From the Great Commonwealth of Massachusetts (soon to be Mitt-free!)...
Hello, and welcome to today's fill-in Cheers and Jeers, now being held in a law library. We have a variety of ways to look up legal questions and problems, ranging from print resources to databases and the Internet. But for historical research, you can't beat microfilm and microfiche.
One of you asked to see the briefs to the Supreme Court of Bush v. Gore, so we'll go over to the microfiche cabinet. But first, some housekeeping...
This here C&J is purely unofficial and a cheap substitute for the work of one Bill in Portland Maine. Your mileage may vary. I couldn't even get the key to the Official Gong. And a special above-the-fold CHEERS to Sherm and DD for filling in for Bill, as well as Baab for taking over substitute C&Js on Mondays again. Now let's go below the fold, shall we....
It's
National Library Week,a time to
CHEER the work of librarians and libraries. These services range from putting on storytimes and book groups to assisting professionals with complex research projects, searching for obscure books or articles to building and maintaining websites and blogs. Yes,
librarians do blog!
JEERS to targeting libraries. They are usually among the first to be cut or eliminated in companies (including law firms) when money is tight. One town near here, in Hampden, MA, was closed after voters refused to override their Proposition 2 ½ tax reductions to pay for the library and senior center (note: voters in this town are notorious for being stingy on school and library funding). Some wingnuts in the tax office where I have worked think the library's closing was just a political ploy and don't think they have to pay to get the books, magazines, Internet access, databases, and librarians they claim to want. I tried to explain that these things cost money, but it was a waste of breath. Now that they have to fend for themselves, some towns won't let them check materials out, and Springfield was considering charging them a fee to do so. At least with colleges, graduate and professional schools, the libraries have to be maintained at a certain level or face losing accreditation. Yup, that will keep us in business (mwaahhahhahahhah).
JEERS to unfair portrayals in the media. Librarians are usually stereotyped as frumpy women who wear buns in their hair and "sensible shoes". With the exception of some
mystery novels and stories, librarians are usually never the main characters in literature. Even Terry Pratchett's
Librarian is only a supporting character, even if he seems to be somebody you'd love to hang out with.
Gratuitous kitty pic: Humphrey (l) and Gracie were our cats for nearly 20 years; Humphrey lived for 18 or 19 years and Gracie lived for about 18 years. They usually fought with each other, but thiswas great.
Gratuitous dog pic: Albert
was a wonderful dog, a Bearded Collie who lived to be 19. I swear he was the best dog EVER. He could even wag his tail in circles when his family came home.
By the Numbers:
Number of weeks dedicated to libraries: 1
Number of weeks dedicated to lawyers, professors, etc. (officially): None
Unofficially: 51
Number of members of the American Library Association: 64,000
Number of members of the American Association of Law Libraries: more than 5,000
Number of libraries contacted by the FBI under the Patriot Act: At least 85
OK, here we are at the microfiche... Hey DD, what are you and Darrell doing? Your pants are down...Yes, I know the Bush v. Gore decision was horrible, but we have to preserve that information for the future - don't wipe the fiche on your butts or you might... (piercing screams) ...cut yourselves on the sharp edges.
It's Hump Day, so let's see some NSFW video: Yes, it's the infamous fake Berlusconi video, found herefor Mac or Windows, or the version on the Oddball Plays of the Month section on the Countdown website, which IIRC is Windows only (sorry).