The SR-SIS has been busy since our last newsletter. This pre-conference newsletter is intended to bring you up-to-date on the progress of the SR-SIS.

I am pleased to tell you that the Annual Meeting Program Committee has accepted the SR-SIS's request that they add an additional Hot Topic program slot. Same-Sex Marriage: the Legal Issues will be one of two Hot Topic programs in Boston. The SR leadership felt very strongly that Boston was the place to present this program and we were thrilled when we received an affirmative response from Gail Warren. The addition of another Hot Topic slot would not have been possible without the creation of an amazing program proposal put together by Ann Hemmens and Elvira Embser-Herbert, with input from a number of SR members. You are all to be commended. The SR-SIS would like to thank Gail Warren and the AMPC for their willingness to accept two Hot Topics. We would also like to thank Janis Johnston for her support and leadership and Susan Fox and Pam Reisinger at headquarters for moving the schedule around to accommodate a second Hot Topic.

The SR-SIS Executive Board, with the help of Ron Wheeler, has drafted a resolution that will be read at the Open Forum in Boston. The resolution strongly opposes the proposed federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman. I will ask the SR membership to adopt the resolution at the SR business meeting in Boston so that it can be read into the Association's official record at the Members Open Forum on Tuesday, July 13th from 3:15-3:45 p.m. I encourage you all to attend the Open Forum to support this important resolution. The proposed resolution reads as follows:

PROPOSED RESOLUTION

Social Responsibilities SIS
American Association of Law Libraries

WHEREAS the Social Responsibilities Special Interest Section (SR-SIS) addresses issues of social change and social responsibility that are of concern to AALL members both personally and professionally, including equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, and

WHEREAS in 1985, the SR-SIS Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues was created as an organizational vehicle for 1) promoting the discussion of issues important to the lesbian and gay community; 2) raising the visibility of lesbian and gay law librarians within the Association; and 3) providing professional and social contacts for standing committee members, and

WHEREAS these goals continue to be achieved through annual meeting educational programs, publications, AALL professional activity, and social opportunities, and
WHEREAS a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman intentionally discriminates against lesbians and gay men by denying them access to the protections, benefits, and responsibilities extended automatically to married couples, and

WHEREAS the U.S. Constitution has served historically to expand the scope of democratic liberty and increase the number of people entitled to claim that liberty, and

WHEREAS no evidence exists that a viable democracy depends on defining marriage as only a heterosexual institution, and

WHEREAS the proposed constitutional amendment appeals to Americans' prejudices and fears rather than to their higher values of equality and justice,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Social Responsibilities SIS of AALL strongly opposes the proposed federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman.

End of Resolution

I would also like to remind you about the dates and times of the various SR Boston meetings, both business and educational. Here is the schedule:

Sunday, July 11th 4:15-5:15 p.m. SR-SIS Business Meeting

Monday, July 12th 7:00-7:45 a.m. SR-SIS Standing Committee on Library Service to Institution Residents Business Meeting

Monday, July 12th 5:15-6:15 p.m. Joint Roundtable on Serving Pro Se Patrons and Prisoners (LISP, RIPS and SR)

Tuesday, July 13th Program E-6 9:00-10:00 a.m. HIV/AIDS: A Global Epidemic and an Issue of International Law

Tuesday, July 13th Program G-7 4:00-5:00 p.m. Hot Topic: Same-Sex Marriage: The Legal Issues

Tuesday, July 13th 5:15-6:15 p.m. SR-SIS Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues Business Meeting

Tuesday, July 13th 7:00-10:00 p.m. SR-SIS Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues Reception at the Club Cafe

I will be representing the SR during the CONELL Marketplace on Saturday morning. If anyone would like to join me at the table, please let me know. We have also purchased trinkets for both CONELL and the SR table in the Exhibit Hall Activities Area.

Annette Demers has worked tirelessly to promote this year's Book Drive entitled Make Way Boston which will benefit ReadBoston. This newsletter includes the full details of the book drive, including the gorgeous poster created by Annette using, with permission, the artwork of Derek Hatfield.

Congratulations to our newly elected officers. The 2004-2005 Executive Board will be Ann Hemmens, Chair, Reference Librarian, University of Washington Gallagher Law library, Leslie Campbell, Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect, Law Library Program Administrator, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and Ron Wheeler, Secretary/Treasurer, Co-Interim Director of the Law Library, Reference Librarian & Lecturer, University of New Mexico School of Law. I look forward to another productive year for the SR-SIS.

I have had the pleasure of working with some very bright and powerfully motivated people as chair of this small but dedicated SIS. I've made good friends both professionally and personally. I encourage you all to get involved in this wonderful SIS and I thank you for an incredible experience.

