Committee and Task Force Charges

AALS/ABA Liaisons

• Keep ALL-SIS Executive Board informed about the activities of the AALS and the ABA related to academic law libraries
• Submit one column on AALS and/or ABA developments related to academic law libraries to the ALL-SIS Newsletter

ALL-NEW (New Academic Law Librarians' Meeting) / Membership

• Identify new members of ALL-SIS.
• Spotlight new ALL-SIS members in the ALL-SIS Newsletter.
• Maintain and distribute the “Welcome Kit” for new members.
• Set up ALL-NEW event for 2010.
• Work with Public Relations Committee to promote ALL-NEW event and mentoring opportunities.
• Work with AALL Mentoring Committee to coordinate mentoring opportunities.
• Develop ALL-NEW website into a recruitment tool and a useful resource for newer librarians.
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year.

Archives & Web Site

• Develop an archives policy for the SIS that addresses archiving in all formats. Identify documentation in all formats that ALL-SIS should actively archive. Outline the process and procedure according to archival standards
• Monitor changes in AALL's archives policies and procedures and adjust ALL-SIS policy accordingly
• Contact ALL-SIS officers and committee chairs to solicit notes/materials
• Keep ALL-SIS website current under the leadership of the ALL-SIS Webmaster
• Work with ALL-SIS Committees and ALL-SIS Executive Board to determine new information that should be on the website
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

Awards

• Solicit nominations for the CONELL Award, Hicks Award, Publications Award, and ALL-SIS Service Award. In addition to the solicitation of nominations, Awards Committee members may support the nominations process by nominating eligible ALL-SIS members for these awards.
• Select recipients for these awards.
• Arrange awards ceremony events with the assistance of the Local Arrangements Liaison for the ALL-SIS Reception.
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year.

Bluebook

Mission: To advocate on behalf of academic law libraries a comprehensive Bluebook that meets the needs of the Bluebook editors while considering the resources available to law libraries as they meet the needs of their student journals.

• Serve as a clearinghouse for member input, suggestions and comments regarding the current edition of the Bluebook.
• The Committee, on behalf of ALL-SIS, would forward information to the Bluebook editors
• The Committee would create a web form for members to submit comments; the committee would gather additional information as necessary prior to submitting to Bluebook editors
• Solicit input and suggestions for next edition of the Bluebook
• As the editors begin the process of compiling the next edition of the Bluebook, solicit input from the membership to submit to the editors
• Serve as the centralized contact for the Bluebook editors to solicit information from law librarians
• Expand the Model Policies for Services to Journal Staff to include individual library policies, especially as related to Bluebook issues
• Coordinate with appropriate Committee (Student Services)
• Assume advocacy role within each state and work to have electronic version of that state’s legislation become an official version
• Develop sample letters to be submitted to appropriate state legislative group advocating for official e-versions
• Work with appropriate AALL Committee(s) in this goal

Bylaws

• Review the ALL-SIS Bylaws and recommend any changes to the Executive Board
• Review the SIS Bylaws to insure compliance with AALL's Constitution and Bylaws
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

CALI

• Serve as the Advisory Board for the CALI Legal Research Community Authoring Project
• Publicize projects
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

Collection Development

• Develop and maintain collection development information for the ALL-SIS website
• Continue to identify and evaluate commonly used tools for selections
• Identify and evaluate tools for collection evaluation
• Plan and conduct Collection Development Roundtable
• Explore how e-resources are impacting collection development
• Explore relationship between collection development and ILL
• Explore developing a foreign vendors list (partnering with FCIL-SIS and/or TS-SIS)
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

Continuing Education

• Identify one or more topics that would be suitable for a continuing education program for academic librarians to be held outside of the AALL Annual Meeting
• Identify individual presenters and/or chapters or SISs that might be willing to partner on producing a continuing education program
• Submit a proposal to the ALL-SIS Executive Board
• With ALL-SIS Executive Board approval, submit a Continuing Education Grant proposal to the AALL Continuing Education Grants Program for this program
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

