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Findings ---::--- |
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| A Publication of the Maryland State Law Library |
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How "Authentic" Is Your Legal Material? By Steve Anderson I was honored to have the opportunity a few months ago to attend the American Association of Law Libraries' Summit on "Authentic Legal Information in the Digital Age." The Summit gathered librarians, government officials from all branches of government, attorneys, professors and national association delegates to discuss how to improve the accuracy and reliability of online legal information. The problem--from a librarian's viewpoint, at least--is a profound one: in an era in which competing sources provide online legal information, which one is the "official" source? How "safe" is this source? If an online source is official, how can it permanently be saved? Let's look back a few decades and examine legal publishing. State courts issued official reports that contained "the law" as written in appellate opinions. There was no question as to its "official" status or its "citability." Moreover, as long as one had the books on a shelf, one could reach far back into history to retrieve precedent. After all, books can last half a millennium or more if treated kindly. Today, the legal researcher has myriad source options at her disposal. She could, for example, use an unofficial copy of a judicial opinion found in one of a number of locations: Westlaw, Lexis, the Judiciary website and in print in the Atlantic Reporter. Will she use the print volume of the Maryland Reports or Maryland Appellate Reports because she knows that only these titles have an official designation? (See MD. CODE ANN., CTS. & JUD. PROC. § 13-201 et seq.) In reality, probably not (although she should confirm the accuracy of the reproduction). Unofficial sources are often easier to use and the quality is very high, despite unofficial status. In order to meet the needs of researchers, at least five states have begun to experiment with online-only official sources, usually for administrative codes. However, these states also have not taken steps to ensure the authenticity* of this online information. This, in turn, raises more questions. What happens when a hacker corrupts a regulation? How can a user compare previous codifications of a regulation? How can a researcher compare an unofficial code (on Westlaw or Lexis, for example) with an official code if there's no notation or certification on the official version to ensure accuracy? What type of certification standard would be used? How will this online information be archived for the next 500 years in an environment that has already seen massive technological shifts in the last two decades? While government provision of quality, easy-to-use legal resources should be applauded, it also is now time to consider how these questions should be addressed so that material is 100% reliable and future use by later generations is ensured. The discussions held by Summit participants indicated that this is a very challenging area. One answer might be a technical standard. Others argue for a legal standard, in part because legislatures have defined official designations by statute for many years. Another concern was the lack of funding sources for pilot tests to sample some "best practices" or proposed standards. The general consensus was that further communications must follow in order to stay informed of new technologies and procedures and to try to address some of the more problematic aspects of this new publication environment. For now, the Association of Reporters of Judicial Decisions has offered some commonsense guidelines for this interim period. Hopefully, in the near future, we can provide easily accessible online information that will be reliable and permanent. * The Summit's definition of an "authentic text" is found in the State-by-State Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources:
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Need Copies of Materials from the Library? Request them Online and Get them Via E-Mail By Mary Jo Lazun The Library now has a new procedure to request copies of library materials . Patrons may submit their requests online. A link to the "Copy Request Form" is located on the Library's home page at http://www.lawlib.state.md.us/. Once the form is received via e-mail to the Library Reference Desk, staff will locate the material and contact the patron regarding payment. The Library staff is committed to a 24 hour turnaround for material requested before 2:00 pm, business days. The Library can also deliver requested materials digitally, via e-mail, or through the more traditional methods of fax or mail. The form does require patrons to comply with copyright notice provisions, and payment for materials must be received in advance. To make the payment process simple, the Library now accepts both VISA and MasterCard for payment at a rate of 50 cents per page.* There continues to be no charge for materials requested by Maryland state government agencies. This new online process will help the Library achieve two objectives: 1) to provide a quick and verifiable means of distributing needed materials to patrons, and 2) to greatly reduce administrative costs by eliminating the need to bill patrons for requested materials. As we work with this new procedure, the form itself may undergo some minor changes. If you have suggestions or comments please feel free to contact Mary Jo Lazun or Ruth Henderson at 410-260-1430. *The library does not accept payment via American Express or Discover and still accepts cash and checks. Fees are set by the State Law Library Committee in conformity with "The Revised Schedule of Circuit Court Charges, Costs, and Fees Established Under Courts Article, § 7-202, Effective October 1, 2004." |
