Blog Posts by Subject: Law

"Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants." This banner quotation so often used in connection with the issue of transparency in goverment was written by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis (pictured below) in Harper's Weekly, December 20, 1913 (before he was nominated to the court). [This quote can be viewed in the NYPL database

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March 16th is the birthday of James Madison, and because of his role as advocate for openness in government that date is celebrated by many different organizations, including the New York Public Library at SIBL, as Freedom of Information Day.

This year, SIBL is fortunate to have as guest presenter at our

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March 3, 1905, was not an auspicious day for Hy Brown.

Brown, an 18-year-old man from California with no known occupation, had been sentenced to death for the murder of Patrick Dunne, an aged storekeeper. On March 3rd, his sentence was carried out, making him the 149th of over 200 men executed by hanging at the California State Prison at San Quentin between 1893 and 1937.

San Quentin was erected between 1852-1854 to replace the overcrowded prison ship Waban. It rose in response to the violent crime boom in California that followed in the wake of the Gold Rush 

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Unusual connections abound in hyperspace, and not just from html linking within web pages. Take for example the unlikely cohabitation between a teen pop star and human rights activism on the same website. With the egalitarian nature of content available on the Internet, unlikely partners such as Justin Bieber, the TV-like Really Annoying Orange, and human rights abuse reporting in

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Another day of volunteering at Rikers Island with the NYPL has come to a close. Thursday I went to one of the male detention houses along with my mentor and two other staff members from NYPL. We were there for "book cart service," which is a little different than what I remember from Shawshank Redemption.Read More ›

April is the cruellest month. —T.S. Eliot, opening of The Wasteland. What do you associate with April? April showers? April in Paris?Read More ›

I spent the first week of March working with the Correctional Services Librarian at the New York Public Library. It was part of an internship through the University of Michigan's School of Information designed to be carried out during our alternative spring break week.Read More ›

For twenty years, New York Public Library's Correctional Services program has provided books to people incarcerated at Rikers Island jail and provided reference services by mail to people in prison throughout the state.Read More ›

Opening night at LIVE from the NYPL kicked off with a sold-out event featuring Lawrence Lessig, Shepard Fairey and Steven Johnson discussing Remix. Check it out!

Watch the full length version of the LIVE from the NYPL program here.

Before the conversation in Celeste Bartos Forum got underway on Thursday, lawyer and renowned copyright expert Lawrence Lessig 

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At the LIVE from the NYPL sold-Out event on Thursday, February 26th, the artist Shepard Fairey will be in conversation with Lawrence Lessig and Steven Johnson about Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy. He'll speak specifically about his extensive body of work and share highlights of his collection with the audience.

Fairey, known for his influential street art and strong political messages, has been drawing even more attention recently for frequenting the headlines. The 

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What is the future for art and ideas in an age when practically anything can be copied, pasted, downloaded, sampled, and re-imagined? LIVE from the NYPL and WIRED Magazine kick off the Spring 2009 season on February 26th with a spirited discussion of the emerging remix culture. Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy February 26th, 7pm (buy tickets) Celeste Bartos Forum The New York Public Library 5th Avenue 

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