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of Law Libraries 		Social Responsibilities
Special Interest Section

SR-SIS Newsletter, vol. 6, no. 1 (Autumn 1995)

In This Issue:
Perspectives
A new list server is born!
Educational Committee Update
Business Meeting Minutes
Get Involved!

Perspectives
By Bruce Kleinschmidt

I've been thinking about the matter of perspective lately. To a large extent, the topic has been driven by a new job and the accompanying geographic relocation. I could anticipate that new colleagues and neighbors would have different perspectives. I knew that I'd have a new street grid to master, new stores to locate, and different stations to preset on my radio dial.

In the process of making these changes, I've had to stop and reflect on what do I want to do differently in a new place. And to ask myself, "How do the folks in this new place see me? How do I fit in here?" Now some of this wasn't apparent to me, but it came home one night at church. One night after mass, several of us were sharing supper. Someone offered me a dish, and I looked at her and said, "But what is it?" This was hardly a witty riposte, but it brought forth a gale of laughter. Adding fuel to the fire I added, "You know, I've never lived up North before." I suspect that I will forever be known as "The Southerner" at All Saint's Parish. Well, that's the funny side of the topic about a custard dish. There is a serious side too.

On the workfront, a paralegal called me in a panic and said her boss was representing a man in a murder case already under way. The state had just amended the witness list to add a new expert. This expert was going to testify the following day about the results of a blood test performed at the crime scene. The defense attorney had never seen the test results, never deposed the expert, or hired his own expert to investigate. After I told her I had three articles on this test and we went over our fees to fax them, she remarked that she had spent three hours on the phone trying to get help from various agencies and from other libraries! Her gratitude was so obvious that it made the horror all the worse.

I relate the story because it made me think how easy it is for any one of us to limit the control of information to someone with whom we may disagree or dislike. But that's not what this group is about. This is the group of law librarians who not only take censorship of information seriously, but pro-actively work to bring social injustices to the attention of others, whether within or outside of our profession. I started with the meal at church where they laughed because they've already figured out that I like to laugh. But underneath they are very serious about the business of human dignity and knew I could take a joke.

I write all this, not because it is profound, but because I know that EVERY member of this group joins it voluntarily. Perhaps this year we can work to promote awareness of those situations where our presence has made and is making a difference. To encourage that, I'd really appreciate it if you would like to share your thoughts--how you or a colleague has made a difference, what social responsibility means to you, or something related. The material can be submitted to me for anonymous publication, if you wish.

If you have any questions about the Newsletter or suggestions, please send them to me:

IU School of Law Library--Indianapolis
735 W. New York
Indianapolis IN 46202-5194
Phone 317-274-1929
Fax 317-274-8825
E-mail to bkleinsc@indyunix.iupui.edu or bkleinsc@wpo.iupui.edu

A new list server is born!

Not only is he our chair, but James Duggan is bringing his considerable talents to bear so that this SIS can enter the electronic age. We now have a list server and this Web Page as well. Subscribe to the SR-SIS Listserv.

Educational Committee Update

By Prano Amjadi

The following programs were submitted to the AALL Education Committee by the Social Responsibilities Educational Committee:

We also co-sponsored three proposals with the Foreign, Comparative and International Law SIS:

Human Rights Worldwide: When the Message is Hard to Deliver: Refugees
Human Rights Worldwide: When the Message is Hard to Deliver: Sexual Minorities
Human Rights Worldwide: When the Message is Hard to Deliver: Women

Because the AALL Education Committee has given each of the SISs two programs to both select and present, the AALL committee did not have many slots to fill on their own. The final selections: Sex, Power and the Workplace (congratulations' Anne!) AndHuman Rights Worldwide: Refugees.

The SR-SIS Education Committee, consisting of myself, Camille Broussard, James Duggan and Barbara Morgan submitted the following two programs as our SIS sponsored choices. They are:

On Wednesday afternoon, we will use the "no conflict" slot to put on a program about the history of the Social Responsibilities SIS, a look at its future, a look at where AALL has taken a position on social issues, and a look at the social agendas of other related professional organizations.

The committee would like to thank everyone who submitted programs. They were all well done and very diverse. We hope that they will be resubmitted at this year's meeting!

Business Meeting Minutes
by Karen Westwood

The meeting was called to order by Jim Milles at 4:12 P.M. on July 16, 1995. The minutes from last year's meeting were approved.

The treasurer's report was presented. A question arose on whether or not SIS accounts earn interest. The treasurer will follow up on the question.

Rebecca Trammel reported on the Standing Committee on Service to Institutional Residents. She reports that the revised recommended Collections booklist is nearly done and will be produced in a new, looseleaf format. AALL will be represented by the Standing Committee at the American Correctional Association annual meeting in Ohio this summer. The program addresses using new technologies in providing access to the courts for inmates. The Standing Committee will also exhibit the Recommended Collections publication there.

James Duggan reported on education efforts by the SIS. Social Responsibilities sponsored five programs which were accepted for this year's AALL Annual Meeting. And was the cosponsor of two others. He thanked all those who submitted proposals announced when the SR-SIS programs were being held, and asked for more submission for next year's meeting.

Prano Amjadi reported for the Strategy Committee. The committee is awaiting comment on their initial report and will publish the finished report in the SIS Newsletter.

Carol Alpert reported for the Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues. The committee will be voting on its bylaws this year and will celebrate its tenth anniversary while in Pittsburgh.

Prano Amjadi was announced as vice-chair/chair-elect for the SIS. She will chair the education committee this year and announced she has already received two proposals. Next year for Indianapolis, each SIS will get two programs without going through the AALL approval process. Each SIS will also have a Wednesday afternoon session to use as they wish--educational program, a vendor demo, continued business meeting, etc. Prano announced that the theme for the Indianapolis meeting was "Delivering the Message."

