Institute: Writing for Law Librarians [Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.]

Have you always dreamed of writing an article but wondered how to get
started? Have you ever wanted to apply for a grant but were put off by the
prospect of writing the proposal? Do you quake and quiver at annul report
time? Do you wonder how to capture your boss's attention in writing? Have
you ever wondered why anyone without a gun to their head would write
anything, ever, at all?

Join us for the day in Montgomery as we explore and demystify the world of
writing. Academic writing, report writing, budget justification writing,
day-to-day writing, and I-need-this-now writing. Not a mere who's writing
who, what, and why, but a practical exploration of the types of writing and
the formats available to librarians today. We explore why librarians write,
what they write, and how they write.

Not everyone has an annual report in them, or an article, or a bibliography,
or a web page. Not everyone yearns to write. But those who write well
capture attention and those who capture attention have a better chance to
convince others of their needs, wants and desires. Come and listen to
accomplished writers teach and discuss how to start writing and how to keep
writing.

You may view writing as a way to tenure, or as a way to convince the boss
about the need for X. You may simply wish to participate in your profession
outside the day to day, or simply to explain to your staff why the library
must move in the chosen direction. You may want to find a way to deal with
the dreaded annual report with less dread, or you may want to add depth to
the corpus of law library literature. Perhaps you just want to find another
way to express yourself. Whatever your interest in writing, there is
something in this Institute for you. Join the curious and the brave for a
day of writing fun in Montgomery.

Coordinators: Glenn-Peter Ahlers, Associate Dean for Information, Services Barry
University School of Law
Billie Jo Kaufman, Professor & Director Law Library & Office of
Technology, American University Washington College of Law

Programs

Keynote speaker: Morris Dees, Southern Poverty Law Center
Moderator: Tim Lewis, Director and State Librarian, Alabama Supreme Court & State
Law Library
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A1 "Communicate Effectively in a Public Setting or Presentation"

Effective presentations require the mastery of powerful communication skills. Communication is not just about how well you talk and listen. It's about making connections with people. Effective presentations are one of today's most vital business skills. The ability to present an idea or proposal effectively will greatly determine the degree to which you get the support and resources you want and need to be successful in your job. This 90 minute program is aimed at providing you the framework and tools you need to help you sharpen your public speaking skills so that you can increase your credibility as well as gain support and cooperation from your colleagues. You will learn the important aspects of organizing your thoughts; tips and techniques for building rapport with your audience; and strategies for polishing your performance.
Speaker: Deidra Payne, Senior Librarian Relations Consultant, LexisNexis
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A2 "What Do You Do When Your Budget Is Put on the Atkins Diet?"

The first round of budget cuts are the easiest. Every library collection has some fat that can easily be spared. But what happens when your budget is on the Atkins Diet? When NO fat at all is allowed? How can you trim your budget without hurting the quality of the collection.

Moderator: Joyce Janto, Deputy Director of the Law Library, University of Richmond
School of Law Library
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A3 "Ethics and Professionalism in Libraries"

Most librarians agree that librarianship is not properly recognized as a profession. How can we change this? Emphasizing our ethical standards may help. In this interactive program we will apply ethical principles to situations that arise in our libraries, stimulating thought on what it means to be an information professional.

Speaker: Timothy Chinaris, Director, Appalachian School of Law
Moderator: Terry Long, Assistant Law Librarian/Government Documents Librarian,
Virginia State Law Library

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B1 "So You Want to Establish an Archives, or, Make Sure you Want What You Ask"

Many organizations are considering whether to develop formal or informal archives. Developing an archival program can add an entirely new and invaluable treasure to your library. This session will discuss issues that should be considered before a program is established. What materials are to be archived? Where will they be stored? How will the collection be accessed? How much will the program cost? How will the archives be staffed? Should the collection be digitized?

Speaker: Sally Wiant, Director of the Law Library and Professor of Law, Washington
and Lee University School of Law Library
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B2 "Information Authority and Integrity: Keeping Your Lawyers out of Trouble"

This program consists of a comparison and evaluation of major print and
electronic resources, with a discussion of their relative authoritativeness
and thoroughness. The goal will be to enhance librarians' knowledge of print
and online resource coverage to enable them to assist patrons with the
increased accuracy so necessary in firm and government dealings.

Moderator: Miriam Childs, Serials/Preservation Librarian, Law Library of Louisiana,
Louisiana Supreme Court
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B3 "How Do You Count What You Have for the ABA Statistics?"

How do you count electronic or web-based titles? Do you count CDs that are issued with a bound volume? If you share a university-wide license with other libraries, do you include it in your collection? And how do you report the subscription fee? What services do law libraries provide that could be quantified and tracked by the ABA questionnaire?
A panel of academic law librarians will discuss how they have resolved the questions that arise every year as we respond to the ABA Survey. Attendees will be invited to submit their own questions to the panel, and to offer suggestions for new questions for the ABA survey.

