The ALL-SIS Board has approved a new name for the Conference of Newer Academic Law Librarians (CONALL): the New Academic Law Librarian’s Meeting (or NALLM for those fluent in acronymese).
This new name is a big step in the evolution of one of ALL-SIS’ most popular events at the Annual Meeting. Since its introduction at the Philadelphia meeting six years ago, CONALL has been the keystone program in ALL-SIS’ efforts at outreach towards newer academic law librarians. CONALL has proven to be a great opportunity for newer members of the profession to meet their new colleagues, learn a little about the profession, and make some new friends. However, over the years it became obvious that the name of the program was confusingly similar to CONELL, the day-long pre-conference also geared towards newcomers to the profession.
This year’s Committee was charged by the Board to come up with a new name. According to Katie Thompson, current co-chair of the Committee, the name New Academic Law Librarian Program (NALLP) was an early favorite among the Committee members. However, this name was eventually rejected because of its similarity with another law school related organization - NALP (National Association for Law Placement). And although NALP is not a law librarian related organization, everyone involved agreed that avoiding any confusion with the name was a top priority. After further consideration, the Committee chose the name New Academic Law Librarian’s Meeting (NALLM). According to Katie, all the committee members agreed that NALLM was a “straight-forward acronym…that would not be confused with the CONELL program, or any other programs focused toward new law librarians.” The Board indicated their official approval of the new name in November starting with the 2007 Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
The name is not the only thing to change for this year’s event. As part of the restructuring and shortening of the Annual Meeting, the ALL-SIS Reception and Awards Ceremony has been moved to Sunday night from its traditional Tuesday night. This means that the first NALLM will take place on Sunday, July 15, 2007 at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. The co-chairs of this year’s CONALL/Mentoring Committee (now the NALLM/Mentoring Committee), Katie Thompson and Patricia Kidd are busy preparing for the event. Please encourage all newer academic law librarians to attend!