Camille Broussard encouraged people to complete evaluation forms for programs (especially SR-sponsored programs). She also suggested restarting the program assistant position in the education committee. This person would be involved with developing a program, but without the responsibility of proposing a program individually.

Carol Alpert announced that the Committee on Diversity's reception followed the SIS' business meeting. All SR-SIS members were invited.

Jim Milles noted that the book about AALL history that was for sale at the AALL store does not include AALL resolutions. He suggested that they be included in any updates. Jim Milles passed the gavel to James Duggan. James issued a call for volunteers to work on the newsletter. Bruce Kleinschmidt volunteered to edit the newsletter.

James Duggan indicated an interest in having the SIS be a presence on the Internet, perhaps with a homepage too. He will start a list server for those members who have E-mail. James asked for volunteers to work on committees. Please let him know of your interest. James also asked for input regarding the time of the meeting. Any suggestions would be appreciated. He received one that the SR-SIS should not conflict with the meeting time of the Committee on Diversity.

Camille Broussard mentioned an upcoming survey which will ask for a ranking of the import of all AALL association activities. She suggested keeping the SIS in mind while completing the survey.

James Duggan noted that the SIS Board Chair may have a vote on the AALL Board. He will keep the membership informed of the outcome of that discussion.

James Duggan adjourned the meeting at 5:05 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,
Karen Westwood
Secretary/Treasurer

GET INVOLVED!
By James Duggan, chair

It is a beautiful fall day here in Carbondale, and as I look out my office window into the bright sunshine (well, ok, my office window actually looks out on the access road to the law school's trash dumpster...and my window is partially obscured by the law school sign), still, I am tempted to think about how fast this year has flown by, especially after taking office in July (via the passing of the ceremonial "gavel" from outgoing chair Jim Milles). The SIS had some great programs in Pittsburgh, and the business meeting produced some enthusiastic volunteers for a variety of SIS duties. However, we need more people willing to contribute their time and talents for the good of the SIS. Summarized below are some of the activities the SIS is working on, with the names of the fine people involved. Please consider joining their efforts. Call or e-mail me if you can help with education programs, the newsletter, electronic resources, public relations, or even want to complain about something...just get involved!

Education Committee Prano Amjadi (Heafey Law Library, Santa Clara University), Camille Broussard (New York Law School Library), and Barbara Morgan (University Library, University of Massachusetts, Amherst), have done an excellent job refining and submitting program proposals for the AALL 1996 Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. The Committee also had the unenviable job of selecting two programs among several outstanding proposals for the SIS' reserved slots, plus an additional program during a free slot later in the conference week. Please see the committee's report for fuller details. I believe that Social Responsibilities will present some outstanding programs in Indianapolis, and wish to thank all SR-SIS members who contributed their proposals, ideas, and talents in pursuit of this goal. Please let one of the Education Committee members know if you have a program idea in mind for Baltimore (in 1997), as we want to get a "head start" on program proposals for next year.

Nominations Committee Jim Milles (St. Louis University School of Law Library), Rebecca Trammell (University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Law Library), and Alison Alifano (New York County Lawyer's Association Library) have graciously consented to serve as the SR-SIS Nominations Committee for 1995-96. We hope to have a slate of nominees for both the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect and Secretary/Treasurer by December 1, 1995, with elections to be held in mid February. An early election of officers will allow the new incoming vice-chair to get an early start on the educational programs for AALL/Indianapolis by working with the current Education Committee through the remainder of the year. The Secretary/Treasurer will also have lead time to learn new duties in order to assume full responsibilities in July. Please contact Jim, Rebecca, or Alison, if you have any candidates you'd like to nominate for office, or (more importantly) serve as a candidate yourself.

Newsletter As you can see, Bruce Kleinschmidt has almost single-handedly resurrected the SIS's newsletter, resulting in this issue, the first in over a year. Taking on new responsibilities as editor, in addition to starting a new job at University of Indiana-Indianapolis in the same month would be almost impossible for anyone to accomplish, but Bruce has managed beautifully. Please volunteer to write a news release, book review, column, or even a series of articles for the newsletter, and make Bruce's job easier. The next issue of the newsletter should appear in early February.

Listserv Thanks to Mark Folmsbee and Jie Su (both at Washburn University of Topeka School of Law Library), SR-SIS now has its own discussion list. The list can be used for official AALL and SR-SIS announcements, as well as a discussion forum for SR-SIS committee program proposals and ideas, items of concern to the SIS's standing committees (Law Library Services to Institution Residents, and Lesbian and Gay Issues), and related dialogues. This newsletter will also appear electronically via the Listserv.

Webpage As promised, I am currently working on a WWW page highlighting the Social Responsibilities SIS. The page will provide links to other AALL pages and sites, as well as pages on the Internet of interest to SR-SIS members. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for our page's contents, including links to other sites. The page should be ready by December, 1995.

Standing Committees Make sure your voice is heard by contacting Rebecca Trammell (Chair, Law Library Services to Institution Residents) or Sharon O'Donoghue, LEXIS/NEXIS, (Chair, Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues), and volunteer your services. The SIS accomplishes much of its work through these two important standing committees.

Next SR-SIS Newsletter will be February 1996!
See your words in print! Send them to:

Bruce Kleinschmidt
Indiana University School of Law Library
735 W. New York St.
Indianapolis IN 46202-5194
Phone: 317-274-1929; Fax 317-274-8825

Comments to: Rebecca Alexander
Last updated 19 February 2000