Wisconsin Assembly Bill 340, introduced yesterday, could mean some big changes for CCAP. The bill would limit what information is made accessible and when, and it would require many users to register and pay an annual fee.

From the LRB analysis section of the bill:

The information on CCAP is available for free on an Internet Web site. The Web site has no limitations on who has access to the information, although information in certain types of cases is not available to the public. CCAP allows a user to search for all civil and criminal cases in which a person or entity, who is the subject of the search, has been a party...

Under this bill, the director of state courts may only provide case information on CCAP after a court does one of the following: 1) makes a finding that a person is guilty of a criminal charge; 2) makes a finding that a person is liable in a civil matter; 3) orders a person to be evicted; or 4) issues a restraining order or an injunction against a person.

The bill allows free access to CCAP to Wisconsin judges or other court officials, law enforcement personnel, attorneys, and accredited journalists. The bill allows access to CCAP information to any other person who pays a $10 annual fee and registers his or her name and address with the director of state courts. The bill requires the director of state courts to keep a registry and log of each user who pays the annual fee that records the searches each user performs. Under the bill, if a user searches for a person's name on CCAP and subsequently denies the person employment, housing, or another public accommodation, the user must inform the person that he or she searched for the person's record on CCAP. A user who fails to do so may be fined $1,000.

Under the bill, upon the written request of a person whose case information is currently available on CCAP, the director of state courts must remove any information relating to a case that did not result in a finding of criminal guilt or civil liability, an order of eviction, or the issuance of a restraining order against the person.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 10:21 AM to Courts | Permalink | Comments(0)

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has expanded its agreement with Google to digitize books from UW-Madison's collection and make them available online.

From a press release issued this morning:

The expanded partnership, completed on July 8, 2009, enables the university to broaden public access to its collection in new ways, made possible by the settlement Google signed with a broad class of authors and publishers last year.

"Our original project with Google was undertaken in the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea--UW's commitment to making useful information and knowledge available beyond the confines of the university," says Ken Frazier, director of Libraries. "Now, our new agreement will promote equitable access to knowledge even further, by giving every student in the U.S. access to the same books, whether they're on campus or not."...

Through Google's pending settlement with authors and publishers and the new agreement with UW-Madison, readers and researchers will be able to preview portions of UW-Madison's in-copyright and out-of-print books for free and buy online access to the full texts of such books.

In addition, universities, colleges, and public libraries throughout the U.S. will be able to offer their students and patrons access to UW-Madison's rich collections through institutional subscriptions to the books contained in the institutional subscription database. Every public and university library in the U.S. will be able to receive one free public access license to provide free, full-text online viewing of millions of out-of-print books at designated computers in each of their buildings.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 9:41 AM to Data & Databases | Permalink | Comments(0)

From The Consumerist:

A global Nielsen survey reports the cool yet frightening revelation that people trust opinions they find on the internet more than those from newspapers, TV, radio and magazines. The only category that trumps online rumblings is "recommendations from people known."

So what does this mean? The implication for consumer sales is obvious, but is this finding applicable to legal professionals? Yes, I think so.

The things that people are saying about you and your clients on the web could have a big impact on your public image and theirs. That's why it's very important to monitor what's being said. See my earlier posts for tips on setting up alerts to notify you when you or your clients are discussed via Twitter, Web pages, and blogs.

Here's the full breakdown of the Nielsen survey as it appears in AdWeek

Source: Twitter @ding0036

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 9:14 AM to Communication | Permalink | Comments(0)

In response to numerous questions, FreeCourtDockets answers the question "Who are we and why are we giving away Pacer dockets for free?"

From an email that I received yesterday:

FreeCourtDockets is maintained by Courtport, LLC. We feel federal court dockets, like other public records should be free and freely available via the Internet. While others fight with the government on this issue, we are trying a faster route using an ad-supported model.

We can't do this without your help. As you are probably aware Google ads do not generate a lot of revenue, and the ads can be ugly and less than useful sometimes. We are seeking reputable, quality advertisers and sponsors to help pay our pacer bills. We also accept donations--no amount is too big or too small. If you are interested in advertising, sponsoring or donating, or know someone who might be, please contact us.

As I suspected, this explains the extreme amount of ads. But, I can live with the ads when the content is free.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 9:01 AM to Courts | Permalink | Comments(0)

From the New York Times:

In a direct challenge to Microsoft, Google announced late Tuesday that it is developing an operating system for PCs that is tied to its Chrome Web browser.

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 8:47 AM to Tools | Permalink | Comments(0)

"The AALL 2009 Annual Meeting Theme is 'Innovate.' In that spirit, there will be an "unconference" for the first time ever this year prior to the Annual Meeting. Attendees will have the chance to explore ideas and discuss issues with fellow law librarians in an informal setting. We're calling it 'Lawberry Camp.' " [from website]

The unconference is the brain child of AALL Computing Services Special Interest Section members Sarah Glassmeyer and Jason Eiseman.

Here's more info about it from an email to AALL SIS members:

WHO: You. Yes, you. It doesn't matter if what type of librarian you are, how long you've been a librarian, if your management or not, or what type of library you work in (or if you're employed at all!). If you are coming to AALL, you are the right person to attend Lawberry Camp.

WHAT: Lawberry Camp, an unconference before AALL. What's an "unconference?" An unconference is a participant driven meeting. There are no planned presentations and the topics of discussion will be decided on by attendees on that day. Facilitators are present to keep the conversation flowing.

WHERE: WCC-Room 144 C

WHEN: Saturday, July 25 3pm - 6pm

WHY: Because you have something to share. Because you want to hear what others have to say. Because you want to meet with other law librarians in an informal setting. Because you have nothing to do the Saturday afternoon before AALL starts.

HOW: More information and registration can be found at http://lawberrycamp.com Attendance is limited to 50 people, so don't delay!

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 10:28 AM to Libraries & Librarians | Permalink | Comments(0)

I saw this item on Twitter this morning:

Amazon.com has filed for a number of patents that hint at ad-supported books for its Kindle e-reader--more specifically, a free or discounted ad-supported e-book for customers who buy the physical version.

Read more at cnet news

Posted by Bonnie Shucha at 9:44 AM to eBooks | Permalink | Comments(0)