Canadian Federation of Library Associations Support for Prisoners’ Right to Read

The Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) recently published a statement on reading and access to information for people incarcerated in Canadian correctional institutions:

"Prison libraries must be given the space necessary to provide access to collections and library programs that meet incarcerated people’s recreational, cultural, educational, and other information needs. As supporters of intellectual freedom and access to information, prison libraries must provide people who are incarcerated with the widest variety of relevant and current materials possible, including access to legal materials. Materials should be provided in universally accessible formats, and/or libraries should have access to conversion technology in order to provide universally accessible formats. Collections and programming in prison libraries must also reflect the ethnic and cultural incarcerated population including people with disabilities. Library professionals are key to the prison library mandate including library staff dedicated to managing collections and delivering programs and services (...)"

"This statement is supported by the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) (2015), the IFLA/UNESCO Public Library Manifesto (2022) and the IFLA Guidelines for Library Services to Prisoners (2023) as well as CFLA-FCAB’s policies on intellectual freedom."

 The Canadian Association of Law Libraries is a member of the CFLA. 

September 2024 Issue of In Session E-Bulletin of Canadian Association of Law Libraries

The September 2024 issue of In Session has been published. 

It is the monthly e-newsletter of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) and contains news from CALL committees and special interest groups, member updates and events.

Recent Justice Canada Publications from the Government of Canada Weekly Acquisitions List

The Government of Canada's Weekly Acquisitions List is a list of publications by various public bodies and agencies of the federal government that were catalogued in the previous week. 

Some of the documents in the most recent list include the following material from Justice Canada:

• Justice in Official Languages - Newsletter (Summer 2024): "The year 2024 is in the midst of a transitional period for official languages in Canada. Since the new Action Plan for Official Languages was unveiled on April 26, 2023, and the Act to Amend the Official Languages Act (OLA) was given Royal Assent on June 20, 2023, the justice in Official Languages sector has had to adapt and innovate more than ever. We hope this issue of the Newsletter will shed some light on this period of change and help you discover the sector trends driving our work. We would also like to recognize the efforts of all of those who are working so hard to make access to justice more equitable for members of official language minority communities (OLMCs). Their efforts are not going unnoticed. This issue begins with an article summarizing the new priorities of the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund (Support Fund) for the five-year period from 2023 to 2028. In particular, you will learn about the new investment priorities, which focus on two main areas: supporting OLMCs and supporting the justice system. These priorities are designed to meet the needs identified by OLMCs and other justice sector stakeholders."
• Developing an Indigenous Justice Strategy: A compilation of thought papers by Indigenous legal experts: "In 2021, Justice Canada received funding to support First Nations-, Inuit- and Métis-led engagements (2022– 2024) to gain insight from communities and organizations on how to address systemic barriers in the criminal justice system. In addition, Justice Canada led a series of distinctions-based and regional engagement sessions (2022–2023) to identify concrete actions that could be undertaken in the areas of crime prevention, policing and diversion, courts, corrections, and reintegration (...) In addition to supporting community engagements, Justice Canada commissioned a series of thought papers written by Indigenous legal experts, to help identify what an Indigenous Justice Strategy in Canada could and should include. The authors were asked to provide aspirational visions for the future—a path forward, using strength-based approaches to complement and expand previous work by researchers, inquiries, and commissions that have documented challenges and problems with the justice system. The purpose of these papers was to help facilitate a decolonizing approach to informing an Indigenous Justice Strategy, by providing a space for diverse Indigenous perspectives that respects Indigenous values, philosophies and knowledge."
• Out-of-court dispute resolution for families experiencing separation or divorce in Canada: "In the area of family justice, using the courts to resolve disputes upon separation or divorce for such issues as each parent’s decision-making responsibilities and time with their children, child and spousal support and division of property has proven to be expensive, lengthy and difficult for the parties. As such, governments have long tried to encourage the use of mediation or conciliation – dispute resolution outside of the courts – to resolve issues (...) In 2023 the Department of Justice Canada contracted with Catherine Tait Consulting to research government-funded out-of-court dispute resolution services provided in Canada that assist families experiencing separation and divorce (...) This report outlines the research findings. The two next sections describe the research scope and methodology. This is followed by a summary of the commonalities and differences among programs, focussing on the programs’ scope, service delivery model, response to and impacts of the pandemic, other recent changes impacting the programs and their service volumes, success indicators and data collection. "

