From an EEOC Announcement: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced [on Wednesday] that it has put its appellate and amicus briefs going back to 2000 on its external website. These briefs from the EEOC’s Appellate Services Division represent litigation in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals in which the Commission was a party, [...]
Legal Research: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Appellate Briefs Now Online
Filed by on June 21, 2012
The Internet Archive Files Federal Suit Challenging a New Washington State Law
Filed by on June 15, 2012
From the Electronic Frontier Foundation: The Internet Archive has filed a federal challenge to a new Washington State law that intends to make online service providers criminally liable for providing access to third parties’ offensive materials. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is representing the Internet Archive in order to block the enforcement of SB 6251, [...]
Update: Utah: ACLU Wants District to Reconsider Restrictions on Two-Moms Book
Filed by on June 13, 2012
We first posted on this story on May 31st: “Utah School District Places Book About Lesbian Moms Behind Counter” From The Salt Lake Tribune: The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah believes a decision by the Davis School District to limit elementary students’ access to a book about a lesbian couple raising children is likely [...]
Call on Congress: A New/Free Telephone Service to Access Info About the U.S. Congress
Filed by on June 12, 2012
Yet another impressive, important, and useful service from the Sunlight Foundation! Kudos! The Sunlight Foundation created Call on Congress to help bridge the “digital divide” by giving anyone with a phone line a free and meaningful way to understand their government and hold elected officials accountable. The Call on Congress web page mentions that the [...]
New from IFLA: A FAIFE Spotlight on “New Forms of Censorship”
Filed by on June 6, 2012
New from IFLA’s (International Federation of Library Associations) FIAFE (Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression). The new Spotlight report is titled “Data driven futures – censorship takes new forms” and was written by Päivikki Karhula, a researcher from the School of Information Sciences, from the University of Tampere, Finland. Topics Covered [...]
Event Report: “Making Copyright Work for Libraries and Consumers’”
Filed by on June 4, 2012
From an IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) Summary of the Event: On Wednesday 30th May IFLA, along with the European Bureau of Library Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA), Electronic Information For Libraries (eIFL), Informations Sans Frontières (ISF), Copyright for Creativity (C4C), the European Consumers’ Organisation (BEUC), and Consumers International (CI) organised a one-day event [...]
Public Libraries: “Citing Patrons’ Right to Read, Massachusetts Libraries Offer ‘Fifty’ Trilogy
Filed by on June 4, 2012
From The Boston Globe: Unlike a smattering of libraries in other states, Massachusetts libraries seem to have no objection to stocking the much talked-about “Fifty Shades” trilogy, but enthusiasm for the novels among library staff is far from unanimous. [Clip] “People are excited because it’s a phenomenon right now,” said Carol Jankowski, director of the [...]
Roundup: Google Books (GBS): Authors Win Class Status Over Google Digital Books
Filed by on May 31, 2012
From Professor James Grimmelmann (via The Laboratorium): Today, Judge Chin handed the Authors Guild a big procedural win. He issued an opinion that allowed the Guild to represent its members in the lawsuit, and then went on to certify a class consisting not just of the members but of all authors whose books Google scanned. [...]
Archived Video: What Does the Georgia State Decision Mean for Libraries? An ARL Briefing with J. Band and B. Butler
Filed by on May 31, 2012
From the Association of Research Libraries: In this webcast presented on May 24, 2012, Jonathan Band and Brandon Butler discuss the implications of the recent decision in the Georgia State University (GSU) e-reserves case. See Also: New ARL Issue Brief Recaps Georgia St. University Copyright Decision, Looks at Implications (May 15, 2012)
Utah School District Places Book About Lesbian Moms Behind Counter
Filed by on May 31, 2012
Update (June 1, 2012): Utah Librarians Fear Decision About Lesbian Mom Book Sets Bad Precedent (via SLT) From The Salt Lake Tribune: A picture book about a lesbian couple raising a child was removed from the shelves of elementary school libraries in Davis County after a group of parents raised objections about the suitability of [...]
