If there are changes to your membership information after your membership renewal forms were submitted, please make sure you let VALL know because the 2013-2014 Directory will need to be updated. Please submit all changes in membership information to Chris Vassey at christina.vassey@thomsonreuters.com by Monday, Sept. 16, 2013.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Using Social Media for Legal Investigations
by Evelyn M. Campbell
When I was setting up my itinerary for AALL in Seattle I knew I had to attend this program – Finding the Veronica Mars Within: Using Social Media for Investigative Purposes in Legal Research. Not too many years ago I had written a series of articles and presented programs on how to find people which I had jokingly (but aptly) titled, You Can Run But You Can’t Hide.
During one of my programs at the Homestead someone had asked whether I had considered using Facebook to track people, and I had said, “No, not yet.” The time wasn’t right then when Facebook was just coming into being, and some of the other social media did not even exist. With more than 500 million people now on Facebook, and another estimated 500 million more on Twitter, the time is now to include social media when you need to search for people, or if you conduct lessons on how to find people, now is the time to add social media as part of that process.
Social media is more than Facebook but one can always start there. Just like any other people search, before you start, gather as much information about the person you are researching – name (including nicknames and maiden names), hometown, age, employer, alma mater, interests, names of family members, and of course, friends. Facebook is designed in such a way that knowing someone’s friends may get you the information you need. Don’t forget that the person you are researching may not have a Facebook page but you may still find a picture of them with a friend or friends who have Facebook accounts, and that may give you clues as to where this person is or what this person does for fun. Never forget that people trying to hide something are not going to use their real names on Facebook.
Don’t discount Twitter as well. For some reason people seem to have the need to share with the world every thought that goes through their heads and every thing they do. As one of the presenters at the AALL program said, “Every gang member in New York City has a Twitter account.” And you would think that people would think twice about posting incriminating evidence or actions, but apparently not so. Use Twitter to find out what people are saying about what they are doing and where they are doing it.
Community websites like Topix.com can provide valuable information. People posts all kinds of information about all kinds of things which can give insight into who they are, where they eat and what they do for fun … when you are looking for someone, this can be a gold mine. Some people even advertise their part in the oldest profession in the world, and where they are to be found performing said profession. That is how one of the presenters of the program who was acting as guardian ad litem for a child found out what the mother of that child was doing. There are all kinds of stupid in the world … use that to your advantage. When you think, “no one can be that stupid” … check anyway.
Craigslist has become a site for more than the selling of things. And it is particularly helpful that you can search it by locality. Yes, people sell more than things on Craigslist, so if you are looking for criminal activities, check out the different sections, including the casual encounters section.
Trying to track down stolen items for a client? Check eBay -- also known to many as the new pawn shop of the world. The news is filled with people who have found items stolen from them for sale on eBay.
This is just scratching the surface of how to use social media for legal investigation. And I also haven’t even started on searching images on the web. The presenters made their point, and left us with this – if you are not already teaching this as part of your legal research … you really ought to give it some thought, because if you don’t you might be doing your students a disservice.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Finding Career Contentment
by Patty Petroccione
Attending the AALL Annual Conference is a valuable experience for all law librarians; however for a “solo” like me it is essential. It is not only important for my professional growth and well-being; it is for my personal sanity as well.
Other than reading list serve messages, and when time permits, occasional professional blogs and the AALL Spectrum, often a month or more may go by without my having any direct or personal contacts with my professional peers. Granted, there are interactions with the “other” professionals: lawyers, judges, deputy sheriffs and other courthouse personnel, but what do they know, understand or care about the world of libraries (generally, not much)? So I was very grateful to be awarded a VALL grant to attend the 2013 Conference in Seattle.
And I appreciated all that the Conference had to offer -- I attended many informative programs, observed vendor demonstrations of existing and new products, reconnected with colleagues and made new connections. I attended the State, Court and County Law Libraries’ breakfast meeting and the VALL luncheon. I took notes and collected business cards. To me, this is the real value of the Conference, the hands-on aspect and face-to-face interactions that one cannot replicate from blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn and webinars.
Appropriately, it all culminated in my attending on the last day of the Conference, in the last time slot, the program “Is It My Job, or Am I Burnt Out?”: Finding Career Contentment. Despite the 3:45 p.m. time slot and the weary look on the faces of many of the attendees, the panelists Wendy Moore and Francis Norton, Jr., captured our attention from the beginning with their great repartee and humor. It didn’t hurt that they were tossing peppermint patties into the audience (surprise, chocolate at the AALL Conference)! The theme of the program was mid-career challenges, how to identify them, and what approaches to take to improve your situation.
They explained that our relationship to our jobs could be described in one of five ways: 1) clingy, we expect our jobs to give us everything; 2) vacant, the pay check keeps us there; 3) BFF, things are okay but there is no passion; 4) arranged, pushed together by external forces; or 5) open, can only find satisfaction outside of the job. What are some of the challenges? Does it seem like everyone else is happy and successful? It may feel that way, especially while at the conference. Others appear engaged, they are presenting, attending special meetings, receiving awards. It may feel like time is passing us by and we are “stuck in a rut.” It is easy to simply accept our situation and proceed with our day-to-day tasks “for the rest of our natural lives.”
