M/AV SIS
Programs At 2007 AALL Annual Meeting
M/AV Roundtable: Mandatory
Digital TV: Technological Triumph or Information-Access Tragedy?
Sunday, 15 July 2007, 5:30pm-6:30pm
Participants will be able to:
1.
Outline the history of the United States mandatory digital television policy
2.
Review legal and ethical issues concerning the end of analog television
broadcasting
In August 1995, the US Federal
Communications Commission invited comment on the nation’s transition to digital
broadcasting and stated its goals to preserve a free, universal broadcasting service;
foster an expeditious and orderly transition to digital technology while taking account of
consumer investment in NTSC TVs; recover contiguous blocks of spectrum; and ensure the
spectrum would be used to best serve public interest.
Since then, several Public Laws and numerous FCC directives have established
digital TV (DTV) license distribution, DTV facility construction, DTV service guidelines,
required DTV tuners, as well as spectrum reallocation, auction, and licensing. Analog TV service is scheduled to end 2/18/09. What do these laws and regulations portend for the
general public’s access to information, and do they meet the FCC’s 1995 DTV
goals? In particular, what are the
implications of the US government’s use of analog channels for public safety or sale
to commercial private entities? This program
will provide a comprehensive history of the development of the mandatory DTV policy, as
well as discuss the provocative legal and ethical issues surrounding this policy.
Coordinator, Moderator, and Speaker: Laura Ray, Educational Programming Librarian,
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Speaker: Terrence McCormack, AV
Librarian and Head of Koren Center, SUNY Buffalo Charles B. Sears Law Library
Audience: Law librarians and legal professionals interested
in telecommunications and information-access policy; introductory level
Rome: the Power of Film to Teach Foundations of Roman and
Civil Law
Monday, 16 July 2007, 8:45am-10:15am
Participants will be able to:
1.
Explain how audiovisual materials can facilitate the achievement of complex
learning objectives
2.
Identify Roman and historical civil law elements
Legal and historical scholars have
long recognized Roman law foundations in European and other civil law systems, as well as
the importance of Roman Monarchy and Republic legal institutions and procedures in the
development of classical Roman law. This program will demonstrate the educational
opportunities afforded by audiovisual materials, as it draws upon the powerful images of
the HBO series “Rome,” to explain key elements of Roman Law. It will review the relationship between, and
government powers of, Senators, Consuls, Praetors, Magistrates, Tribunes, and other
officials, as well as law-making authority and procedures, election procedures, court
system, trial proceedings, and emergency government procedures.
Coordinator and moderator: Laura Ray, Educational Programming Librarian,
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Speaker:
Bernard Keith Vetter, Ted and Louana Frois Distinguished Professor of
International Law Studies, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.
Audience: Individuals using audiovisual materials to enhance
education, as well as librarians and legal professionals interested in Roman or Civil law;
intermediate level
Co-sponsored by the Foreign,
Comparative & International Law SIS and Legal History and Rare Books SIS.