From the Desk of Susan E. Fox

Tell Us What You Think: Annual Meeting Site Selection Policy

The AALL Executive Board continues to monitor all income and expenses to maximize resources. One area the Board is currently reviewing is the Annual Meeting Site Selection Policy. The current site selection model is a rotation among five regions: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Northwest and West with specific states identified in each region. There are some states that, realistically, do not have convention or hotel space or transportation facilities that can accommodate the Annual Meeting.

The AALL Annual Meeting is the only opportunity during the year for all members of the Association to come together as a group. The educational programming, committee and SIS meetings, and the social events are times to learn, network, and work together.

The Association derives approximately 40% of its revenues from the Annual Meeting. Some recent meetings have not met attendance goals, resulting in lower than anticipated revenues for the Association. To avoid that situation in the future, it’s important that the Board select sites that are generally popular, with the hope that attendance and revenue goals will be met.

Rather than using a regional rotation, the Board is considering adopting a rotation among 5 or 6 cities with a wildcard city periodically. (Note, the actual cities would be determined later.) Because there is now a team of professional conference organizers on staff and on retainer, the responsibilities of local or regional chapter members are reduced. Therefore, a rotation among cities should not pose an undue burden on chapter members to be involved in local arrangements on a more routine basis.

The Board is soliciting your input on this change in the Annual Meeting Site Selection policy. Please send any comments to Catherine Lemann, AALL Secretary.

We are putting the finishing touches on both our Membership Directory and our biannual Salary Survey. Look for more information about their publication soon.

The deadline to apply for Membership News Editor for AALL Spectrum is Tuesday, September 30. The editor will report on the latest happenings among membership. He or she will get the scoop on the newest librarians entering the profession, librarians moving up the leadership ladder and the professional activities members are engaged in. If you are interested, please send a writing sample and cover letter explaining why you are interested to me.

AALL's best-kept secret is the Type V scholarship, available to law librarians attending continuing education courses related to law librarianship. It is awarded three times per year and is available only to AALL members! Application deadlines are Oct. 1, Feb. 1 and April 1.

Jeannine Mobley Irwin the Dallas office librarian of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., died August 17 at the age of 51. Jeannine grew up and spent all but a few years of her life in north Texas. She went to grade school in Grand Prairie and to college at the University of Texas at both Arlington and Austin, and received a Masters of Library Science at University of North Texas. Professionally, she worked for the Dallas Public Library, Jackson Walker law firm, and most recently for the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski. She was the president of The Dallas Association of Law Librarians for the 2001-2002 year.

Rachel Shaevel: As AALL’s Membership Coordinator, Rachel manages membership dues, job placement activities, and communications and logistics related to our scholarships & grants. One of her most significant achievements during her four years on staff is her work in single-handedly reconstructing our database system into one of seamless architecture. Rachel’s assiduous attention to detail has enabled us to generate a multitude of reliable reports and, most importantly, insure the veracity of member information. She’s always ready to assist with a smile and is the first person to call should you have any question relating to your membership record, dues, placing or responding to a job ad, or our scholarships and grant process.

Rachel is a native Texan, born in Houston. She’s a Phi Beta Kappa, who’s studied abroad in both Paris and Jerusalem and just last December earned her MLS in December 2002 from the University of Illinois/Champaign-Urbana. She tells us that her favorite movie is The Godfather.

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Answer to last week’s trivia question, “in what movie did Steve McQueen drive a car off Marina Towers into the Chicago River?” -- The Hunter (1980). Hat’s off to AALL movie mavens Roberta Fox and Frank Houdek!