For those of us who have been going to the AALL Annual Meeting for many years, the meeting is still often a whirlwind of committee and SIS meetings, networking, educational sessions, presentations, taking in the exhibits, and socializing. For the new (and newer) law librarian attending for the first or second time it can feel overwhelming and leave you exhausted. The next three reviews offer great advice for us to share with next year‘s newcomers.
You Don’t Have to Be Brand New to Still Be Newer
Theresa Strike
Univ. of New Mexico Law Library
[Editor’s Note: Theresa was the recipient of the CONELL grant for the 2010 Annual Meeting.]
CONELL draws a variety of people, ranging from those who are still in school to those who have been at their job for a few years. With such a wide variety, it was hard to imagine that a single event could offer something for everyone. I arrived, wondering if it would have something to offer both brand new librarians, and those, like myself, who had a couple years under our belts. Amazingly, CONELL managed the task easily.
It would be easy to think of CONELL as a warm up for the rest of the conference, but that would fail to capture its full value. While it is true that CONELL offered advice on how to make the most of the conference, more importantly it offered a chance to learn how to make the most of my AALL membership.
The event began informally with the optional Dutch Treat Dinners on Friday evening. Organized by volunteers, the dinners offered choices for a range of tastes and budgets. More importantly, they offered participants a chance to meet other CONELL attendees before the main event. The extended, informal setting allowed a unique chance to interact with other librarians who are at the beginning of their careers. My group was surprisingly large, well over twelve people, which resulted in a certain amount of shouting up and down the table, as we introduced ourselves to each other.
CONELL officially started the next morning, with a continental breakfast. Like all the breakfast meetings at the conference, it started before 8:00 AM. It’s worth noting that the difference between the headquarters hotel and those hotels farther away is much more apparent that early in the morning. The breakfast gave participants a chance to reconnect with those they met the night before and to make new connections.
The breakfast was followed by an introduction to AALL. While I had been a member of AALL for almost three years, this was the first time I’d received the information in an organized fashion. The session started with an introduction to the AALL executive board. It was the first time I’d seen many of those faces, though, for the most part, the names were at least a little familiar from elections and mailing lists. As a person with a better memory for faces than for names, I appreciated the chance to connect the two. After meeting the executive board, we were given examples of various ways to get involved with AALL.
We heard from three different groups. The editors of both Spectrum and the Law Library Journal talked about what they were looking for in their publications. This was followed by an introduction to the Mentoring program, and finally, an explanation of how programs are submitted and selected for the annual meeting. All three presentations offered concrete, hands-on ways that we, as newer librarians, could become involved in AALL. While the information is available elsewhere, it is a different experience to receive it in conjunction with an invitation to participate.
This was followed by a breakout session, where each member of the AALL executive board was joined by a small group of CONELL attendees. My group was mainly made up of students and librarians at the very beginning of their careers, which meant that I was actually one of the more experienced attendees. It was an eye-opening experience to realize how much I have learned already, only a couple years into my career. It also helped reinforce what I had just been told, that I had something to offer that others would be interested in.
After the breakout sessions with the board members, we regrouped to hear from two more people. First was Joyce Manna Janto, in her capacity as vice president, who spoke to us about volunteering with AALL. The message we had been receiving all morning was once again reinforced. Even if we were still at the beginnings of our careers, our contributions were welcome and even desired. Attendees were then treated to a talk by Cornell Winston. And it was a treat. His talk managed to be both the funniest thing I heard during the entire conference and full of practical advice on how to make the most of the conference.
The final educational event of CONELL split us into two groups. One group attended a speed networking event, while the other checked out the Marketplace, which offered information about various special interest sections, caucuses and committees. Both events offered further opportunities for the themes of the day – connecting with new colleagues and getting involved in AALL.
And did I mention this all took place before lunch?
If that seems like a lot to do in one morning, it was. It was also well organized and, other than the speed networking, it didn’t feel rushed; the rushed feeling of speed networking had more to do with the nature of the activity than the organization. And it didn’t end with lunch. After eating, we went on a bus tour through Denver. It gave us a final chance to sit down and talk to those around us for an extended length of time.
I went into CONELL not sure that I would benefit from the event as much as I would have if I’d gone a year or two before. I came out of it, having had a great experience and knowing that it’s the Conference of Newer Law Librarians for a reason. Growing in your profession is a process, and CONELL can give you boost at any point, not just at the very start.
ALL-NEW
Theodora Belniak, Faculty Services Librarian
Charles B. Sears Law Library
University at Buffalo Law School
Forgetfulness is one of many human talents. The ability to lose details, compress time, and repackage memories is what transforms everyday life into narrative. In the context of a professional setting like law libraries, this talent is no less useful. Those awkward and sometimes painful years of learning the ropes of a librarian position fade into the quickening blur of meetings, conferences, desk shifts, and deadlines. Competency and comfort grow, and we lose track of how we got from the beginning to our current situation. But, what do we tell our newbies who are trying to find their way when we’ve forgotten the feel of those first steps? Is there a safe space for the basic questions?
