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August 2010 Newsletter |
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Join us on Facebook!
Are you on Facebook?
So are we!
By joining SDCPLL's new Facebook page, you can keep up to date on our events, classes and news. Tell your friends to check us out too!
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Upcoming Classes for August & September
Pre-registration is required for all classes, as seating is limited. Please sign up by calling the appropriate branch location.
For a complete description of the classes and the most up-to-date information, visit our Class Calendar.
The following classes are free to Law Library members and $5 for non-members.
AUGUST
Main Branch (619) 531-3900
North County Branch (760) 940-4386
South Bay Branch (619) 691-4929
SEPTEMBER
North County Branch (760) 940-4386
- Using Lexis*
by Eronda Taylor, Esq./Lexis Rep
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
12:00 - 1:00 pm
East County Branch (619) 441-4451
*MCLE Participatory Credit hour(s) available for these classes.
The San Diego County Public Law Library is a State Bar approved MCLE provider.
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New Resource & Materials Added to the Collection
This month's featured resource:
Mexican Civil Code Annotated
by Jorge A. Vargas
Professor Jorge A. Vargas published the first English translation of Mexico's Federal Civil Code, annotated with cases decided by Mexico's Supreme Court and the Circuit Collegiate Courts. The book is conveniently arranged because it has side-by side the English translation of the code and the original Spanish version.
Professor Vargas, of the University of San Diego School of Law, has been recognized as the most prolific writer on Mexican law in the United States. His major book, titled: Mexican Law: A Treatise for Legal Practitioners and International Investors is the leading treatise on Mexican law in this country. The Mexican Civil Code Annotated is available at our Main branch downtown.
New Materials Added to the Collection The Law Library regularly adds new materials to its collection. To see the new books added to our collection in the last month, click here.
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Library's "Law & Comics" a Smashing Success
by Kelly K.
On Wednesday, July 21st, the Law Library hosted a panel on "The Law and Comics" This was the most popular lecture hosted by the Law Library in years. The audience was made up of a wide cross-section of people, from attorneys to people thinking about creating their own work and wondering how to protect it.
Moderator George Brewster hosted the panel featuring cartoonist and attorney Stu Rees, graphic artist Jerrell Conner, and attorney and Intellectual Property Professor at the University of San Diego School of Law, David McGowan. Rees and McGowan opened the discussion with an overview of the history and current status of copyright and trademark law in the United States. All the panelists talked about how the state of intellectual property law has not been able to keep up with the changes caused by the growth of the Internet and various forms of electronic media.
Conner talked about how he had to learn on his own about intellectual property laws and the difficulty in enforcing rights to his material. Rees reinforced this point when he talked about the difficulties his clients have when they are faced with someone infringing on their work. It can be quite expensive to litigate to protect one's intellectually property rights and, in many cases, the artist would not recoup enough to justify the lawsuit.
The panelists took questions from the audience toward the end of the presentation. The questions included how to protect your creation when someone is interested in acquiring it and how a creator has to change their protection strategy as they become more successful.
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DissoMaster is Here
The Law Library has available the California DissoMaster Suite 2010-1 software for calculating child and spousal support. This software is approved by the Judicial Council and widely used throughout the California court system.
The software program will help you calculate guideline child and spousal support, as well as convert gross income to guideline net income, display alternate settlements meeting user-specified goals, open multiple cases at once in its new tabbed format, and more.
Our DissoMaster Suite 2010-1 software provides access to DissoMaster, Propertizer, Executioner, and Classic DissoMaster if you choose to use the older version.
All Library locations have this resource available at the reference desk for use on Library computers only. Contact a reference librarian for more information and and assistance in installing the software for use.
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THINK ABOUT IT
Having a new job as director of the law library has a corollary for the staff - having a new boss. There is a special dance we undertake to learn about each other. It takes time.
Except for those times when there is no time. And this is one of those times.
Things Outside My Control
When I began on May 3rd, the Administrative Office of the Courts attached a rider onto this year's budget bill rolling back our portion of court filing fees to 2007-08 levels, above which the AOC would take off the top. This was more than a $300,000 loss in revenue for this library, and each county law library would suffer the same fate. This triggered a state-wide campaign to defeat the proposal, and luckily it was stopped.
My tenure also began with the full throttle push to finally begin the long awaited remodeling of the downtown library building. Design plans had to be finalized; money needs had to be worked out with a generous donor and the County; and a plan had to be developed for finding a relocation space, packing up, and then moving out before construction began. There was a lot on my plate.
Things I Can Only Blame on Myself
If that was not enough, after only two days on the job I challenged my staff to plan and produce three large initiatives: a county-wide Meet the Director! marketing promotion for all four branches; a voter information and education campaign to encourage participation in the primary election called Get Out the Vote; and a program called "The Law & Comics" that combined legal research with the 30 year San Diego institution called Comic Con, to reach out to a new demographic and potential patron base.
Crazy? Yes, but I wanted everyone at the law library to feel the same sense of urgency and purpose that I felt beginning my job. All of us were taking that leap and jumping into something new -- sinking or swimming together.
Somehow, after only three months, it seems to have worked out. The library is humming with activity and purpose, programs have been successfully mounted and produced, and the renovation is looking like a reality this fall. Despite the steep learning curve still ahead, we are definitely swimming, not sinking.
And the staff and I are continuing our dance of discovery and mutual understanding. Except in our case, because there is no time, it is closer to a Tarantella than a Waltz. It has the craziness of the Jitterbug, with a touch of the Twist.
I had no idea when I started back in May that Chubby Checker and I had so much in common. I chuckle and tell myself to think about it.
John Adkins, Director of Libraries
We shape clay into a pot, but it is the empty space within
that holds whatever we want.
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We hope you've enjoyed our newsletter! If you are a guest and would like to subscribe, please CLICK HERE.
We're hard at work on the next edition. In the meantime, please visit us online at www.sdcpll.org or stop by one of our four locations.
For more information or to send comments about this newsletter, contact Tina Jagerson, Media Coordinator and South Bay Branch Manager.
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