SR-SIS Newsletter, vol. 12, no. 1 (December 2001)

In This Issue:

AALL Grants
Book Drive in Minneapolis
Programs for Orlando Meeting
CONELL/ Exhibits Area
Chair Column
Web Site
Taking Responsibility
Life in New York City after 9/11
Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues Corner

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2002 AALL Annual Meeting/Workshop Grants
Deadline: April 1, 2002

The AALL Grants Committee is now accepting applications for grants for the 2002 AALL Annual Meeting/Workshops. The AALL Grants Program provides financial assistance to law librarians or library school students who hold promise of future involvement in AALL and the law library profession. Funds are provided by vendors, AALL and AALL individual members. Grants cover registration costs at either the Annual Meeting or Workshops. Preference is given to newer, active members of AALL or of its chapters. For additional information, including the application form, see http://aallnet.org/services/grant_application.asp. The deadline for applications is April 1, 2002.

Twice as Responsible
by Karen Westwood

What do Anne of Green Gables and Little Women have in common? They were the two most donated titles to this year’s “Twice as Responsible” service project at the AALL Annual Meeting held in Minneapolis this summer. For the third year in a row, the Social Responsibilities SIS took on the service project of collecting books to donate to the libraries of public schools in our host city. Since AALL was held in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the SIS decided this year to be “twice as responsible” and collect books for both school districts.

I’m proud to report that over 160 books were collected during the Annual Meeting, most of them new although some gently used titles also made an appearance. In addition the Social Responsibilities SIS voted at its business meeting to donate $500 to each school district out of the SIS treasury. Members donated personal checks worth $120. The media directors for the Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools expressed their sincere thanks for the generosity shown by AALL members. The Social Responsibilities SIS will be offering a chance to make a difference in Orlando, FL next year. We hope that with more advance advertising we can make this an even bigger success. If SR-SIS members have ideas to use for promoting this idea in Orlando, please contact Karen Westwood (651-297-2087; karen.westwood@courts.state.mn.us ).

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Programs for Orlando Meeting
by Alison Alifano, Education Committee Chair

I am happy to report that *all* of the Social Responsibilities program proposals have been accepted for the 2002 Orlando meeting. Here are the program titles and time slots.

1) "State of the Civil Union: a Legal Update on the Impact of Vermont Civil Unions," scheduled for Sunday, July 21 at 2:45 p.m. (Program Coordinator - Jim Braden)

2) "Breaking Connections or Making Connections - Prison Law Libraries and AALL Five Years after Casey v. Lewis," scheduled for Monday, July 22 at 2:00 p.m. (Program Coordinator - Karen Westwood)

3) "Election Reform: Repairing a Loose Connection in the Democratic Process, scheduled for Wednesday, July 24 at 8:45 a.m." (Program Coordinator - Carol Billings)

Congratulations to the program coordinators and the Education Committee - great job!!

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CONELL/ Activities Area Exhibits
by Elvira Embser-Herbert

Your ideas are wanted for the information tables at CONELLand the Activities area for the July meeting in Orlando. Please e-mail me directly at eembser@wmitchell.edu.

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Ramblings from the Chair
by Carol Billings

During the past few weeks I’ve heard and read a number of radio and newspaper features in which people around the country in various walks of life were asked how they have been affected by the September 11 tragedy and its aftermath. Most of us who live outside of the New York and Washington areas find it hard to imagine what it’s been like to be in the shoes of fellow Social Responsibilities colleagues and friends like Alison Alifano, Camille Broussard, Carol Alpert, John Davey, and Jim Murphy, whose law firms and schools are so near the site of the World Trade Center that they and people close to them were in grave physical danger. At the same time that we are relieved and thankful that their bodies escaped injury, we try to understand how their spirits have endured the fear and sadness and the disruption of their normal existence.

My daughter and my library’s student workers have asked me if any of the national crises in my lifetime made average people on the home front feel as frightened and unsure of the future as so many feel now. I had to admit that the Korean War; the Cuban missile crisis; the civil rights struggles of the 1960's; the assassinations of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy; and Vietnam--all events of great significance to our country and to thousands who fought, died, persevered, and mourned because of them--never made me feel personally vulnerable. Now I almost feel guilty that compared to those who lost family members and close friends in one of the wars or were committed enough to join the freedom rides in Mississippi and Alabama, I’ve had it pretty easy.

As I write this piece on November 11, exactly two months from the day of the attack, we have gradually started to understand it’s impact upon our national existence. Who could have imagined that our congressional office buildings, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress would be forced to shut down because of the threat of anthrax exposure to everyone who works in them. From the hotel dining room waitress and the cab driver who have seen their tips drop drastically because of the decline in tourists visiting New Orleans to the airplane manufacturing worker in Seattle having his hours reduced, few Americans are escaping the aftershocks of the blow dealt to our economic well-being. We may not shed many tears for well-fixed folks whose greatest hardship had been watching their fat investment portfolios shrink, but when we realize that the failing health of huge corporations ultimately trickles down to reduce jobs and paychecks for regular workers, we all take notice of the news from Wall Street.

