LibraryLaw Blog

Behind the scenes at the copyright determinator

Hot off the press: Check out an interview about Stanford's copyright renewal database that I conducted with Mimi Calter, Executive Assistant to the University Librarian Stanford University.

Working at Justia today -- see what I found out!

I'm working at the Justia office today, and had a conversation worth sharing.

Conversation with Nick Moline, programmer at Justia

Moline:  We just added full text decisions, orders and opinions for federal district court cases if they've been filed at PACER.  This is in addition to the full documents that we post for featured cases.  We put a picture of a gavel <http://cases.justia.com/federal/district-court/>  next to the cases that have decisions in the files.

Minow:  Really!  Are all federal district court opinions available now?

Moline: The courts are supposed to post them, and most, but not all of the opinions are online. [Ed. note: According to PACER, this functionality "will only be available in courts that have installed District Court CM/ECF version 2.4 or higher, and will only provide free access to opinions filed after the court is actively using version 2.4"]

Minow:  And these are available for free?

Moline:  Yes, free.  They're already available free via PACER, but the general public wouldn't necessarily have access to the PACER database without registering.  Also, the PACER database is only searchable by date.  We cross-reference the decisions with our database of federal case filing that we've already fetched.  That means you can search by party name and case type. Soon we'll add more search capabilities.

Minow: Will we be able to search full text?

Moline: In some cases, yes.  Some of the documents are scanned, but others are converted from Word documents.  Most of the decisions are full-text searchable.  The lawyer submitted documents and filings are often still scanned documents at this point. You should see some of the handwritten docs from some of the pro se parties.  But most of the court decisions are full indexable. We use Google's Custom Search Business Edition, and I'm going to add a filter to focus on the cases to help folks search.   Google has already indexed about a thousand of the cases, and the results show up in a regular Google search.  For the scanned documents, Google does OCR the document to make it searchable if they can.

Minow: What dates do you cover?

Moline:  Today we have documents form 2006+.  Later this week we'll have the 2004 and 2005 cases. We will move back from there.

Minow: Does that mean I can go back and find cases with "library" as a keyword and find those cases.

Moline: Yes. If "library" is part of the party's name, you'll find the cases. If "library" is in one of the full text-searchable documents, you'll find those too - once Google has indexed them, which should be in a week or so.

Minow: When is the database updated?

Moline:  We run daily updates to update the database with new orders and opinions.

Minow: You know, I just had my own experience with that.  I subscribe to the cases that have been tagged "library" i.e.  http://news.justia.com/cases/library/.  On Aug. 20, I saw a decision had been issued in a library case that same day. I blogged it on Aug. 21, and got more hits on that post than any other in recent memory. Thanks for talking with us, and thanks for the great service!

Judge rules for library in patron lawsuit

A federal judge in Ohio ruled in favor of the Clark County Public Library on Aug. 20 with regard to the lawsuit by a patron who contested a ban on his use of the library for two years.

For great detail, see the court filings at Justia.

Also, Justia has updated court documents on other library cases there.  If you know of other pending federal district court cases of interest to libraries, let me know and I'll see if they can be added.

Don't ask for social security numbers in library applications

Some libraries still ask for social security numbers on their library applications. Others have stopped that practice, but haven't purged their patron record databases of these numbers.   

Yes, collection agencies want the numbers, and perhaps having this information can increase your success rate in tracking down scofflaw patrons.   

But consider the downside.  If someone hacks your database, or if you have a bad employee, this highly sensitive information is at risk.  Once it's gone, it's gone. Patrons have little recourse once identity thieves get their hands on these numbers.

Comments, readers?

14 State Chapters Endorse ALA's National Security Letter Resolution

From Don Wood:

At the 2007 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., the ALA Council unanimously adopted a Resolution on the Use and Abuse of National Security Letters. To date, 14 state library associations have endorsed the ALA resolution: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Visit the OIF blog for more.

http://blogs.ala.org/oif.php?title=state_chapters_endorse_ala_s_national_se&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Library Elf and the UK

From Philip Jones:

I know I am coming very late into this debate, but Elf is just beginning to get publicity here in the UK, and so the issues are becoming relevant. It has also widened its coverage to library management systems (LMSs) which are mainstream over here.

