2008 WestPac Election - Vice President/President-Elect

I am grateful to the Nominating Committee for giving me this opportunity to run for the Vice-President/President position. Considering the many talented, creative and dynamic individuals in WestPac, it is indeed an unexpected honor for me. Just as chairing the Local Arrangements Committee for the annual meeting in Hawaii was a new, albeit enjoyable, experience, leading the WestPac chapter would certainly be just as challenging and meaningful for me. I have benefited much as a member and by running for this important office, I hope to contribute to the continued success of this chapter.

I received my undergraduate degree at the University of Malaya and a Master in Public Administration degree from the University of Oregon. After graduating from Willamette Law School, I did a judicial clerkship for a year. I then decided to move to warmer climes to pursue a librarianship degree. I received my Master in Librarianship degree from the University of Hawaii and have never left. My librarianship career includes working in various types of libraries, from private college libraries to law firms to academic libraries. I have worked mainly in Reference, Public Services and Electronic Resources.

I have been actively involved with various committees of the Asian American Law Librarians Caucus for many years, and was its President in 2005-2006. I have been a WestPac member since 1998. My contributions include chairing the Site Selection Committee from 2004-2006, and chairing the Local Arrangements Committee for the 2007 annual meeting in Hawaii.

What can I offer the WestPac membership? I offer the following: a willingness to listen to and explore members' ideas, suggestions and concerns; a commitment to expand and enrich membership benefits to all; and lastly, the energy and enthusiasm to serve the needs of my colleagues while advancing the goals of the chapter. Our chapter has been successful because of the active participation of members whose fresh ideas and new perspectives inject new life to our meetings and programs. I appreciate the warmth and friendship of the many people I have met through the years and look forward to continued dialogue on matters of common interest in our ever-changing but always exciting professional environment.

One of the great honors of working as a law librarian is the opportunity to serve our community. I am privileged to be nominated for the Vice-President/President position. I have both enjoyed and learned a great deal from my work with a smaller regional chapter (LLOPS) and a large national SIS (SR-SIS). WestPac is a unique organization as it represents diverse types of libraries, librarians, and geographic locations. The communities we work in shape our focus and specific services we offer, but I believe we all share a desire for excellent educational programming and the opportunity to collaborate and learn from our colleagues. And maybe have some fun in the process!

Since entering the profession in 2000, I have worked at the University of Washington Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library. I am currently the Assistant Librarian for Reference Services, leading an active department serving the law school community, the University, the local Bar, and the general public. I am fortunate to manage the reference component of the UW Law Librarianship Program internship at Gallagher Law Library.

I have been actively involved in AALL and its Chapters and SISs since joining in 2000. I served as volunteer coordinator for the 2003 AALL Seattle Local Advisory Committee and as a member of the AALL Membership and Retention Committee. During my time as President of the Law Librarians of Puget Sound (LLOPS) we implemented the results of our Futures Committee Survey, amended our bylaws, and held a professionally mediated Town Hall discussion of the possible expansion of LLOPS. These experiences, and others, reiterated the importance to me of organizational skills, open and respectful communication, and creativity. As a member of the WestPac Local Advisory Committee for the 2005 Seattle Meeting, I coordinated registration and conference bag materials. I am currently on the WestPac Site Selection Committee.

The AALL Social Responsibilities SIS has provided several opportunities for me to learn and grow as a professional. I served as Chair and Vice-Chair (twice due to a retirement). Within the SR-SIS, I particularly enjoyed working on the Law Libraries Serving Prisoners Directory, the Children’s Book Drive, and the New Orleans Community Service Projects at the AALL 2007 Annual Meeting.

I am a transplant to the Pacific Northwest, having grown up in the South and Midwest. I earned a BA from the University of Illinois and an MSLS and JD from the University of North Carolina. Before finding this inspiring and rewarding profession of law librarianship, I worked in public health education.