EDITOR'S NOTE
Scary Stories for Librarians
by Donovan Griffin
Just in time for Halloween, we’ve got an investigation into the boogeyman of law-abiding librarians: the unauthorized practice of law. Brandi Scardilli talks to Anthony Aycock, author of The Accidental Law Librarian, and librarians in the field to determine the best practices when patrons come knocking with legal questions.
The shift from print to digital has been happening for many years, but do you know exactly how the transformation happens? This month, we’ve got “Data Conversion in the 21st Century” for inquisitive readers who want to see how the digital documents that end up on your tablet or screen are made.
To round out our features, Richard Huffine gives us an update on the state of the 1,100-plus federal libraries in the U.S., including the impact of the 2013 government shutdown and how the changing nature of libraries everywhere is affecting federal libraries.
Marydee Ojala does double duty, going from San Antonio to cover the American Association of Law Libraries’ annual conference (page 11) to Lyon, France, to report on the 80th IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) on page 10. Law librarians in Texas heard keynote speaker Andrew Keene proclaim that law libraries (but not law librarians) are doomed, while presenters at IFLA WLIC shared insights on MOOCs.
Finally, our own Barbara Quint chronicles her struggle with Kindle-itis on page 27, and she compares the ebook reading experience on her new Kindle Paperwhite with the Kindle app on her old iPad.
Enjoy the issue.
— Donovan Griffin |
