This is the last newsletter from which I will address you as Chair of the Social Responsibilities SIS.  As you may recall, I’ve held this office for two years due to our Chair’s resignation back in 2006.  I want to thank all of our members for this opportunity to serve.  I’ve really enjoyed working with and for all of you.  I sincerely believe that the SR-SIS is the most talented, exciting, and dynamic SIS in AALL.

We have a ton of exciting meetings, informative round-tables, fabulous receptions, and cutting-edge programs in store for you at our AALL Annual Meeting in Portland in July.  And as always, we will strive to give back to our host community by spearheading our annual book drive to benefit the local community.  Details on all of these activities are below. 

Thanks to everyone who participated in SR-SIS activities throughout the year, and also to everyone pitching in to make our presence known at the AALL Annual Meeting in Portland.  A super-special Thanks to Courtney Selby, Ann Hemmens, and Stephanie Davidson for making this newsletter happen.

I hope to see you all in Portland!

Ron Wheeler
Associate Director for Public Services
Georgia State University College of Law Library

The SR-SIS is proud to introduce its two newest officers, Larry Reeves & Stephanie Davidson. 

Larry is our incoming Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect for the 2008-2009 year, and will be assuming the role of Chair following the July 2009 AALL Annual Meeting.  Larry is Associate Law Librarian for Administration at the George Mason University Law Library.

Stephanie Davidson will be stepping into the role of SR-SIS Secretary/Treasurer, a two-year post.  Stephanie is the Head of Public Services and Assistant Professor of Library Administration at the University of Illinois College of Law Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Memorial Law Library.

Submitted by Courtney Selby

• SR-SIS Business meeting - Sunday, July 13, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
• Standing Committee on Lesbian & Gay Issues Business Meeting – Sunday, July 13, noon - 1:15 p.m.
• Standing Committee on Lesbian & Gay Issues Reception at Red Star Tavern and Roast House, Sunday, July 13, 8 – 11 p.m.
• Standing Committee on Law Library Service to Institution Residents Business Meeting - Monday July 14, 7:45 am - 8:45 a.m.
• LISP/RIPS/SR-SIS Joint Roundtable on Library Services to Pro Se Patrons and Prisoners - Monday, July 14, noon - 1:15 pm

Submitted by Courtney Selby

Sunday, July 13^th 4:15 - 5:00 pm (Program C-5)
Animal Law: An Emerging Area of Practice and Clinical Legal Education - proposed by Ann Hemmens of the University of Washington Gallagher Law Library.  This program focuses on two leading organizations impacting legal education and practicing attorneys.  The National Center for Animal Law (Lewis & Clark Law School) is focused on developing law school curricula, student competitions, and a legal clinic focused on animal law.  The Animal Legal Defense Fund is focused on improving enforcement of anti-cruelty laws and assisting in the handling of animal cruelty cases.  Both organizations will be discussed, and the impact of their work on law libraries will be explored.

Monday, July 14^th 10:45 – 11:45 (Program F-6)
Oregon's Death with Dignity Act: A Legal History - proposed by Etheldra Scoggin and co-sponsored by the Legal History and Rare Books SIS.  Program co-coordinators include Stacy Etheredge of the Coleman Karesh Law Library at the University of South Carolina and Laura Ray of the Cleveland Marshall College of Law Library.  This program focuses on Oregon's unique and highly controversial statute making it the first and only state to legalize physician assisted suicide in 1994.  The act has survived numerous legislative and judicial challenges and therefore has a fascinating and extensive legislative history.  This history, the ensuing lawsuits, attempts to repeal, federal challenges and various other aspects will be discussed in this program.

Monday, July 14^th 4:00 – 5:15 pm (Program G-4)
The Fourth E - The Environment and Law Libraries - proposed by Elizabeth Outler of the Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center at University of Florida and co-sponsored by the Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries (SEAALL).  This program focuses on planning, building, or renovating a green library or making your existing library more green.  Topics such as the reduction of energy use and energy loss, waste reduction, adopting greener practices, green building design, and implementation will all be discussed.

Submitted by Courtney Selby

Please share some light refreshments and interesting conversation with librarians interested in improving services to pro se patrons in our libraries and to improving access to legal information for prisoners. Our fifth annual roundtable will be held Monday July 14th (12pm-1:15pm) – with light refreshments! State, Court and Counties Law Libraries SIS is joining the SR-SIS and the Legal Information Services to the Public SIS in sponsoring this joint roundtable. We usually have about 40 people in attendance. This event is open to anyone – SIS membership doesn’t matter and there is no pre-registration.

Michael Tillman-Davis, Georgia State University Law Library, will discuss his past experience as a jail law librarian. He detailed the realities of working with prisoners in the article, My Time at Rikers Island, 99 LAW LIBR. J. 151 (2007) http://aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v99n01/2007-08.pdf. Margaret Moreland, Pace Law Library and Stacy Etheredge, University of South Carolina Law Library are compiling a bibliography on services to prisoners for distribution at the event and subsequent posting on the SR-SIS website.

Amy Hale-Janeke, U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit Library in New Orleans, will continue the tradition of leading an interactive and lively discussion of useful strategies for working with pro se patrons. This is a very practical discussion – what works? What doesn’t? It is your opportunity to share successes and challenges with your colleagues and to learn some new techniques.  Theresa Strike, University of New Mexico Law Library has updated a bibliography on pre se litigants that will be distributed at the event and posted online.

