Volume 15, No. 3
May 2001

Congratulations to our Section’s newly elected All Stars: Tracy Thompson, Chair; Ken Rudolf, Vice-Chair/Chair Elect; and Mirela Roznovschi, Secretary/Treasurer. They will step up to the plate in July 2001.

Many thanks to my current team– FCIL SIS Executive Committee members Christine Corcos, Katherine Topulos, and Tracy Thompson and Publications Committee Chair Anne Burnett. These officers are sluggers who put Mark McGwire to shame!

Do you think that I have forgotten some power players? ATTEND OUR SECTION’S BUSINESS MEETING on Monday, July 16, 2001 at 5:15 PM!  We will honor: Ellen Schaffer for establishing the Ellen Schaffer Foreign Librarian’s Grant; Randy Snyder for donating publishing royalties to our Section; and a surprise roster of non-officers for their outstanding contributions during the 2000-2001 season.

Major League scouts recruit worldwide, and so do we! The FCIL SIS Executive Committee invites SECTION MEMBERS and ALL AALL ANNUAL MEETING ATTENDEES FROM ABROAD to our July 16th Business Meeting (5:15 PM) and Reception (6:15 PM).  Meet our MVP–the Schaffer Grant recipient! Thomson Legal &  Regulatory and West Group are providing the Crackerjack, nachos, and pretzels. (There will also be finger sandwiches, beverages, and prize drawings.) For funding this reception, many thanks to: Steven Roses, Regional Sales Manager–Eastern United States, Thomson Legal & Regulatory Americas; Thomson Legal & Regulatory; and West Group.

ACHIEVING AIMS DESCRIBED IN OCTOBER 2000 FCIL NEWSLETTER:

• Griffey may be iffy, but the FCIL SIS Executive Committee and Ms. Burnett are ready to post our goals on the Section’s Web site. Strategic Planning Committee Chair Stefanie Weigmann has contacted committee members and Interest Group chairs who gave comments following the Fall 2000 planning meeting. She has requested permission to integrate their suggestions. Soon, you will receive a listserv announcement noting that the goals and methods of implementation are available for all members’ ranking and comment. The ranking process does not mean that our Section will only pursue 2-3 goals.  Knowing what is most important to members will help our officers to establish an agenda. Ms. Weigmann and the Executive Committee will provide an update at the Strategic Planning meeting on Sunday, July 15, 2001 (11:45 AM) and at our Business Meeting on Monday, July 16, 2001 (5:15 PM). Please attend and share your ideas.

• As Jeter and O’Neill are propelling the Yankees toward the Pennant, Ken Rudolf and Dennis Sears are powering our Section’s educational planning. Like El Duque, who crossed the Caribbean to spark the pitching staff of the Bombers, Heather Worlledge-Andrew will cross the Atlantic in 2002 to boost our knowledge of Scotland’s devolution. Send your 2002 program proposals to Mr. Sears at: searsd@lawgate.byu.edu.The Education Committee meeting will occur on Monday, July 16, 2001 (1:40 PM) – meet at our Section’s activities table in the Exhibit Hall of the Minneapolis Convention Center.

• Many new recruits are leading Section activities. Candidates for “Rookies of the Year” include: Michael McCarthy (supervisor of the project to revise the list of Foreign and International Law Librarians Willing To Help Non-Experts); Dana Neacsu (Blue Helmet Research Team member who will discuss UN sources for asylum law research at a roundtable on Wednesday, July 18, 2001); Mary Rumsey (program coordinator of “Prometheus UNBound: Firing Up United Nations Legal Researchers” (J-7)); and Bea Tice (who will be the new member representative on an expanded FCIL SIS Education Committee).

• Pinstripe heroes Michael McCarthy and Grace Lee have created a revised list of Foreign & International Law Librarians Willing To Help Non-Experts at http://www.nyls.edu/library/FCIL.html. Please add your name by contacting Mr. McCarthy at: mmccarthy@nylaw-07.nyls.edu. AALL membership is not a requirement–Mr. McCarthy welcomes submissions from all librarians. We are a world team! At the ASIL conference, I was pleased that newer team members like Tracy Bridgman, Krista Lindhard and Mabel Shaw expressed interest in this project.

• With the expert assistance of coach Maya Norris, AALL’s Director of Publications, Ms. Burnett and I are finalizing our Section’s brochure. It will premiere at our activities table in the Exhibit Hall of the Minneapolis Convention Center.

• After carefully considering all responses to Ms. Burnett’s FCIL Newsletter survey at an April meeting, the FCIL SIS Executive Committee and Ms. Burnett have decided to produce a “primarily electronic” FCIL Newsletter. The October 2001 FCIL Newsletter will be available in HTML and PDF formats at  http://www.aallnet.org/sis/fcilsis/fcilsis.html. Through our Section’s listserv, Ms. Burnett will notify members of the Fall issue’s availability and will include a link to the FCIL Newsletter. Section members with barriers to electronic access may contact Ms. Burnett to obtain print copies (the PDF version) of the FCIL Newsletter. If any future problem arises with the electronic archive of FCIL Newsletter issues (1994-), Brooklyn Law School can host the archive. (For additional information about this decision, please see Ms. Burnett’s article in this issue.)

This is my last column as Chair, but I am still working hard to prepare for our July meetings and programs. As Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”