Day archives: September 18th, 2019

Climate Change Could Erase Human History. These Archivists Are Trying to Save It

Motherboard – Climate change making the word hotter, more humid, and more stormy—all conditions that put sensitive paper archives at risk. This problem is forcing us to ask, which histories will we choose to remember? “This problem prompted archivists Eira Tansey, Ben Goldman, and Whitney Ray to complete the Repository Data Project, a growing database …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Knowledge Management, Libraries

Here’s Who Owns the Most Land in America

Bloomberg – The 100 largest private landowners in the U.S. own 40 million acres—an area the size of Florida. “The top 100 private landowners have property in 39 states for any number of purposes—investment, conservation, tax benefits or just the bragging rights that come with owning big pieces of America. [The map in this article] …

Subjects: Environmental Law, Government Documents, Legal Research

Poll: Two-thirds of Americans want to break up companies like Amazon and Google

Vox: “Americans are pretty on board with breaking up Big Tech, especially if it means companies such as Amazon and Google stop showing them search results they make money off of first. Nearly two-thirds of Americans would support breaking up tech firms by undoing recent mergers, such as Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, if it means …

Subjects: E-Commerce, E-Mail, E-Records, Internet, Privacy, Social Media

Why Can’t New York City Build More Gems Like This Queens Library?

The New York Times – Why Can’t New York City Build More Gems Like This Queens Library?  “…The Hunters Point Community Library is one of the finest public buildings New York has produced this century… Compact, at 22,000 square feet and 82 feet high, the library is among the finest and most uplifting public buildings …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Libraries

Immigration Court’s Active Backlog Surpasses One Million

Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse: “The Immigration Court’s active backlog of cases just passed the million case mark. The latest case-by-case court records through the end of August 2019 show the court’s active case backlog was 1,007,155. If the additional 322,535 cases which the court says are pending but have not been placed on the active …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

Do Elected and Appointed Judges Write Opinions Differently?

Harvard Library Innovation Lab – “Unlike anywhere else in the world, most judges in the United States today are elected. But it hasn’t always been this way. Over the past two centuries, the American states have taken a variety of different paths, alternating through a variety of elective and appointive methods. Opponents of judicial elections …

Subjects: Courts, Knowledge Management, Legal Research