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More Than Just the Ordinary Law at the Maryland State Law Library By Rudolf B. Lamy Are you working on an unusual case? Do you need access to more than just the usual legal resources? If so, then the Maryland State Law Library is the partner you need. The Library has subscriptions to many of the more novel, infrequently used and difficult-to-find legal resources. We can have you browsing the same resources that might otherwise be found only at law school libraries or at firms that practice specialty work. In our collection, you can easily access:
Remember, the Maryland State Law Library offers you more than just the Annotated Code, COMAR and the Maryland Reports. If you need it, we probably have it! |
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By Donna Wiesinger The Library recently installed scanning technology on one of its microfilm/microfiche reader-printers. Rather than printing paper copies of a bill file, brief, newspaper article or other item that you're researching, you can now "print" the pages to an attached computer, and save them as a file. The image files can then either be saved onto a USB flash drive, or e-mailed via your web-based email client (e.g., Judiciary webmail, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.). Currently, files can only be saved as TIFF images, but the Library is planning to add Adobe Professional (as well as WordPerfect and Microsoft Word) to the Microforms Computer, so that users can save their images in PDF format. This capability should be in place by the end of July. Users should check with their e-mail vendor for guidelines on the maximum allowed attachment size for their e-mail client. For Judiciary e-mail users, the maximum file attachment sizes are listed on Courtnet. If it turns out that your scanned file is too large to be emailed, you can use Adobe Professional to break the too-large file into several smaller ones, which can then be e-mailed separately. While not as convenient as one large file or saving onto a USB flash drive, it gets the job done! In the meantime, Library staff can convert the TIFF images into PDF format and will also assist users in breaking apart files which are too large to mail in one piece. For assistance with this, or for training on our new scanning capabilities, please contact Donna Wiesinger, Head of Electronic Services, at 410-260-1435, or mailto:donna.wiesinger@mdcourts.gov ~~~~~~~~~~ Library users will also be happy to know that HeinOnline has recently introduced a brand new "look & feel" to their website. Content on the homepage is better organized, and fonts are cleaner. Users can quickly locate desired content via the new tabbed navigation bars for Resources, Searches, Citation Navigation, and where applicable, Tables of Contents. Overall, the interface is trimmer and far more user-friendly than before! However, HeinOnline does not yet allow users to e-mail documents from within HeinOnline. As before, users still have to save articles to the computer and then transfer them to a USB flash drive or e-mail them via a web-based e-mail program. Also unchanged is the need to download HPrint, the HeinOnline printing helper application, in order to print directly to a Windows printer. However, as a workaround, HeinOnline content can still be downloaded into PDF format for viewing and/or printing with utilities like Adobe's Acrobat Reader. If you want to learn more about the new HeinOnline interface, look for the new tutorial ("How to Use HeinOnline") under the Options section on the HeinOnline homepage. If you prefer personalized instruction, any of our Reference Staff will be happy to assist you in learning how to use HeinOnline's new features and navigation tools.If you have any questions about these new sources, or would like to schedule training on the use of any of the databases, please contact Donna Wiesinger, Head of Electronic Services, at 410-260-1435, or mailto:donna.wiesinger@mdcourts.gov |
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United States Supreme Court Materials Guide By Rudolf B. Lamy Have you ever wondered about the inner workings of the United States Supreme Court? Have you ever needed to know more about the Court but just didn't know where to find what you were looking for? Well, the Maryland State Law Library can help you with your search for information. Through our public access computer terminals, the Library offers FREE access to Lexis searching for Supreme Court opinions as well as direct access to the Court's own web site. We also offer access to Supreme Court Records and Briefs on microfilm through 1998, as well as a fine selection of books and journals covering the work and history of the Court, including the following:
The Library also has information about particular Justices, including biographies of John Marshall; Thurgood Marshall; Lewis Powell, Jr.; William Howard Taft; Felix Frankfurter; Earl Warren and Sandra Day O'Connor, as well as histories of particular Chief Justices' terms (Rehnquist, Burger & Warren) and of the Court in general (The Brethren by Bob Woodward). Whatever you're looking for, the Library is a great place to start "Courting." |