Cost Effective Is Often NOT Time Efficient: The Open Law Movement in Brief Review

March 17, 2010

Once I have a bit of time, I’m going to dive a little bit deeper into the Open Access movement stuff that is going on in the legal research world.

Sarah Glassmeyer, has a helpful new post titled Open Law? that gives a great run down of some sources.  I’ve mentioned how I feel about the PACER Petition in previous posts.  In , I hold true to my belief that PACER is a cost-effective tool.

The stuff that I stumbled through on the PublicResource.org site tonight made my eyes light up.  Unfortunately I was not able to ignore the fact that this was definitely a resource that would have to be carefully reviewed to find just the right thing.  This site has great depth in resources but it will not be a time efficient research tool.

I think the Open Law movement will continue to grow and develop, but the access will definitely require even more meaningful access as noted by Richard Leiter.

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Online Records Doesn’t Always Mean Easy Access

March 15, 2010

There’s Room for Knowledge Management in Open Records

Over the past couple of months I have found myself doing a large amount of research in the realm of state legislation and regulations.  The one thing that is clear from this work is that while information is significantly easier to find than it used to be, all states are not equal.

The sophistication and ease of use for each state’s system varies widely.  Organizationally, the regulations are frustrating.  Some regulations are spread through departments within departments others are deceptive.  The deception comes from the appearance that there is a single place for all proposed rules and the information is complete.  In reality, there are often other places within the wealth of state data that can and do contain this type of information.  The reality of needing to look in multiple places is just part of the frustration.  The lack of complete tracking information and an inconsistency even with the same state, depending upon the regulation and/or the responsible department increases the searcher’s blood pressure too.

Bringing Infrastructure up to Date is a Challenge

If ever a need for Knowledge Management was apparent, it is in the handling of these valuable open records resources.  I certainly understand that the appearance, availability and frequency are dependent upon a number of factors ranging from human to fiscal resources. Not the least of these dependent factors is existing and available technology.  Bringing old infrastructure to the 21st century is a huge and costly challenge.

However, I think organizations responsible for maintaining and making available to the public large amounts of information, should look closely at the impact a well executed content and knowledge management plan could have.  Could human resources actually have a reduced burden if the full date was used in a legislative docket, especially a docket that ranges across two years?  I think so.

Systems and processes in inputting data must be considered in light of the ultimate output and user.  A capable Knowledge Manager will be able to balance the technological and information demands and capabilities against user expectations and desires.  This information professional will establish and maintain protocols to benefit the organization at all levels.

There are many ways to handle information but it should be handled by a professional.  At minimum, organizations responsible for providing access to public records should invest in an Information Professional to establish good  protocols on the front-end.

Constance Ard 3/14/2010

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The Business Case for Social Media

March 10, 2010

Tomorrow I will be presenting to attendees at the Kentucky Chapter of SLA The Seed 2020 Business Case for Social Media .  One may wonder, why I would present a “business case” to a room full of information professionals.

The truth is that information professionals in universities and corporations are educators and first adopters.  So while everyone is just now jumping on the social media bandwagon, librarians in the academic community have been training and teaching the rest of the world how to use it and how to use it well.

Now that 57% of  respondents, according Social Software in Business Survey (September 2009),  are dedicating employee resources to corporate social media; the business case is growing in importance. (Source:  Information Today January 2010)

Information professionals in corporate and special libraries must lead the strategy and implementation of use for successful social media.  This medium, is a cornerstone of information and must be incorporated into the overall view of Knowledge Management.  Organizations that place a high value on information must also dedicate resources to social media.

Constance Ard

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18 Months is the Witching Hour for Somerset Energy Refining

March 4, 2010

I have profiled Somerset Energy Refinery in the past, updated the profile and interviewed Michael Grunberg, the man who bought the refinery and brought it out of bankruptcy.  This morning, I opened my email box to see an announcement about the sale of the business. It has been roughly 18 months since the initial purchase, spurred by Mr. Grunberg’s desire for a diversified investment outside of commercial real estate.

I don’t have an inside scoop on the sale but I can share with you a couple of video links that were included in my email. (Using Social Media for the sale is a great stride forward to this small town company.)

For Sale

http://vimeo.com/9729170 (23 minutes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVr1FkMoGck (8 minutes)

The vimeo video demonstrates the investments made in the company, cleaning, repairing and renewing the equipment to profit.  When I interviewed Mr. Grunberg in December 2008, he insisted that technology and efficiency were keys to profitability.  In the theme of that mantra, Mr. Grunberg has been quoted as saying he invested $20M in buying and upgrading the refinery.

