Volume 18, No. 3
May 2004

From the Chair
Jean Wenger, Chair

Congratulations to Stephanie Burke, the new elected Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect. For 2004-2005, Stephanie will join Mirela Roznovschi - Chair, Mary Rumsey- Secretary/Treasurer, and yours truly – Immediate Past Chair. Stephanie, as the FCIL Newsletter editor, brings a wealth of knowledge about the activities of the SIS to her new position.

The Boston meeting is less than three months away and final preparations for the workshop, six FCIL programs and other events are in high gear. When in December 2002, Janis Johnston asked me to be on AMPC and told me that the theme of the 2004 meeting was foreign and international law librarianship, I experienced one of those “YEEESSS!!” moments. In what ways could the FCIL SIS be a prominent participant in the AALL meeting and provide the proverbial drum roll leading up to Boston? Let me count the ways:

1. Excellent Slate of Workshops and Programs
W-2: Shopping in the Global Marketplace: Information Sources for International Trade (Friday, July 9). This is a one-day workshop with separate registration, and hopefully the first in a workshop series. (See page 6 of the Newsletter for more information).

A-4: Treaty-making -- Really (Sunday, July 11)
B-5: Envision New Possibilities for Research Training and Collections for Foreign-Trained Lawyers and International LLM Students (Sunday, July 11)
C-5: Globalization Moved My Cheese: Or, How Do I Find Foreign Law? (Monday, July 12)
F-6: A Current Appraisal of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Legal Research (Tuesday, July 13) (Co-sponsored with the Asian-American Law Librarians Caucus)
G-6: The European Union at a Crossroads: Freedoms in a Federated Europe (Tuesday, July 13)
H-5: Hijab, Jihad, Riba and Hudud: Islamic Law in the 21st Century(Wednesday, July14)

FCIL SIS was also a sponsor of the workshop “Islamic Law in a Changing World: Traditions and Transitions” at the Law Library of Congress on March 31. Other sponsors included the Law Library of Congress, Friends of the Law Library of Congress, the American Society of International Law (ASIL) and the Law Librarians' Society in Washington, D.C. (LLSDC).

2. Presentations by Foreign Law Librarians
Velma Newton, Law Librarian, University of the West Indies, will speak at the Executive Committee Presents Caribbean Legal Materials on Monday, July 12 at 5:15. This will be a unique opportunity to learn about this challenging region and the new electronic initiatives from an expert in Caribbean legal research. Law Librarianship from Boston to Mumbai will be an informal panel discussion featuring visiting foreign law librarians, Sunday, July 11 at 4:15. Look for details on page 7.

3. Receptions and Networking
Please join your FCIL SIS colleagues and our foreign guests on Tuesday evening, July 13 for the FCIL Reception for Attendees from Abroad, sponsored by Thomson Legal and Regulatory. Jeannette Yackle at Harvard graciously offered the beautiful Caspersen Room at the Harvard Law School Library as our venue. We will be sharing this space with the International Association of Law Libraries (IALL) reception. I have been assured that our palates will be delighted and our evening filled with engaging and lively conversation.

4. Administration of Grant Opportunities for Foreign Law Librarians
The Ellen Schaffer Foreign Librarian's Grant Committee members, Ellen Schaffer, Mary Strouse, and Nona Beisenherz (chair) reviewed applications. The generous donations of Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, an imprint of Brill Academic Publishers, Oceana Publications, Inc., and the William S. Hein & Co., Inc. made the grant possible this year. See page 11 of the Newsletter for a biography of Milagros Ong, this year’s grant recipient.

5. Redesigned FCIL SIS Web Site as a Destination Site
The launch of a newly redesigned FCIL web site is scheduled to coincide with the Boston meeting. One of our new members, Anne Davey (University of Buffalo) has taken on the creative challenge of redesign. Along with the new look, content will be updated and added. (From preliminary viewings, the new design looks fantastic!) Lee Peoples has probably contacted many of you for your syllabi and course materials. This will be a newly expanded section on the web site.

6. Member Publications and Online Discussions
Watch for Mary Rumsey’s article on foreign legal research in the July issue of the AALL Spectrum. Mary offers great advice and real life examples of the trials, tribulations and victories in the world of foreign law research. Many thanks to the members who participated in the Professional Development Online Forum: Where in the World Did You Find That? Exploring Foreign and International Law Librarianship, April 12-25, especially my co-moderator, Mary Rumsey, and guest moderators, Anne Burnett, Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Beatrice Tice, and Katherine Topulos. If you have not had the opportunity, take time to read Jules Winterton’s “Members’ Briefing: International Networks” in the April issue of the AALL Spectrum. Highlighted in the article, the FCIL SIS is one of several associations dedicated to bringing together law librarians working with, and interested in foreign, comparative and international law.

Throughout the year, it was hard for me not to have the new strategic plan on my mind. I look back over the past ten months and believe progress has been made in implementing our goals. That progress is due to the generous donation of time and talent of so many members. Have an enjoyable and safe summer. I look forward to seeing many of you in Boston. Grazie!