VOLUME 20
ISSUE 2
Spring 2001

Inside this issue:

• AcidRAINS
• ALL-SIS Nominations
• CALI/ALL-SIS Project
• Committee Chairs List
• Legal Research Teach-In
• Lexis-Westlaw Forum 2000
• Member News & Updates
• Statistics RT Survey
• Information Access Table
• Collections/Resources Table

Message from the Chair

By Ruth J. Hill, 2000-2001 ALL-SIS Chair
Head of Reference Services
Rains Law Library
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

Believe it or not it's already time to focus on plans for the annual meeting in Minneapolis, July 15-19, 2001! I have been immersed in scheduling rooms and times for meetings and roundtables, making requests for microphones and podiums, and perusing menus for meals. As we head into the home stretch I think that you all will have an exciting, challenging and fruitful time in Minneapolis.

AALL President Bob Oakley's theme for the meeting, 2001:  NEW REALITIES, NEW ROLES, seems to be especially relevant to the common concerns of those of us who work in academic libraries. The conference goal is to provide attendees with an opportunity to rethink their roles in the rapidly changing library environment and to enhance their skills to effectively manage the profound changes in the information arena. From the looks of the preliminary conference brochure and the messages from Kathie Sullivan, AMPSC Chair, this should be an exciting conference with learning opportunities for all conference participants.  

To meet the conference goal within our section, several informative educational programs and roundtables have been planned. Once again a special program for newer members of our Section will be presented. (Be on the look out for "The Young & The Restless.") The ever-popular roundtable "A Dialogue with Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw" is also on tap for Minneapolis.

The CONALL/Mentoring Committee will handle the Section's participation in the CONELL Marketplace. I have asked the Membership Committee and the Public Relations Committee to oversee the ALL-SIS table in the annual meeting activities area in the exhibit hall. These committees will be seeking your assistance in "manning" our table during the conference. Here is an opportunity to share in the work of the Section. Please accept the call and volunteer your service when you are contacted.

Other events planned for Minneapolis include the Section business meeting, the Section luncheon, the directors and middle managers breakfasts and the Section reception. The reception will be hosted by Joan Howland and the law library staff at the University of Minnesota. BNA has generously agreed to sponsor the reception. Members will receive invitations to the reception prior to the annual meeting.

So you can see that a full array of programs and activities are planned for Minneapolis. The details of all of these events will be presented in the next issue of the newsletter.

Congratulations to Section members Rhea Ballard-Thrower and Keith Ann Stiverson on their recent appointments as library directors. Rhea has accepted the position at Howard University and Keith Ann will become director at Chicago-Kent.

Other committees, working groups and roundtables are also hard at work on the many projects aimed at addressing issues of common concern to those of us employed in academic libraries. In this issue Kit Kreilick of Fordham Law School provides an update on the work of the CALI Research Project and Vice-chair Rosalie Sanderson reports on the Vendor Roundtable. The Education Committee under the leadership of Tim Coggins is still interested in hearing from you about program ideas for the 2002 Annual Meeting.

This issue of the newsletter also contains profiles of the candidates for our Section election and information on the National Legal Research Teach-In. There is also a very interesting article by Marlene Bubrick on an electronic resource which links technical services and public services staff. As always we solicit your articles for publication in the newsletter.

One of the initiatives of the Section is to increase the membership of the Section and to garner the participation all of its members. To accomplish this goal we need to provide programs and networking opportunities that speak to member needs. To that end, the Executive Board solicits your suggestions. Please do not hesitate to contact me or a member of the Board.