Volume 16, No. 3
May 2002

From the Chair
Tracy Thompson, Chair

The pilgrimage to the Annual Meeting is in full swing. Flights are being booked, rooms reserved, sharing arrangements discussed. Before we descend on Orlando though, we should pause and reflect on this year of disaster and terror, loss and sorrow, healing and hope. Who would have thought we would come so far so quickly in the aftermath of September 11, 2001? We should marvel at our ability to move ahead with purpose and determination in the wake of abject despair. We should delight in our ability to draw from one another the strength we need to face the future with renewed joy.

Now on to the future of the FCIL-SIS! Please join me in congratulating Jean Wenger, our newly elected Vice-Chair/Chair Elect! Jean serves as Reference Librarian for Government Documents and Foreign and International Law at the Cook County Law Library in Chicago. Jean will assume her office in July 2002 at the Annual Business Meeting. Be sure to attend the meeting and welcome Jean as she begins her term. I look forward to Jean's leadership in the coming years!

I want to thank those members who have helped in so many ways during the past year. As you may know, I assumed the office of Chair of the FCIL-SIS last year as the result of the elected Chair's resignation from office in light of her changed circumstances. This means I did not have a Vice-Chair year to learn the ropes. I would not have been able to serve the SIS without the help of Jean Davis (immediate past Chair), Kenneth Rudolf (Vice-Chair/Chair Elect), Mirela Roznovschi (Treasurer), Stephanie Burke (Newsletter Editor), Anne Burnett (Webmaster and Publications Committee Chair), Dennis Sears (Education Committee Chair), Katherine Topulos (past Chair), Marci Hoffman (consummate program organizer and friend of the SIS), Mary Strouse (dedicated Section member and ambassador), Mary Rumsey (selfless volunteer of time and space), Dan Wade (selfless volunteer and mentor), Jill Watson (supporter and facilitator) and Rhonda Gold (Chair - Schaffer Grant Committee, 2002). This is not a list of all who have devoted time and talent to the FCIL-SIS; there are many and my thanks extend to each of them as well. I hope to see many of you in Orlando.

The program at our upcoming Annual Meeting offers some exciting opportunities. Please take note of the following programs that may be of special interest to FCIL-SIS members. On Sunday, July 21 at 2:45, Heather Worlledge-Andrew of Glasgow University Library and Steve Young of Catholic University will present Devolution in the United Kingdom: A Revolution in Online Legal Research. On Monday, July 22 at 2:00, a panel of experts coordinated by A. Hays Butler of Rutgers, will present Connecting with the Worldwide Effort to Combat Crimes Against Humanity: The Creation of the International Criminal Court. Also on Monday, at 3:15, Lyonette Louis-Jacques of the University of Chicago will moderate The International Law/International Relations Connection - Internationalizing Law Library Collections. Finally, on Wednesday, July 24 at 10:30, Katrina Stierholz of Washington University and Mirela Roznovschi of NYU have coordinated Government Documents Around the World: Access Policies and Strategies of Disclosure.

In addition to these programs you will not want to miss the Program on Caribbean Legal Materials that is being sponsored by the FCIL-SIS Executive Committee on Wednesday, July 24 at 4:00. We are very excited to have June Renie, Law Librarian at Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad, coming to speak on this topic. Ms. Renie was the first President of the Caribbean Association of Law Libraries in 1984 and has been an active member of the profession for many years. Please plan to attend this session and welcome Ms. Renie to the Annual Meeting before we all head to the closing banquet!

In addition to all of these program opportunities, other SIS business will be in full swing in Orlando. Please check the final program for all locations. The FCIL-SIS Business Meeting will be held on Monday, July 22 from 6:15-7:15 pm. The Reception for Attendees from Abroad, exclusively sponsored by West Group and Thomson Legal & Regulatory again this year, will follow the Business Meeting from 7:15-8:15 pm. Thank you to West and Thomson for their continued support! You may also want to take note of the Strategic Plan Implementation Committee Meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, July 24 at 7:00 am, and the Publication Committee Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 24 at 1:00 pm. Our strategic planning has faltered a bit in the past year, with the departure of Stefanie Weigmann from our ranks, and we would welcome new energy on that front. As always, our Interest Groups will be busy. These include African Law, Asian Law, CIS and East European, Clearinghouse for Internships and International Personnel Exchanges, Electronic Issues, Latin American Law and Teaching Foreign and International Legal Research. Check the final program for all of the dates, times and locations!

Thank you again for your continued dedication to our profession, and to the work of our SIS. See you in July!

Also, please plan to attend the International Association of Law Libraries Annual Course scheduled for October 20-23, 2002. This year's meeting will be held at the Yale Law School in New Haven, CT, with an additional, optional day planned for October 24 at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, MA. This is a convenient location for U.S. librarians and presents a wonderful opportunity for you to meet an international population of others in our profession and to see some of the most prestigious collections of legal materials in the country. For complete information and registration, please go to http://www.iall.org.

NEW FCIL SIS MEMBERS