Category Archives: AALL Announcements

2016 AALL Innovations in Technology Award

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The AALL Innovations in Technology Award Jury is on the lookout for AALL members, law libraries, chapters, and Special Interest Sections that use technology in new and interesting ways. If you know of an innovative application or resource developed by such an individual or entity, please consider nominating it for the 2016 Innovations in Technology Award. You may submit as many separate entries as you would like, and self-nominations are highly encouraged.

Award Criteria:
• The Nominee, if an individual, must be a member in good standing of AALL.
• Nominee’s application of technology or resource must benefit library users and/or the legal information community.
• Nominee’s innovative use of technology must be an example of how librarians/information professionals effectively and efficiently serve as the human connection between technology, the information, and the user experience.

Further details and nomination forms are available at on the AALL website.

For questions or additional information, please contact the Innovations in Technology Award Jury Chair:
Creighton J. Miller, Jr.
Washburn University School of Law Library
1700 SW College Ave
Topeka, KS 66621-0001
(785) 670-1041
creighton.miller@washburn.edu

The Jury is looking forward to a large and competitive slate of nominees. Please, help make their job more challenging!

LLAM Executive Board passes UELMA Resolution

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The LLAM Executive Board recently passed a resolution in support of the enactment of the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act in Maryland.  UELMA got some traction here in Maryland but ultimately failed to pass.

LLAM has uploaded a copy of the resolution to our website so it’s easy for you to access and review.  https://llamonline.org/uelma/llam-resolution-on-uelma/

UELMA is now law in 12 states, with 4 states added in 2014.

Let’s keep the momentum going here in Maryland!

Invitation to LLAM Holiday Party

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We hope you can join us for LLAM’s 2014 holiday party!
CLICK HERE to register and pay online now!

Location Information:
University of Baltimore School of Law, Top Floor
1401 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201

When: December 15, 2014, 5:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Tickets – $25.00

View directions at: http://www.ubalt.edu/about-ub/directions/ .
For more information, see below, or return to LLAMonline.org .

Email James Durham at james.durham@mdcourts.gov if you have any questions!

LLAM 2014 holiday party flyer

Holiday Party Menu:

Heavy Hors d’oeuvres

  • Bhel Puri – Puffed Rice, Sev (Chickpea Noodles), Tossed with Mild Chilies, Vegetables, Chopped Cilantro, Cumin, Lime Juice, Sweet and Tart Chutneys. 
  • Artistic Display of Vegetables – Assorted fresh Vegetables: Asparagus, Red Peppers, Green Beans, Grape Tomatoes, Sweet Baby Carrots and Radishes – Smokey Ranch Dip
  • Chicken Pâté –served with Cornichons, Apple Slices and Baguette Rounds
  • Balela –Middle Eastern Salad
  • Brie and Gorgonzola Torte Garnished with Herbs, Pecans
  • Asian Noodle Salad – With a Lime Szechuan Dressing garnished with Baby Corn, Snow Peas, Multicolored Peppers, Spring Onions, and Sliced Carrots
  • Smoked Salmon & Home-made Vegetable Cream Cheese on Pumpernickel
  • Grilled Cheese Quarters & Demitasse of Roasted Red Pepper- Tomato Soup
  • Lemon-Chicken Francaise – Sautéed Chicken Breast Tenders in a Sauce of Lemon Juice, White Wine and Butter with Rice Pilaf

Desserts

  • Fresh Fruit
  • Sliced Lemon Cakes
  • Frozen Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Sauce

Beverages

  • Seltzer, Blackberry Lemon Sparkling Punch

AALL Announcements

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Call for Proposals

The 2013 Annual Meeting Call for Proposals is now open.   All submissions are due by end of day on Monday October 15.  There are a few changes in the proposal process so be sure to read the updates included in the above link.

September Issue of Washington E-Bulletin

The latest edition of the Washingtin E-Bulletin outlines what can be expected between now and upcoming election.  AALL are working on a few bills including; HR 1974, Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (ACMRA).  Be sure to take a look at AALL in action.

AALL2go

The 2012 Annual Meeting handouts and Opening seesion/Keynote Speaker available for review and a listen.

LLAM at AALL Annual Meeting

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  1. 105th AALL Annual Meeting & Conference in Boston, MA
  2. LLAM Dine-Around at AALL
  3. Still Need Volunteers for the LLAM Table at AALL Annual Meeting

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105th AALL Annual Meeting & Conference in Boston, MA

Hope to see many of you at the AALL Annual Meeting being held in Boston, MA from July 21 through July 24 at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center (there are two Conventions Centers in Boston).  The theme this year is “Learn, Connect, Grow”.  Please remember to take notes at your favorite sessions so you can share with all of us in the next LLAM eNews.

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LLAM Dine-Around at AALL

Sunday Night, July 22nd, 7pm at Casa Romero, 30 Gloucester Street, Boston, a couple blocks from the Convention Center.  They are pretty full up, but if you are still interested contact Dave Matchen (dmatchen@ubalt.edu)

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Still Need Volunteers for the LLAM Table at AALL Annual Meeting

LLAM will be having their usual table in the Exhibit Hall at the Convention Center in Boston. There are still a few slots that need to be filled.  You can go directly to this doodle calendar to sign-up or contact Mary Jo Lazun (mjlazun@mdcourts.gov).

