“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or….”  Declaration of Independence (1776)

 

Ideals that changed the world….. that inspired many of us to choose our career path.

 

Today, we are assailed by emotions following the horrific death of George Floyd and the names and stories of so many others.  We are affected by the subsequent swift backlash; inspiring a movement with numerous protests around the world.  So many risking their health and safety during a global pandemic - to say ‘enough’.  

 

Our Response

 

As you know, LLMC is ‘us’ --our considerably talented, diverse law librarian community with a nonprofit mission to preserve and provide access to legal titles and government documents.   In light of the grave threats to civil rights and rule of law, LLMC is creating a web portal on ‘Rights’.  The principal characteristics of this Portal will be as follows:

 

• Access.  The site will be Open Access; that is, the content on the Portal will not be behind the membership wall as is the case with the LLMC Digital holdings.  Anyone anywhere in the world will have access to all materials.  Since LLMC’s website is exposed to web crawlers, its content attracts global interest.

• Types of materials.  The main categories of materials collocated on the site will include primary documents (e.g., constitutions, acts, policy statements); national, state and local government websites; NGO websites including advocacy organizations; bibliographies and lists on other sites which provide access to more collocated materials.

• Geographic coverage.  The site, while focused mainly on U.S. materials, will include sites and documents from foreign states and international entities.

• Organization.  The framework will be structured by jurisdiction with entries made under each for groupings by type of site or material.

• Time span.  The Portal is intended to be forward looking with on-going development. Historic documents (e.g., The Civil Rights Act of 1964) will be included as foundational materials to inform later, more recent entries.

• Permanency.  LLMC, established in 1976, intends to maintain, improve and increase the holdings on the site.  All documents collected will be preserved using the organization’s subscription to Perma Links, which enables LLMC to harvest copies of PDF documents and then to reassign the URL so as to retain a copy even if the website originally hosting the document decides to move it or take it down.

• Vetting.  With the establishment of this Portal, LLMC will assemble an Advisory Council to evaluate materials in question, to consider requests for the inclusion of materials not already present on the site, or to respond to users who challenge entities or entries that have been included.

 

LLMC has already acquired extensive experience in hosting such Portals.  In 2018 the Consortium agreed to assume complete responsibility for the Law Library of Congress’ Indigenous Law Portal.  LLMC’s version, with re-written software and expanded content, went live in July 2019.  The Consortium is able to repurpose this software as a template for the civil and human rights Portal.  The Portal as described above is intended to go live in August 2020.

 

LLMC represents a passionate community with a strong track record of engagement and collaboration.  As such, it will welcome partners to ensure that this important undertaking reaches its full potential.  Center for Research Libraries (CRL) President, Greg Eow, said, “The Rights Portal not only responds to the current moment, but also builds on outstanding work that LLMC has been doing in this area, including the Indigenous Law Portal. It also aligns well with

CRL’s past and current works on human rights. So count me in.”  In addition, Saint Louis University School of Law’s Dean William P. Johnson has expressed commitment to the cause and offered his institution’s support.  

 

Our response to injustice will leverage our collective strengths and resources.  We hope in some part that making these materials easily available to anyone anywhere will help.  And, with this endeavor, our efforts will not cease.

 

Sincerely,

 

LLMC Board of Directors

Richard Amelung (Chair) Prof. Emer., St. Louis U.L.L. 

Barbara Dewey Dean, Penn. St. U. Libraries 

James Duggan Dir., Tulane U.L.L.

Barbara Garavaglia Dir., U. Mich. L.L. 

Lyonette Louis-Jacques For. Int’l Law Libn, U. Chicago 

Anne Matthewman Dir., Dalhousie U.L.L.

Kathleen Richman LLMC Exec. Dir. 

Beth Williams Dir., Stanford U.L.L.

Suzanne Young Libr. Services Manager, Jones Day

 

 and LLMC Team

Kathleen Richman, Executive Director

Kurt Meyer, Assistant Director, Global Content Development and Preservation.

Joseph Hinger, Assistant Director, Global Legal Technical Initiatives

Claudia Cea, Business Manager