TSLL's 25th Anniversary Part 2 Following up on vol.25:no.3, we are delighted to include two more contributions on TSLL’s history from past editors. In this issue, Michele Finerty and Cynthia Larter Cicco.

TSLL 1983-1986
Michele Finerty, Editor

I was relatively new to law librarianship when I was appointed as the TSLL editor. The columnists and contributors were great to work with; they made my job very easy and it was an honor to take an active role in producing such an informative newsletter. This was in the days before most library staff had PCs with desktop publishing and spell-check capabilities, so sometimes putting the issue together entailed high-tech operations such as cut and paste. Part of my job was also that of bookkeeper. Subscription renewal checks were sent to me. I recorded the subscriptions and then sent the checks to AALL Headquarters. Nevertheless, being editor was interesting and fun.

In 1985, I asked the OBS-SIS and TS-SIS chairpersons to appoint two representatives each to serve as editorial board members. It also occurred to me that the editorial board, the columnists and I should have the opportunity to meet together at the annual meetings. The first annual TSLL staff meeting was held in 1985 in my room at the New York Hilton because I knew nothing then about the deadlines for reserving formal meeting rooms at the convention hotel.

When I moved from Missouri to Orange County in 1986 I was shocked to find that not only was the housing market inflated here but copy costs in producing TSLL doubled. Ah—the joys of a Midwesterner adjusting to Southern California! In the fall of 1986 Cindy Cicco became the editor and TSLL Headquarters—so to speak—moved back to the East Coast.

I second the comments made in the last TSLL issue, urging OBS and TS members to volunteer both at the SIS and association level. Our members have much to offer AALL and participation in these activities gives one the opportunity to meet many people who become colleagues and friends across the country. Being part of TSLL was one of the best experiences I’ve had in AALL.

TSLL 1986-1988
Cynthia A. Larter Cicco, Editor

I had to go back and peruse the TSLL issues I edited in order to refresh my memory for this article. Pack rat that I am, I still had each of the issues and could find them easily. Am I the only one who has kept them all? As I paged through the issues, Barbra Streisand’s song "Memories" immediately began going through my mind. Talk about going back in time! Does anyone remember that Margie Axtmann was chair of OBS-SIS? That Brian Striman won the contest for creating the TS-SIS logo? Or that Brian also was in charge of selling those TS t-shirts and buttons? I reviewed the names of the section officers and TSLL columnists. Sadly, some have retired or are no longer with us. Some thankfully are still with us and, believe it or not, still TSLL columnists! It’s wonderful to still see Melody’s, Rhonda’s, Alva’s and Reggie’s names on the list of TSLL staff. Certainly they deserve some kind of award for sticking with this for so long. I was also struck by how TSLL has, in some respects, changed and in some ways has remained the same. Obviously, the physical format has changed. It’s larger, the typeface is much easier to read, and it has illustrations nicely breaking up the text of the articles. Like some of the other editors working in an earlier era, articles were submitted to me on paper. If the correct typeface wasn’t used, I had to retype the article. Then I suffered through the time-consuming task of "cutting and pasting" the issue together. What I wouldn’t have given for today’s software and computers! My issues had 8 columns, the current version has 10. So, it has grown in size. But the columns and reports of the sections’activities are still providing great, up-to-date information. It remains, in my opinion, the best and most informative section newsletter in AALL.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember exactly how I came to be the editor. I probably volunteered for the job. I was also the business manager, so I did everything: preparing the issues, getting it printed and sent to subscribers, sending out renewals, taking in the money and maintaining the subscription list. It was a lot of work. But I do remember how proud I was to be the editor of such a fine publication. It wasn’t very difficult as the columnists were so great about sending in their copy by the deadlines. I loved being the first one to read the articles!

We made a few changes during my editorship. I began placing the highlights of each issue on the front cover and moved the list of section officers and TSLL staff to the inside front cover. Jean Pajerek at Cornell became the first columnist for the "Serials Title Changes & Cessations" column. Caitlin Robinson from the University of Iowa and Susanne Nevin from the University of Minnesota began an "Automation" column.

I must admit I cringed just a little bit when I saw that I used the term, "telefax". It made me feel somewhat like a dinosaur. I also noticed that the August, 1987 issue had an article from Susanne Nevin at the University of Minnesota describing how their catalogers coped with a delay in getting their NOTIS software and terminals. We are still trying to figure out what to do when our system is down for maintenance or software upgrades!