AALL Announcements

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  1.  Learn How to Become a Thought Leader with Social Media
  2. AALL2go Pick of the Month
  3. Register Today for the 2012 AALL Annual Meeting
  4. Renew Your AALL Membership Early for a Chance to Win a Free 2012 AALL Annual Meeting Registration

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Learn How to Become a Thought Leader with Social Media

The value of social media as a communication tool is fast becoming ubiquitous in the professional law library culture. However, its value as a leadership tool is less evident. A new webinar, Open Leadership: Using Social Media as a Leadership Tool, to be held April 25 at 11 a.m. CDT, will demonstrate how all types of law librarians can become thought leaders inside and outside their institutions by using well-known social media applications to achieve strategic openness and transparency. This webinar is sponsored by the AALL Leadership Development Committee. Register by April 18.

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1. AALL2go Picks of the Month
 

AALL’s Continuing Professional Education Committee presents the AALL2go pick of the month – March: The New Generation of Legal Research Databases: Eighteen Months Later.

In January 2010, WestlawNext and Lexis for Microsoft Office were unveiled at the Legal Tech trade show inNew York. Both products, with their natural language and Google-like search capabilities, promised simplified research and workflow collaboration for attorneys, paralegals, law students, and law librarians.

At the 2011 AALL Annual Meeting, a panel of law librarians convened to discuss the results of their survey of WestlawNext users and share their experiences using the next generation of legal research databases (due to the delayed debut of Lexis for Microsoft Office and Lexis Advance, only WestlawNext was discussed). The panel used a “lessons learned” approach regarding database strengths and weaknesses, pricing, generational differences among users, and training. This session provides an excellent overview for any law library that is considering WestlawNext or already using it but wants to compare it with other database options.

Find this and more than 80 other free continuing education programs and webinars for AALL members on AALL2go.

AALL’s Continuing Professional Education Committee presents the AALL2go pick of the month – April: Getting to Yes for Your Library: Negotiating Vendor Contracts in Your Favor.

Law library directors, managers, and electronic services librarians now spend most of their days negotiating vendor contracts. The contracts are getting more and more complex.

A panel of law librarians and attorneys convened to talk about the art of negotiating a contract with vendors. The panelists discussed PREPARE, BE AWARE, and REPAIR and COMPARE. PREPARE refers to the steps you need to take before the negotiations begin. BE AWARE relates to what you need to focus on during the negotiations. And REPAIR and COMPARE refers to the concept of taking a break after negotiations to review and decide if you want to proceed with the contract.

The panelists also went through various provisions in a contract and discussed their views on what provisions and clauses are of the most importance. The panelists concluded with a discussion of nondisclosure agreements as a part of the contract negotiations and vendor permissible-use requirements. This session provides a wealth of information to all those who negotiate vendor contracts.

Find this and more than 80 other free continuing education programs and webinars for AALL members on AALL2go!

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2. Register Today for the 2012 AALL Annual Meeting

Designed by law librarians, for law librarians, the AALL Annual Meeting is an event you look forward to every year. Join nearly 2,000 of your colleagues from across the country to find out what they are doing in their libraries.

This year inBoston, July 21-24, you can look forward to:

Make sure your plans for this summer include the No.1 educational conference for legal information professionals—you can’t afford to miss it. Registration today!

Spread the word to your nonmember colleagues: Nonmember Conference Registration packages include a complimentary one-year AALL membership. By joining us inBoston, they’ll be joining AALL!

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 3. Renew Your AALL Membership Early for a Chance to Win a Free 2012 AALL Annual Meeting Registration

In March, AALL dues invoices for 2012-2013 mail out to all library directors for their institutionally paid memberships and to all other individual members. The deadline for membership renewal is May 31.

When you renew early—by May 1—you will be entered in a drawing for a free 2012 AALL Annual Meeting and Conference registration. If you renew on time—by May 31—you’ll be entered in a drawing for a free AALL webinar of your choice in 2012-2013. Following is the 2012 membership renewal schedule:

  • March: First dues invoices mailed out.
  • May: Second dues invoices mailed out.
  • June: Final dues invoices mailed out.
  • July: Expiration notices e-mailed to all members—individuals and those paid by institutions.
  • August 1: Expired members deleted from the AALL membership database and access to the AALLNET members-only content and Law Library Journal and AALL Spectrum subscriptions discontinued.

For more information or to renew your membership online, view the application form on AALLNET. If you have any questions about your membership renewal, contact AALL Headquarters at membership@aall.org or 312/205-8022.

 

AALL Announcements – December 2011

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  1. 2012 Call for Papers
  2. AALL2go Pick of the Month
  3. AALL Launches New Legislative Action Center

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The 2012 “Call for Papers” has begun!

