IT PAYS NOT TO MESS WITH LIBRARIANS

The Library Journal reports that the American Library Association is contemplating dropping its lawyers, Jenner & Block, on conflict of interest grounds because the law firm has represented RIAA, the recording industry interest group, in its attempts to gather the names of illegal music downloaders. The ALA prides itself on championing “equity of access” and “intellectual freedom,” saying on its website:



“Intellectual Freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored. Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas. It is a core value of the library profession and a cornerstone of democracy.”



The IPKat notes that the beauty of a free and competitive market is that clients are able to align themselves with a law firm that reflects their attitudes and dissociate themselves from their lawyers when they find that their ways of thinking do not match. This also goes to show that a firm’s valued clients can act as a check on activities which those clients regard as being less desirable.



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