I don’t know whether law schools have been affected very much by the beefing-up of security that government and private office buildings with law libraries inside have experienced. At the courthouse where I work and the city hall across the park, all seeking admittance must show picture I.D.’s, have their bags searched, and pass through metal detectors. All mail now coming to our building--including the library’s--is screened, and most is opened by security personnel dressed in protective gear. (Once the inspectors realized what a hassel it would be to unpack our big boxes from publishers, they started bringing those to us unopened.) Of course that has thrown off the routine of our technical services department, but all we can do is hope the routine is only temporary.

While minor inconvenience is all that many of us must learn to endure, folks who were already living in difficult circumstances are now facing even worse problems. Lots of folks who had low-wage jobs have seen even those disappear. An NPR report back in September told about homeless people who had lived in the vicinity of the World Trade Center being displaced and literally not knowing where to turn for day to day subsistence. The very building security that has been put in place around the country to protect us has no doubt barred many of those who took daily refuge in public buildings and parks from their usual haunts. Anyone perceived as strange or suspicious is now subject to closer scrutiny. The poor souls whom we all regularly observe in our cities very likely need our help more than ever. After I had drafted this column a few days ago, I went on Veterans’ Day to help out at the soup kitchen that my church operates with several others serving lunch to homeless and needy folks. We were surprised and a little unprepared to find that the number of those coming to eat lunch had nearly doubled from the previous time we had served. The secretary there told me that the hard economic times have increased the needs of people already living on the edge.

As I conclude this piece, I haven’t a much clearer idea of what I was trying to say than when I began. I suppose that simply reflects the uncertainty of these strange times. We’ve all heard reports that people are--or at least were temporarily-- being nicer to each other. They’re more patient and generous and are treating each other with more compassion. Let’s hope that’s true, and let’s all do our part by continuing to help out each other and the folks in our communities from here on out.

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New Design for Web Site
by Jan Snyder Anderson

The SR-SIS web site has a new look. You can see it at http://aallnet.org/sis/srsis/. The aim is to provide up-to-date information about SIS happenings as well as some historical context, and to give a feeling for the varied activities of the SIS. It is hoped that the architecture and navigation devices on the site will make it clear and easy to use.

There are a number of topical pages that give links to web sites that deal with animal rights, human rights, etc. They have not been updated for a while. If you are interested in adopting a page and updating its information, please let me know.

Please send all information for the web site to me at: anderjan@law.georgetown.edu or to Elvira Embser-Herbert.

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Taking Responsibility
by Carol Billings

Peeling apples, providing seniors with pets, analyzing medical information, sheltering battered women, delivering food to AIDS patients, and helping people with disabilities live independently--these are only a few of the ways that Social Responsibilities SIS members contribute in their communities. Several weeks ago I sent out a request on our SIS listserv, asking members to tell me about their volunteer involvement in service projects. Almost immediately six very busy women took the time to share their passions about their pet avocations. I was so impressed to learn about some wonderful charitable activities that I didn’t even know existed that I would like to write about other volunteer work done by our members in future newsletters. I also think it would be great to feature pictures and stories about our SR volunteers at our AALL Activities Area exhibit in Orlando. That’s a not-too-subtle hint to have one of your fellow volunteers take a picture of you doing what you do.

Social Responsibilities stalwart Ann Puckett, Director of the University of Georgia Law Library, was the very first person to e-mail me about three favorite ways that she contributes. She serves on the board of Georgia Options in Community Living, a nonprofit whose mission is to assist people with severe disabilities to live independent lives. The organization helps them hire care givers, rent or buy housing, and develop connections in the community. Project Safe, which provides shelter for battered women and their children and offers education about domestic violence, is also fortunate to have Ann on its board. The activity of Ann’s that interested me most, because I had been unaware of it, is the Jeannette Rankin Foundation, which provides scholarships to mature women seeking to continue their education after it was interrupted. The foundation is named after the first woman elected to Congress, who left her estate for the benefit of women’s education.

Anne McDonald, librarian for the Department of the Attorney General in Rhode Island, also helps individuals with disabilities take charge of their lives and live more independently by serving on the board of the Ocean State Center on Independent Living. Volunteering as an ADA mediator and supporting local arts groups keep Anne busy.

Every Monday morning Laura Whitbeck gets up very early to volunteer at Food and Friends for a couple of hours before work at the Washington firm of Bryan Cave.. There she packs food for people with AIDS and other life-challenging illnesses. This past year Laura was on the bike parking crew for the DC AIDSRide and walked in AIDSWalk DC. Be on the lookout for Laura in May 2002 when she’ll be walking 60 miles in the Washington Avon Breast Cancer three-day event. She’ll be walker 1711 (www.bethepeople.com)--a shameless fund-raising plug!