Alison Alifano, Chair
Social Responsibilities SIS
alifanoa@sullcrom.com

One of two AALL Hot Topic Programs this year will come from the Social Responsibilities-SIS. It is a very timely program entitled Same-Sex Marriage: The Legal Issues. The proposal came together through the combined efforts of several members but most of the credit must go to Ann Hemmens, Elvira Embser-Herbert, and Alison Alifano. Initially, the program was turned down in favor of another topic but, upon making an appeal to the Annual Meeting Program Committee, it was reconsidered and a second Hot Topic slot was created for this very timely topic. Please be advised that this program is not a debate on the topic of same-sex marriage but rather, a program to inform members of the legal issues involved in same-sex marriage. The Hot Topic Program "Same-Sex Marriage: The Legal Issues" will be held on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Members are encouraged to attend this important program. Members are also encouraged to invite their AALL colleagues to attend. Please refer to your AALL Final Program for the room location.

The Standing Committee's Annual Business Meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Aside from the regular business of the Standing Committee, the installation of new officers will take place. Our incoming Chair is Jeffrey Berns. The business meeting is open to all members of the Standing Committee and, I encourage any members interested in participating in the activities of the Standing Committee to attend. Please refer to your AALL Final Program for the business meeting's room location.

The Standing Committee's Annual Reception will take place at the Club Café at 209 Columbus Ave. @ Berkeley in Boston on Tuesday, July 13, 2004. The reception will begin at 7:00 p.m. A fee of $10 per person will be charged at the door. The restaurant is a short walk from the John B. Hynes Convention Center. We gratefully acknowledge the generous contributions made by LexisNexis and Thomson West for our reception. We also thank Commerce Clearing House for its donation.

One of our most important obligations is awarding the Alan M. Holoch Memorial Travel Grant. Since no one applied in 2003, there was a big push to publicize the availability of the 2004 Holoch Travel Grant. Announcements appeared in several chapter and SIS newsletters. It was also posted twice on the SR-SIS listserv and posted on several other listservs, too. This year, I am happy to announce that we received applications from very qualified and deserving candidates. Since we were unable to award a grant in 2003, I am excited to tell you that we awarded two travel grants to Boston this year.

After being dormant for several years, the Standing Committee's Membership List has been updated. The Membership List is confidential and only available to members. A copy for members to review and update their individual listings will be available at both the business meeting and the annual reception. Members can update their listing at anytime by contacting me directly at sfisher@wilentz.com or 732-855-6160.

The Standing Committee's bibliography, Sexual Orientation and the Law: A Selected Bibliography on Homosexuality and the Law, 1969-1993, is in the process of being updated. Additional information and availability of the bibliography will be forthcoming.

Any member who has a suggestion for a program topic for the 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries should attend to the Standing Committee's business meeting, if possible. Discussion about program suggestions will take place at the business meeting. The deadline for submission of program ideas to the Annual Meeting Program Committee is in mid-August. If you are not attending AALL this year or are unable to attend the business meeting, please submit your ideas to me for consideration and presentation at the business meeting. You may also forward any suggestions for agenda items for the business meeting to me for consideration. Program proposals will be coordinated by the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect of the SR-SIS, Leslie Campbell.

To stay current with happenings about the Standing Committee and the activities and events at AALL in Boston, please be sure to visit our web site page located at www.aallnet.org/sis/srsis/.

In addition, the Boston AALL Local Arrangements Committee has created a special features web site about Boston for AALL members attending the AALL Annual Meeting this year. One of the features of the web site is a gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender page. The web site address is: http://aallnet.org/events/local04/.

Remember, if you are attending AALL this year, Tuesday, July 13th is the big day for our members. Please be sure to schedule our events into your calendar.

Finally, I would like to thank all of you for a wonderful year as Chair. It's been a very rewarding experience for me as a law librarian and as a gay man. I greatly appreciated this opportunity. Thank you.

Scott L. Fisher
Chair of the 2003-04 Standing Committee of Lesbian & Gay Issues

You are invited to attend the …

STANDING COMMITTEE ON LESBIAN & GAY ISSUES

ANNUAL RECEPTION
TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2004
7:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M.

@

CLUB CAFÉ
209 Columbus Ave. @ Berkeley
Boston MA

HORS D'OEUVRES / DESSERTS / CASH BAR
Fee: $10 per person

GUESTS:
Guests are welcomed to attend the reception. If you know potential new members of the SR-SIS, and others interested in the work of the Standing Committee, please encourage them to attend.

RSVP:
RSVP is requested but, not required. Please pay at the door. It would be helpful if you could notify us of your intention to attend the reception by contacting Scott Fisher, 2003-04 Chair of the Standing Committee, via e-mail at sfisher@wilentz.com or by telephone at 732-855-6160.