Have you been thinking of writing an article of interest to law librarians?  The AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers Committee is soliciting articles in four divisions:

Open Division:  for active and retired AALL members and law librarians with five or more years of professional experience;
New Members Division:  for recent graduates and AALL members who have become law librarians since July 1, 2007;
Student Division:  Participants in this division need not be members of AALL. To be eligible in this category, you must have been enrolled in law school, or in a library school, information management, or an equivalent program, either in the Fall 2011 or Spring 2012 semester.

The winner in the Open, New Member, and Student Divisions will receive $650 generously donated by LexisNexis, plus the opportunity to present the winning paper at a program during the 2012 AALL Annual Meeting in Boston!  Winning papers are also considered for publication in the Association’s prestigious Law Library Journal.

Short Form Division (NEW FOR 2012)!  Articles in this category will be shorter than a traditional scholarly article, and appropriate for publication in AALL Spectrum, a bar journal, or a chapter or SIS newsletter.  Participants must be AALL members. The winner will be awarded $300 from LexisNexis.

Articles in the Open, New Members, and Short Form Divisions must be submitted by March 1, 2012.  Articles in the Student Division must be received by May 15, 2012.

APPLICATION:  Application form and details, including word limits, can be found at the Call for Papers website http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Leadership-Governance/committee/activecmtes/call-for-papers.html.  If you have any questions, please contact a member of the AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers Committee: Jennifer Lentz, lentz@law.ucla.edu, Chair; Mark Podvia, mwp3@psu.edu, Vice Chair; Benjamin Keele, bjkeele@wm.edu; James P. Kelly, jim.kelly@vanderbilt.edu; Shawn Nevers, neverss@law.byu.edu
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AALL2go Pick of the Month

AALL’s Continuing Professional Education Committee presents the AALL2go pick of the month: Reinventing the Law School Library.

What do we, as law librarians, envision for the law library of 2020? Will it be a mere shadow of what we know today, or will it not have changed as drastically as we might think?

This presentation is a panel discussion that addresses the idea of the law library in the year 2020. Each panelist speaks regarding different facets of what makes the library and how things may change over time. The idea of the library as a physical space is mentioned, as well as the notion that law libraries may eventually be defined by the librarians rather than the physical space the law libraries occupy. Library collections are discussed, bringing up such topics as the change in formats to digital collections, as well as the access and ownership issues that follow. The final panelist proposes the idea that there may not be as much change as we anticipate due to budgets and the current disconnect that is common between services provided by law libraries and the profiles they carry. With this comes the idea of switching the focus of librarians as service providers to becoming more proactive partners with faculty members and the resulting benefits of doing so. All these notions combine to provide a thought-provoking session about the future and direction of our law libraries.

Find this and other free continuing education programs for AALL members on AALL2go.
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AALL Launches New Legislative Action Center

From Emily Feltren, AALL Advocacy Communications Assistant:

I am very excited to announce the launch of AALL’s new Legislative Action Center. The new Action Center gives AALL and chapter members the tools to easily send targeted messages to your Members of Congress, look up information about your elected representatives, and share our alerts with friends and colleagues through email or social media. This new resource will make it easier than ever before to speak out on the critical information policy issues that affect law libraries.

Please use our Action Center to respond to our current alert on GPO funding. The alert allows you to use our template to send detailed messages to your Senators and House Representative and personalize your emails with stories and experiences related to FDsys and the Federal Depository Library Program. Your personal experiences and reasons why funding cuts would hurt your lawmakers’ constituents are extremely persuasive and will catch the attention of your lawmakers and their staff.

Letters to all Senators, and House Representatives on the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, are urgently needed. Thank you to all of you who have already taken action.

AALL Annoucements

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  1. Create a Positive Professional Image
  2. AALL2go Pick of the Month
  3. Mark Your Calendar: Professional Legal Management Week, October 3-7
  4. 2011 AALL Salary Survey Available this Fall

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Create a Positive Professional Image

Even though you have brilliant skills and produce fabulous results, outdated perceptions of and expectations for law librarians can interfere with your contributions to your institution. Join Dr. Laura Morgan Roberts, organizational consultant and professor of psychology, culture, and organization studies at Antioch University, for the September 22 AALL webinar, You are the Profession: Creating a Positive Professional Image, at 11 a.m. CDT. Roberts will take a look at image management, credibility, and influence. She will discuss management tactics, techniques to move from the side-line to the center, and owning your professional identity.

Register by September 14.

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AALL2go Pick of the Month

AALL’s Continuing Professional Education Committee presents the AALL2go pick of the month: Mary Ellen Bates Live: What Will the Information Profession Look Like in Ten Years?

This program features Mary Ellen Bates, principal and founder of Bates Information Services, a research and consulting company, and a frequent author and speaker on library and information topics. Bates raises many thought-provoking insights for our profession – some positive and others more sobering. She opines that the insight that librarians bring to research and their abilities to facilitate the use of information will help our profession to endure. Her predictions for 2021 include more online learning; less face-to-face interaction but more collaboration in virtual spaces; expectations of engagement by librarians/information professionals in their clients’ work; the emergence of cloud computing and less reliance on silos of information; increased outsourcing and telecommuting in the workplace; escalation of information availability but fewer traditional sources of published information; and the continued emergence of digital libraries.

