Dear Readers,
About a month ago, a friend visiting from Poland asked me how it felt to be living in the US right now. Without hesitation, I answered, “Chilling, and downright frightening.” Although the tariff drama and deportation of migrants without due process have both been covered fairly extensively in the foreign press, the Trump administration’s attack on libraries seemingly hasn’t made too many headlines abroad. The primary target of this wrath has been the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which has been effectively decimated. The impact of this action has been swift; SLATE, for example, reported the closure of a state library, steep layoffs at another, and the elimination of programs and other services at tribal libraries.Footnote 1 Adding to this carnage, Trump fired the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, who had been at the helm of that esteemed library for almost ten years.
Thankfully, US librarians (and the American Library Association) have not taken these moves lightly and are fighting the legality of the IMLA elimination in the streets and in the courts. Stay tuned.
The crucial role of librarians in this kind of environment cannot be overemphasized. I view this journal as an extension of this role and a conduit for sharing best practices, cutting-edge research, and the tools of the trade. In this issue, for instance, the “Behind the Books” column features Eliezer Lírio Santos, who currently serves as General Coordinator of the nine university libraries at the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie in São Paulo, Brazil. Eliezer takes us on a journey of what it takes to become a law librarian in Brazil and some of the challenges law librarians face at his university. All IJLI readers will find this to be a fascinating and useful piece. Another good read in this issue is Md. Rizwanul Islam’s take on the “Hazards of the (Over-)Standardization of Academic Legal Works.” Rizwan is Professor of Law and Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, North South University, in Bangladesh. My communication with him led to an invitation to speak (via Zoom) to some of his students about US and comparative law research, which I gladly accepted.
Moving on to China, Bing Shui and Yingying Jiang cover “Safeguarding Child Viewers: Legal Strategies for Commercial Sharenting on Social Media in China.” From India, Asif Ali and Subramanian Ramamurthy present “Humanity at the Crossroads: Human Rights Challenges in the Age of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems,” Nagalakshmi Tripuraneni and Benarji Chakka explain “The Role of India in Combating Transnational Environmental Crimes,” and Abhinav Mehrotra and Amit Upadhyay closely examine R2P in “Assessing the Efficacy of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) Principle amidst the Misuse of Veto Power: A Critical Analysis.” I also want to give a special shout-out to Miguel Sanchez’s “Advancements in Space Law: Satellite Communications Industry Regulations and Obligations for Orbital Debris Mitigation.” This piece is a perfect segue into IALL’s Annual Course in Houston this October, Space City Houston: Legal Gateway to the World, and Beyond .
I hope you enjoy all these feature articles, as well as the International Calendar and Book Reviews section, and continue to support libraries in general and library organizations like IALL.
