Janet Camillo, Joan Bellistri

Longtime LLAM members Janet Camillo and Joan Bellistri received national law library association awards this year, which will be presented during the 2011 AALL Annual Meeting and Conference in Philadelphia. Janet received the Bethany J. Ochal Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession from the SCCLL-SIS. “This award goes to a State, Court and County Law Libraries Special Interest Section member who has made a significant contribution to law librarianship and who is nearing the end of his or her library career or who has recently retired. Criteria for receiving this award include service to the profession of law librarianship, contributions to legal research, teaching and outreach efforts and recognition by members of the legal or government community.” Janet is the only recipient of the Ochal Award this year. She retired in January of this year from the Montgomery County Circuit Court Law Library, where she served as Director since 2006. The award will be presented at the SCCLL breakfast meeting on Sunday morning, July 24, at 7:00 a.m. in the Marriott-Liberty Ballroom Salon AB.

Joan Bellistri, director of the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library, was selected as the 2011 recipient of the American Association of Law Libraries Robert L. Oakley Advocacy Award, which recognizes “an AALL member or group who has contributed significantly to the AALL advocacy agenda at the federal, state, local, or international level.” The judges also consider “the extent to which the individual or group has been an active advocate for law libraries and legal information at the federal, state or local level.” Joanie will receive this award at the AALL Public Policy Update program (D-2) on Monday, July 25, at 8:45 a.m. in the Pennsylvania Convention Center Room 201 (A).