Executive Board member Merle Slyhoff alerted us this week to an article in U.S. News and World Report titled Excellent Careers for 2006. The astute editors chose librarian as one of just 16 listed. The synopsis says:
This is an underrated career. Most librarians enjoy helping patrons dig up information. They learn in the process and keep up to date on the latest books and online resources. The need for librarians, unfortunately, may decline because search engines make it easy for patrons to find information without a librarian's help. The job growth for librarians will be in nontraditional settings: corporations, nonprofit organizations, and consulting firms.
The Foreign, Comparative and International Law SIS Centennial Committee, led by Mary Rumsey, is wasting no time in celebrating AALL’s centennial. So far, it has added all past FCIL newsletters to its Web site, conducted several oral history interviews of veteran FCIL members, and has succeeded in transcribing most of them, and ran an FCIL trivia quiz in its October 2005 newsletter.
We’re always interested in hearing what others are doing – there’s certainly no lack of creativity in the law librarian community. Good work!
The AALL/West Excellence in Marketing Awards honor outstanding achievements in public relations activities.These activities can be performed by an individual, group of individuals, library, chapter, SIS, consortium, caucus, or any other group affiliated with the Association.
Public relations are a critical responsibility of the library profession. It is important to recognize and acknowledge outstanding contributions achieved by law librarians in raising the visibility of the profession and AALL. The Public Relations Committee issues the AALL/West Excellence in Marketing Awards to inspire, educate, and encourage promotional activities by the AALL membership.
The application and guidelines are available via AALLNET or the Public Relations Committee Web site.
AALL has a number of scholarships and grants available to assist in attending the Annual Meeting and to assist individuals studying to become law librarians. The deadline for submissions is April 1, 2006.
Do you have any legal instructional materials, guides, presentations, assignments, or exams? Why not consider sharing them with your colleagues through the Research Instruction and Patron Services (RIPS-SIS)Teach-In Resource Kit or the Academic Law Libraries (ALL-SIS) Legal Research Sourcebook?
ALL-SIS and RIPS-SIS, two long-standing AALL special interest sections, have joined together to recruit submissions of legal research training and instructional materials. The RIPS sponsored National Legal Research Teach-In campaign has provided the popular Teach-In Resource Kit for many years as a print publication designed to support the instructional activities of law librarians. It is published annually in conjunction with National Library Week each April. And now ALL-SIS has established its ground-breaking Legal Research Sourcebook as an electronic database of any and all legal research instructional materials that AALL members wish to submit.
How can you play a part in this exciting new partnership? Get involved by sharing your comments, suggestions, and materials! Teach-In/Sourcebook submissions are currently being accepted. You can contact or send submissions as email attachments to any of the people listed below. Any document format that can be attached to an email is acceptable.
We will accept most any instructional materials that you care to offer:
* course syllabi
* research guides
* lecture notes
* handouts
* assignments
* lesson plans
* PowerPoint shows
* basic instructional guides
* examinations and guided quizzes
* crossword puzzles and trivia quizzes
And we will recommend whether your materials are suitable for publication in the Teach-In Kit or the Sourcebook database - or both! So, you have the choice of contributing to both publications through a single submission process.
Both special interest sections will maintain these unique resources to provide the best legal research materials to AALL members. In order to solicit the widest range of submissions possible for both sources, RIPS-SIS and ALL-SIS decided to partner in their public relations efforts. Now your legal research materials can go the extra mile by supporting two resources at the same time!
We welcome your ideas and suggestions and encourage you to contact us to discuss your contributions.
Send TEACH-IN/SOURCEBOOK submissions to either:
Jennifer Murray
RIPS-SIS Teach-In Committee
Greenberg Traurig
Phoenix, AZ
Phone: 602-445-8155
e-mail: murrayj@Gtlaw.com
Paul Howard
ALL-SIS Legal Research Sourcebook Committee Co-Chair
Gordon D. Schaber Law Library McGeorge School of Law
3282 Fifth Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95817
Phone: 916-739-7074
e-mail: phoward@pacific.edu
For more information see:
* National Legal Research Teach-In campaign Web page
* ALL-SIS Legal Research Sourcebook Web page
* AALL Spectrum article on the Teach-In/Sourcebook partnership: "Help is on the Way", 9 AALL Spectrum 18 (December 2004)
Do you need short-term professional guidance on a specific issue? Have you exhausted your available confidants or want to obtain advice anonymously?