Canadian Prison Law Conference: Rights, Remedies and Decarceration

The Canadian Prison Law Association is partnering with the Peter A. Allard School of Law to organize the Canadian Prison Law Conference: Rights, Remedies and Decarceration in Vancouver on October 4-6, 2024.

The event will include topics such as "Indigenous self-determination and Indigenous justice practices, life sentences, solitary confinement in its many forms, enforcing human rights in places of detention, abolitionist legal strategies, constitutional rights and remedial possibilities, prison law and legal education, and more."

The conference program can be found online.

Journal Article: Library Terms that Users (Don’t) Understand

The journal College & Research Libraries has published an article entitled Library Terms that Users (Don’t) Understand: A Review of the Literature from 2012-2021:

"This paper compares website usability—specifically library users’ understanding of library terms—for fifty-one original research studies between 2012-2021, with the findings of John Kupersmith’s 2011 white paper 'Library Terms That Users Understand. Studies reported approximately twice as many terms that users didn’t understand than terms users did understand, with some terms appearing in both categories. Analysis of the findings suggests a majority of Kupersmith’s guidelines remain applicable to today’s online environment, with some adjustments related to technology advances (...)"

"John Kupersmith iteratively revised and published a white paper summarizing best practices for using library terms, originally gleaned from findings of library usability research published between 1997 to 2008. He later included studies published from 2009 to 2011. His paper presented seven best practices:

1. Test to see what users do and don’t understand and what terms they most strongly relate to.
2. Avoid—or use with caution—terms that users often misunderstand.
3. Use natural language equivalents on top-level pages.
4. Enhance or explain potentially confusing terms.
5. Provide intermediate choices when a top-level menu choice presents ambiguities that can’t be resolved in the space available.
6. Provide alternative paths where users are likely to make predictable “wrong” choices.
7. Be consistent to reduce cognitive dissonance and encourage learning through repetition."

"Acknowledging the enduring usefulness of Kupersmith’s white paper, as well as the significant changes in both user interfaces and user expectations since 2011, we wished to provide updated results for library practitioners and library web developers, including a review of whether Kupersmith’s summary findings still hold true. In this paper we present an analysis of original research studies conducted between 2012-2021 with findings related to library users’ understanding of library terms, and compared these findings with Kupersmith’s work." 

Clarivate Report on Artificial Intelligence in Libraries

Library software company Clarivate has published its Pulse of the Library 2024 report based on feedback from 1,500 respondents from across the world, covering academic, national and public libraries:

According to the report:

• Most libraries have an AI plan or one in the works - Over 60% of respondents are evaluating or planning for AI integration.
• AI adoption is the top tech priority - AI-powered tools for library users and patrons top the list of technology priorities for the next 12 months, according to 43% of respondents.
• AI is advancing library missions - Key goals for those evaluating or implementing AI include supporting student learning (52%), research excellence (47%) and content discoverability (45%), aligning closely with the mission of libraries.
• Librarians see promise and pitfalls in AI adoption - 42% believe AI can automate routine tasks, freeing librarians for strategic and creative activities. Levels of optimism vary regionally. 
• AI skills gaps and tight budgets are top concerns - A lack of expertise and budget constraints are seen as greater challenges than privacy and security issues - Tight budgets: Almost half (47%) cite tight budgets as their greatest challenge. Skills gap: 52% of respondents see upskilling as AI's biggest impact on employment, yet nearly a third (32%) state that no training is available.
• Regional priorities differ - Librarians' views on other key topics such as sustainability, diversity, open access and open science show notable regional diversity.

