AALL Board Member Carol Bredemeyer is V.I.P. at SCALL Institute
I’d like to thank SCALL for inviting me to be here.
I’ve heard about the SCALL Institutes for years and was glad for the opportunity to attend one. I’m also happy to be someplace warm. I’d like to acknowledge my fellow Board member, Cornell Winston. Last year, the Board decided that new board members should get a seasoned board member as a mentor and I was assigned to Cornell. He’s given me lots of great advice and helped make it possible for me to be here.
Before I talk about what’s going on in the Association, I’d like to say a few words about how important my AALL membership has been to me. As I look around the room, I see memories.
I see Leonette Williams, who I met many years ago at the Annual Meeting in San Diego when we served together on the Education Committee. I met Melody Lembke at that same meeting and learned that she grew up not far from me. I see Larry Meyer. I don’t exactly remember when I first met Larry – I think we met through mutual friends. I see names on badges that I’ve also seen on law-lib postings over the years and it’s good to put faces with those names. I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve picked up the phone or sent an email to request help from someone I’ve met through AALL. These and many others make up my professional family of sorts – people I keep in touch with by email or sit down and talk to at annual meetings. People who have helped me get Israeli Supreme Court opinions, old briefs, or links to obscure things dealing with art law. My activity in AALL has reaped huge rewards for me – I can’t imagine being a law librarian without it.
I want to acknowledge the recent death of former AALL President (and SCALL member) Francis Gates. [Gates was president 1980-81.] He was one of the rare law librarians who worked in all three types of libraries. At dinner Thursday night, Albert Brecht told us about what a wonderful mentor Francis was and what a strong believer he was in providing good library service.
I bring you greetings from the Executive Board. We’ll be gathering in Chicago in about 3 weeks for our spring meeting. I’d like to refresh your memory on some actions the Board took at its fall meeting in October. We approved a recommendation to create an AALL vendor liaison representative position. The position description is on AALLNET. The deadline for applications was March 1.
Next Tuesday, March 31, is the deadline to register for the Annual Meeting and get a Member Appreciation registration discount of $50. April 1 is the deadline to apply for grants and scholarships. There are also deadlines upcoming for reserving space in the Activities Area, Continuing Professional Education grants, Call for Papers (Open, New Member and Student Divisions and cash awards donated by LEXIS-NEXIS), and the Hot Topic proposals.
The Board also approved the creation of a Membership Marketing and Communications Dept. at Headquarters. This will allow AALL to create a comprehensive marketing and communications plan; integrate the Association’s communications, including print publications, AALLNET, and electronic communications and conduct research and data collection of members’ interests and needs – bottom line , improve member communications and services. Julia O’Donnell who was director of publications will direct this department. Hannah Phelps, the Membership Services Coordinator will be part of this department. and Hillary Baker was hired as Marketing and Communications Manager.
Beginning with the Fall 2008 meeting, Board minutes will be posted to the Members-Only Section of AALLNET after the Board approves them. The Fall meeting agenda book is posted with the exception of Executive Session items. Board meetings are open and members can attend, except for Executive Sessions.
The board approved a name change for the Washington Affairs Office; it is now the Government Relations Office, reflecting the scope of our advocacy efforts at both national and local levels. Mary Alice Baish, who was the Washington Affairs Office Associate Representative for many years will head the GRO. AALL will have a full day advocacy training on Friday, July 24, prior to the Annual Meeting. This FREE program will include meeting with your representatives in Congress. There is an “Advocacy Toolkit for the 111th Congress” available on AALLNET. http://www.aallnet.org/aallwash/toolkit/contents.asp
President James Duggan has had 2 major initiatives this year. First, he appointed an AALLNET Strategic Planning Committee chaired by Kathie Sullivan to begin the process of revamping AALLNET. They met in December and we hope to have a new look and structure for AALLNET before the end of the year. The second initiative, a Membership Recognition Special Committee chaired by Gail Warren is looking at ways to honor long time members of our Association while we still give the Marion Gould Gallagher Distinguished Service Award as our highest honor.
The Board continues to work on Strategic Directions. Our 3 directions for the 2005-2010 period are Education, Leadership, and Advocacy. We are working on the next Strategic Plan and the Board always spends time on planning during our meetings.
In the Education area, AALL/BNA Continuing Education Grants are available to individuals, chapters, SISs, caucuses to develop programming; money can be used to pay for speakers, podcasting. Last year there were 13 grants 0f $875 to $6,000. There are four rounds of grants each year.
Continuing Professional Education Media – many of the grants I just mentioned go to programs that can be shared online through the Members Only section of AALLNET. Please take advantage of these programs.
Leadership – The AALL Management Institute was held last week. Last fall’s Leadership Academy was very successful and another academy will be held this fall October 16-17. Flyers available on AALLNET; applications accepted May 1-June 30. The program includes a year of mentoring from an AALL leader. Please encourage newer members to attend as they are the association’s future. Being an active AALL member gave me the confidence to take leadership roles on my campus, including two terms as Faculty Senate President.
The Nominations Committee is working on the slate for this fall’s election.
Advocacy – I already mentioned the new GRO and the Advocacy training in DC. Mary Alice has worked with several AALL policy committees to write a Statement for the Obama-Biden Transition Team in the area of information policy and GRO is seeking allies to work with us on achieving some of these goals.
Mary Alice also extends thanks to SCALL, NoCALL, and SANDALL for letters written to Sen. Barbara Boxer regarding the closing of EPA libraries; and Rep. Zoe Lofgren for introducing legislation last July to improve funding for the Law Library of Congress.
If you read last week’s monthly e-newsletter from Headquarters, you saw that HQ is moving. Our lease is up in July and HQ staff considered options and recommended to the Board that we move – one block away. The new HQ will be on Adams Blvd. and we will see a significant savings over the long term. The new building has better infrastructure and better use of space than our current location. The move will occur in early June so the staff has time to settle in before they pack up to go to DC. We have been in the same building since an independent HQ was established in 1964. If you’ve never been there, when you step off the elevator it is reminiscent of the building where Sam Spade’s office was in The Maltese Falcon.
Even though economic times are tough, I hope that many of you will be able to attend the annual meeting in DC. In yesterday’s USA Today, Al Neuharth commented that “Fact is, most state, regional, national and international meetings of business groups of all kinds are producti ve gatherings. Cancelling them in tough times to avoid possible criticism by politicians or the press is stupid.” For those of you who cannot attend this year or aren’t able to attend every year, our future meetings will be in Denver (2010), Philadelphia (2011), Boston (2012), Seattle (2013), and San Antonio (2014).
Thank you again for inviting me.
