National Security Letter Withdrawn

The Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library, has successfully defended against a demand by the FBI to reveal information about a user -- as reported yesterday by the Associated Press in the New York Times. Following receipt of the national security letter in November, 2007, the library sued alleging that the letters violated free speech since they prohibit recipients from talking to anyone else about them. The FBI agreed to withdraw the letter and to make the case public.

The Internet Archive was launched in 1996 in collaboration with the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, and other public organization to provide a permanent record of Web pages making available to users billions of archived Internet pages that may no longer be available for viewing.

According to Melissa Goodman of the ACLU, of the nearly 200,000 letters sent by the FBI, only three have been challenged in court. The FBI lost all three of these challenges -- one is under appeal.

VUSL Grads Honored

Congratulations to VUSL grads Hon. Mary Harper, Nicholas C. Huang, and Kevin W. Vanderground for their recognition in the April 30th Indiana Lawyer annual special publication - Leaderhip in Law. Judge Harper (Porter Co. Circuit Court) was named a Distinguished Barrister. Nick (Atz Reid Woodmansee Gerber Huang Frasher & Gardner - Indianapolis) and Kevin (Gikas & Bratcher - Merrillville) were named Up and Coming Lawyers. Only a handful of lawyers statewide were chosen for this recognition - congratulations to all of them.

The District of Columbia and the Second Amendment

A recently released CRS report, District of Columbia v. Heller: The Supreme Court and the Second Amendment, looks at the soon to be decided case dealing with gun ownership and citizens of the District of Columbia. This report gives a brief background history of the Second Amendment and how cases in the federal appellate system have examined this amendment.

National Library Week

Libraries are celebrating National Library Week and many are enjoying special activities --the School of Law Library is no exception! Launched in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association. Libraries across the country celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians, and promote library use and support. All types of libraries—school, public, academic and special—participate.

Although many of us use libraries on a regular basis, we may not realize how central libraries actually are to the health and well-being of our communities. The American Library Association released their State of American Libraries Report and some of the information may surprise you.

• Americans continue to check out more than 2 billion items each year from their public libraries, an average of 7-plus books per year
• Americans go to school, public, and academic libraries 50% more than they go to the movies. See Monkey Wars video.
• The average bill to the taxpayer for the range of public services -- borrow books and other materials, learn new computer skills, conduct job searches and participate in many activities -- is $31 per year, about the cost of one hardcover book.
• Teens are one of the public library’s most enthusiastic users of services.
• New studies offer data on public libraries as engines of economic growth, highlighting ways in which library programming in early literacy, employment services, and small-business development contributes to local economic development in urban areas.

One of the most important functions of libraries and librarians in the present climate is to stand up for the First Amendment rights of all Americans. Librarians have defended the right to be free from unconstitutional snooping and restricting free access to information. The right to read — freely and in private — remains a core value of the profession.

As hyperlinked above, you can read the entire report at http://www.ala.org/2008state.

US Gov't Printing Office begins authenticating its online content

Until recently, US GPO publications such as the U.S. Code and the Code of Federal Regulations were accessible online through GPO Access, however, users had no guarantee of the authenticity of the information they were accessing. The problem, faced by many government agencies, has been that digital technology has made electronic documents vulnerable to unauthorized alteration.

However, beginning with the 110th Congress, GPO has begun authenticating its online content through the use of digital certificates and digital signatures which create a "certification path" that users can rely on. For more information about GPO's authentication efforts, click here.

Source: WisBlawg

Access to Information

We have two new titles in the Law Library which focus on access to information, from the vantage point of protecting ourselves from government intrusion into our privacy as well as having appropriate access to government information.

Who Needs to Know? : The State of Public Access to Federal Government Information by Patrice McDermott discusses the dangers of withholding of information in a democratic society. Topics covered include the history, use and abuse of national security classification, the suppression of government science and scientists and the impact on policy, and the current state of the Freedom of Information Act. McDermott is a former deputy director of the American Library Association's Office of Government Relations and is currently director of OpenTheGovernment.org which seeks to advance the public's right to know and to reduce secrecy in government.

The Patriot Act : A Documentary and Reference Guide by Herbert N. Foerstel brings together relevant data about the genesis, passage and reauthorization of this legislation which affects individual privacy and free speech. Foerstel has a history of looking at these issues from a library perspective. The law library also has his first book on this subject, Refuge of a Scoundrel : The Patriot Act in Libraries.

Both books can be found on the "New Books" display in the library.

Presidents' Day Websites

In celebration of Presidents' Day this month, the library has added several websites to Galileo.

The American Presidency Project contains over 75,000 documents related to the study of the American presidency, including public papers, annual messages to Congress on the state of the union, inaugural addresses, radio addresses, acceptance speeches, presidential candidates debates, party platforms, elections data, and an audio/video archive.

The project was established in 1999 as a collaboration between John Woolley and Gerhard Peters at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It can be found at the Galileo hyperlink above or at http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/.

The Presidential Timeline of the Twentieth Century is a gateway to the digitized collections of the twelve presidential libraries of the National Archives, from Herbert Hoover to Bill Clinton. It includes an interactive timeline, educational activities, and also documents, photofraphs, and audio and video recordings related to the events of the presidents' lives.

The project was developed by the University of Texas at Austin with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It can be found at the Galileo hyperlink above or at http://presidentialtimeline.org/index.php.

The James Madison Papers contains 72,000 digitized images from 12,00 items housed in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division. The documents include correspondence, personal notes, drafts of letters and legislation, an autbiography, legal and financial documents, and miscellaneous manuscripts. Highlinghts include a copy of Thomas Jefferson's notes from the Continental Congress of 1776, including Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Declaration of Independence as amended by Congress.

This collection can be found at the Galileo hyperlink above or at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/madison_papers/