VOLUME 30
ISSUE Election
March 2011

Inside this issue:

• Leah Sandwell-Weiss
• Faye E. Jones
• Jim Kelly
• Debora Person
• Theodore A. (Ted) Potter


• Back Page

Message from the Chair

Jack McNeill
Associate Library Director
Pace University School of Law Library
78 N. Broadway
White Plains, NY 10603
(914) 422-4414
E-mail: jmcneill@law.pace.edu

We have all heard the slogan, "Think globally, act locally." The concept being that we should take good general principles and apply them in our lives and other areas over which we have some influence. When we think not to trash the planet, the act of recycling a single bottle may not seem like much but the cumulative effect of individual decisions is enormous.

Likewise, we law librarians should "Think professionally, act locally." Whatever strengthens the profession strengthens our library program. On important example of this principle is in staffing decisions. As members of a professional organization we should think about taking measures that strengthen the profession; increase opportunities, improve stature, and enhance salaries.

Decisions we make at our institutions on a daily basis can influence that profession a t large. One small example is staffing the reference desk with a paraprofessional. While this may be a simple and generous act to the paraprofessional, it erodes professionalism. When hundreds or thousands of such decisions are made they cumulate to blur the lines between professional and paraprofessional, diminish the profession in the eyes of patrons, reduce professional opportunities, and erode salaries. When each of us takes action to strengthen the profession we are all benefited.

This brings us to the wonderful field of candidates we have for ALL-SIS leadership positions. These are people who are giving time and effort to the cause of professionalism. In volunteering they are strengthening our profession by assuring the quality of future programs and meetings. They are benefiting their institutions by shaping trends that will form the law libraries of tomorrow. Please support them with your vote and by volunteering for committee work. We all win.

Newsletter Editor:
Barbara Gellis Traub, Editor
Head of Reference & Instructional Services
Rittenberg Law Library
St. John’s University School of Law
8000 Utopia Parkway
Jamaica, N.Y. 11439
Phone: 718-990-1668
Fax: 718-990-6649
traubb@stjohns.edu