Media Works Column
VIDEO PROJECTS AT THE SOCIAL LAW LIBRARY OF BOSTON
by John Pedini
MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship, v.3
no.1, Spring 1995:28-30.

When the Social Law Library was first established, Thomas
Jefferson was president.  The building wherein it now resides was
erected at the end of the Great Depression.  With a legacy like
that it is hard to imagine the facility being one of the most up-
to-date with respect to automated library functions and computer-
assisted legal research, serving the patron today while planning
for the next century.  But it's true.  The Social Law Library
(established in 1804), housed in the Suffolk County Court House
(erected in 1939) lives a double life.  While its ancient wood
and concrete halls resonate with echoes of the legal past, its
work stations and terminals are alive with the clatter of modern
communication technology.  Part of the program dedicated to
maintaining status quo in the field of staff and customer service
is something very simple yet quite effective: videotape.  Often
overlooked or underestimated as a serious implement in the
transmission of information of both an immediate and long-term
nature, videotape keeps the Library current while preserving the
past.

The use of videotape technology in law has come a long way since
the non grata status of cameras in the courtroom years ago.  What
was once a cumbersome medium that intruded upon the privacy and
sanctity of judicial decorum now quietly sits, unnoticed but for
a faithful operator or technician, off to the sides of the
proceedings.  Likewise, interviews and depositions can be
conducted with a minimum of unsightly equipment and oppressive
lighting.  The picture that results is quite remarkable, too,
with the innovations in quality of tape and camera tubes.  The
continued existence of court-related cable TV programming on the
viewing market is testimony to the growing appeal of actual
courtroom proceedings to the general public.  The only thing
video can't affect is how some of those courtrooms look!

None of this information is lost on the Social Law Library. 
Besides staying current with computers, CD-ROM and automation of
library functions, the Library wisely saw fit to maintain its
visual capacity as well through the use of video technology; as
staff training mechanism, legal education tool and effective

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public relations/archives facilitator.  Using Hi-8 mm camcorders
and editing equipment the Library can produce programs running
the gamut from simple interviews and courtroom events to
presentations and special interest features on Library activity.

An example of the interview program is the Library's Oral History
Project, which features interviews with many prominent members of
the Bench and Bar of Massachusetts.  The idea grew out of the
custom of publishing memorial remarks for deceased justices in
the Massachusetts state reports.  The honorees, though
universally praised and fondly remembered, were unfortunately
unavailable to speak for themselves and thus had to rely on
others to recall the events and results of their lives.  Through
the Oral History Project, individuals can tell their own life's
story in their own words and likeness for all posterity.  Among
the 60 individuals interviewed so far, the list includes former
Chief Justices, presidential candidates, nationally recognized
attorneys, local legends, and simple folk who loom large in our
lives.

Interviewees often relate personal experiences that impact upon
national issues.  After the death of former president Richard M.
Nixon, the library culled remarks from interviews of three key
players in the prosecution, defense and attempt at impeachment
(Archibald Cox, James St. Clair and Rev. Robert Drinan,
respectively).  The result was a fascinating tape that
illuminated a dark period of American political history through
the observations of those involved.

The master tapes are stored in the Library and are available for
anyone wishing to find out more than what may be on record for
the person in question.  And, as most interviews are done on
location, one can get a sense of the person's natural environment
while viewing the tape.

Other examples of videotaped programs produced by the Library
include special sittings of the supreme Judicial Court of
Massachusetts.  Recently the Court, once a circuit court, resumed
its practice of sitting in the different counties of the state,

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starting in Salem (Essex County) on the 300 anniversary of the
infamous Witch Trials (which also marked the tercentenary of the
Court).  Because of the special nature of the proceedings, the
Library's camera was alongside to record the event, as will be
for all such sittings.  When the court has an event of a
different nature, say, the visit of Russian judges, the
announcement of a state-wide task force report on substance abuse
and the court system, or the unveiling of the portrait of a
retired justice, the Library's camera is there, keeping a record
of the event for all posterity.  This way the viewer of the
finished tape can appreciate both the content and the context of
the proceedings much better than by conventional printed means.

The types of video productions mentioned thus far do well to
portray or promote an event or program without doing much to
alter or affect the natural cause of effect of the proceedings. 
But when a little bit of reality enhancement is needed to put a
point across or make a statement, the video editing technology
available at the Library comes into play.  For many years now,
the Library has produced tapes featuring the personalities of its
staff and Head Librarian, Edgar J. Bellefontaine, in the effort
to report to a specific audience, usually the Library's Board of
Trustees, or other Librarians, on the progress of the Library
over a given period of time.  These tapes usually show the
activity of the Library on a day-to-day basis, as well as examine
its developing programs and highlight future goals and plans. 
And while much of the information presented is of a serious and
important nature, the emphasis of the production is on
entertainment as well as enlightenment.  Many times the image of
the Library's esteemed and respected Librarian has been digitally
dissolved, windblown, blurred, superimposed, microphoned, cur
carded, dressed up, zoomed in, and faded out!  But it's all for
the sake of maximizing the effect of the medium, which is sound
and pictures.  In that respect, the Library, through the timeless
and fearless efforts of its star Librarian, has always sought to
bring to life the essence of the world in which it has existed
for almost 200 years, as alive today as it was then and will be
tomorrow.  On video!

John Pedini is Director of Media Services
Social Law Library
Boston, MA and is serving as 1994-95 
Chair of the AV/Micrographic Special Interest Section
of the American Association of Law Libraries

This article is copyright (C) by John Pedini. All Rights
Reserved.  All commercial use requires permission of the author
and the editors of this journal.


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