American Libraries Releases 2024 Library Systems Report

The magazine American Libraries has released the 2024 Library Systems Report, its most recent annual report on the worldwide library technology industry.

"The library technology industry had a quiet year in 2023. But in the absence of major business moves and acquisitions, companies set their sights on executing strategies to strengthen their market position."

"Previous cycles of business consolidation have yielded a layered landscape with distinct levels of competition. At the top, a handful of large organizations with considerable resources—Clarivate, EBSCO Information Services, Follett School Solutions, and OCLC—continue to expand their portfolios, covering multiple business sectors and library types. Middle-tier companies, including Axiell, ByWater Solutions, The Library Corporation (TLC), and SirsiDynix, offer growing suites of products used by thousands of libraries. And finally, a group of smaller companies round out the industry, covering specialized libraries with niche products and services."

"Competition at each level remains vigorous. Libraries may have fewer product choices because of past acquisitions, but the options remaining are distinctive. Most libraries can choose between for-profit and nonprofit vendors, and between proprietary and open source products. For instance, academic libraries can pick from a short list of library services platforms (LSPs), including a proprietary solution from a for-profit company (Alma), an open source product supported by for-profit companies (FOLIO), or a proprietary product from a nonprofit organization (WorldShare Management Services)."

"Libraries see their technology vendors as strategic partners. They are increasingly purchasing core products from a single provider, rewarding companies’ efforts to create suites of integrated applications that function more efficiently than mix-and-match offerings. These days, libraries expect third-party integration from their products—but they generally acquire new components from a single main vendor."

The report is written by Marshall Breeding, a well-known library tech expert. He also edits the Library Technology Guides website and produces the annual international Library Automation Perceptions Surveys.

Statistics Canada Article on Police Clearance Rates for Sexual Assault

Juristat, a publication produced by Statistics Canada, has published an article on Recent trends in police-reported clearance status of sexual assault and other violent crime in Canada, 2017 to 2022.

Prior to 2018, criminal incidents were recorded by police as unfounded when there was not enough corroborating evidence.

As of 2018, incidents were recorded as "founded" (the reported incidents had in fact occurred) unless there is evidence demonstrating that incidents had not taken place.

The article looks at trends following the implementation of revised coding practices which are intended to be more victim-centric.

The article found that 14% of all reported incidents of sexual assault were classified by police as unfounded in 2017, which dropped to 7% in 2022. This pattern was similar for other selected types of violent crime.

The number of incidents of sexual assault cleared by charge increased between 2017 and 2022. However, because of the increase in the number of founded and uncleared incidents of sexual assault, the proportion of incidents of sexual assault that were cleared by charge decreased from 34% to 31% during this period.

Newest Episode of Arrêt sur le Droit Podcast about Good Faith in Contracts

Arrêt sur le droit is a relatively new French-language podcast whose goal is to help people better understand decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada.

It is co-produced by the Bar Association of Montreal and CAIJ (the free legal information portal of the Quebec Bar Association) in collaboration with the Supreme Court of Canada. 

The most recent episode analyzes the Ponce v. Société d’investissements Rhéaume ltée decision (2023 SCC 25, October 27, 2023). The case was about the obligation of good faith imposed on corporate directors when dealing with shareholders.

Arrêt sur le droit is hosted by Michel Désautels who for years was one of the top current affairs hosts of the public broadcaster Société Radio-Canada. His guests for this episode are Paul Martel, a lawyer with Blakes, and Stéphane Rousseau, law professor at the Université de Montréal.

New British Columbia Law Institute Primers on Indigenous Law

This is a follow-up to the post from August 21, 2023 called British Columbia Law Institute Primers on Indigenous Law.

The British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) has been publishing information on the province's adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Since last August, the BCLI has published 3 new primers as part of its series on how to bring the laws in into alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

They are:

• Legal Pluralism in Canada
• Legal Pluralism: Indigenous Legal Orders & Other State Jurisdictions
• Legal Pluralism: Indigenous Legal Orders & Canadian State Law

Library Journal's Movers and Shakers 2024

Library Journal recently released its 2024 list of Library Movers and Shakers.

It is an annual snapshot of the transformative work being done by those in libraries of all types and sizes and across the field:

"Over the past 22 years, Library Journal’s Movers & Shakers awards have offered a compelling snapshot of what’s up and coming in the library world, as well as how it has changed. Our 2024 Movers cohort represents a range of innovative, proactive, and supportive work; they are imaginative and kind and brave in a world that needs those qualities—and the results they produce—very much."

The publication provides a map of all the Movers and Shakers from 2002 to today. Over the years, quite a few Canadians have been added to the list.