Continuing Status / Tenure

• Develop and maintain the committee's information on the ALL-SIS website
• Develop a “White Paper” that can be used in law schools to demonstrate why tenure or continuing status is of value for the librarian and for the institution
• Collect and disseminate data on librarian and library staff compensation
• Examine trends and inform membership of broad status and/or compensation related developments in law libraries
• Other projects that the Committee has identified as useful
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

Directors' Breakfast

• Plan Directors' breakfast working with hotel Plan Program
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the program

Faculty Services

• Develop and maintain information for ALL-SIS website
• Plan and conduct Faculty Services Roundtable
• Keep abreast of the Section members' faculty services activities and share results on the range of faculty services provided by academic law libraries
• Other projects that the Committee has identified as useful
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

Legal Research & Sourcebook

• Plan and conduct Legal Research Roundtable at the Annual Meeting.
• Provide a summary of each Legal Research Roundtable for the committee website.
• Administer a survey to obtain data on how Legal Research Programs are taught in law school.  Maintain longitudinal data on website so that trends can be identified.
• Compile information on the use of new technologies and approaches (e.g., email, instant messaging, wikis, blogs) for the delivery of reference services in academic law libraries.
• Develop and maintain the Sourcebook for Teaching Legal Research on the ALL-SIS website.
• Work with Public Relations Committee to publicize the Sourcebook.
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year.

Legal Research Programs’ Survey Task Force

In American law schools, legal research teaching and instruction takes many forms. The Legal Research Programs’ Survey Task Force will conduct a national survey of legal research programs and curricula and compile data about the same during the 2011-2012 academic year. The Task Force will solicit information about how legal research is taught by surveying credit hours per semester, grading/evaluation methods, role of commercial vendors, and integration with other courses, among other categories to be identified by the Task Force. In the following year, 2012-2013, the results will be compiled in a report to show common practices, trends, and to provide other valuable information about the current state of legal research education in American law schools. A comprehensive report will be available online for use by ALL-SIS members.

Charge:

• Identify points of comparison for legal research programs (e.g. credit hours per semester, grading/evaluation methods, role of commercial vendors, and integration with other courses).
• Using the identified points of comparison, contact all academic law libraries to identify the range of legal research pedagogy.
• Draft report providing findings and including an introduction identifying common practices, trends, and any relevant information about the current state of legal research education.
• Hold a roundtable meeting at the AALL Annual Meeting 2012 where the Task Force will invite and encourage any law schools participate in a discussion of the survey’s findings and draft report.
• By May 1, 2013 deliver to the Executive Board a finalized report that will be made available to ALL-SIS members by the 2013 Annual Meeting.

Local Arrangements

• Make arrangements for 2010 ALL-SIS reception (working with sponsor)
• Make transportation arrangements for ALL-SIS reception
• Work with Awards Committee to arrange for their awards ceremony at the reception
• Work with the Mentoring/ALL-NEW Committee to arrange for their program prior to the reception
• Work with Public Relations Committee to promote the reception

Middle Managers' Breakfast

• Canvass appropriate segment of membership and decide whether to hold a Middle Managers' Breakfast
• If there is interest to have the breakfast, work with sponsor and hotel
• Plan and conduct program for the breakfast meeting
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

Newsletter

• Identify areas to be covered in newsletter
• Appoint columnists
• Create committee columns (all committee chairs are expected to submit at least one column during the year)
• Index past issues of the Newsletter
• Submit one column on the activities of the committee to the ALL-SIS Newsletter

Nominations

• Solicit candidates for this year's ALL-SIS elections
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

Programs

• Solicit and submit program (and workshop) proposals for 2010 Annual meeting
• Solicit and select programs for the ALL-SIS program time slots
• Work with program coordinators to meet AALL deadlines
• Work with Public Relations Committee to promote programs to membership
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

Public Relations

• Create and maintain PR materials that promote the work of the ALL-SIS (including the ALL-SIS new member brochure and the exhibits for the CONELL Marketplace and the Annual Meeting Exhibit Hall)
• Solicit news from ALL-SIS officers and committees throughout the year
• Submit ALL-SIS news for each issue of the AALL Spectrum (including information about awards, election results, and Annual Meeting programs, meetings, ceremonies, and receptions)
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