Submitted by Ann Hemmens

The Alan Holoch Memorial Grants are awarded each year by the Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues. The grants, designed to assist members in attending the Annual Meeting, are funded by a generous bequest made by Alan Holoch, who died in 1991, having served as treasurer of AALL and as Director of the Ohio State University Law Library.  Please join us in congratulating the recipients of this year's Alan Holoch Memorial Grant: Meg Butler and Lee Van Duzer.  Because both recipients are student members of AALL, we were able to split our regular grant award between them, providing a great opportunity for both!  Meg is the Reference Librarian with a Concentration in International and Comparative Law at New York Law School, and Lee is the Law Library Fellow at the James E. Rogers College of Law at The University of Arizona.

Submitted by Courtney Selby

The 2008 annual reception will be held at Red Star Tavern and Roast House, located in downtown Portland, offering a tantalizing menu of new American cuisine.  There will be a cash bar for those interested, and the standing committee will provided bottled water. The reception will be on Sunday night, July 13th, from 8-11 pm, and there will be a $10 charge at the door. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Alan Holoch Memorial Grant fund, which provides travel and registration grants for SR-SIS members active in the Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues. We would like to thank our sponsors - LexisNexis, Thomson West, and Wolters Kluwer - for making this event possible.

For more information on the reception site: http://www.redstartavern.com

Address:
503 S.W. Alder Street
Portland, OR 97204
(503) 222-0005

RSVPs are requested but not required, as they would assist us in planning for the reception. It would be helpful if you could notify us of your intention to attend by contacting Jorge Juarez, 2007-08 Chair of the Standing Committee, via email at jjuarez@lclark.edu.

Submitted by Courtney Selby

Help celebrate a decade of donations with our tenth annual Children’s Book Drive – “A Book for Every Child.” The Willamette Writers Inc. Books for Kids book donation program has been selected as the recipient for the 2008 Annual Meeting in Portland.   This group collects and distributes over 23,000 new and used books annually to underprivileged children and teenagers throughout Portland, Oregon state, and SW Washington state. The books are given to the many agencies serving these children who then give the books to the children. So each child owns his/her own book.

Hospitals, shelters, literacy programs, alternative schools for homeless youth, and reading mentor programs are involved in the Books for Kids program. Some of the agencies involved are the Boys & Girls Clubs, Metro Family Services, Oregon Foster Care, Juvenile Rights Project, Wynne Watts School and Community Transitional School (schools for homeless youth), Volunteer for America chapters, Medford & Phoenix Head Start Programs, and YMCA Kindergarten.

Willamette Writers Inc. is an Oregon non-profit group supporting writers. The Books for Kids program has existed since the early 1990s. Program information available at http://www.willamettewriters.com/1/books-for-kids.php.

How can you help the children and teens of Oregon find their very own book?

• Order a book online from the “AALL Book Drive 2008 Wish List” on Powells.com. Powell’s Books is a local Portland bookstore.  Shortcut to Wishlist, http://tinyurl.com/2hvv2c/. Also find it by searching the Wish List page at Powell’s Books with the email (courtney-selby@utulsa.edu).
• You must insert the mailing address for sending books to our Book Drive team member in Portland (Jorge Juarez). See below.
• Send check [made out to AALL] or bookstore gift card (from any bookstore) to our Book Drive team in Portland.
• Drop off books or gift cards or checks in Portland during the AALL Meeting at the Social Responsibilities SIS (SR-SIS) table in the Exhibit Hall.
• Buy children’s books at the Annie Bloom’s Books booth in the AALL Meeting Exhibit Hall and drop them off in the SR-SIS Book Drive box. Annie’s Bloom’s is an independent bookstore in Portland (http://www.annieblooms.com/).

Please send all donations to the AALL Book Drive team in Portland:

 Mr. Jorge Juarez
Northwestern School of Law
Lewis & Clark College
Paul L. Boley Law Library
10015 S.W. Terwilliger Blvd.
Portland, OR  97219-7799

If you have questions about the book drive, please contact one of the members of the SR-SIS Book Drive Team (Ann Hemmens hemmens@u.washington.edu; Jorge Juarez jjuarez@lclark.edu; Courtney Selby courtney-selby@utulsa.edu).

The Social Responsibilities SIS and AALL continue the tradition of giving something back to the community that hosts our Annual Meeting through this, our tenth annual Children’s Book Drive. For a list of the prior book drives see, http://aallnet.org/sis/srsis/projects.html.

Submitted by Ann Hemmens

The SR-SIS Executive Board has undertaken a project to revise our bylaws to bring them into compliance with the SIS Model Bylaws and the recommendations of the AALL Bylaws Committee.  SR-SIS members should have received an email from me containing a copy of the proposed changes and a detailed explanation for each change.  A copy of our current bylaws and the changes being proposed can be found on the SR-SIS website at http://aallnet.org/sis/srsis/bylaws_proposed_08.pdf

Please take a look at these proposed changes and send me any feedback that you may have.  Also, please plan on attending the SR-SIS Business meeting on July 13th at 5:30 pm in Portland where we will vote on these proposed changes.

Once again, I must acknowledge Jeffrey Berns of Spiegel & McDiarmid in D.C. for all of his hard work on these bylaws changes. 

Submitted by Ron Wheeler