The Mentoring Committee's new Quick Mentor service can help. Submit your question and a committee member will find an "expert" law librarian to answer your question.
Quick Mentor differs from the Mentor Project in two ways. Quick Mentor matches you with an expert for one-time advice on a specific issue, whereas the Mentor Project matches you with a mentor for an ongoing relationship.
Second, Quick Mentor is designed for all AALL members, whereas the Mentor Project tends to be utilized by newer members.
Sooner or later, all law librarians can benefit from an outside perspective or guidance. So give this service a try the next time you need a second opinion. If you are interested in serving as a volunteer "expert," contact Mentoring Committee member Terry Long.
Are you a new law librarian, or an experienced law librarian interested in meeting and advising those who are new to the profession? Are you considering a move to another type of law library, or do you need advice to advance your career?
The AALL Mentoring Committee invites you to become involved in a mentoring relationship. And since it is up to the participants to decide how long to continue their mentoring relationship, previous mentors and mentees are welcome to reapply for a new match. The Mentoring Committee will work with the Academic Law Libraries, Private Law Libraries and the State Court & County Law Libraries Special Interest
Sections to provide the best matches possible. Those who apply by May 12, 2006, are guaranteed a match in time for the AALL Annual Meeting. Apply now!
If you read AALL Spectrum, you may have noticed a new department called "Member to Member." In this department we pose a question relating to AALL or law librarianship and publish three to five answers to the question from members. The question for the March 2006 issue of Spectrum is: What is your most memorable experience serving the public?
AALL members can submit an answer for potential publication in Spectrum. We are looking for short (one paragraph or less), interesting answers to the question. We will select up to five of the responses submitted for publication each month. If we select yours, we will contact you for permission before publishing it. Responses are due January 18, 2006.
Selection of responses will be done by AALL Spectrum Editorial Director Paul Healey in conjunction with AALL Director of Publications Julia O’Donnell. Please send your responses to Paul and Julia O’Donnell by Wednesday, January 18.
Those chapters and SISs that use Zoomerang for surveys know that it is free for the first 100 individuals surveyed. After that, there is a cost. AALL Headquarters purchased a subscription (Zoomerang zNonprofit) that will allow chapters and SISs the ability to conduct online surveys of all their members. If you are a chapter or SIS chair and wish to make use of the service, please contact me or my assistant, Kim Rundle for log-in information.
The Partnership for a Nation of Learners (PNL), a leadership initiative of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), will sponsor a series of five monthly one-hour professional development Web casts designed to help local museums, libraries, and public broadcasters work collaboratively to address local needs.
The schedule for the Web casts is as follows:
January 19, 1-2 p.m., ET
"Getting Started with Community Collaboration"
This first Web cast will explore the genesis of collaboration, the benefits of partnering, and the identification of each organization’s most valuable assets. Through practitioner presentations, discussion, and question and answers, participants will broaden their understanding of a collaborative project’s initial phase.
February 7, 2-3 p.m., ET
"Recognizing the Need"
March 9, 2-3 p.m., ET
"Gathering the Talent"
April 12, 2-3 p.m., ET
"Designing for Impact"
May 11, 2-3 p.m., ET
"Managing for Success"
Visit the PNL Web site for information about funding, a tutorial on partnership, and more.
Sincerely,
Susan E. Fox, CAE
Executive Director
American Association of Law Libraries
53 West Jackson Blvd., Suite 940
Chicago, IL 60604
312-939-4764, ext. 11
Fax 312-431-1097
AALL: Maximizing the Power of the Law Library Community Since 1906.
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