What’s Coming Up from CRIV

June 15, 2022 by Leave a Comment

I just wanted to send out a quick reminder post of a couple of CRIV activities going on/coming up soon.

CRIV Membership Survey – In case you missed it in the AALL Weekly eNewsletter, we have a CRIV Membership survey going on right now, in which we’re hoping to hear from you about your familiarity with and use of CRIV’s services, programming, and publications, as well as any thoughts you have on how we could improve or change to keep meeting the needs of the AALL membership. Thank you to those who have responded thus far, and if you haven’t had a chance to yet, the survey is open through this Friday, June 17th, at the link above. Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts.

CRIV Vendor Roundtable – The annual CRIV Vendor Roundtable is coming up next week, Wednesday, June 22nd, 1-2 p.m. (US/Central). Representatives from Bloomberg Law, LexisNexis, and Thomson Reuters will be presenting on how they ensure a diversity of voices are represented in their collections/products. The free, online event is open to all AALL members. Register here. I hope to see you there!

CRIV-Related Annual Meeting Programming Preview – If you’re starting to set your conference schedule for the Annual Meeting next month, and you’re interested in CRIV-related programming, check out our latest issue of The CRIV Sheet, in which our CRIV Sheet editor, Andrew Christensen, highlights several CRIV-related programs to look forward to.

Thanks, and as always, thank you for your continued readership.

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What is CRIV?

September 23, 2021 by Leave a Comment

When I was preparing to write my first CRIV blog post for the semester, it occurred to me that there may be some in our profession who are unfamiliar with CRIV and the work that we do (and others who might not mind a refresher!). So for this post, allow me to (re)introduce you to CRIV.

CRIV is AALL’s Committee on Relations with Information Vendors. You can read our formal Purpose and Charge on the committee’s page on AALLnet, but in a nutshell, our mission through CRIV is to foster and maintain positive, open communication between members of AALL and information vendors. We work toward this in two primary ways: First, we monitor AALL chatter for any complaints related to information vendors, whether those complaints have to do with billing practices (not pricing), resource functionality, or general communication issues. Then, in most cases, we will reach out to a contact within that information vendor’s organization to see whether and how that complaint can be addressed and resolved. We have four formal vendor liaison relationships with Bloomberg Law, LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters, and Wolters Kluwer. Four of our committee members are designated each year as the CRIV vendor liaison to each of these vendors. You can find this year’s vendor liaisons here. Throughout the year, the liaisons will take any complaints or questions received about these vendors to our designated contacts within their organization for resolution or clarification; and twice a year, the liaisons have a conference call with the vendor to discuss any outstanding issues and learn the latest updates to the vendors’ products and services. As you may have seen, the minutes from these calls are then published here on the CRIV blog and in the next issue of The CRIV Sheet.

Does this mean CRIV only takes questions or complaints regarding those four vendors? No — we are happy to assist in communication with other vendors as well, and certainly have in the past. The best way to seek help from CRIV is by using our Request for Assistance page on AALLnet. This helps us keep a record of inquiries. While you are asked to provide contact information when you submit a RFA (so we can reach you to follow up), when we take your complaint or question to the vendor, we keep it anonymous. If the vendor responds that they need more details, we would only provide them with your permission. Our ultimate goal is to serve as an advocate for AALL members in establishing positive working relationships with information vendors, and as such, keeping your confidence as we share your concerns with the vendor is a priority.

While vendor relations is at the heart (and in the name) of CRIV, another significant service we provide is education, including programming, like our Vendor Roundtable at the AALL Annual Meeting each July; this year’s recording can be viewed here (recording will be available through July 2022). In addition, through the CRIV blog and our thrice-annual newsletter, The CRIV Sheet, we endeavor to keep the membership informed about the latest developments and trends from information vendors. If you have an article idea and would like to write for us, e-mail Andrew Christensen, this year’s CRIV Sheet editor. And if you have an idea for a blog post, reach out to Christy Smith, this year’s blog coordinator.

CRIV is always looking for ways to better serve AALL members. Be on the lookout later this year for a survey from CRIV on this very topic, but in the meantime, if you have questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to reach out! As CRIV’s current chair, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Ashley Ahlbrand, CRIV Chair, aaahlbra@indiana.edu

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The CRIV Sheet, v. 38, no. 3 is now available!

May 2, 2016 by Leave a Comment

This issue is full of interesting articles. We learn about the lawsuit between Casemaker and Fastcase. We also answer any questions you might have about the recent product name change for Thomson Reuters Westlaw. We provide an overview of TS-SIS Vendor Supplied Records Advisory Working Group (VRAG)—this group has been working with legal information providers to provide outreach and support to vendors who supply MARC records for their products. We also provide a list of recommended progras for the AALL Annual Meeting & Conference in July. Finally, we have the most recent reports from the vendor liaison calls.

 

The issue is available here: http://www.aallnet.org/Documents/vendorrelations/CRIVSheet/CRIVSheetVol38No3.pdf

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The CRIV Sheet V 38, No. 1 is now available!

November 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment

The next edition of The CRIV Sheet is available now. This is the first digital only edition. For this issue, we’ve continued the tradition of an AALL Annual Meeting wrap-up issue. We have several summaries of programs. If you missed the meeting or were not able to attend a program due to scheduling conflicts or just want a quick refresher, you will find these recaps to be valuable.