Clarivate is the purveyor of library technologies such as Sierra, Innovative, Alma, Primo, ProQuest, Web of Science and Journal Citation Reports.

Canadian Association of Law Libraries Webinar on Social Media News, Psychological Biases, and AI

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) is hosting a webinar on October 7, 2024, 12:00PM - 1:30pm EDT on A Perfect Storm: Social Media News, Psychological Biases, and AI:

"In an age where news information is created by millions and consumed by billions over social media (SM) every day, issues of information biases, fake news, and echo-chambers have dominated the corridors of technology firms, news corporations, policy makers, and society."

"In this context, the speakers will:

1. Explain information bias anchoring (IBA);
2. Put IBA in the context of social media news and how it creates an information deluge leading to uncertainty;
3. Discuss how technological rationality and individual biases intersect to mitigate the uncertainty, often leading to news information biases;
4. Explore how bad actors in society might be able to manipulate IBA to achieve nefarious ends."

The speakers are  Mark Whitmore, Associate Professor at Kent State University’s Department of Management and Information Systems; Dr. Pratim "Pratt" Milton Datta, Professor of Information Systems in the College of Business at Kent State University; and Dr. Joseph K. Nwankpa, Associate Professor in the Department of Information Systems & Analytics and the Director of Cybersecurity Initiatives at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

The webinar is free for CALL members. 

Cost is $50.00 for non-members and $15.00 for student non-members.

International Federation of Library Associations Trend Report 2024

The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) has released the results of a recent survey to gather perspectives on the impacts it identified in its 2024 Trend Report Literature Review:

"The idea here was to get a sense of how optimistic respondents were about the Trends, each of which has both potential positive and negative aspects. They also aimed to stimulate thinking about the difference between the macro situation (for societies or libraries in general), and the more direct one for the respondent’s own library. By asking about the need for libraries, it aimed to understand how respondents anticipated demand for library services evolving."

"The second part looked, for each of the Trends that participants said was important, how strong was the relationship of this Trend to each of the others. This would help us identify interesting areas for defining scenarios."

The trends identified in the literature review are:

• Trend 1: Knowledge practices are changing, and the future holds both opportunities and challenges for equity in knowledge systems
• Trend 2: AI and other technologies are transforming society, and how we create, share and use information
• Trend 3: Trust is being renegotiated, especially in government and media
• Trend 4: Skills and abilities are becoming more complex, but also essential
• Trend 5: Digital technologies and their benefits are unevenly distributed
• Trend 6: Information systems are using more resources, impacting the planet
• Trend 7: People are seeking community connections – spaces to share are key

The central mission of IFLA’s Trend Report is to support libraries, library and information workers, and their associations in approaching the future in an informed, structured and confident way.

The 2024 edition of the Trend Report itself will be launched at the Information Futures Summit in Brisbane, Australia, on 30 September – 3 October.

Article on Ability of Voice Assistants and Generative AI to Respond to Reference Questions

The September 2024 issue of The Journal of Academic Librarianship has published an article by 2 McGill University librarians on Comparing generative artificial intelligence tools to voice assistants using reference interactions:

"This study investigates the ability of voice assistants and generative AI tools to respond to reference questions traditionally received by academic librarians. The authors created a sample of 25 questions based on queries received on the virtual reference service at their institution. They then created a rubric to evaluate the quality of the answers that the AI powered tools provided. The authors determined that the tools understand reference questions well and provide relevant answers but that the quality of the references provided, and the accuracy of the answers can be lacking. They suggest that more research needs to be done to understand the place of AI powered tools in reference services (...)"