Moderator: Suzanne Cassidy, Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor of
Law, Mercer University Law Library
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C1 "Building Intercultural Bridges: Understanding Cultural Differences in the Workplace"

As workplaces become increasingly diverse, understanding various communication styles is vital. People have different conversational styles, which are influenced by their ethnic backgrounds, age, gender, and other factors. Not understanding others' styles can lead to frustration and conflict. Rather than seeing the culprit as differing conversational styles, people frequently attribute the difficulties to bad intentions (she doesn't like me), low
abilities (he's stupid), poor character (he's obnoxious, she's inconsiderate), our own failure (what's wrong with me?), or the failure of the relationship (we just don't get along). Acknowledging and understanding communication differences can lead to greater harmony and productivity in the workplace. This program will focus on culture and gender-based communication differences because they are the most common sources of conflict, and will present strategies for resolving and preventing conflicts based on differing conversational styles. Speaker Dr. Tina Harris has been recognized by several student organizations at the University of Georgia for excellence in teaching. She is co-author with Mark P. Orbe of Western Michigan University, of the leading text, Interracial Communication, Theory to Practice (Wadsworth, 2001).
.
Speaker: Tina Harris, Associate Professor of Speech Communication, University of
Georgia
Moderator: Lynn Murray, Public Services Law Librarian, University of Mississippi Law
Library
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C2 "Herding Online Serials: Links, Lists, & Catalogs"

Providing control and access of online serials poses many questions. How can they be accessed? How do you take the aggravation out having several aggregators? How do librarians and patrons get information about the serials other than the titles? Some libraries compile long, online lists with hot links; some use links in their catalog records, while some combine both. How can vendors like Serials Solutions and exLibris' SFX help? Come hear some possible answers to those and other questions.

Speakers: Selden Deemer, Library Systems Administrator, Emory University
Linda Tesar, Techical Services/Systems Librarian, Alyne Queener Massey
Law Library,Vanderbilt University
Moderator: Pam Deemer, Assistant Law Librarian for Cataloging and Acquisitions
Services, Hugh F. MacMillan Law Library, Emory University
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C3 "What Lawyers Wish Librarians Knew About...: Discovering and Fulfilling Organizational Needs"

It is easy to get caught up in day-to-day duties and lose sight of our ultimate role, supporting the business of our organization. This program will explore the evolving and future roles of information professionals in private law firms, including knowledge management, cost recovery, client development, and more. We will discuss ways that librarians can anticipate their organizations' future needs, step up with solutions, and shape our own futures in the process.
Moderator: Marcia Burris, Librarian, Ogletree, Dakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart, PC
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D1 "Prying Open the Doors of Government Secrecy"

Since the end of the Clinton administration more government information has been classified than ever before. If the information is not classified sometimes it is not as readily available as in the past, thus AALL's partnership with 33 organizations working on freedom of information issues to form OpenTheGovernment.org, an effort to "advance the public's right to know and reduce secrecy in government." How is monitoring done? What sources are reliable? Our Associate Washington Affairs Representative, Mary Alice Baish, will bring us current on AALL's ongoing efforts to keep abreast of government information policy issues and advise us where else, in addition to AALL's Washington Affairs Office, we personally can go to stay informed.

Speaker: Mary Alice Baish, AALL Associate Washington Affairs Representative
Moderator: Terry Long, Assistant Law Librarian/Government Documents Librarian,
Virginia State Law Library
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D2 "Delivering 21st Century Information Services: Information Technologists and Librarians as Partners"

The days of I.T. staff toiling unseen in mainframe computer rooms are long in the past, as are the days when librarians relied exclusively on printed material and left technology to computing science graduates. In successful law firms and law schools, I.T. staff and librarians must work together to provide comprehensive services to attorneys, faculty and students. Our panelists will discuss how they have forged successful working relationships with their information service partners.

Speakers: Andrew Z. Adkins, III, Director, Legal Technology Institute University of Florida
Steven Sebastian, Director of Information Technology, Bradley Arant Rose & White LLP
Lori D. Martin, Library and Research Services Manager, Bradley Arant Rose & White LLP
Coordinator/Moderator: Kenneth Hirsch, Director of Computing Services & Senior
Lecturing Fellow, Duke University School of Law Library
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D3 "Managing Your Manager"

Whether we work for pointy haired pontiffs or benevolent grandmothers, there are ways each of us can help our bosses succeed. And when our bosses succeed, we succeed. We may not be able to turn tyrants into pussy cats, but we can help supervisors manage their work load and thereby improve our own standard of corporate living. Want to know how to manage your manager? Stop by and learn what makes your boss tick . . . and what ticks her or him off. Learn how your boss works and learn how to make him or her purr.
Moderator: Glen-Peter Ahlers, Associate Dean for Information Services, Barry
University School of Law
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E1 "Planning for Retirement, or, Life After Libraries"

Will you be clicking your heels in happiness or falling into a hole of depression when you must say good-bye to your full-time, library career? Come hear advice and ideas on keeping fit financially and mentally when you retire.

Moderator: Camille Riley, Library Director and Associate Professor of Law, West
Virginia University College of Law Library
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E2 "Re-opened Civil Rights Cases"

As librarians serving the legal and government communities, we know justice can sometimes be long in coming. Several civil rights tied cases considered long dead have been revived, and there may be more to come. Do you know which ones? Here is your opportunity to find out.

Moderator: Lynn Murray, Public Services Law Librarian, University of Mississippi
Law Library
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E3 "Technology for Non-Technicians"

Panel will share new library and legal education hardware, software, and gadgets that can "change your life".

Speakers: Roy Balleste, Associate Director, Nova Southeastern University, Shepard
Broad Law Center
Korin Munsterman, Technology Director, American University, Washington
College of Law
Moderator: Billie Jo Kaufman, Professor & Director Law Library & Office of
Technology, American University, Washington College of Law