University of Baltimore Law Library Director Emily Greenberg uses her research talents to help her doctor, a specialist in a bone disease, who sees patients from all over the east coast, most of whom are severely disabled. She is working on analysis of a database (in MS Access) of patients and lab test results so that the doctor can determine the efficacy of the course of treatment he’s using. Emily admits that she knew little about Access and even less about statistics, but she sought and received help from a man in the university’s business school. She’s learning a lot and enjoys the change from her library job.

Karen Westwood, Head of Outreach Services at the Minnesota State Law Library and super mom, has a great philosophy about getting her kids involved in her volunteer work. Concentrating on projects that her family can do together means that the kids don’t view volunteering as something that keeps their parents away. Both church and school activities are high on Karen’s list. She teaches Sunday school and co-chairs children’s activities for “Families Moving Forward,” a program that houses homeless families in the church for a week at a time 4 to 5 times a year. As assistant cook and bottle washer for monthly fellowship meals, she recently had fun peeling 80 pounds of apples for homemade pies. Karen is the MALL Chapter contact for a proposed Community Reading Project sponsored by the Minnesota Library Association. The idea is that the entire community will be encouraged to read the same book at the same time. (She adds that Chicago is currently reading “To Kill a Mockingbird.) And in her spare time she chaired the Teacher Appreciation Event at her kids’ public school. In her message she refers to herself as “a pretty low-level contributor.” Karen, peeling 80 pounds of apples is not low level!

As one who cannot imagine life without my five furry felines, I pay tribute to Seattle University School of Law Library Director Kristin Cheney. Four years ago Kristin founded a nonprofit called the “Seniors with Pets Assistance Program.” The effort is dedicated to helping senior citizens on fixed incomes who currently have a pet or would like to have a pet but cannot afford the associated expense. Kristin’s program has two categories of service: (1) financial assistance for adoptions, spaying/neutering, and veterinary care and (2) pet food, litter, and supplies. Serving over 150 seniors, the project expects to underwrite over $20,000 in veterinary costs and distribute in excess of that amount in food and supplies. In partnership with Meals on Wheels, Kristin and her dozen volunteers package and deliver the supplies and provide transportation to the vet. Kristin urges fellow SR members to get involved in volunteer work because she finds it so rewarding. She spends about 20 hours a week on her pet project, including hours on the phone soliciting donations and negotiating discounts. (I’ve always thought that if I had kept track of my kitty expenses over the past 30 years, it would probably equal tuition for several children at the finest Ivy League schools; so I know how valuable these services are to the recipients.)

Please keep the stories about your volunteer activities coming. Our SR SIS can be very proud to have such terrific people as our members.

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Life in New York City after 9/11;
Responding to Terrorism Victims: Oklahoma City and Beyond
(Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., 2000)
by Jim Murphy, Newsletter Editor

It is as if New York City has been turned upside down and inside out. A billionaire Republican elected mayor of a city of Democrats? Firefighters arrested in street protests for demanding the right to dig up the bodies of their brothers? Deadly Anthrax spores floating around in the mails? It all began with the unimaginable and the unforgettable- the mass murder of almost 4,000 people crushed and burned in the collapse of two of the world’s largest towers on a warm and sunny September morning.

A week before I had biked around Battery Park City. I remember thinking how lucky I was to live in one of the most beautiful and exciting cities on the face of the planet. The sparking harbor filled with sailboats. Rollerbladers skimming through the crowds strolling and laughing along the elegant Esplanade. Life at a seaside resort. When I was a child this part of the City did not even exist. I recall that my snow globe of Manhattan had held a miniature Empire State Building and a tiny Brooklyn Bridge. Growing up on Long Island, the first-born of immigrants, I saw in my snow globe the magical promise of the City- skyscrapers and swirling snow easily set in motion by a quick tilt of the wrist.

On September 11th, people crazier than I can imagine tried to shatter that snow globe. The glass is cracked, maybe leaking. The white ash has settled down. Bits and pieces of the buildings have fallen into a mountain of shards. What was once whole was broken. What is our city now, two months later? Is it too soon after the shock of death and destruction to get a sense of what has happened and what likely will occur?

How can one make sense of our lives in New York after September 11th? It is strange and unlikely but I found some answers in Responding to Terrorism: Oklahoma City and Beyond, a report published last year by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). The OVC was established in 1984 to oversee the diverse federal programs that aid crime victims. This report lists its findings and recommendations arising from its experiences with the federal and state governments’ responses to the 1995 terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. You may find it eye opening to follow the handling of the mass casualties of the first large-scale terrorist bombing in America.

