This program presented the four winners of the AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers competition, Carol A. Parker, Daniel Baker, Benjamin J. Keele, and Deborah E. Shrager.
Lee Peoples’ remarks opened the program. He emphasized that it is very important for librarians to engage in scholarly writing, because it represents to the academic world that we are a learned profession. He suggested that librarians pursue publication of their articles in multiple fora, including publications for law review symposia. He also discussed the importance of the structure of the writing itself, emphasizing the need for persuasive, well-organized arguments.
The authors then spoke briefly about their award-winning papers, each of which covered extremely interesting and timely topics, and all of which can be downloaded at http://works.bepress.com/aallcallforpapers/. The winning writers also discussed how to become better and more successfully engaged in the process of scholarly writing, covering everything from finding a topic, to organizing your research, to carving out time to write (daily blocks of time versus a multi-week period), to getting the maximum benefit from the review process.
The energy in the room during this panel discussion was palpable, and one had the feeling that the members of audience were significantly inspired by the four winners. Many law librarians appear to be interested in producing more scholarly writing. Certainly, if the four winning papers provide any indication of the topical breadth of academic writing that those in our profession are capable of producing, then there is clearly a place for us in this arena.