Wendy and Francis reminded us that negativity breeds more negativity and is reflected back to ourselves and to our co-workers, patrons, and vendors. The panel tried to teach us some tools we could use to reinvigorate ourselves and our jobs, instead of choosing to “sit around and be grumpy.”
One simple exercise is to identify three positive things you can do to improve attitude and relations with staff and users, and then actually put them into practice. One suggestion was to proactively approach patrons instead of hiding in your office until they find you. Another was to smile when approached by another staff member or patron, even if you are busy. Set up a specific time when you will be able to help them later. Try not to scowl or growl! If someone is encountering a minor problem, help them so things run more smoothly at work. It will be less stressful for both of you. When someone else is negative or bad mouthing others or a project, redirect or disengage. Hopefully they will stop their negativity, or at least leave you alone since you will not “play ball” with them.
We learned that there are many ways to find renewed interest in one’s work life. Look better - improve your professional presence with an updated resume, then you will be ready for opportunities, such as grants, leadership positions, projects at work. Keep your online profiles current and relevant using LinkedIn, AALL My Communities, and social networks. Make work more interesting by getting active in professional organizations and special interest groups, follow blogs and write for blogs. These do not necessarily have to be library-related. You will feel more connected with those in and out of the profession.
I thought an excellent recommendation was to do something new at work. Ask yourself “if I had time at work to do something of my own choosing, I would work on ________” Practice a version of the Google “20% time rule” (which says to set aside 20% of your time to work on projects other than your normal work). Take the time to innovate (this was how Gmail was born). One suggestion was to block out two hours a week. Perhaps call it “Friday afternoon fun-time.” Use the time to work on your novel, prepare a history of the library, develop a rare books display or invent an app for your patrons. Many of us (especially those attending this presentation) are already overwhelmed by our work load. But the hope is that by spending some time on a new project that we’ve chosen, we will become invigorated and that will spill over into our daily tasks.
Other recommendations to refresh one’s work attitude include -- set specific, measurable goals for yourself. Track your accomplishments, including thank you notes from patrons, judges, professors, and completion of projects. Help someone else with their job. Be a mentor. Get involved in the new AALL mentoring program. Most importantly, a piece of advice we all know but tend to ignore -- do not let your work define your life. Be a volunteer in your community, exercise, take vacations, and pursue your passions outside of the office.
Sadly, sometimes it isn’t a mid-career slump we are experiencing, just a bad job fit. If so, then it may be time to move on. But for those of us who may only be weary, yet determined to stay the course, there are tools we can use to refresh our jobs. Though I was tired after all the activities of the four conference days, I was reinvigorated after attending this program. As several of us walked away from the Seattle Convention Center we talked about plans for our own Friday afternoon fun-times.
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| Patty Petroccione and Terry Long at the SCCL reception at the Federal Court House |
Welcome Baby Sofie!
Congratulations to Anthony and Rosie Ikwueme on the birth of their daughter, Sofie Chnwendum, who arrived on Aug. 11, 2013, at 5:02 pm. Sofie weighed in at 8 lb. and was 21 inches long. Both mother and baby are doing well, and we wish them all the best.
Alexis Fetzer
She was born in Lake Charles, LA, and earned her B.A. in History from Louisiana State University in 2008. She remained at LSU for her J.D. (2011) and M.L.I.S. (2013), during which time she also served as Law Library Fellow to the Paul M. Hebert Law Library. An inactive member of the Louisiana Bar, Alexis has a background in civil law.
Her hobbies include long distance running and snow skiing. Her favorite skiing trip so far was to Whistler, Canada in January.
"Whistler Mountain along with the adjoining Blackcomb Mountain together make up the largest ski area in North America. Aside from one very epic spill I took on black diamond run, it was quite possibly the best skiing I have ever experienced," Alexis said.
The most recent race Alexis trained for was the New Orleans Crescent City Classic 10k where she set a personal best of 39 minutes 58 seconds (6'26" per mile). She is currently training for Richmond's Anthem Marathon in November.
We wish Alexis the best and we hope to see her at a VALL meeting.
Andrew Winston
Andrew is the research and instructional services librarian in the Muse Law Library at the University of Richmond School of Law.
He also teaches legal research in the first-year program and has developed a course on innovative technologies in law practice that he taught for the first time in the spring of 2013.
Prior to joining Muse law library, Andrew served as a law librarian in the American Law Division of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) through CRS’ Graduate Recruit Program. Before obtaining his library science degree, he practiced corporate and securities law with LeClairRyan in Richmond, Virginia, and Cahill Gordon & Reindel in New York, New York.
Andrew obtained his master’s in library and information science from Drexel University, and his law and undergraduate degrees at the University of Virginia.
When not working, Andrew enjoys hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reading mystery novels and ancient Greek and Roman history, and traveling.
Mei Kiu Lo
Welcome to Mei Kiu Lo who is the new catalog/systems librarian at the University of Richmond Law Library!
Before moving to UofR, Mei Kiu had been the state and federal publications cataloger at the Library of Virginia.
She has a B.S. in China Studies from Hong Kong Baptist University, an MLS from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and an advance information and library science degree from UNC-CH.
Mei Kiu loves traveling and has been all over the US. Her favorite city is Portland, Oregon, and her favorite National Park is Bryce Canyon. She hopes to someday visit Australia.
We hope to meet her at a VALL meeting!
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