The key is to think differently about the role of libraries and information professionals in their organizations and to maximize our value. As resources continue to emerge and expand in content, librarians will be more vital as information creators, interpreters, and distillers.

This program is presented in streaming video, with accompanying PowerPoint slides, and is available via AALL2go.

This program, generously supported by an AALL grant, was held on March 8, 2011, in Atlanta and was jointly sponsored by the Atlanta Law Libraries Association (ALLA), the Metropolitan Atlanta Libraries Association (MALA), the Special Libraries Association of Alabama (SLA-AL), and the Special Libraries Association of Georgia (SLA-GA).

Find this and more than 80 other free continuing education programs and webinars for AALL members on AALL2go!

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Mark Your Calendar: Professional Legal Management Week, October 3-7

Professional Legal Management Week (PLMW) provides a forum for recognizing those in legal management for what they do and the roles they play in the success of their organizations. AALL is one of 11 associations co-sponsoring the event with the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA).

If you haven’t reached out to other law firm professionals, PLMW is the perfect time to ask them to lunch or coffee. Get the conversation going and learn what’s on their minds and how the library might help. As October gets closer, watch AALLNET for additional suggestions on how to celebrate the week.

(PLMW – http://www.plmw.org/; Links: ALA – http://www.alanet.org/; AALLNET – http://www.aallnet.org)

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2011 AALL Salary Survey Available this Fall

The AALL 2011 Biennial Salary Survey and Organizational Characteristics will be available to AALL members in mid-October.

This new edition is the only source for up-to-date information about salaries for law librarians and other law library employees who work in academic libraries; private firms and corporate libraries; and state, court, and county law libraries. The survey was carried out this summer in complete confidentiality by Association Research, Inc., a professional research firm inRockville,Maryland, that works exclusively with nonprofit organizations.

Printed copies of the survey will be available for purchase and shipment in mid-October; $110 for AALL members and $175 for nonmembers (contact orders@aall.org). An online version of the survey results will be available to AALL members for free on the Members Only Section of AALLNET.

Two Members Receive AALL Awards

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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).

AALL Annoucements – June 2011

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1. AALL2go Pick of the Month

2. Unleash Your Inner Leader October 28-29 (application deadline June 30)

3. New and Improved AALLNET Now Live

4. A New AALL Membership Year is Underway—Don’t Miss Out!

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AALL’s Continuing Professional Education Committee presents the AALL2go pick of the month: Federal Regulatory Information and Where to Find It.

In this one-hour video, David Pritzker of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Regulatory Information Service Center provides a handy tutorial on the federal rulemaking process, including where the public can find access to federal regulations. The GSA Regulatory Information Center publishes a semiannual unified agenda on regulatory actions under development. The fall publication of the agenda includes a regulatory plan identifying current regulatory priorities and highlighting significant regulatory actions expected in the coming year. The center also helped establish Reginfo.gov to provide a “regulatory dashboard” of current information on the regulatory process, which includes handy FAQs on the regulatory process and hyperlinks to government sources for the regulations.

Pritzker’s presentation explains the evolution of public access to regulatory information (including the genesis of the Code of Federal Regulations and Federal Register), how the Administrative Procedure Act creates a legal framework for the adoption of regulations in a manner allowing for public input, and where to find regulatory information, including new, free web-based government resources.

Find this and more than 80 other free continuing education programs and webinars for AALL members on AALL2go!

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Unleash Your Inner Leader October 28-29

New law librarians in the early stages of your career—achieve your leadership potential by attending the 2011 AALL Leadership Academy, October 28-29 in the Chicago area. Designed as an intensive learning experience aimed at growing and developing leadership skills, the academy program will help you discover how to maximize your personal leadership style while connecting with other legal information professionals.

The program will feature speakers Gail Johnson and Pam Parr. Johnson is a widely regarded leadership and communications expert and holds a Master of Arts in Communication Studies. Parr has extensive business management and customer service expertise. They have conducted many leadership programs for library organizations and will speak at the 2011 American Library Association Annual Conference.

Applications are due by June 30.

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New and Improved AALLNET Now Live

In May AALL launched the redesigned AALLNET where you’ll discover a new layout, easy-to-use navigation, more features and functionality, and a stronger brand.

The new AALLNET will allow you to:

  • Easily navigate the site to browse for information or complete a specific task, such as register for an event or apply for a grant.
  • At a glance from the homepage, view the latest news, events, job postings, and AALL’s Twitter feed.
  • Use the search box to find specific information; results can also be further refined or used to discover related resources.
  • Collaborate electronically with your special interest sections, caucuses, and committees and network with like-minded members by using our online network called My Communities.

Visit AALLNET today and explore the new resources available for you!

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A New AALL Membership Year is Underway—Don’t Miss Out!