The refinery closed in February 2010 according to an IStockAnalyst reproduction of a Lexington Herald-Leader article..  Mr. Grunberg is selling the refinery for a quoted sticker price of $12 to $14M.  The problem leading to the sell of the refinery was not sales, a problem that haunted the refinery in the past.  The major business problem that a buyer will face is supply.  I speculate that due to the evening out of oil prices overall, small refineries such as Somerset Energy, no longer have small oil producers seeking alternatives that would keep their transportation costs down.

If you buy into Mr. Grunberg’s statements on the video, his investment has taken the old refinery from the stagnant days of the 80′s into the cutting edge of the 21st century.  The refinery, is ready for profit, if they can get the supplies of oil needed for refining.  One might blame Marathon who seems to be working to retain the majority of  oil supply, even those that have to drive by Somerset KY to get to Ashland.  It’s an interesting business situation and one that will take political savvy and salesmanship to overcome.

It’s sad for me, a Somerset native, to see this long-standing company shut down once again.  The impact on employment and good gas supplies is the immediately noticeable impact of this closure.

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Models Address Social Media

March 3, 2010

Last fall I presented at the Kentucky Bar Association’s CLE, the Kentucky Law Update, on the topic of Social Media.  My co-presenter, Stuart Adams, and I did the presentation in a variety of cities throughout the state starting in September and ending in December.  By the time we finished we had revamped our original notes, because the September version was out-of-date.

(photo from savethetigerfund.org)

One of the things we discussed was the impact that jurors have on the outcome of cases when they engage in social networking.  It seems that the don’t talk about it mantra of olden days didn’t always translate when it came down to discussing, commenting and posting about an ongoing trial in the days of mobile social media use.

And this phenomenon is being addressed in a variety of manners.  The latest is the drafted Model Jury Instructions on the Use of Electronic Technology to Conduct Research on or Communicate About a Case (December 2009).  This effort combined with individual efforts by bar associations throughout the nation may rein in the misuse and subsequent mistrials of social networking in the judicial process.

The good news is that this Model and the implementation of strategic social media policies within law firms and other judicial system agents is getting in front of the problem.  Proactiveness  is a much better defense in this game.

Hat tip to the Law Librarian Blog

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Go Green Incentives Stimulate Louisville

February 25, 2010

This morning, I woke up with the thought that a post relevant to our effort at The Seed 2020 to provide networking and educational opportunities for women and minority owned businesses in Louisville was the perfect topic for today’s post.

So I hit the Google Reader and do a quick search and am delighted by the headline “Louisville creates business incentive programs.” Funding is provided by:

Green Stimulus

U.S. Department of Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant, federal stimulus funds, and city funds.

The purpose is to encourage economic development in Green Technology.  You can get the details of these stimulus packages from the Business First article.

The article immediately made me think of Dr. Tyra Oldham.  Dr. Tyra Oldham, one of tonight’s speakers at The Seed 2020, is a leader in green construction.  Her company Land, offers engineering, design and much more to clients who wish to “shift from grey to green.”

I met Dr. Oldham at  our inaugural event for The Seed 2020.  This group, the brain child of Stephen Arnold is leading the pack in combining education and networking to provide its own stimulus for economic development and partnerships in Louisville.

Tonight Dr. Oldham will discuss the use of social media to develop connections and form partnerships.  The rest of tonight’s panel will touch on brand building and trends in social media.

Please join us for a night of networking and education at Blue Mountain Coffee House at 6 pm.  Dr. Oldham and the rest of the panel will deliver in 10 minutes or less, the gems of their success in the social media world.

Constance Ard February 25, 2010

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Aiming for the Gold: Legal Research Training

February 23, 2010

In late March, I will be presenting to the Fayette County Bar Association on the topic of Online Research Tools with an emphasis on free sources.  Yesterday, during a stimulating lunch conversation a fellow law firm librarian and I discussed the disparity between legal research in law school and law firms.

These two things have caused me to wonder if there is one way to influence the behavior of future attorneys and get researchers to  concentrate on cost-effective research?  Now my initial idea was to show the actual retail costs of a search to law students. The sticker shock in context of what they actually did should open eyes to possibilities.  Of course it could also scare them into a whole where they refused to reach beyond the easy, cheap results to find the unearthed gem even when it was essential to their work.

Now granted, I know next to nothing to how various law schools teach legal research.  The methods are probably as varied as the schools themselves.  What I do know, is that as a former firm librarian, bills that were beyond control in retail costs were shown to young associates and even partners, as warranted.  This simple demonstration of the cost of information was an effective means to getting attorneys signed up for sessions with our vendor training and our own planned training in the firm.  Or getting the attorney to call the library for their in-depth research because we could provide the results cost-effectively and allow them to spend their time analyzing the essential information.

Cost-effectiveness and time are two critical factors in online research for attorneys.  Hunting and pecking for that “free” resource is often not the best method for saving time and money on a project.  So the balance of the two is extremely important.

Firms that complement the in-depth resources offered by LexisNexis and Westlaw with the easy to use and sufficient resources on FastCase are providing a cost-effective tool.