"Conclusion:
 Given the increasing presence of voice assistants and the near constant improvements to generative AI tools like ChatGPT, librarians may express a fear that users would employ them instead of using more traditional reference services. While Google Assistant performed well in responding to reference inquiries, it is interesting to note that most of the references that it recommended were academic library guides. It could be of interest to investigate how often voice assistants rely on library resources to provide answers. Even though voice assistants can provide an interesting starting point for research questions, this study shows that they should be used in conjunction with traditional reference services. As for ChatGPT, it can understand prompts and provide relevant answers but its inability to cite authoritative sources creates issues with reliability and authority. Perhaps other uses should be explored for these tools such as brainstorming or explaining concepts. Future studies could also explore how AI tools can be used in the provision of reference services in partnership with reference librarians."

CanLII Publishes Second Edition of Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law Open Access Textbook

CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute, has published the second edition of the open access textbook Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law in Canada: Cases, Materials, and Problems.

"The first edition of this text, co-edited by Stephanie Ben-Ishai and Thomas Telfer, was published in 2019 by Irwin Law. This new edition is particularly noteworthy as it is the first open access text on Canadian bankruptcy and insolvency law, making it freely available to practitioners, students, and anyone interested in understanding the complexities of this area of law. The editors have meticulously updated the content to reflect the latest legal developments, providing readers with comprehensive coverage of the subject through carefully selected cases, thought-provoking commentaries, and the inclusion of post-reading questions to assess comprehension of the material."

CanLII is a portal funded by Canada’s provincial and territorial law societies to make legal information content (court judgments, tribunal decisions, statutes and regulations, commentary) available to Canadians free of charge.

In recent years, it has been rapidly expanding its offerings of legal commentary, including law reviews, reports, newsletters and thousands of case commentaries. 

@Risk North 3 Digital Preservation Conference

The Canadian Association of Research Libraries, along with other partner organizations, is hosting a summit on Canadian digital preservation at the Library and Archives Canada location in Gatineau, Québec on November21-22, 2024:

"This open event will provide an opportunity for those at Canadian institutions who have strategic or operational responsibility for long-term access and preservation of digital content to learn from each other about progress, practices and policies for digital preservation in a Canadian context. The program includes a keynote address, panel discussions, and breakout sessions that explore global and national digital preservation strategies, tools, and collaborative efforts. Networking opportunities, including a reception and an optional tour of the Library and Archives Canada’s Gatineau Preservation Centre, are also planned."

• @Risk North 3 Registration Form
• @Risk North 3 Preliminary Program

Recent Government of Canada Publications from the Weekly Acquisitions List

The Government of Canada's Weekly Acquisitions List is a list of publications by various public bodies and agencies of the federal government that were catalogued in the previous week. 

Some of the documents in the most recent list include:

• Missing records, missing children : interim report of the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples: "Despite progress on uncovering the truth surrounding residential schools, grey areas remain. The committee’s recent work found that many questions remain unanswered regarding the transfer of records about residential schools to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. As such, the committee decided to do a focused study to hear from federal, provincial, and territorial governments as well as from Catholic entities who have not yet fulfilled the requirements stipulated under the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement to remit records. Records are scattered across the country with no way of finding them other than traveling to a location and physically searching through dense linear feet of paper records. Indigenous families must conduct such searches to determine what happened to their children who went missing while attending the schools, or who went missing from health or social services institutions administered by provincial or territorial governments. This report, entitled Missing Children, Missing Records, makes 11 recommendations to improve access to residential school records. The key message is that the Government of Canada needs to support Indigenous communities to locate and access residential school records. The committee believes the federal Documents Advisory Committee is an important initiative and recommends that its work be funded and supported by dedicated staff to ensure it can meet its mandate."
• Emergency Preparedness and Response in Canada for People Living with Dementia (Public Health Agency of Canada): "This public opinion research report presents the results of online focus groups/dyads and in-depth interviews conducted by Narrative Research on behalf of Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada to better understand the current state of emergency preparedness and response guidance and the adequacy of measures to protect and support people living with dementia during emergency situations, with a particular focus on how to better prepare for future climate-related emergency situations. The research included a total of 25 online focus groups of various sizes, two dyad and 11 indepth interviews conducted from January 25th to February 23rd, 2024, divided into the following categories: people living with dementia who confirmed their ability to participate, unpaid caregivers to people living with dementia, and paid care providers who care for and interact, either directly or indirectly, with people living with dementia in a professional capacity, including paid care and support personnel, first responders, and government/logistical planners. Good geographic coverage was achieved across Canada and various community sizes were represented, including large urban, small/medium size urban, and rural areas."
• Report of the second legislative review of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (Health Canada): "In Canada, responsibility for health-related matters such as tobacco control is shared between the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. The Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) is the federal legislation that regulates the manufacture, sale, labelling and promotion of tobacco and vaping products. Each province and territory also has laws and regulations in place for tobacco control. These pieces of legislation work together with other tobacco control tools such as policy and programs, to address tobacco-related disease and death. As written in the legislation, the TVPA’s overall purpose is to 'provide a legislative response to a national public health problem of substantial and pressing concern and to protect the health of Canadians in light of conclusive evidence implicating tobacco use in the incidence of numerous debilitating and fatal diseases'. It supports four specific objectives related to tobacco products: to protect young persons and others from inducements to use tobacco products and the consequent dependence on them; to protect the health of young persons by restricting access to tobacco products; to prevent the public from being deceived or misled with respect to the health hazards of using tobacco products; and to enhance public awareness of those hazards. The TVPA includes a requirement for a legislative review of its provisions and operation to take place every two years. This review assessed whether progress was made towards achieving the tobacco-related objectives of the TVPA and whether the federal response, from a legislative perspective, is sufficient in addressing tobacco use in Canada."