AALL’s new membership year just began on June 1. If you haven’t renewed already, be sure you do today so you don’t miss out on valuable member benefits.

The new and improved AALLNET debuted this spring. The new site is easy to navigate, features a fresh new look, and includes improved search functionality. New social media tools allow you to form your own member groups and create group discussion forums, websites, blogs, and more.

AALL2go, your online center for professional development, brings continuing education programming to your desktop, available 24/7. There are already more than 80 free programs for AALL members, with new content added monthly. Look for the 2011 Annual Meeting and Conference programming to be available on August 5.

AALL’s online Career Center provides advanced resume and job search features, whether you’re looking to find or fill a law library position.

AALL is offering a discounted membership rate for AALL members who are recently unemployed ($57 instead of $226). Unemployed AALL members should fill out the online form.

Find more information or renew your membership online. If you have any questions about your membership renewal, contact AALL Headquarters at membership@aall.org or 312/205-8022

People’s Law Library Web Site Wins AALL Award

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Congratulations to the Maryland State Law Library for being the 2011 recipient of the AALL Innovations in Technology Award for The People’s Law Library (http://www.peoples-law.org).  The Innovations in Technology Award was established in 2009 “to recognize an AALL member, SIS, chapter, or library for their innovative use of technology in the development of an application or resource for law librarians or legal professionals.”  The award will be presented during the AALL Opening Reception on Saturday, July 23rd, from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Kudos to the State Law Library and all its staff who have been involved in this project!

What’s New with LLAM Members? Awards, Graduations and more…

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1. Joan Bellistri Wins Access to Justice Award
2. Two Members Receive AALL Awards
3. Jenny Rensler Graduates from University of Maryland School of Law
4. Kurt Meyer Accepts New Job
5. Evan Levasseur Graduates
6. People’s Law Library Web Site Wins AALL Award

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1. Joan Bellistri Wins Access to Justice Award

Joan Bellistri, Judge Irma S. Raker, Judge Robert Bell

Joanie Bellistri received an important Maryland state award this year. She was one of the inaugural recipients of the Maryland Access to Justice Commission’s Maryland Access to Justice Awards. “These awards recognize individuals, programs and entities in the State that improve the ability of all Marylanders to access the courts or to get legal help in civil legal matters so they can benefit from the rights, protections, services and opportunities that the law provides,” said retired Maryland Court of Appeals Judge Irma S. Raker, chair of the Commission. Joanie was awarded the Judicial Branch Excellence Award “for her ongoing efforts to make legal information more accessible through publications, training and programs such as the creation of a self-help corner in the court’s law library. [She] also created the ‘Ask a Lawyer in the Library’ program in Anne Arundel County, organizing attorney volunteers to staff regular clinics at local public libraries.” Joanie received her award at the 2011 Judicial Conference on May 13 in Annapolis. She was in good company. Other honorees included Gov. Martin O’Malley, winner of the Executive Branch Award, and Chief Judge Ben C. Clyburn of the District Court of Maryland, winner of the Judge of the Year Award.

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2. Two Members Receive AALL Awards

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).

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3. Jenny Rensler Graduates

Jenny Rensler

Jenny Rensler graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree on May 20, 2011. While in law school since 2007, Jenny continued working at the Thurgood Marshall Law Library as Research Librarian. Jenny will join her esteemed colleagues on the library faculty who teach legal research at Maryland School of Law and teach her first legal research course in Fall 2011.

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4. Kurt Meyer Accepts New Job

Kurt Meyer

Kurt Meyer, Research Librarian at Thurgood Marshal Law Library, has accepted a new job at Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington. Kurt’s new position will be Reference Librarian and Assistant Professor of Law.  Good luck, Kurt!

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5. Levasseur Graduates

Evan Levasseur

On May 26, 2011 Stephanie Levasseur’s son, Evan, graduated from kindergarten at the Immaculate Conception School. Congratulations, Evan!

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6. People’s Law Library Web Site Wins AALL Award

Congratulations to the Maryland State Law Library for being the 2011 recipient of the AALL Innovations in Technology Award for The People’s Law Library (http://www.peoples-law.org).  The Innovations in Technology Award was established in 2009 “to recognize an AALL member, SIS, chapter, or library for their innovative use of technology in the development of an application or resource for law librarians or legal professionals.”  The award will be presented during the AALL Opening Reception on Saturday, July 23rd, from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Kudos to the State Law Library and all its staff who have been involved in this project!

AALL Program Preview: Services for Self Represented Litigants In Pennsylvania

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By Joan Bellistri
Anne Arundel County Public Law Library
 

As a member of the Self Represented Litigation Network (SRLN) Law Librarians Working Group, I volunteered to propose a program for AALL 2011 that would provide information on how court libraries in Pennsylvania provide service to the self represented. After agreeing to come up with a program, I realized that I didn’t really know any court librarians in Pennsylvania. I just started calling court librarians in the AALL directory to find out what they do. I was able to persuade three county law librarians to talk about their experiences with self represented litigants.  Eleanor Gerlott of Lancaster County, Melanie Solon of Berks County and Tracy McCall of Dauphin County all work in court law libraries with a small staff. Still, all of them have been involved in the development of programs for the self represented in their courts. Eleanor was instrumental in the creation of the Lancaster County self help center. She manages the center, which is not on the same floor as the law library, with a staff of two. Melanie works with  her court’s Pro Se Task Force, which creates forms packets for use by self represented litigants. Tracey established the self help center in her law library and was a member of the forms committee.

