It's the winter doldrums season, but it feels like Thanksgiving! As in my first message, there are so many people to thank.

First of all, thanks go to Chair Mary Chapman and her Nominations Committee, Sue Roach and Katherine Tooley. They have recruited a slate of talented, enthusiastic librarians:

» Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect:

John P. (Jack) Bissett, Cataloging Librarian,
Washington and Lee University School of Law Library

Anna Belle Leiserson, Collections Development Librarian,
Vanderbilt Law School Library

» Secretary-Treasurer:

Thomas B. Fleming, Library Director,
Piper & Marbury (Baltimore)

Ismael Gullon, Technical Services Librarian,
Mercer University Law Library

» Member at Large:

Ellen McGrath, Head of Cataloging,
State University of New York at Buffalo, Charles B. Sears Law Library

Donna M. Rosinski, Cataloging Librarian,
Fordham University Law School Library

Certainly, these willing candidates deserve thanks for agreeing to work for our SIS.

Secondly, thanks go to Vianne Sha, the Chair of the Ad Hoc Web Page Committee. Vianne, too, is an enthusiastic leader. She has skillfully broken down the maintenance of our Web page into discrete parts. The people who have volunteered to help Vianne deserve our thanks as well. Anna Belle Leiserson and Janice Snyder Anderson have been particularly active. Our original Web Master, Anne Myers, has provided invaluable assistance. Check us out:

Stay tuned for future developments as we work to move to the AALLNET server. In anticipation of using the Web page more completely in the future, we are working on a plan to offer the option to respond to the annual survey via the OBS Web Page. Again, thanks to Vianne and her Web Committee.

Speaking of the annual survey, I would like to thank Jacqui Paul who has so energetically gotten the process moving. Be on the lookout for your annual survey! Please take the time to fill it out!

FILLING OUT THE ANNUAL SURVEY ENABLES THE OBS LEADERSHIP TO ADDRESS YOUR NEEDS!!!

That may seem a bit intense, but the survey certainly is very important to an effective and active OBS.

In the spirit of midwinter Thanksgiving, I would like to express thanks to Anne Myers for the idea of our Annual Meeting Book Swap. The Book Swap in Indianapolis was a huge success. It gave AALL members the opportunity for new, affordable, entertaining reading matter endorsed (i.e., read) by fellow librarians. Why not put a book (or two) aside for Baltimore? You can have a lot of fun choosing another book in exchange.

Additionally, I'm grateful to the thoughtful people who are even now exploring ideas for programs in Anaheim in 1998. These people realize their topics are complex and need to be carefully considered. They are taking time to scope out various treatments of their subjects at other conferences. And they are consulting with colleagues via e-mail. This is the way to enjoy program planning: reflectively and collaboratively.