On Tue, 26 Jan 1999, Mary Whisner wrote:
> Laura Orr suggests that only basic contact information be listed
> (perhaps name, institution, address, phone number, email address), but I
> think there might be a good middle ground. Isn't there some value in some
> of the other information -- e.g., education and past leadership positions?
On a website accessible to the general public, most emphatically NO.
I am already deluged by AALL-approved solicitation mailings, and the
number of telephone calls is on the rise as well. Posting that
information is an invitation for abuse. By joining AALL, I tacitly
accept the legal publishers' flood of mail. I didn't grant permission
for this information to be conveniently presented to the world at
large.
> We haven't had a new edition of the Biographical Directory in years;
> perhaps the expanded listings on the web were a response. We can go to
> Martindale Hubbell or West's Legal Directory to find out what school a
> lawyer went to; why shouldn't we be able to find out what school a
> librarian went to?
I'm not sure how West gathers information for their listings, but MH is
a self-selecting directory - attorneys (or their firms) *choose* to be
listed there. You don't want to be listed, you don't pay MH, you're not
there.
> What seems clear is that the membership data isn't something that
> should be loaded simply because it is available in electronic format and
> *can* be loaded. How much to load should be discussed. I assume there is a
> committee that advises headquarters staff on the content of AALLNet
> (perhaps the Publications Committee?) or perhaps the Board has oversight.
> In any event, a group should consider the options.
Yes. In the intervening period, the very *least* that should be done
is either some sort of password-protection on the pages, or if the
logistical problems (and there are many) of doing so seem too
insurmountable, pulling the pages down. I don't like the idea of
waiting for a group to be formed to discuss this, then to determine
a proper course of action - that could take months. That information
needs to be removed _now_.
> In the short term, I'd
> suggest going back to the information that was available before -- the
> basic contact information and current committee assignments.
I'm not at all sure why even that information needs to be made
available to the public at large.
AALL, if you're out there, perhaps you should look at the matter this
way. I'm assuming that the organization makes a significant amount
of money by selling our contact information to legal vendors, etc.
(If I'm wrong and that information is given away for free, please
correct me on this.) I'm no programming whiz, but it looks as if one
could fairly easily generate a nice bulk mail mailing list from
this database.
(And then there's the matter of "equivalent" being misspelled under
"Degree 1: MLS or Equivilant...")
-- Sarah Gregory, unrepentant privacy advocate (and spelling fiend)
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* Sarah Crary Gregory, JD Reference Librarian sgregory@lclark.edu*
~ Boley Law Library, Northwestern School of Law ~
* of Lewis & Clark College *
~ Portland, OR 97219 503.768.6740 ~
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