The program was not accepted by the AMPC, but will be sponsored by the State, Court, and County Law Libraries Special Interest Section. The program is scheduled for Sunday, July 24, at 3:00. Only two of my original contacts, Eleanor and Melanie, will be presenting, but the program will be of interest to those of us in county law libraries that are seeing an increasing number of self represented litigants. The Value of the Public Law Library: How County Law Libraries in Pennsylvania Collaborate with the Courts to Provide Service to the Self Represented Litigant will provide information on the creation of a self help center and SRL forms development. More importantly, I hope that it will enable county law librarians to demonstrate the value of the court law library as an indispensable element in the court’s ability to provide service to the self represented litigant.  By taking the lead in the development of services to meet the needs of self represented litigants, law librarians can enhance their visibility while demonstrating their value.

AALL Program Preview: Chinese and American Forum on Legal Information and Law Libraries (CAFLL) Conference

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By Bijal Shah
Electronic Services Librarian
University of Baltimore Law Library
 

Two days prior to the upcoming AALL annual meeting in Philadelphia, the second biannual Chinese and American Conference on Legal Information and Libraries will take place in the same city.  The first such conference was held in Beijing, China in May, 2009.  This conference is being sponsored by the Chinese and American Legal Forum on Legal Information and Law Libraries (CAFLL), a non-profit organization whose membership includes legal information professionals in China and the United States.  The Forum’s mission statement indicates that the organization “promotes the accessibility of legal information and fosters the education of legal information professionals in the United States and China.” (http://cafllnet.org)

The two-day conference on Friday, July 22 and Saturday, July 23 will serve as an opportunity for Chinese and American legal professionals to come together and share views on topics relevant to law libraries in both countries.  Since conference attendees will include law school deans and librarians from China and the United States, all sessions will be presented in both Chinese and English.  On the first day of the conference, workshops for Chinese library administrators and librarians on American law libraries are scheduled.  These pertain to such topics as leadership training and the internationalization of legal research.  The second day will feature keynote speakers, as well as panel discussions on evolving trends in law librarianship and future collaborative efforts between legal information professionals in the two countries.

One of my colleagues and I will be co-presenters during the panel discussion on technical services topics.  Clement Lau, Associate Director for Technical Services and Administration at University of Baltimore Law Library, and I are planning to briefly talk about resource sharing systems used in Maryland libraries.  Resource sharing is considered a “hot topic” in Chinese library circles, and Chinese library administrators are curious about how such systems operate in U.S. libraries.  We hope the discussion of our policies, practices, and challenges may foster additional dialog among both our American and Chinese colleagues.  In addition, I look forward to this unique opportunity to learn about a different library world.

Announcements – March 2011

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1. AALL/LLAM Grants for Annual Meeting/Conference
2. Unraveling the Mysteries of the Law Firm Marketing Department
3. Save the Date: April 28 AALL Webinar on Library Technology
4. Get a Free Year of AALL Membership with Nonmember Annual Meeting Registration
5. Renew Your AALL Membership Early for a Chance to Win a Free 2011 AALL Annual Meeting Registration
6. AALL2go Pick of the Month
7. Unleash Your Inner Leader October 28-29

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1. AALL/LLAM Grants for Annual Meeting/Conference

Each year, on a rotating basis, AALL provides grants to members of local chapters to cover registration for the Annual Meeting.  In 2011 it is LLAM’s turn to have a member receive a AALL grant for the Annual Meeting, to be held in Philadelphia from July 23-26.  To make the grant even more appealing, LLAM is adding $500 to AALL’s registration grant to help cover the cost of transportation/hotel/meals at the conference.

To apply for the grant, you must fill out an application and return it to the LLAM Grants & Awards Committee by March 31, 2011.  Applicants must be members of AALL and LLAM at the time of their application.  A committee consisting of Jean Hessenauer, Mark Desierto, and Jim Gernert will review all of the applications, and let the grant recipient know of his/her selection by April 8, 2011.

For more information, or to request a copy of the application, contact Jim Gernert at jgernert@yahoo.com, or (410) 965-6107.  You can also find a copy of the application on LLAM’s website at http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/llam/llamgrantapplication2011.doc .

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2. Unraveling the Mysteries of the Law Firm Marketing Department

How much do you know about the marketing department in your firm? What does your chief marketing officer (CMO) envision as the biggest challenges and opportunities in this tough business climate? And most importantly for you, what is your role in helping your firm win new business and sustain longstanding and profitable client relationships?

