Law Libraries in the Digital Age was appointed in early 2001 to explore issues surrounding "the evolution of virtual and physical law libraries". The special committee was charged "to consider the implications of electronic publishing for the future of law libraries and to prepare a report examining the issues and outlining different scenarios or models to describe the law library of the future."

Government Information Management in the 21st Century provides librarians, information professionals, and government information policy leaders with a comprehensive and authoritative state-of-the-art review of current issues in government information management with a global perspective. The widespread use of the Internet to provide government information and services has altered the landscape dramatically for those who organize, store, and provide access to government content. Technical challenges include digital preservation, authentication, security, and accessibility for a diverse user base. Management challenges include changes to costs, workflow, staff skills and resources, and user expectations. Public policies based on distributed paper collections must also change to address issues that are inherent to digital, networked, public content; such issues include the maintenance of personal privacy, re-use of government information, and the digital divide. The authors in this timely book are practitioners, scholars, and government officials. Together they provide an informed look at how managing government information is being tested at a time of rapid change. Part I addresses key issues for public, academic, and government libraries in organizing and providing access to government information. Part II features chapters on the diverse information issues facing governments, such as managing Freedom of Information requirements, opening government data to the public, and deploying new online technologies.

Within most libraries in the United States today there is an information professional who has become the ‘go-to’ person for grasping and grappling with copyright questions. While not an attorney, this librarian has developed an awareness and understanding of copyright law, legislation and practice as they relate to a wide variety of library activities. This practical handbook provides a broad overview of copyright librarianship. It is written for information professionals whose area of expertise, specialization or job it is to inform and educate others about the ethical use and best practices surrounding copyrighted materials It is written about the person with solid analytical skills and the ability to adapt and adjust in a rapidly changing environment; someone who can serve as an intermediary between information producers and consumers; someone who is knowledgeable about the law and providing access to information; someone who is well positioned within an organization to answer questions about copyright and provide reliable, accurate, and relevant answers, information, assistance, and guidance when needed. In short: a copyright librarian. Thorough and up-to-date look at an emerging field of specialization within libraries Provides an overview of job opportunities available and how to prepare for these jobs Presents a range of useful current awareness and professional development resources and tools for the new, prospective, and working professional Addresses common misperceptions about copyright librarians