NEWSLETTER Spring 2009

NOTICE OF THE 2009 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING APRIL 15, 2009 The Annual Meeting of the members of the Cleveland Law Library will be held on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 12:00 noon in the Law Library, 404 Cuyahoga County Courthouse. Agenda items will include the election of three (3) board members to serve three (3) year terms from April of 2009 through April of 2012. Please join us for the meeting and a light luncheon. CHANGE IS COMING FOR OHIO’S COUNTY LAW LIBRARIES Introduction: Significant changes are coming for the Cleveland Law Library and all of Ohio’s county law libraries as the result of a House Bill (420) that Governor Strickland signed into law on December 30, 2008. This Bill intertwined the future of Ohio’s county law libraries with many other governmental issues and affected our operations and funding in two major ways. Although it completely restored county funding for our space and the compensation of our public law librarians during calendar year 2009, it enacted major changes that will start next year. Beginning in 2010, the tradition by which county law libraries were historically run by private boards of local attorneys and judges will cease. Instead, official county boards will begin to manage county law libraries and control their public revenue and assets. While I am confident that Ohio’s county law libraries are universally relieved to have their county funding restored this year, they are all looking at next year with different expectations, plans, hopes, and, in many cases, trepidation. A Little Historical Context: Many of you may not believe that it has been over four years since Ohio’s county law libraries entered the legislative spotlight. Back in February of 2005, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio (CCAO) inserted language into the biennial budget bill (HB 66) that would have begun a five-year phase-out of county funding for our rent and the compensation of our public librarians. Without going into all of the details, those changes were delayed until 2007, during which counties only had to pay 80% towards compensation expenses. Calendar year 2008 was even tougher because the County only had to pay 60% towards compensation and 80% for rent. This meant that County law libraries had to really tighten their belts to make up the difference from their dwindling public revenue and/or private funds. Throughout much of this time, a legislative Task Force on law library associations studied and reviewed the funding and operations of county law libraries and issued both an interim and final report. Four major groups* then took up the gauntlet of trying to turn the Task Force recommendations into law. Although proposed legislation was originally introduced as SB 345, county law library changes were eventually incorporated as amendments to HB 420. The Immediate Impact of HB 420: HB 420 completely eliminated HB 66's graduated cuts and fully restored our county funding in 2009. The huge caveat is we only have a one-year respite from the cuts in which to plan and prepare for totally different changes that are coming in 2010. Transition During 2009: Although January 1, 2010 is the focal point for the transfer of authority over county law libraries and their public assets and funds, much of the ground-work for this transition will occur during 2009. The first major step will take place by July 1, 2009 with the creation of new entities in each county called County Law Library Resources Boards (CLLRBs). Each CLLRB will initially be composed of seven members, who must all be county residents. Five of the CLLRB seats are permanent, including two appointments by the local County Commissioners, one by the Prosecutor’s office, one by the Common Pleas Court, and one from the municipal/county courts. The remaining two seats consist of interim appointments by the existing private boards. Each CLLRB will have six months to learn and digest information about how its county law library operates. Co-extensive with the creation of the CLLRBs, existing private boards will begin to serve in an advisory capacity for two years. After the initial two-year period, each CLLRB can maintain a more informal advisory council. 2010 and Beyond: Beginning on January 1, 2010, each CLLRB will be charged with serving local cities, townships, county agencies, courts, and members of the public. Each CLLRB should provide a public law library, employ a librarian and other staff as needed, and establish local policies relating to access, resources, services, and fees. As a county entity, each CLLRB will also help to coordinate the acquisition of legal research and reference materials for all county offices, assume custody of all public revenue and assets, and participate in the county budget and appropriation process. The Task Force on law library associations is being reinstated to help implement all of these changes. Interestingly, CLLRBs will have the power to create multicounty partnerships with other CLLRBs. They will also have authority to contract with other CLLRBs, private entities, public agencies, and a state-wide consortium of CLLRBs that will be created in 2011 to catalog each library’s resources, facilitate state-wide resource sharing, negotiate contracts, and issue recommendations and guidelines. None of these changes affect the continued existence of private law library boards, like the one that currently runs the Cleveland Law Library. Our present Board has some difficult decisions to make in the very