The March of the Law Librarians will soon begin, as these ungainly creatures head for their annual meeting--this year, in New Orleans. Whether you sport colorful plumage or prefer drab, I hope you can make it. FCIL librarians, in particular, need the chance to flock together (okay, enough lame bird metaphors). Only a few of us are lucky to have FCIL colleagues at our own workplace--and some don't have FCIL colleagues in their own state.

Any AALL annual meeting is a great way to connect with other FCIL librarians who can share strategies, alert you to new resources, and commiserate about naïve or unreasonable reference requests. This year's meeting will also offer great programs. See page three for a handy listing of FCIL related programs and meetings.

Much of the informal action takes place in the Interest Group meetings and anyone is welcome to attend these sessions. Newer FCIL members should also try to attend the FCIL-SIS Business Meeting--it's a way to declare your FCIL interest, meet the wily veterans of the SIS, and it makes a nice entrée to the FCIL-SIS Reception Honoring Attendees from Abroad, which begins immediately afterwards. That Business Meeting takes place on Monday, July 16th, at 5:15 - 6:15 p.m. (If you're especially new, you might even win the bottle of wine awarded to the Newest FCIL Member by Dan Wade and his caucus).

We're especially lucky this year to welcome our FCIL Schaffer Grant Recipient from China--Cheng Zhen, Director of the Reference Department at the National Library of China in Beijing.

Congratulations to Dennis Sears and Marylin Raisch, who were elected as incoming Chair-Elect and Secretary-Chair respectively. I'm looking forward to relinquishing my vast power to Jonathan Franklin, who I'm sure will use it only for good.

I have many people to thank for their help over the past year; Dennis Sears and Mirela Roznovschi for their attention to FCIL-SIS matters; Heidi Kuehl for her website work; Barbara Bean for chairing the FCIL Schaffer Grant Committee, and Tom Kimbrough and Mary Sexton for serving on it; Amy Burchfield for getting the newsletter out, always; Lyo Louis-Jacques for an endless stream of ideas; Victor Essien, Dan Wade, Barb Garavaglia, Molly Brownfield, and Carolyn McKelvey for their work on the Strategic Planning Committee; Laura Cadra for chairing the Membership Committee, and its members: Suzanne Castroman, Michael Daniels, Don Ford, Alison Shea, Rachael Smith, Roy Sturgeon. Special thanks to Mabel Shaw for agreeing to take over as editor of the FCIL-SIS Newsletter; Amy, we'll miss you!

See you in New Orleans--

Mary

The AALL Annual Meeting is July 14-17, 2007.