I am a big fan of Nolo Press. When I talk to librarians about copyright, I invariably recommend Nolo titles. So when Nolo’s Jennifer Balaco, Library Sales & Marketing Assistant contacted me, I asked her to put together a broader list of Nolo titles of special interest to librarians.  Of course libraries should get ALL their titles for library patrons, but which ones are useful for librarians to draw on to answer questions they face in their own work?

Below is the list Jennifer culled, and here’s a question from her to you:

Is there any legal topic that you really wish was covered in a book (not necessarily Nolo) that you just can't seem to find? I would like to offer a few possible topics that we may be missing in our catalog of resources, and would love to have some actual librarian opinions to back what I'm offering.

Resources useful to ALL librarians:

1. The Public Domain, Copyright Handbook, Patent, Copyright, & Trademark - These need no introduction... you even mentioned them already  [MM: True]

2. Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits - This has been the focus of several LJ articles recently. The most recent was Fundraising in the Downturn. 

3. Marketing Without Advertising - Hot topic in libraries (and probably for quite a while) - how to let the community know what we have without spending too much money

4. The Sharing Solution - As libraries have to do more with less, one possible solution is to begin sharing more resources. This book is a practical and legal guidebook designed to help people create and maintain successful sharing arrangements while addressing common concerns about liability and individual security.

5. Legal Guide to Web & Software Development - more libraries have in-house development teams create and/or modify their library systems and websites, it's important to know how to protect their work

6. Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary - an easy-to-read and fun resource for librarians to brush up on legal terms; it includes facts interspersed with the definitions to liven up a reference work

7. Legal Research -- I know librarians are the masters of information, but looking for legal information can at times be a stretch for the non-law librarian.

8. Library Law Podcast - http://www.nolocast.com/?p=50... I'm pretty sure you're very familiar with this [MM: thanks, Jennifer]

9. Nolo.com Legal Encyclopedia - http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/ - Free online content organized by subject matter... these articles are written by our legal editors and include legal updates.

        Especially of interest:

        -Copyright Law http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/

        -Legal Research http://www.nolo.com/legal-research/

Resources of possible use to government librarians:

10. The Essential Guide to Federal Employment Laws - provides an understanding of which business types must comply with each law plus detailed information about federal employment law

11. The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave - state-by-state information about family leave

The Digital Promise Project, also known as the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies, has announced that it is up and running with its initial $500,000 in funding. It was created by Congress in 2008, but was on hold until it its first seed money was allocated. Now that this is a reality, it can seek private funds as well as public funds, and will likely grow in size and importance.

Its intent is to fund digital projects for universities, schools and libraries. It is modeled on the National Science Foundation which also started with a six figure seed fund. NSF is now a multibillion dollar funding source.

From the Digital Promise Project:

After more than a decade of nationwide effort, the Digital Promise Project has achieved an essential goal – the creation of the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies.  This year the Department of Education, as provided by their 2010 appropriations legislation, will make available the initial funding required to launch the National Center.   In the words of the Center’s authorizing legislation, “The purpose of the Center shall be to support a comprehensive research and development program to harness the increasing capability of advanced information and digital technologies to improve all levels of learning and education, formal and informal, in order to provide Americans with the knowledge and skills needed to compete in the global economy.” 

 

Congress voted overwhelmingly to establish this Center, the first new national research center in many years, as an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.  Authorized in 2008 by amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965, the National Center will have a governing board of nine members, which will include outstanding representatives from the public and private sectors and from varied professions and disciplines.

 

 The National Center will be eligible to receive private as well as public funds.  It will fill a critical gap by funding practical, advanced learning research that is unlikely to be undertaken entirely with private funds.  To help the efficient launch and operation of the new Center, the Digital Promise team has developed a suggested management plan.  In addition, a suggested learning research “road map” has been produced under the supervision of the Federation of American Scientists in workshops attended by distinguished educators, scientists, technology experts, and other stakeholders. 

