[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by looneycat

this all seems moot. with the advent of the internet a simple query would make this info available. why would I go to a library first when I can seek the info directly...this sounds like a cervantean quest to me....

Many are missing the point. Libraries still play a vital role in the control of information as well as its access. There are many documents in the legal area that are way too difficult to manage by most readers on the Internet. If a survivor/victim is involved in a legal situation, she/he will need the best access to this information.

I wrote 4000 victim/assistance providers in every US state in 1992-2002 via snail mail and asked them what they would like to see in libraries. Ft. Myers Rape Counseling Center had suggested the paper bound version of The Florida Victim Services Directory. If a woman or man is having domestic violence problems, you do not want your abusive mate seeing your internet search history. The Florida AG's office when I wrote them about the Florida Victim Services Directory and putting the paper version in Florida libraries, they said that it changes too frequently so that the libraries should get the link to the electronic version. You can go to a library and view things without a possible abusive mate looking over your shoulder or researching your internet searches.

Put yourself in the shoes of the victim/survivor? Where would he/she feel the most safe gathering information? It depends a lot on their situation. I have lived in some neighborhoods where the library would be the safest place or the police station.

My 224 613 Project is international in design. I have put a huge amount of work into it.

I had a stalker while at the University of Minnesota Law Library while I was on the reference desk over the 1989-1990 academic year. She had locked herself to a Math Professor's desk because she was obsessed with him. She came into the Law Library to prepare her defense. Quite a lot of work involved in preparing a legal defense PRO SE (without a lawyer's help usually) and for my troubles trying to help her, my live-in girlfriend Jennifer V., and I became her next obsessions. There was not much neither Jennifer nor I could do to stop this woman's obsession as she had a right to prepare her defense in the case against her from the Math Professor.

There are survivors/victims now using law libraries and other libraries for their legal matters. Some of these would even be in the news somewhere.

Believe me as a trained law librarian, it is not easy to get all the legal information you would need for a legal matter on the Internet. And even if some of the people have a lawyer, it gives the survivor/victim a sense of control if he/she knows what is going on through doing legal research.

I prepared myself for instance when I had Jury Duty last May 2014 by doing many searches online but would have been able to find a lot more if I had traveled to the University of Florida Law Library. I did look at things like this-- What Should I Know About Serving on a Jury? I would have had an easier time though of researching what I might want to tell a lawyer/judge doing voir dire, if I had made a trip to a law library.

Here's a fellow U of MN Law Grad's site which makes the law more accessible. It would be easier though when using his site if also had access to the physical books involved. Minnesota's First Stop for Legal Advice

[Taltarzac725]

A little story. I was looking for a job at the American Association of Law Libraries convention the Summer of 1992 in San Francisco. I lined up an interview with Marquette University Law Library even though two of the people from Marquette I were interviewing with seemed highly amused that I was even at the convention.

My interest with survivors/victims of crimes came up and a described the niche I had found. The Marquette University Law Library Director asked me "Why do you think that is?" Like he was excusing it in some kind of "we all know better than you do" stance which I found frequently taken by law librarians. I hope people can make the connection between attitudes towards victims/survivors taught at law schools like Marquette and the Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal. They are connected as they both do not recognize the rights of people to be treated equally no matter what their status.

I sincerely belief that access to practical information in the legal setting is a fundamental right.

[looneycat]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

A little story. I was looking for a job at the American Association of Law Libraries convention the Summer of 1992 in San Francisco. I lined up an interview with Marquette University Law Library even though two of the people from Marquette I were interviewing with seemed highly amused that I was even at the convention.

My interest with survivors/victims of crimes came up and a described the niche I had found. The Marquette University Law Library Director asked me "Why do you think that is?" Like he was excusing it in some kind of "we all know better than you do" stance which I found frequently taken by law librarians. I hope people can make the connection between attitudes towards victims/survivors taught at law schools like Marquette and the Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal. They are connected as they both do not recognize the rights of people to be treated equally no matter what their status.

I sincerely belief that access to practical information in the legal setting is a fundamental right.

you make some good points but mostly for using a skilled researcher, like yourself, for matters where it is important to cover data that would otherwise not be self-evident to a lesser skilled researcher. I admit that a librarian is a good choice as well as a sampling of researchers in that field. Your experience at Marquette is similar to what I often encountered as a consultant in the IT field. people often felt the need to push their 'stuff' on you and question why you are there. I just let my work speak for itself and was never without a 'next' client waiting. If they were willing to learn, I would show them how to be more productive...suprizingly some were!

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by looneycat

you make some good points but mostly for using a skilled researcher, like yourself, for matters where it is important to cover data that would otherwise not be self-evident to a lesser skilled researcher. I admit that a librarian is a good choice as well as a sampling of researchers in that field. Your experience at Marquette is similar to what I often encountered as a consultant in the IT field. people often felt the need to push their 'stuff' on you and question why you are there. I just let my work speak for itself and was never without a 'next' client waiting. If they were willing to learn, I would show them how to be more productive...suprizingly some were!

I do think that all the pestering of librarians I have done since January of 1991 has resulted in there being more practical materials in libraries for survivors/victims of crimes in the US and elsewhere.

This would make a good movie/book but it would be hard getting it past the lawyers as it would put some very powerful people in a rather bad light. I have tried to get Hollywood interested since 1992 or so and believe that they have heard my requests for help in my 224 613 Project. There are many creative ways of getting your message out there which would be seen readily by the creative types in the movies and elsewhere. I have had some bad luck in Palm Harbor though with the names of some of the people there who are in positions of authority for my 1992+ approach to Hollywood to work.

