Goddess-hood, Interviews and Caucuses

So, my life is getting extremely weird these days.

I sent my sister, who is a recently retired DA in Texas, starting up a new defense practice, a list of free research sources (including some print in libraries nearby). She evidently shared this on a listserve for other new defense lawyers. Now, my sister says that I am referred to as a goddess by her colleagues.

That’s actually a pretty sad statement, in my opinion. If goddess-hood is going that cheaply, we librarians should all be getting our lightning bolts ready.

Most recently, I have been interviewed by Josh Hadro, of Library Journal, about how a bunch of us are trying to form a caucus around the issue of consumer advocacy within AALL. See the interview at LJ Q&A. I am not even the lead caucus-former, here, but I was the person who answered the e-mail. Some of Josh’s questions:

What prompted you to push for the formation of the Library Consumer Advocacy Caucus?

Can you give a few specific examples of unfair or anti-competitive practices?

How have the voluntary guidelines failed since official FTC oversight lapsed in 2000? Is the LCAC looking to restore that FTC oversight?

How do you think research and law libraries overcome the position they're in with regard to the community they serve—i.e., the fact that they're obligated to acquire materials their researchers need, an arrangement publishers seem to be keenly aware of?

Visit the LJ site to see the full interview and my answers.