Program 2024 Congrès de professionnel.le.s de l'information Now Available

The Congrès de professionnel.le.s de l'information is the largest French-language library and archives conference in Canada.

The program for the 2024 conference in early November in the Montreal suburb of Laval is available online.

Access 2024 Library Technology Conference Program Announced

The program for Access 2024, a major Canadian library technology conference, is now available.

The event takes place in Montreal from October 21 to 23, 2024.

Many of the conference presentations from previous years are online.

75th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Geneva Conventions

The blog of the International Association of Law Libraries had a post last week about the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, an essential component of international humanitarian law:

"Reading the news however, we are constantly reminded of the harm violations inflict upon civilians, prisoners of war, medical personnel and others affected by armed conflict. War is inherently destructive and will always cause suffering, of course, but we mustn’t lose sight of the difference compliance with the rules of the Geneva Conventions — and international humanitarian law (IHL) in general — can make for people who are caught up in war. This is why I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight an interesting resource my colleagues at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have created: the IHL in action database."

That IHL in Action database offers real-life case studies that document compliance with IHL in modern warfare.

Video Recording of CALL Conference Session on Legal Information for Incarcerated Persons

At the recent annual conference of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries in late June in Montreal, panelists and advocates from across the country took part in a panel discussion on access to libraries, law, and legal information for incarcerated persons. 

The session is now available on YouTube.

"Prison libraries are fundamental as they provide access to information about the rights of the incarcerated person and the tools necessary to access those rights. Imprisoned Canadians are an underserved segment of the population who lack adequate access to legal information and library services. Most provincial prisons do not have formal libraries. Without a legislated requirement for library access to books and materials, incarcerated persons lack recreational, cultural, educational, and law reading materials. As more legal information is placed online, incarcerated persons are being excluded from simple access to the law. The 'language of law' is not available to this group."

Panelists included:

• Helen Anderson, Director, CLEO Connect
• Alan Kilpatrick, Law Society of Saskatchewan
• Romy Otayek, Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal
• The Honourable Kim Pate, Senate of Canada
• Karen Sawatzky, Manitoba Law Library
• Ava Sinclair, Buffalo Sage Wellness House
• Kirsten Wurmann, Manitoba Library Association

August 2024 Issue of In Session E-Bulletin of Canadian Association of Law Libraries

The August 2024 issue of In Session has been published. 

It is the monthly e-newsletter of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) and contains news from CALL committees and special interest groups, member updates and events.