 

http://epubs.aallnet.org/i/603648-the-criv-sheet-volume-38-no-1-november-2015

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May 2015 CRIV Sheet: Now Available!

May 11, 2015 by Leave a Comment

The May 2015 edition of the CRIV Sheet has just published! Contents include an article on where and how to report technical errors for major legal database providers. In addition, two narrative articles provide tips for developing and maintaining successful vendor relationships.

Of special note, this is the last print edition of the CRIV Sheet as the publication will transition to a digital-only publication in the fall. Watch this blog for further information on this new development.

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The CRIV Sheet, v. 37, no. 2 (March 2015)

March 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment

The latest CRIV Sheet has been published. The TOC is listed below. And you can read the CRIV Sheet here: http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Publications/spectrum/Archives/Vol-19/No-5/criv.pdf

  1. Contents
  2. Editor’s Corner
  3. From the Chair
  4. “Is This a Good Deal?” Fulfilling Our Duty as Fiscal Stewards of Institutional Resources
  5. Pressure Points in Vendor Relationships: Tips for Working with Outsourced Staff
  6. “The Right to E-Read” in Europe vs. the United States
  7. Kaye Scholer Library: The New Model for Going Digital
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Print to Digital Libraries?

January 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment

There has been a lot of press recently on law libraries moving from a mix of print and electronic materials to an all (or mostly) digital collection. Here is a wrap up, starting with the CRIV session at AALL entitled The Bookless Law Library: Potential Reality or Flight of Fancy. If you missed it you can read the review of the program in the latest CRIV Sheet (page 7) here: http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Publications/spectrum/Archives/Vol-19/No-2/criv.pdf

That was followed by the LLAGNY program, Kaye Scholer Library: The New Model for Going Digital.

And Dewey B. Strategic provided this in-depth piece entitled It Takes More Than a Dumpster to Build A Digital Law Library: 12 Critical Components For Digital Law Library Transformations.

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New issue of the CRIV Sheet!

November 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Take a look at the new edition of The CRIV Sheet (also found within the pages of your Nov. 2014 Spectrum). This issue provides recaps of some of the AALL programs related to vendor relations.

  • CRIV Vendor Roundtable, by Kurt R. Mattson, Lionel Sawyer & Collins

  • Program F4: Just in Time: Demand-Driven Acquisitions for E-Books, by Debora Person, University of Wyoming

  • Hot Topic Program: Deans and Directors Roundtable: Reinventing Law School Libraries for the Digital Age, by Andrew Lissenden, Practising Law Institute

  • Program H3: The Bookless Law Library: Potential Reality or Flight of Fancy?, by Cynthia Myers, George Mason University

  • Program G2: Emerging Issues in Copyright: What You Need to Know, by Todd Melnick, Fordham Law School Library

    Access it here: http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Publications/spectrum/Archives/Vol-19/No-2/criv.pdf

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Check out the new CRIV Sheet!

February 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment

The February 2014 edition of The CRIV Sheet is on its way to your mailbox. You can also read it online.

 http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Publications/spectrum/Archives/Vol-18/No-4/criv.pdf

Contents include:

  • “Unbundling Online Legal Materials: One State Government Law Library’s Perspective”, by Dan Cordova, Colorado Supreme Court Librarian

  • “Inch by Inch, Row by Row: A Tale of Two Major Weeding Projects”, by Rebecca Rich, Nova Southeastern University

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New issue of The CRIV Sheet is out!

April 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The May issue of The CRIV Sheet is now online. http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Publications/spectrum/vol-17/No-7/criv.pdf

Contents:

“A Law Librarian in Vendor’s Clothing, or Things I Learned While Working for a Legal Publisher” by Pauline Afuso, Washington County Law Library

“Bloomberg Law and the Quest for Parity” by Lee Sims, Rutgers-Newark Law Library

“Journal Bundles and the Plight of NonLaw Academic Libraries” by David Hollander, Princeton University Library

Filed Under: Legal vendors Tagged With: ,

New CRIV Sheet available

January 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The February issue of The CRIV Sheet is online and on its way to your mailbox!
http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Publications/spectrum/vol-17/No-4/criv.pdf

Contents:

UELMA: Summary, Minnesota Perspective, and Impact
by Brian Huffman, Dakota County Law Library

ProQuest Congressional and Legislative Insight: A Few Thoughts from a Future Law Librarian
by Clanitra L. Stewart, M.L.I.S. Candidate, University of South Carolina

Law Library as Purveyor of Appellate Briefs
by Liz Reppe, Minnesota State Law Library

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Seeking Articles for The CRIV Sheet

January 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Now is the time to think about writing an article for the next issue of The CRIV Sheet, which will appear in the AALL Spectrum in May. If you would like to write an article about your library’s acquisition process, issues relating to a legal information product, or vendor relations in general we’d love to hear from you. The deadline for your article to be considered for publication is February 15, 2013.

Please send questions and/or article submissions to me (liz.reppe@courts.state.mn.us) or David Hollander (dholland@Princeton.edu).

View past issues:http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Advocacy/vendorrelations/CRIV-Sheet

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