In this installment of the Private Law Libraries (PLL) Change as Action Summit, you will hear from Joe Calve and Kelly Brown of Morrison & Foerster. Calve is MoFo’s chief marketing officer, and Brown is the director of client relations. For the past year, the MoFo Research and Intelligence Group (the library) has reported to Calve and Brown in the Marketing Department. Calve and Brown bring a deep understanding of the capabilities of the MoFo Research and Intelligence team, and they are in a unique position to share their thoughts about how libraries can position themselves to become active participants in the practices of their firms by providing research at the highest level, both for business development and for client work.

This program will be videotaped and posted on the PLL website and will be available for free beginning on March 28 on AALL2go. It can be viewed by individual members or by groups. You may want to suggest that your chapter or SIS plan an educational program around the video. For example, tap a marketing director from a local firm to attend a brown bag lunch and watch the video with you; then, follow-up with a Q&A session.

This is the third in a series of five programs moderated by PLL members to provide a primer in law firm management from the view point of firm managers and administrators. The series is part of a two year program undertaken by the Private Law Libraries Special Interest Section (PLL-SIS) of AALL. The goal is to identify significant changes taking place in the legal world, to understand how these changes provide opportunities for assuming leadership roles, and to develop concrete plans for librarians to become leaders within their organizations. The culmination of these efforts, the Change as Action Summit, will take place in Philadelphia on July 23.

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3. Save the Date:  April 28 AALL Webinar on Library Technology

The Private Law Libraries Special Interest Section will host AALL’s April webinar, Library and Technology: Finding Common Ground on April 28 at 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Check the AALL Calendar of Events for more details to come.

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4. Get a Free Year of AALL Membership with Nonmember Annual Meeting Registration

AALL offers nonmembers a complimentary one-year membership when they register for the AALL Annual Meeting and Conference, to be held July 23-26 in Philadelphia. The membership includes:

  • Career resources, such as the online Career Center and continuing education to help you learn new skills to advance in your career
  • Access to specialized information created just for law librarians, such as the Biennial Salary Survey and the Price Index for Legal Publications
  • Subscriptions to the monthly magazine, AALL Spectrum, and quarterly journal, Law Library Journal, to help you keep up on the latest trends in law librarianship
  • The opportunity to network and connect with other law librarians from across the country who share similar interests and are facing the same challenges
  • Discounted rates on all AALL products and services, such as publications, webinars, and online job postings

Annual Meeting registration is now open. Register by June 1 at the early bird rate and save $100. Be sure to take advantage of this special offer for nonmembers.

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5. Renew Your AALL Membership Early for a Chance to Win a Free 2011 AALL Annual Meeting Registration

In March, AALL dues invoices for 2011-2012 will mail out to all library directors for their institutionally paid memberships and to all other individual members. The deadline for membership renewal is May 31.

When you renew early—by May 1—you will be entered in a drawing for a free 2011 AALL Annual Meeting and Conference registration. If you renew on time—by May 31—you’ll be entered in a drawing for a free AALL webinar of your choice in 2011-2012. Following is the 2011 membership renewal schedule:

  • March: First dues invoices mailed out.
  • May: Second dues invoices mailed out.
  • June: Final dues invoices mailed out.
  • July: Expiration notices e-mailed to all members—individuals and those paid by institutions.
  • August 1: Expired members deleted from the AALL membership database and access to the AALLNET Members Only Section and Law Library Journal and AALL Spectrum subscriptions discontinued.

For more information or to renew your membership online, view the application form on AALLNET. If you have any questions about your membership renewal, contact AALL Headquarters at membership@aall.org or 312/205-8022.

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6. AALL2go Pick of the Month

AALL’s Continuing Professional Education Committee presents the AALL2go pick of the month: Web 2.0 Challenge.

Need a refresher on blogs or RSS? New to creating wikis? Want to know what colleagues are saying about the value of social networking for your library? AALL2go offers you solutions.

The AALL Computing Services Special Interest Section (CS-SIS)‘s Web 2.0 Challenge is an online course for law librarians about social media and how to use it in their libraries. It is a comprehensive and social learning opportunity designed for law librarians based on hands-on use of these technologies.

Each of the five sessions includes:

  • An introduction to the topic and suggested learning outcomes for the week
  • A screen cast explaining the technology with step-by-step instructions on its use
  • Links for further learning
  • Examples of libraries/librarians using the featured tool
  • An assignment with activities designed to give you hands-on experience with each tool

Whether you’re just browsing some of the articles listed or you’re looking for additional ideas for a particular social networking solution, you have the flexibility to decide how much or how little information meets your needs. To follow along with the course, log in as a guest. (Guests may access most course content, but may not contribute to the site.)

Find this and more than 80 other free continuing education programs and webinars for AALL members on AALL2go!

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7. Unleash Your Inner Leader October 28-29

New law librarians in the early stages of your career—achieve your leadership potential by attending the 2011 AALL Leadership Academy, October 28-29 in the Chicago area. Designed as an intensive learning experience aimed at growing and developing leadership skills, the academy program will help you discover how to maximize your personal leadership style while connecting with other legal information professionals.