Statistics

• Solicit ALL-SIS member input on problems found with ABA, ARL and questionnaires.
• Work on proposing understandable definitions for statistics questions on ABA and ARL questionnaires.
• Work with the liaison to the Committee on Law Libraries of the ABA Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar to report concerns about questionnaires.
• Investigate how online reference transactions and any other quantitative information is gathered and reported.
• Review the ALL-SIS Statistics Committee 2009 Supplemental Annual Questionnaire (Draft dated 6/30/08) at: http://www.aallnet.org/sis/allsis/committees/statistics/all-sis_survey-063008.pdf; solicit membership input regarding modifications to the survey and integrate those modifications into an updated draft; evaluate the survey for validity and reliability; administer survey to a test group of the ALL-SIS membership; administer survey to the ALL-SIS membership; analyze the results and publish analysis on the Statistics Committee website. 
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year.

Strategic Planning 2012-15

Background:

The strategic plan for ALL-SIS provides goals and objectives that would direct the section's activities for the next three years. It also identifies the current challenges and opportunities unique to academic law libraries. In the process the group must evaluate trends in legal education, publishing, and academic libraries.

Charge:

• Develop a strategic plan for a three-year period. In the process the committee should:
• Review the previously adopted ALL-SIS Strategic Plan.
• By mid-January submit to the ALL-SIS Executive Board a progress report.
• By May 1, 2012, draft and submit a proposed three –year strategic plan to be considered by the Executive Board with the goal of being adopted during the 2012 annual meeting.

Student Services

• Continue working with the survey data collected by last year's committee regarding the range of innovative services provided by academic law libraries to law journals, moot courts, student organizations, and individual students (e.g., guides/websites tailored to student activities, programs preparing students to practice, legal research instruction courses)
• Develop and maintain information for ALL-SIS website for each service or program identified including:
  • the scope of the service (e.g., objectives, recipients)
  • the staff involved in delivering the service (e.g., how many, types of staff, directory of staff)
  • costs and benefits of the service
  • sample informational/promotional materials
• Other projects that the Committee has identified as useful
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year

Task Force on Identifying Skills and Knowledge for Legal Practice

• In conjunction with law firm librarians, identify the current and future research skills that law school graduates need to succeed in legal practice.  This information will help law schools determine how to develop their curriculum to meet the research needs of their graduates.
• By May 1, 2012 deliver to the Executive Board a finalized report that will be made available to ALL-SIS members by the 2012 Annual Meeting.

Task Force on Library Marketing and Outreach

• Create a report and compile appropriate materials to assist academic law libraries in marketing their services to their patrons. If possible, compile a marketing toolkit with resources libraries can customize to their own needs. The Task Force will make all of their materials available online for ALL-SIS members.
• By December 1, 2012 deliver to the Executive Board a finalized report that will be made available to ALL-SIS members by the 2013 Annual Meeting.

Task Force on the Use of Mobile Technology

• Draft a report to help academic law libraries evaluate mobile technologies and determine how to best use them to meet the needs of their patrons.
• By May 1, 2012 deliver to the Executive Board a finalized report that will be made available to ALL-SIS members by the 2012 Annual Meeting.

Task Force to Review and Update the ALL-SIS Web Presence

Work with the existing Web and Archive committee to:

• Evaluate the current ALL-SIS website and update its file structure to take advantage of the new AALLnet infrastructure.
• Update the website’s contents as needed, including graphics.
• Incorporate social networking on the website or through another social networking system.
• Update or create customized websites on multi-media services such as Flickr and YouTube. The Task Force should also customize the ALL-SIS materials to brand it as an ALL-SIS product. For example see the Georgetown Law YouTube presence - http://www.youtube.com/georgetownlaw.

Webmaster

• Keep ALL-SIS website current
• Check for dead links, out-dated information on a regular basis
• Develop web content and re-design ideas
• Work with ALL-SIS Committees and ALL-SIS Executive Board to determine new information that should be on the website
• Submit one column to the ALL-SIS Newsletter describing the work of the committee during the current year