DIRECTIONS:
The Club Café is a short walk from the John B. Hynes Convention Center. Directions can be obtained at www.clubcafe.com.

The Club Café is handicapped accessible. If you have special needs for getting to and from the reception, please alert Scott Fisher, so that arrangements may be made.

OUR SPONSORS
The 2004 Annual Reception of the SR-SIS Standing Committee on Lesbian & Gay Issues has been made possible from generous contributions of our major sponsors, LexisNexis & Thomson West. An additional contribution was provided by Commerce Clearing House. If given the opportunity, please let our sponsors know we appreciate their continuing interest and support in the work of the Standing Committee.

Dear Colleagues,

This is a reminder that AALL Boston is just around the corner! So far, we have already received approximately 75 book donations and about $100.00 dollars in money gifts.

As a reminder, the book drive theme this year is "Make Way!" based on Boston's beloved children's book "Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey (The Viking Press, New York, 1941). This year's efforts will benefit ReadBoston - a city education support initiative whose mission is to ensure that all Boston children are able readers by the time they complete third grade.

We have a number of initiatives currently under way. First, Karen Moss, the Chairperson of the Association Luncheon committee has generously offered to use the Luncheon as a way to advertise the book drive. In lieu of formal table centerpieces, the Luncheon Committee has offered to use their limited funds to put small gift bags soliciting book donations on each table.

Another option that is being employed heavily this year by donors is the Amazon.com "Wish List". If you'd like to see how this works, just go to Amazon.com and click on "Wish List". Then "Find a Wish List" by searching "AALL Book Drive" or "Read Boston". Donations are sent directly to the Book Drive team.

To further advertise the "Wish List" this year we are undertaking a new advertising campaign. Our main Book Drive poster is being made the central desktop background on all of the computers in the Conference Computer Lab, with a hotlink to Amazon.com. This will remind computer users to jump into Amazon.com and make their donation.

In April, the Book Drive team sent advanced advertising to the membership of Law Librarians of New England, and a donation table was set up at this conference as well.

Finally, we are currently in the final organization and advertising stages. You may have seen our advertisements on several of the AALL listservs, From the Desk of Susan E. Fox, AALL Annual Meeting and Conference update, and the ad was also published in the last issue of Spectrum. The Conference daily newsletter will also include a two-day human interest news article promoting the book drive and Read Boston.

The conference is fast approaching and those of you who previously volunteered to assist with the book drive will be contacted shortly. Thanks again for your support and if you have any comments or questions, or if you wish to volunteer, please contact me.

Sincerely,
Annette Demers
Book Drive Coordinator 2004
Harvard Law School Library
1545 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
1-617-495-4531
ademers@law.harvard.edu

An edited version of the program proposal submitted to the AMPC is provided here so that members will have a full understanding of the program's intent.

Program Level:
Introductory

Program Length:
60 minutes

Competency:
Core Competencies for Law Librarianship
Reference
Research

Target Audience:
Reference and research librarians in academic, private, and court law libraries and librarians of all types interested in the legal debate over same-sex marriage.

Learning outcomes:

(1) Participants will develop an awareness of the complexity of legal issues surrounding same-sex marriage and gain an awareness of the current status of these issues in the courts and legislatures.
(2) Participants will be able to identify and explain the various legal concepts involved in researching and analyzing the issue of same-sex marriage including federal and state constitutional law, conflicts of law (recognition of marriage across jurisdictions), federal and state Defense of Marriage Acts, and court challenges.

Program Description:

The legal struggle for same-sex marriage has taken center stage recently. In February 2004, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found the state's refusal to allow same-sex couples access to marriage violated the Massachusetts Constitution (Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health). In March 2004, Congress began debating proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting same-sex marriage. Several government officials are already issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

Three speakers will analyze the legal challenge of same-sex marriage in the courts and legislatures to assist librarians who are being asked how to research this topic and raise the understanding of the social context of this issue in the legal system. Bennett Klein, an attorney with Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders who participated in the Goodridge case, Professor Libby Adler, a constitutional law scholar at Northeastern University School of Law, and Professor Joseph Singer, a conflicts of law scholar at Harvard Law School, will discuss the issue of same-sex marriage.

It is already time to begin thinking about program proposals for the 2005 AALL meeting in San Antonio! The proposals are due in mid-August. We need you're your ideas!

Program proposals are coordinated by the incoming Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Leslie Campbell (Leslie_Campbell@ao.uscourts.gov | 202-502-1587). Please bring your program ideas to the SR Business Meeting in Boston (Sunday, July 11th 4:15-5:15 pm) or send them to Leslie.