[Prodev] Monday summary

[CONNIE CROSBY]

Good morning, everyone:

Below is a summary of the very productive discussion from yesterday.  I =
encourage you to continue posting on these subjects if you like while we =
also move on to other areas of discussion.  I will post another lead-off =
question shortly in a separate post.

Kathie Sullivan kicked off our discussion yesterday by stating that people =
requesting legislative history questions are often unrealistic--they think =
everything is "on the Web" when, meanwhile, legislative materials, =
particularly historic legislative materials, are the often the last to be =
put into electronic format. =20

Jennifer Bryan pointed out that some states have materials more readily =
available than others.  She suggests libraries should take a role in doing =
more to make materials accessible.  A number of people then related their =
various experiences with state materials, and provided some great links to =
legislative history guides for a number of states.  Keep those links =
coming!

Other issues raised:=20
- problems in converting paper to electronic, especially after the fact;
- difficulty knowing what sorts of materials are available from different =
states;
- reluctance of state legislatures to keep archival material on their =
Websites indefinitely (many often remove materials after two years);
- usability of Websites =AF the general public especially may need =
assistance in using the materials that are available;
- electronic version is different from paper and not considered to be =
official;
- indexing and links in electronic version may be inaccurate if no one has =
edited the material for accuracy.

The discussion then moved on to explore who is asking for legislative =
history research, what specific type of information, and how they use this =
information.  Kristin Ford explained that, in her legislative library, =
they get a wide range of "non-lawyers" and "non-legislators" looking for =
legislative history information.  They see people from government =
agencies, lobbyists, students, and citizens looking to understand a =
particular piece of legislation.  Steve Mirsky pointed out that materials =
available to the general public should be of the same caliber as that =
available to legal practitioners since many people have valid, important =
reasons for using the information. =20

Also in question is whether request for legislative history is the first =
step people take in their research, or does it follow from previous =
research?  Hilary Frye surmised that attorneys would turn to legislative =
history if the case law does not provide the answer, so legislative =
history research would not be the first step in this case.

Kevin then introduced the idea of AALL lobbying legislatures to "preserve" =
legislative information in electronic form rather than removing it from =
their Websites after a certain period of time.  A number of people thought =
this to be a good idea.  Kristin Ford thought American Bar Association and =
the
National Conference of State Legislatures might also be involved in a =
lobbying effort.  She also explained access to legislative materials is =
usually internal policy at the legislatures, and that educating legislators=
 as to why this information is important to the public would be important.

Thank you for your messages, everyone!  I look forward to today's =
discussion.

Connie

Connie Crosby
Librarian
WeirFoulds LLP
Barristers & Solicitors
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tel:  416-947-5057
Fax: 416-365-1876
ccrosby@weirfoulds.com
www.weirfoulds.com
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