When I had all this up on Findlaw from 2001 through 2006 or so, I did have some very interesting exchanges with people contacting me via e-mails and the like. One around 2004 even claimed to be George Clooney. Not sure if it was really him though.

I have found movies from 1995's Outbreak to 2015's Tomorrowland very interesting for many reasons.

[John_W]

I think what looneycat mentioned is the direction you should go. Libraries for the general population is not really the first source of information, it's the internet. I think Tal, you should go one step further and start a website for victims of crime and whoever else you're looking to help.

With all your knowledge of the internet you should have no problem. I remember 15 years ago I had a website for my business, I believe the software was called Macromedia. It cost about $100 online, and I could do just about anything I wanted, not just these generic looking websites. You might have to spend a little amount of money for a webhost or maybe get one free, especially since this is sort of a charity work.

I would totally bypass the libraries, plus getting into a single library is only helping that one local community. A website can help anyone, in any locale, anytime of the day.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by John_W

I think what looneycat mentioned is the direction you should go. Libraries for the general population is not really the first source of information, it's the internet. I think Tal, you should go one step further and start a website for victims of crime and whoever else you're looking to help.

With all your knowledge of the internet you should have no problem. I remember 15 years ago I had a website for my business, I believe the software was called Macromedia. It cost about $100 online, and I could do just about anything I wanted, not just these generic looking websites. You might have to spend a little amount of money for a webhost or maybe get one free, especially since this is sort of a charity work.

I would totally bypass the libraries, plus getting into a single library is only helping that one local community. A website can help anyone, in any locale, anytime of the day.

That's a great suggestion. Thanks.

I am on Facebook a number of hours per day. One of the reasons I am upset with the Florida Library Association Facebook page censorship is that was one of the vehicles I was using to fight for more practical materials in Florida libraries for survivors/victims of crimes as well as for those with some kind of mental illness.

The way I do things though is to contact a lot of victim/assistance providers and see what they would like to see on some web-site. This would be quite different however if I were trying to put one together for the Villages itself as there are different kinds of crimes primarily in the Villages. Seniors against Crime does a good job with that as far as the Villages is involved. Seniors Vs Crime

So maybe a broader approach as you suggested would work. I had been getting addresses for victim/assistance providers back in 1992-2002 from this organization. National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) - Championing Dignity Compassion Victims Crime and CrisisNational Organization for Victim Assistance

I had also tried to get this organization involved-- https://www.victimsofcrime.org/

If you Google Taltarzac725 you can see many of the documents I have from my 24 year plus struggle to get practical materials into libraries for survivors/victims of crimes.

[Taltarzac725]

Office for Victims of Crime - U.S. Resource Map of Crime Victim Services & Information

Local Resources | OVW | Department of Justice

A modified version of this could work. Not sure how to do it though. Mental health materials would also be needed and a lot more other stuff.


One drawback of this is that when dealing with victim/witness assistance it is a lot safer to be somewhat anonymous or have some connection to a governmental entity which has faceless people connected to it. Local libraries I still believe is the more practical approach as what would be needed in Austin, Nevada a small town would be very different from what is available in Austin, Texas. I am not sure if I want my real name out there all that much associated with a web-site for victims/witnesses and the mental ill. If Taltarzac725 is associated with it in any way then my real name will come up.

Still I will give this suggestion of some kind of web-site some thought. I do know some professional web-site designers.

Remember that you can see my 224 613 fight for survivors/victims' rights history if you Google Taltarzac725 and look at those documents.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac725

Office for Victims of Crime - U.S. Resource Map of Crime Victim Services & Information

Local Resources | OVW | Department of Justice

A modified version of this could work. Not sure how to do it though. Mental health materials would also be needed and a lot more other stuff.


One drawback of this is that when dealing with victim/witness assistance it is a lot safer to be somewhat anonymous or have some connection to a governmental entity which has faceless people connected to it. Local libraries I still believe is the more practical approach as what would be needed in Austin, Nevada a small town would be very different from what is available in Austin, Texas. I am not sure if I want my real name out there all that much associated with a web-site for victims/witnesses and the mental ill. If Taltarzac725 is associated with it in any way then my real name will come up.

Still I will give this suggestion of some kind of web-site some thought. I do know some professional web-site designers.

Remember that you can see my 224 613 fight for survivors/victims' rights history if you Google Taltarzac725 and look at those documents.

https://www.facebook.com/FloridaLibr...iation?fref=ts

I see that the Florida Library Association Facebook page still seems to be in tight control of the Administrator as has been since the 19th of November 2015.

I would have posted those two links above on it to give them some advertising so to speak on that Facebook page. That's what victims/survivors rights sites really need a lot more press.

More responsible web-site Administrators would be nice. I mean responsible to the people who read the web-site and not to the butts these people need to keep kissing to keep their jobs. These Administrators should not have to deal with the power plays within the Florida Library Association.

All kinds of censorship especially if they try to hide the facts rather than expose them really irritate me. And you would expect that librarians of all people would see the value of free speech and open dialog about stuff without resorting to lawyers and the like unless the dialog were not backed up with many documents or was in some way defamatory. Defamatory usually means untrue and not backed up by documents. What is a Defamatory Statement | Digital Media Law Project