The ALL-NEW program, sponsored by ALL-SIS, is designed with these questions in mind. Originally created as a mentoring program by Kumar Jayasuriya and others, ALL-NEW participants provide guidance to newer academic librarians. The ALL-NEW organizers recruit librarians, some veterans, some that have been in the field for only a few years, and ask them to mediate a ‘topic-focused’ table and to share strategies. Questions run the gamut, and with a group of librarians representing all stages of the profession, the conversations are lively and informed.
This year’s Sunday evening ALL-NEW program was no exception. It was well-stocked with relevant topics, great mediators, and lots of gustatory goodness. There were six topics, six tables, and twelve mediators. The room was just the right size for the number of attendees and it provided a great atmosphere for small group conversations.
The topics were as follows:
“Law library management” was tackled by Pauline Aranas, Associate Dean and Acting Dean of Library and Information Technology at University of Southern California, and Mark Bernstein, Director of Legal Research Center at Drexel. Ms. Aranas and Mr. Bernstein are well-versed in the practicalities of law library administration, and brought years of administrative experience to the discussion.
“Legal research instruction” was mediated by Melissa Bernstein, a reference librarian and lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, and Koviena Nelson, the Education and Legal Research Services Law Librarian at Phoenix School of Law. The discussion reflected the tips and tactics Ms. Bernstein and Ms. Nelson had tested over the years, and touched on the different learning environments and teaching requirements of law libraries.
“Career development:” Nancy Strohmeyer, Interim Director and Associate Dean at Barry University, and Dwight King, Research Librarian and Head of Research Services at the University of Notre Dame led the discussion about career development, and provided insight into their paths of professional development.
“Tenure and peer review”: Always a hot topic and an issue weighing heavily on new academic law librarians, the tenure and peer review discussion was mediated by Caroline Young, Reference and Technology Librarian at Rutgers School of Law, and Carol Parker, Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Library and Information Technology at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Stressing the importance of publishing and of finding appropriate mentors, Ms. Young and Ms. Parker explained the tenure process and helped attendees ‘think out loud’ about their role in the process.
“Law librarianship for non-JDs:” The discussion was led by John Wilson, the Foreign and International Law Librarian at UCLA Law, and David McFadden, a Senior Reference Librarian at Southwestern Law School. With apologies, I missed out on this worthwhile discussion, but, for the non-JDs out there, ALL-NEW has a place for your questions about the opportunities at and challenges of law libraries. Mr. Wilson and Mr. McFadden were well-positioned to discuss the benefits and feasibility of law librarianship with an MLS.
“Instructional technology services:” Jessica de Perio Wittman, Distance Education Librarian at John Marshall School of Law, and Kathy Darvil, Access Services/Reference Librarian and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School mediated the conversation about instructional technology services and access services. They explained the role of technology within their library settings, and spoke to attendees about the integration of technology into library services.
Denver’s ALL-NEW was a well-planned and well-balanced program. More compliment than complaint, I regret not having more time to engage in each discussion. As a new librarian, there are many questions, and, because of the meandering nature of round-table chats, undoubtedly I missed some good answers. I was left wanting more (always a good thing) because the mediators were open, honest, and ready to talk about anything and everything.
Navigating the Exhibit Hall: A User’s Guide for Beginners
Katy Stein, Faculty Services Librarian & Assistant Professor
St. Mary’s University Law School
As a new law librarian, I was so excited to attend the annual meeting in Washington, D.C. in 2009—and for good reason. I attended great programs, lunches, made new friends and reconnected with others, ate and imbibed many vendor-provided refreshments, and even saw some great sights. But, when I returned to my library, I wasn’t sure if I had taken advantage of all my opportunities during the meeting, and wondered if there were experiences I wasn’t aware of and missed out on. One facet of the meeting, though, I knew I didn’t understand—the exhibit hall. During my first meeting I found myself only spending a few minutes a day in the exhibit hall, mostly waiting to run into someone I knew, or to take a chance to win a Kindle. I watched as people went to booths and cheerfully interacted, but never managed to more than awkwardly stumble through a LexisNexis presentation or two. That couldn’t be, as Peggy Lee lamented, all there is? This year I asked for advice. I sought the counsel of our library’s Associate Director, Charlie Finger, who since his arrival has boggled my mind with his knowledge of vendors, publishers, and all else acquisitions and collection development concerned. With minimal arm-twisting, I conscripted Charlie into giving up some all too precious meeting time to show me the ways of the exhibit hall. One morning, four hours, and bags and bags of tchotchkes/swag/promotional ephemera later, here are the mysteries of the exhibit hall, now unlocked:
1. No Fear. It may be stereotypically “librarianish” of me to admit that I’m generally uncomfortable approaching people I don’t know, but it’s true. I had the initial, and incorrect, assumption that unless I knew my library needed a product, or was prepared to purchase it, I’d simply be wasting the exhibitors’ time. This couldn’t be further from the truth. One of the greatest benefits of my exhibit hall experience this year was learning about companies I wasn’t aware of, that may not seem to relate to an academic law library’s needs. Instead, I re-framed the exhibit hall as a place to learn about different vendors to which I may need to look to in the future to fill a need unique to an academic library, or even just to become more conversant in the tools and services law firm and other libraries use. Specifically of interest to me were the many document delivery services, which I’ll keep in mind for my more exigent faculty services circumstances. Above all, the vendors spend a great deal of money to have just this sort of face time with law librarians, to hear about their needs and what their companies can do to better serve us. Working with vendors is definitely a two-way street, and an important part of nurturing this relationship is simply meeting vendors, seeing what they have to offer, and keeping them in mind for the future.
