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Superintendent of Documents Judy Russell has announced a plan that effective October 1, 2005 all government documents with the exception of the Essential Titles List will be disseminated in digital format only. While the library community has been very supportive of the GPO move to digital formats, the issues of version control, authenticity and permanent public access to digital government information have not been addressed. Your help is needed to ensure that libraries and the American public continue to have access to authenticated government information.
Please contact your congressional delegation immediately, by email or fax, to tell your representatives about GPO's plan to eliminate almost all print distribution to depository libraries and its impact on access to authenticated legal and government information.
If you work in a law depository library, please alert your director to this abrupt and significant change in the FDLP distribution program because it is essential that everyone in your institution understand the serious long-term implications of this action on your users and contact their representatives.
If you are a law library user, your help is especially needed in contacting Congress because the purpose of the depository library system is to provide you with ready, local, no-fee permanent access to authenticated legal information.
Whether you're a law librarian, law library director, law professor or student, or a concerned citizen, please contact your representatives and make sure they understand the unique value of a depository library and its collections. Tell them how these changes will impact your ability to access government information and be sure to include examples of publications that you need in print for legal research.
Since this latest threat to the depository library program comes from GPO officials, it's also very important that they hear your concerns firsthand. Please send a copy of your letters to Public Printer Bruce James (bjames@gpo.gov / FAX: 202-512-1347) and Superintendent of Documents Judith C. Russell (jrussell@gpo.gov / FAX: 202-512-1434).
More information and talking points can be found here.
Whether you live in a "blue" state or a "red" state, preparations for another important election have begun. The AALL Nominations Committee encourages Association members to submit names of colleagues and to volunteer their own names for consideration for vacancies on the AALL Board by February 28th.
The Nominations Committee will be working throughout the spring to identify candidates to run for two Executive Board positions and for the position of Vice President/President Elect. The election will be held this fall and those elected will be begin their service in July of 2006.
Information about the AALL Nominations process appears on the Committee's web site. To learn more about the duties of Executive Board members and Officers, review the detailed job descriptions on this web page. Updated information about the process will be added to this site throughout the spring. Please send your suggestions to the committee members listed on the web site or to the committee chair, Jean Holcomb, at jean.holcomb@metrokc.gov.
Time is running out. The deadline for the 2005 AALL/West Excellence in Marketing (EIM) Awards is fast approaching. The EIM Awards honor outstanding achievement in public relations activities by individuals, groups of individuals, libraries, chapters, SISs, consortiums, caucuses, or any other group affiliated with AALL. All members and institutions of the Association are encouraged to participate.
Public relations is a critical responsibility of nearly every member of the library profession. It is important to recognize and acknowledge outstanding contributions achieved by law librarians in raising the visibility of the profession and its Association. It is the intention of the Public Relations Committee to issue the EIM Awards to inspire, educate, and encourage promotional activities by the AALL membership.
All submissions must be postmarked by February 10, 2005.
Winners of the award will be announced in late spring. The application form and guidelines for submission were mailed out by West to all members in late November. Also, PDF versions of the application materials are posted on the Public Relations Committee Web site.
If you have any questions, please contact: Erika Wayne, Public Relations Committee chair 2004-2005.
Mark your calendars. During National Library Week, April 10-16, AALL members will take part in a nation-wide photo contest that will document law librarians working, meeting, teaching, and doing all that law librarians do in a given work week.
"Day in the Life of the Law Library Community" is sponsored by the AALL Public Relations Committee and is open to AALL members only. Photos will be submitted in six categories with one winner chosen from each category and one overall winner honored. Winners will be recognized in fall 2005 on AALLNET, in a special issue of AALL Spectrum, and during the 2006 AALL Annual Meeting in St. Louis.
Stay tuned for more details and photography tips in future issues of AALL Spectrum and on AALLNET. More details can also be found in the December issue of AALL Spectrum. The Public Relations Committee welcomes any feedback about this contest. Please send any questions or comments to Chair Erika Wayne.
In response to the call for assistance from Sri Lankan libraries following the tragic South Asia tsunami of December 26, 2004, AALL's Social Responsibilities Special Interest Section donated $1,000 to the Sri Lanka National Library & Documentation Services Board in January 2005. In Sri Lanka alone, the National Library has identified, either as destroyed or damaged, 177 school libraries, 53 public libraries and 68 libraries attached to religious institutions. The SR-SIS is honored to be able to offer assistance to help the people of Sri Lanka rebuild and recover.
Sincerely,
Susan
E. Fox, CAE
Executive Director
American Association of Law Libraries
53 West Jackson Blvd., Suite 940
Chicago, IL
60604
312-939-4764, ext. 11
Fax 312-431-1097
AALL: Maximizing the Power of the Law Library Community Since 1906.
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