An interesting slant which is emerging is around Elf's choice not to develop full working agreements with the LMS suppliers themselves. I know of one LMS company which regards with concern and suspicion any attempt by a third-party system to draw down data from its LMS installations unless there is a formal agreement in place which formalises the whole process and includes all appropriate legal protections for both parties and their customers.

I think the LMS suppliers' view is that they implicitly authorise a library service, and its registered customers, to gain access to data on its system in specific ways defined by the system. However, they argue that they do not authorise a third-party system, such as Elf, to act as an intermediary between the end user and the LMS system and to manipulate the data provided. And further that one or more end users cannot legitimately empower Elf to act on their behalf as an intermediary service simply by the process of providing their card number and PIN code to Elf for that purpose. It all seems to hinge on whom the LMS supplier believe they have authorised to gain access to their data files.

Mary: This just came in as a comment to http://blog.librarylaw.com/librarylaw/2005/11/my_library_elf_.html but I figured no one would see it there.  I think that any smart tech person could figure out how to "roll your own" RSS feeds from a library's LMS system, needing only the user's library card number and PIN (if needed to get into the records).  Why do you say end users couldn't empower Elf to act on their behalf... wouldn't that be considered consent? Is consent sufficient in the UK?

What concerns me is that the users don't need to give consent if the LMS password system is weak, as it is in so many libraries in the U.S.  Your ex-girlfriend needs only your library card number and sometimes a (weak) PIN (often the last four digits of your phone number). Do UK LMS companies offer stronger PINs than four digits?

Many have told me that that this weak security has always been the case, Elf or no Elf.  The difference that Elf or any RSS feeds (laden with personal content) makes is the convenience of daily delivery of the records from hither and yon.   

By the way, I just happened to go back to the search box in Bloglines the other day, and typed in "library elf for" and then chose [Search for Feeds] and got about 200 personal feeds  from probably unwitting library users.  Gives me their first names and one more click shows their libraries, books out/requested etc.  At least Elf got rid of their email addresses.  Still, quite disconcerting to see so much personal information floating around, free for me to capture.  I could (but won't) add a screenshot of the names with the libraries and titles.

BloglinesElfScreenshot.doc

Panhandling and libraries

Interview with Mark Weinberg, Chicago civil rights attorney with a specialty in panhandling cases

Minow: When can a library tell people not to panhandle or solicit - e.g. on the sidewalk leading up to the library front doors?

Weinberg: Nobody should be permitted to block the entrance to any building anywhere, including a library.  And laws are already on the books that prohibit this.   Should there be special restrictions on panhandling?  Most cities have so-called "Aggressive Panhandling Laws" that  impose special restrictions on people who panhandle by, for example,  prohibiting people from panhandling in certain locations, like within 10 feet of a cash station or 10 feet within a bus stop.  Some of those restrictions make sense. Panhandler or not, nobody should be allowed to hover over anybody at or near a cash station.  That act is a threatening in and of itself.   But, generally speaking, the public space, like public sidewalks, should be open to everyone.  So, my answer is that if a person who is panhandling is on the public space and not blocking the passage of anyone, he or she should not be arrested for the act.  And, no, it shouldn't matter if it's close to a library.      

Minow:  Would the same apply to people with political petitions, girl scout cookies or other solicitation?

Weinberg: Yes. The law should be the same for everyone, but as enforced in the real-world, there's definitely a double standard, meaning commercial solicitors like, say, newspaper vendors or people passing out a new high-fiber breakfast cereal are rarely, if ever, interfered with by the cops. People goo gaga over their free samples.  But panhandlers get arrested all the time for the same activity.  This is especially odd since, under the law, commercial speech has generally received less First Amendment protection than political speech, but in the real-world commercial solicitation actually gets treated much more generously.  Why?  This is
America; we love our commerce. 