2. Three Simple Words: After standing around awkwardly at booths last year, I found I needed an “in,” some introduction to start off conversations with vendors. And it had to be at little less transparent than, “Got any free stuff?” This year I found the perfect, all-purpose opener: “Hi, what’s new?” Regardless of whether your library has been using the vendor’s service for decades or you can’t even tell what the service is, all the vendors I encountered had new texts, new products, or enhanced services. And that’s exactly what they’d like to tell you about. This approach gives them an easy avenue to talk about their products, allowing you to determine whether you have more questions, jog your memory as to any problems you may have encountered with the service, or if you really just want to get that stress-ball and to move on. In my experience vendors were excited to talk about their new features, so this creates an easy way to start a great interaction.
3. Bring a Friend: The unexpected benefits of working the exhibit hall with one of my coworkers were two-fold. First, it’s more fun if you have someone else to bring into the conversation with you, and less intimidating for shy types like me. Second, and more important, given your different experiences in the library, you have more information to bring into the conversation. Where one may use a product infrequently, if at all, another may use it often and be able to ask questions about problems they’ve been having. If you can talk to the vendor from both the acquisitions / billing perspective and the user experience, more problems can be solved, and you benefit from learning about the library’s overall experience with a vendor. All of this information can be critical when making tough decisions about whether to purchase, continue purchasing, or abandon a product or service.
4. Do your Homework: When going through the exhibit hall with Charlie, I was amazed at his recall of what we purchased from which vendors, where we had had billing issues, and when customer service and communication were lacking. As he explained many of the vendor’s top sales and service staff and management personnel are often at the meeting, making this is the best time to let them know when something is not working right. Many of those who Charlie had questions for followed up with him directly after the meeting, eager to solve problems. To this end, I’m starting a file this year where I can jot down service questions and problems, and bring them up with vendors at the next meeting, if they are not resolved by then.
5. Collect your Goodies: Of course, these tips would be incomplete without mention of the bounty of promotional swag you can collect in your exhibit hall adventures. As a practical matter, the first thing you’ll need is a bag to carry your bounty, an item easily found at many vendor tables. Once you have your bag, you’re free to collect without being too overburdened. Aside from a bag, even in this age of badge-scanning, bring business cards both for entering drawings and giving to vendors whom you’d like to hear from directly. While Westlaw and LexisNexis may seem to have the market cornered when it comes to cool stuff, there were some (literally) hidden gems to be found, as in the case of ALM’s set of geodes. Also remember that many of the vendors, particularly the publishers, are not excited about dragging their products back home, so it doesn’t hurt to ask for a copy of that book/looseleaf/DVD set-- especially on Tuesday, in the exhibit hall’s final hours.
6. Sharing the Wealth: At the end of my exhibit hall adventure, I was tired, thirsty, and a little dazed. I felt as though I had gotten drunk on free pens and USB drives as the remnants of my exhibit hall spree bulged through my suitcase. But, after I arrived home, much of my bounty found new homes as well. Though it may seem a small gesture, offering up your goodies to co-workers who couldn't attend the meeting is always appreciated. From there, USB drives can be saved to use at the circulation desk for students needing to borrow one, a cheap option as our drives seem to wander off easily. Others can be saved for prizes to give out in legal research classes or at library presentations. Even my dog shared in the benefit, and remained vendor-neutral, reportedly enjoying his WestlawNext football and LexisNexis stadium blanket equally.
Thanks to all I learned from Charlie and my exhibit hall adventure this year, I can't wait for next year's meeting to sharpen my skills, make more of my time, and practice my three-word opener for all the information and networking benefits, and of course, all manner of goodies. I am still holding out for my free i-pad, afterall.