Attorneys may complain about the need to be able to use all these different systems.  The reality is that most providers are taking their cue from Google and making search as easy as filling-in the box.

I personally have mixed feelings about that fill-in-the-box mentality.  If that’s all that we teach our attorneys and legal professionals to do, there’s a danger of mixed data and the reliance on a subset of results that could be lacking.  I’m not saying that the box isn’t great, it is.  What I’m saying is that we need to teach the reality of what it is that is being pulled out when the box is filled.

I’m looking forward to glimpsing WestlawNext in person, beyond this tutorial.  It sounds intriguing with the ease of use and the fill-in-box and the “work like you” concept that West is selling.

Jurisdiction and primary vs. secondary have always, and will, remain key factors in choosing the universe of legal materials that should be searched.   I just wonder how well those universes are defined to young attorneys.  Early in my career, I had an attorney who told me “No more or less than 20 results.”  He defined the universe narrowly, but he expected me to pull from the entire universe the best of what was available.

Aiming for the Gold

The box makes it easy to accept the first 20 as the best 20.  Or if you take the other approach: “I want to see everything that could possibly be relevant’ you have a wealth of organisms within the universe that must be analysed while keeping in mind the costs of the analysis.  To win the Gold in legal research, training should address both costs and time as well as the universe of sources that are and should be used.

Constance Ard February 23, 2010

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Buzz Around Analysis

February 22, 2010

Searching Buzz requires more than a box.

Per the request of a client I wrote up an analysis of Google’s Buzz search.  You can read that analysis on the Arnold IT.com Beyond Search blog in the Featured Items section.

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A Song, A Coke and Scanning the World’s Knowledge

February 18, 2010

I despise duplication of effort.  Therefore, when it came time to begin the planning for the digitization phase of a current project I did a bit of research.

Apparently, Google is not the only one that has been out there digitizing library holdings.  Granted Project Gutenberg and the Internet Archive seem to be concentrating on public domain titles (pre-1922). It kind of makes one wonder why duplicate the effort?

I’d say let’s give the world a coke and a scanner and see if we can’t make our culture collection Alexandria available through collaboration.  Or is that already happening?  It seems chaotic at best to the uninitiated.

So as I try to make sense of this in my own world I thought I’d let you grab your own coke, sing your own song of harmony and I’ll give you a list of current digitization projects that I have discovered.

Author’s Note: I do not purport this list to be a complete and comprehensive list of ongoing projects.  These are projects I have stumbled upon while seeking information for another purpose.

Scanning without a coke.The Big Ones

  • Project Gutenberg
  • Internet Archive
  • Google
  • Microsoft’s Live   project has been discontinued but the as is items are still out there for your use and discovery.

Smaller Library Consortia projects with a scope of books and more.

At this point I feel like I’m barely scraping the surface of what is going on in the digitization of libraries.

What is apparent is that digitization is and will continue to happen.  Google is willing to make a private investment that will benefit the public good.  Libraries struggle with funding and human resources necessary to complete a digitization project.  I think I might be ready to let Google provide the coke and scanning robot while we sit back and enjoy the song.

It would be nice to avoid duplication of effort in the digitization projects but that is as impossible as gathering every publication ever into a single physical space.  There are benefits to consortia efforts and even special libraries with very niche collections that take on their own project.

It would be nice though to take comfort in the knowledge that one of the big guys is gonna do all the really important stuff.  Of course, then you get into the definition of what is important and that’s way to librarian for me to debate here.

I’ll settle for some best practices that help all involved in these projects to make the best of their resources both fiscal and human so that the greater good  of access is served well.  Perhaps by the end of my own work I’ll even be able to define some of those best practices.

Constance Ard February 17, 2010

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Nothing is Free – PACER Costs and Investments

February 17, 2010

I read a nice explanation of PACER costs from a different view-point, one could even say an insider’s view last night while watching the UK v. Mississippi game; and what a game.

One point that I really like from this article is:

“Only those who use PACER pay for it.”

Now that’s an idea…paying for service that is used. Of course the alternate argument is that libraries who provide access to PACER for their customers are paying for what the customers use.  True, but then libraries used to/perhaps still do a charge a going rate for copies.

To this point Mr. Tunheim, provides a high level break down of the percentage of paying customer who access PACER.  BTW, anyone can sign up for a PACER account.

“Nearly 40 percent of PACER’s revenues are generated by less than 1 percent of its active accounts, and the vast majority of the remaining PACER accounts incur less than $500 in fees per year.”

And the funds collected for PACER documents, feed right back into the system to help enhance it – something long overdue for certain.

So I’m still not on board with the PACER should be completely free bandwagon that I discussed last year in my Poking the PACER Petition Part I and Part II posts.

Constance Ard Feb. 17, 2010 Read the rest of this entry »

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