One hundred and sixty seven men, women, and children died that morning when a truck bomb tore into one of the major office buildings of downtown Oklahoma City. Nine floors collapsed onto each other. The explosion damaged 324 buildings in the surrounding district. Windows and doors were blown out in a 50 block radius. Thirty children were orphaned. More than 400 were left homeless. An estimated 7,000 people lost their work places. More than 16,000 in the downtown area witnessed the event. Perhaps as many as 360,000 knew of someone who worked in the Murrah Building. While these figures do not even approach the levels of September 11th, the OVC report can give us perspective and a sense of how domestic terrorism, albeit on a smaller scale, can play out. the time line laid out in detail in the report may sound oddly familiar to anyone following events here in New York.

The Oklahoma City time line begins at 9:02 AM, April 19, 1995. Within minutes of the explosion, the first responders were on the scene to rescue and treat the survivors and to try to contain the fires and structural dangers created by the bombing. Once the living had been rescued, the next priority was the retrieval and identification of bodies and body parts. The bomb’s force was so fierce that a number of bodies were not recovered. Each family of a victim whose body was not found or was not identified had to be given a voice in how to conduct the common memorial service for the unidentified human tissue. Day by day, the OVC organized, screened and cared for what would eventually turn out to be more than 12,000 professionals and volunteers. Services included grief counseling, financial aid for funerals and lost earnings, and medical care. Millions of dollars and goods (from football helmets to wheelbarrows) poured in. The OVC coordinated a coalition of agencies, public and private, federal and state. Operations were centered in a nearby church for the first 16 days until the last of the rescue and recovery process was over.

With the completion of the first two phases, the OVC realized that the unprecedented scale of loss due to mass murders by a terrorist bombing required that the definition of victim be expanded beyond those who were killed or had survived the bombing and their families. The first responders, families of the first responders, prosecutors, and the mental health professionals were added to those entitled to the financial, emotional, and other aid offered by more than 80 agencies. Advocates were trained to help the victims through this bureaucratic maze of redundant and missing benefits. Ironically privacy concerns of some of the agencies proved to be a stumbling block in the federal government’s efforts to quickly identify the dead and to contact their families. Their refusal to release their lists of client information meant that investigators had to comb through obituaries in order to contact the families.

A necessary part of closure for the survivors was the need to observe the justice process. The OVC kept them updated as to the criminal investigation, arrest, and trial of the alleged bombers. New problems came up at this phase. The federal district court judge not only transferred venue from Oklahoma City to Denver, Colorado more than 650 miles away, he barred any victim from attending the criminal trial who might testify at the sentencing hearing. Outraged, the survivors lobbied Congress for the rights of victims to attend criminal trials in the federal court system. Due to their efforts closed-circuit TV must be provided at the original location of a crime if venue is transferred more than 305 miles away. Trial judges are now prohibited from excluding victims from the courtroom simply because they might testify or make a statement at sentencing. The OVC enabled the survivors to enjoy these rights by arranging for an auditorium equipped with closed-circuit TV and for the travel, lodging, and attendance arrangements at the Colorado trial location.

The criminal trials are over, but the effects of the terrorism linger on. The OVC found increased substance abuse, nightmares, depression, and short term memory loss among the victims. Any of these post-traumatic reactions could be triggered by anniversaries, memorial events, birthdays, reminders of the dead at the workplace, or birth of a second child. The mental health specialists at the OVC see these symptoms in the context of the four stages of recovery for an individual or community from a disaster. First is Heroic- the courageous efforts of survivors and the community immediately after the bombing. During the Honeymoon victims can still feel somewhat optimistic in light of the intense attention and assistance they are receiving. Then Disillusionment sinks in. The survivors realize that their loved ones are never coming back; things will never be the same. Finally, Reconstruction. The individual and the community have processed their grief and moved on with their lives. This is not guaranteed. If it does not occur within five years eventual recovery is difficult.

Unlike Oklahoma City, the attack on New York City did not end the morning of the explosion with the dead bodies and blasted ruins. Three months later we contend with bioterrorism , a military and cultural war on the other side of the planet, and a deepening recession. As of September 11th, Responding to Terrorism Victims became suddenly outdated . Written in anticipation of the next act of large-scale terrorism on American soil, the report is still useful in answering the question of where are we in this process of handling these events as individuals and a community.

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Standing Committee Corner
Elvira Embser-Herbert

Attention Members of the Standing Committee on Lesbian & Gay Issues. I have agreed to work on our website ( http://aallnet.org/sis/srsis/lgbt/), but I need your ideas. If you can take the time to let me know what you would like to see on our page or, for that matter, what you would not like to see on our page, I would greatly appreciate it. As some of you know, I'm very new to this group. Since the site should reflect what the group wants, I need your feedback. Please send me your suggestions via e-mail: eembser@wmitchell.edu.