near future. Since it will retain all private assets and funds after the transition, it can move its operation and collection elsewhere, contract with the CLLRB, contract with other entities or close. As a result, HB 420 presents a number of possible scenarios for continued law library services next year. Conclusion: This article only touches the surface of the changes enacted by HB 420. If you would like additional information, please contact the Law Library Director, Kathleen M. Sasala at 216-861-5070 or ksasala@clelaw.lib.oh.us. To read the law itself, please go to the following link from the 127th General Assembly: http://tiny.cc/1LfVx The State Auditor’s office is also planning to issue written guidance on how to interpret various financial and other aspects of the Bill, and the CCAO has issued its explanation at the following link: http://tiny.cc/2pHps *HB 420 represents the culmination of negotiations between four major interest groups that pursued legislation based on recommendations issued by an Ohio Task Force on Law Library Associations. Although the CCAO was the driving force for changes in the current system, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio Judicial Conference, and a Coalition of county law library boards and bar associations had the opportunity to make recommendations and participate in drafting the legislation. DAYS THE LIBRARY WILL BE CLOSED The Law Library will be closed the following days in 2009: Memorial Day, Monday, May 25th Independence Day, Friday, July 3rd Labor Day, Monday, September 7th Columbus Day, Monday, October 12th Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11th Thanksgiving, Thursday and Friday, November 26th and 27th Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24th Library closes at Noon Christmas Day, Friday, December 25th New Year’s Eve, Thursday, December 31st Library closes at 4:00 p.m. In honor of National Library Week, we will be serving complimentary bagels, muffins and juice from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 17, 2009. Please join us in celebrating the wealth of information and knowledge available at our Library. Upon request, we can provide a tour of our facility. SELECTED NEW ACQUISITIONS • Ohio Insurance Coverage (West, 2008) • Subprime Mortgage Crisis: From A to Z (ALI-ABA, 2008) • Ohio Medicaid Manual (2008) • Law Of The Internet (Aspen, 2009) • Ohio Summary Judgment and Related Termination Motions (West, 2008) • Ethics of E-Discovery (ABA, 2009) • Ohio Legal Research (Carolina Academic Press, 2009) • Asbestos Litigation: Where is it Going? When Will It End? (ALI-ABA, 2008) • Manual Of Style For Contract Drafting (ABA, 2008) • Electronic Evidence Law & Practice (ABA, 2008) • Franchising In Ohio: Obligations & Litigation Risks (OSBA, 2008) • Hot Issues In Employment Law: FMLA/Leave and Wage/Hour (OSBA, 2008) • Garner On Language and Writing (ABA, 2009) • Legal Career Guide (ABA, 2008) • Mediating Legal Disputes (ABA, 2009) • Unfair and Deceptive Acts & Practice (NCLC, 2008) OHIO JURISPRUDENCE AND ALR’S ARE BACK ON LEXIS If you have not already noticed, Ohio Jurisprudence and most of the American Law Reports (ALR2nd through 6th and ALR Fed through ALR Fed 2nd) are back on Lexis. This is great news for Lexis subscribers, who missed having these resources online last year. If you add them to your Lexis plan, you can search these sources full-text, through the use of segment searching, using the browse function, or by searching their tables of contents. Both of these sources are a great place to find detailed content about legal issues, together with annotations to relevant cases, statutes, and law review articles. INDEX TO OHIO LEGAL PERIODICALS NEW CONTENT ADDED! Can’t Find An Ohio Law Review Or Journal Article? Our Index Can Help! If you would like more information on how to access and use this product, please contact the Library Director, Kathleen M. Sasala, at ksasala@clelaw.lib.oh.us or 216-861-5070. You can also listen to the Library’s podcast about the Index at the following website: clevelandlawlibrary.org/Public/Misc/Podcasts.html Web Site: clevelandlawlibrary.org • Email: lawlib@clelaw.lib.oh.us • Phone: (216) 861-5070 • Fax: (216) 861-1606 CLEVELAND LAW LIBRARY ASSOCIATION Cuyahoga County Courthouse 1 West Lakeside Avenue-Floor 4 Cleveland, Ohio 44113-1023 Phone: (216) 861-5070 Fax: (216) 861-1606 Email: lawlib@clelaw.lib.oh.us Home Page: clevelandlawlibrary.org Board of Trustees: Joseph N. Gross - Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP, President Carla M. Tricarichi - Tricarichi & Carnes, Vice-President Kathleen B. Burke - Jones Day Hon. Kenneth R. Callahan Thomas A. Cicarella - Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP Hon. Colleen Conway Cooney Irene Keyse-Walker - Tucker, Ellis & West Brian Linick - Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association David J. Naftzinger - Thompson Hine LLP Alvin Podboy - Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association Patricia A. Poole - Baker & Hostetler Scott E. Stewart - Stewart & DeChant Philip M. Oliss - Squire, Sanders & Dempsey Law Library Staff: Kathleen M. Sasala, Director Anne McFarland, Reference & Research Services Librarian Sharla Johnston, Circulation Services Librarian Eric Hess, Network Services Librarian Terri Faulhaber, Technical Services Librarian Leslie Hall, Business Manager Gwen Williams-Ross, Filing Clerk/Library Assistant David Novak, Filing Clerk/Library Assistant Isaac Mintz, Page Copyright © 2009, Cleveland Law Library Association. All rights reserved.