 

Co-chairs of the Digital Promise Project are Lawrence K. Grossman, former president of NBC News and PBS; Newton N. Minow, former FCC Chairman and Chairman of PBS, and Anne G.Murphy, former president of the American Arts Alliance.  The principals of the Digital Promise Project are pleased to work with the Department of Education and other experts to provide assistance in organizing and establishing the new National Center.  Original sponsors of the Digital Promise Project included the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Century, Knight, and MacArthur Foundations. 

 

Lawrence K. Grossman                  Anne G. Murphy                       Newton N. Minow

 

http://fairuse.stanford.edu/commentary_and_analysis/2010_01_hirtle.html#

Affirming that privacy is a fundamental human right set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other human rights instruments and national constitutions;

Reminding the EU member countries of their obligations to enforce the provisions of the 1995 Data Protection Directive and the 2002 Electronic Communications Directive;

Reminding the other OECD member countries of their obligations to uphold the principles set out in the 1980 OECD Privacy Guidelines;

Reminding all countries of their obligations to safeguard the civil rights of their citizens and residents under the provisions of their national constitutions and laws, as well as international human rights law;

Anticipating the entry into force of provisions strengthening the Constitutional rights to privacy and data protection in the European Union;

Noting with alarm the dramatic expansion of secret and unaccountable surveillance, as well as the growing collaboration between governments and vendors of surveillance technology that establish new forms of social control;

Further noting that new strategies to pursue copyright and unlawful content investigations pose substantial threats to communications privacy, intellectual freedom, and due process of law;

Further noting the growing consolidation of Internet-based services, and the fact that some corporations are acquiring vast amounts of personal data without independent oversight;

Warning that privacy law and privacy institutions have failed to take full account of new surveillance practices, including behavioral targeting, databases of DNA and other biometric identifiers, the fusion of data between the public and private sectors, and the particular risks to vulnerable groups, including children, migrants, and minorities;

Warning that the failure to safeguard privacy jeopardizes associated freedoms, including freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of access to information, non-discrimination, and ultimately the stability of constitutional democracies;

Civil Society takes the occasion of the 31st annual meeting of the International Conference of Privacy and Data Protection Commissioners to:

(1) Reaffirm support for a global framework of Fair Information Practices that places obligations on those who collect and process personal information and gives rights to those whose personal information is collected;

(2) Reaffirm support for independent data protection authorities that make determinations, in the context of a legal framework, transparently and without commercial advantage or political influence;

(3) Reaffirm support for genuine Privacy Enhancing Techniques that minimize or eliminate the collection of personally identifiable information and for meaningful Privacy Impact Assessments that require compliance with privacy standards;

(4) Urge countries that have not ratified Council of Europe Convention 108 together with the Protocol of 2001 to do so as expeditiously as possible;

(5) Urge countries that have not yet established a comprehensive framework for privacy protection and an independent data protection authority to do so as expeditiously as possible;

(6) Urge those countries that have established legal frameworks for privacy protection to ensure effective implementation and enforcement, and to cooperate at the international and regional level;

(7) Urge countries to ensure that individuals are promptly notified when their personal information is improperly disclosed or used in a manner inconsistent with its collection;

(8) Recommend comprehensive research into the adequacy of techniques that deidentify; data to determine whether in practice such methods safeguard privacy and anonymity;

(9) Call for a moratorium on the development or implementation of new systems of mass surveillance, including facial recognition, whole body imaging, biometric identifiers, and embedded RFID tags, subject to a full and transparent evaluation by independent authorities and democratic debate; and

(10) Call for the establishment of a new international framework for privacy protection, with the full participation of civil society, that is based on the rule of law, respect for fundamental human rights, and support for democratic institutions.

3 November 2009
Madrid, Spain

To full list of signatures are available here

Log in to this webinar at http://infopeople.org/training/webcasts/webcast_data/348/index.html to:

    * Learn the latest developments in copyright laws and cases, including the latest in the Google Book Search case, e-reserve and coursepack lawsuits.

    * Learn about a simple procedure to file with the Copyright Office to minimize liability for user-supplied-content.