by Mila Rush Byline
University of Minnesota Law Library Affiliation
In this issue we introduce two colleagues: Dennis Sears of Brigham Young University Law Library and Anne Burnett of University of Georgia Law Library. Both had international exposure before assuming their positions as FCI law librarians, and both are presently with the law schools they graduated from.
A year after he entered BYU as a college freshman, Dennis Sears went to Germany, where he spent two years. He came back to BYU, completed a baccalaureate in German, and went on to earn an M.A. in Modern European History in 1981; his thesis was on post-WWII German politics. He completed his law degree in 1985, also from BYU.
Upon graduation Dennis held a judicial clerkship in the Fourth Judicial District Court of Utah for a year and a half. After his clerkship, he worked for the Salt Lake County Tax Administration for a year. In 1988 Dennis was offered a faculty position at the BYU Law Library, where he has been since, holding various positions including being Head of Circulation, Head of Reference, Projects Librarian, etc. While at BYU Law Library, he was also attending library school. Dennis completed his M.L.I.S. in 1993.
About two years ago, Dennis assumed responsibility for foreign, comparative, and international law. He continues to work general reference and teach both basic legal research and various topics in advanced legal research.
Although Dennis has been a member of AALL since 1988, he has been a member of FCIL SIS for only two years. He feels fortunate to have been able to attend the last two FCIL institutes. In Indianapolis, Dennis had the fortune (or misfortune) to be drafted to take notes during the meetings of three working groups: Teaching Foreign and International Legal Research, Latin American Law, and African Law. Without realizing it, he is now in the thick of FCIL activities.
Dennis says he has been extremely impressed by the professionalism and dedication exhibited by members of the FCIL community. This, he says, makes working in the area both enjoyable and exciting.
Anne Burnett is not only the new Foreign and International Law Librarian at University of Georgia Law Library, but is also the first to hold the position. From this view, she seems to have prepared for it. Here is what she says:
"One of the main reasons I chose UGA for law school was the strength of its international and foreign programs. As a student, I was able to participate in an internship with a London law firm, take a seminar on EU law in Brussels, and serve as editor-in-chief of the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. I also enjoyed meeting and studying with many of the 25-35 foreign lawyers who work towards LL.M. degrees each year at UGA."
Armed with an M.L.I.S. from the University of Texas/Austin and, of course, her J.D., Anne's first job was as a reference librarian at the University of Arkansas/Fayetteville Law Library. She enjoyed that very much, but still hoped to get back into the international and foreign arena. Fortunately for her, UGA decided that the library's collections and the law school's programs warranted a reference position with an international and foreign focus. She is very pleased to be back in Athens (along with her fiancé and their two dogs and two cats).
In addition to participating in the regular reference schedule, Anne is responsible for organizing and maintaining the UN and EU document collections, assisting acquisitions with collection development, assisting the foreign LL.M. students and the editors of the international journal with their special research needs, preparing research guides for use with their foreign, comparative and international materials, maintaining the foreign and international Web pages, and editing the library's newsletter. She says she is "always getting new ideas from INT-LAW, AALL meetings, and this newsletter for additional ways to keep extremely busy!"
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