Alas, another Newsletter and here I am running late again. What's the excuse this time? Unfortunately, yet another family emergency--this time involving my mother and a nasty piece of medical equipment called a "halo." But with things under control on the family front, I'm finally able to turn my attention to the business of FCIL.

In this issue, you can get caught up with FCIL-SIS news from various recent meetings, read two articles about blogs, get updated on EurLex, meet two new FCIL librarians and find out the latest news on two others. And just for fun, there's FCIL Fun Facts and the Final Pics.

FCIL members are notorious travelers, and now I can count myself among the ranks. In early September, I spent two fabulous weeks in St. Petersburg, Russia. The first part of the trip was devoted to attending the International Association of Law Libraries' (IALL) 25th Annual Course. Over eighty librarians from around the world met to network and learn about Russian law. The programs covered topics including the Russian Constitutional and Arbitrazh courts, federalism and elections, the Bologna process, recent case law from the European Court of Human Rights, and an introduction to the Russian civil law system and administrative law. If you are interested in any of these programs in more detail, please email me for notes.

Like any good conference, the IALL Annual Course wasn't without its fair share of excursions and receptions. We visited Peterhof, the Hermitage and Novgorod, an ancient city famous for monasteries, churches and icons. One of our dinner receptions was held on a boat on the Neva river and another in a restaurant inside the fortress walls of Novgorod!

After all that work, I needed a vacation. So I stayed put and spent another week exploring the beautiful city of St. Petersburg. My top recommendations: