Volume 15, No. 3
May 2001

Many, many thanks to the section members who responded to the poll posted in the February 2001 issue of the FCIL Newsletter and provided valuable input regarding the proposed change in newsletter format. Respondents to the poll overwhelmingly recommended a change from paper to electronic format. In considering whether to implement this change, the members of the Executive Committee and I (in my role as Publications Committee chair and current newsletter editor) agreed with the respondents who expressed concern about the availability of the newsletter to those who might have difficulty accessing it electronically. In order to address this concern, the newsletter will still be available as a print copy and mailed to those members who notify the editor that technological barriers make electronic access unfeasible. These print copies will be of no greater quality than a printout of the electronic copy (for an example, please see the February 2001 issue, which is in PDF at http://www.aallnet.org/sis/fcilsis/152.pdf). The Executive Committee and I encourage section members who prefer to read a print copy to access the electronic copy and print it out for more convenient reading. The editor will notify section members of the on-line publication of each issue via the FCIL SIS listserv. Because attachments to AALL-hosted listservs are not advised, the listserv notification will include a link to the new issue rather than the newsletter as an attached file. I note that the electronic copy will be available in both PDF and HTML versions, as requested by several poll respondents.

The shift to a “primarily electronic” document will take place beginning with the October 2001 issue. This format change should provide a significant savings to the section, which has devoted the majority of its budget in recent years to the printing and mailing of paper copies. The editor will continue to keep a print copy of each issue in the section’s archives, and the editor will mail print copies to AALL headquarters in compliance with their requirements (which may change as more chapters and sections convert to electronic-only newsletters). We will also make printed-out copies available at the Activities Table during the AALL Annual Meeting.

If technological barriers make electronic access unfeasible for you, please let me know that you require the printed-out version of the newsletter to be mailed to you: Anne Burnett, Alexander Campbell King Law Library, University of Georgia School of Law, Athens, GA 30602-6018 or aburnett@arches.uga.edu. AALL headquarters will continue to provide mailing labels; therefore, any changes of address or other updates should be sent to them via AALLNET (http://www.aallnet.org) or at The American Association of Law Libraries, 53 W. Jackson, Suite 940, Chicago, IL 60604, Phone: (312) 939-4764, Fax: (312) 431-1097 well in advance of the newsletter’s publication dates.