The program will feature speakers Gail Johnson and Pam Parr. Johnson is a widely regarded leadership and communications expert and holds a Master of Arts in Communication Studies. Parr has extensive business management and customer service expertise. They have conducted many leadership programs for library organizations and will speak at the 2011 American Library Association Annual Conference.

The application period will start April 1, and applications will be due by June 30. Watch for more details coming soon.

Announcements – December 2010

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1. Maryland People’s Law Library Launches Redesigned Website

2. AAL2Go

3. National Library of Medicine Announces Disaster Symposium

4. THOMAS Update

5. AMPLL 2011 Conference

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Maryland People’s Law Library Launches Redesigned Website

The Maryland State Law Library launched a redesign of the People’s Law Library in December. The new design brings an improved interface, updated content, and many new functionalities to the legal information website. The redesign includes not only a new look for the site, but also new functionality provided by porting the site to the open source Drupal content management system.

The site launch comes after nearly a year of work by library staff members. Over 1000 pages of content have been updated and ported to the new site. In addition, content is now tagged with a taxonomy of legal terms, simplifying user navigation. Among the site’s other new features are link checking, page emailing, print formatting, text scaling, and improved site statistics.

In developing the new site, the library partnered with the Legal Services Network Technology Assistance Project (LSNTAP), which worked with an outside developer to build a Drupal template for legal service organizations. Adopting for Drupal leverages the efforts of one of the largest and most dynamic open source development communities. Literally hundreds of modules for extending the capabilities Drupal are free to download from the main Drupal website. The resulting template is in the process of being adopted by legal aid organizations throughout the nation.

The People’s Law Library has been a leading provider of free legal information to pro se litigants in Maryland since the site was launched in 1996. The site benefits from contributions from throughout the non-profit legal community. Over 90,000 unique users visit the site each month and the site had over 19 million hits in fiscal year 2010. The State Law Library assumed management of the site in 2007. To contribute to or learn more about the People’s Law Library Project, write to the site’s Web Content Coordinator at pll@mdcourts.gov or 410-260-1704.

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AALL2go Pick of the Month

AALL’s Continuing Professional Education Committee presents the AALL2go pick of the month: Ten Things Every Law Librarian Needs to Know About Copyright.

This 45-minute humorous skit, performed before a live studio audience, has infamous radio host “Rush Limbaugh” (played by George Pike) interviewing James S. Heller, author of The Librarian’s Copyright Companion, discussing copyright situations that pertain to real life librarians. Rush and James have a lively back and forth conversation with telephone callers who phone in their questions.

This videotaped program was an entertaining way to present the dos and don’ts of copyright. Topics included licensing; four factor fair use, as well as authors’ rights. After the callers’ questions were answered, they opened up questions to the live studio audience made up of attendees of the AALL 2010 Annual Conference in Denver. This session gives valuable information directed at authors, librarians, and patrons in a way that is easy to understand and light.

Find this and more than 60 other free continuing education programs and webinars for AALL members on AALL2go!

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National Library of Medicine Announces Disaster Symposium

A Symposium for Information Professionals Meeting Disaster Health Information Needs

National Library of Medicine
Lister Hill Center, NIH Campus, Bethesda, MD

Who should attend?

  • Librarians, library staff, library students, information professionals, informationists, and disaster medicine and public health professionals with a communications focus.

Learn about…

  • Tools for providing disaster health information
  • Communications and disasters
  • Assessing and meeting the information needs of disaster managers and responders
  • Using library facilities to support disaster needs during response and recovery
  • Workforce development for those interested in disaster information
  • Disaster resources for librarians – building a community of practice
  • Medical Library Association’s new disaster information specialization

Why attend?

  • Network with other disaster-minded information professionals
  • Medical Library Association continuing education credit will be offered
  • No cost for symposium registration

Register Here

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THOMAS Update

A recent update of enhancements and additions to THOMAS has been released. Enhancements include converting GPO Access links to FDsys, search enhancements, additional detail to the Bill Summary & Status display, and additional metadata.

Read more….

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AMPLL 2011 Conference

All private law librarians are encouraged to apply for the Eighth Advanced Management for Private Law Librarians (AMPLL) Conference, sponsored by the LexisNexis Librarian Relations Group. This year’s conference will be held April 8 – 10, 2011 in Dallas, Texas.  Applications due by December 31, 2010.

THE MISSION:

Redefining ourselves in the new law firm landscape: changes, challenges and opportunities.

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES

  • Our world: appreciate and capitalize on intimate knowledge of the legal industry
  • Our firm: collaborate to create and leverage strategic opportunities
  • Our department: measure and communicate value
  • Our staff: cultivate the staff you want
  • Ourselves: enhance time management, project management and soft skills

Application deadline is December 31, 2010, and all applicants will be informed by February 18, 2011.  Previous applicants who did not attend are encouraged to apply again.

Additional information can be found at: AMPLL 2011 and the application to attend can be found at: http://www.lexisnexis.com//ampllapp