Minow:  What about after hours? For example, Los Angeles enacted an ordinance http://lapd.com/article.aspx?&a=2475   prohibiting the public from loitering outside libraries between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.  What do you think about that?

Weinberg: After-hour restrictions on panhandling are quite popular today. Most Cities impose such restrictions.  And such restrictions have been upheld as constitutionally-permissible.  And in theory such reasonable restrictions don't bother me, but in practice they do.  That's because in practice cops use these reasonable restrictions to interfere with lawful, innocent and peaceful panhandling activity.   In  Chicago, for example, the "Aggressive Panhandling" law limits panhandling within 10 feet of a cash station, but the cops, when the mood strikes them, arrest panhandlers for panhandling within 10 feet of any building that has a cash station within it, which basically allows the cops to arrest panhandlers with impunity, which they do.   So, the problem is the misuse and misapplication of these reasonable restrictions.  The problem isn't the laws; it's their unreasonable applications.

Status of library litigation

Check out Theresa Chmara's update on library litigation:

http://blogs.ala.org/oif.php?title=status_of_recent_litigation_affecting_li&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Digital Commonwealth conference October 25 - Worcester MA

Sign-ups are now open for the Digital Commonwealth conference.

I'll be speaking on copyright. Click here to see the whole program: http://www.nmrls.org/digitalcommonwealth/Digital_Commonwealth_Conference.htm

Second Annual Digital Library Conference and Vendor Fair, Hogan Center, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, October 25, 2007

May I Digitize this Photo? Go With the Flow
When may we digitize a photograph, diary, letter? When is an old photo in the public domain? If it’s not, is there still a way we can scan it legally? What disclaimers should we use? This talk uses an easy to follow flow chart to help make sense of complicated questions.

Speaker: Mary Minow, Library Law Consultant

The Digital Commonwealth: the Bridge to Library 2.0
Library 2.0 projects have the potential of transforming library staff and programs, and engaging patrons in new levels of involvement in their community and library. Building the Digital Commonwealth will allow libraries to implement ideas and technologies associated with Library 2.0 and identify individuals who can help them manage the transition to this new technology. What’s the downside? We’ll talk about that too!

Speaker: Marshall Keys, Library Consultant, MDA Consulting

Breakout sessions:

Virtual Archives: Preparing to Create a Digital Collection / Gregor Trinkaus-Randall, Preservation Specialist at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners

Case Study: Statewide Digital Project, Connecticut History Online / Kendall Wiggin, Connecticut State Librarian

The Future of the Past: Digital Libraries in the Age of Social Software/ Elizabeth Thomsen, Services Manager for NOBLE, the North of Boston Library Exchange

How do they do it? Displaying Digital Images on the Web / Nancy Heywood, Digital Projects Coordinator, Massachusetts Historical Society

Scanning 101 / Scott Kehoe, Technology Consultant, Northeastern Massachusetts Regional Library System

Case Study: Museum Imaging Workflow / David Mathews, Manager, Imaging Studio, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

New Trends for a Traditional Subject: Primary Sources and the World Wide Web in Teacher Training and K-12 Curriculum Support / Jayne Gordon, Director of Education and Public Programs, Massachusetts Historical Society and Kathleen Barker, Education Coordinator, Massachusetts Historical Society

Building Repositories: Three Perspectives / Ann Devenish, MBLWHOI Library, Woods Hole, MA; Michael Bennett, Access Services Supervisor, CW/MARS; Mark Caprio, Digital Repository Program Manager, Boston College

Metadata Considerations for Digital Collections / Amy Benson, Program Director, Digital Services, NELINET, Inc.

Case Studies in Digital Collaboration: Sudbury’s Goodnow Library and Town Departments and the Topsfield Historical Society and Town Library / Bill Talentino, Director, Goodnow Library, Sudbury; Laura Scott Lowell, Goodnow Library, Sudbury; Bill Whiting, Topsfield Historical Society; and Jackie White, Director, Topsfield Town Library.

Picture This! (But Don’t Forget the Context) /  Ronald A. Gagnon, Executive Director, North of Boston Library Exchange