The OBS/TS Research Roundtable was held at the 2000 AALL Annual Meeting in Philadelphia on Sunday, July 16. Eighteen technical services librarians met to discuss issues relevant to research and publication. Chris Long from Indiana University at Indianapolis (clong@uipui.edu) and Becky Lutkenhaus from Drake University (rebecca.lutkenhaus@drake.edu) moderated the lively discussion in which the attendees shared their publishing experiences and discussed topics that they would like to see addressed in the literature. Five individuals attended the meeting to make announcements and to provide special insight into publishing opportunities.

Brian Striman from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (bstriman@ unl.edu) began the roundtable with tips for developing publishing ideas. He said that great publication topics result from everyday work; the key is to write them down so they can be developed more fully at a later time. Attending business meetings and roundtable discussions can also be a good source of topic ideas. He emphasized the fact that publications such as AALL Spectrum and Law Library Journal are very interested in having technical services oriented articles submitted for publication. You don’t have to write a lengthy piece with excessive footnotes to get published, as there are forums available for all types of writing. Striman also made the point that the editors of publications are very willing to work with prospective authors to develop ideas into publishable pieces. Bouncing ideas off of colleagues can be another method of gauging interest in a topic and developing an idea.

Corinne Jacox from Barry University (cjacox@mail.barry.edu) currently chairs the OBS/TS Joint Research Grant Committee, and she spoke to the group about the application process and the breadth of projects for which the grant money may be used. Each SIS contributes $500 to the grant fund annually. More than one applicant can receive a grant each year, and the amount of the grants can vary depending upon the recipient’s research needs. Application forms and information about the grants are available at AALLnet (www.aallnet.org/sis/obssis/researchinfo.htm). For the year 2000, Larry Dershem from LEXIS Publishing was awarded the full $1000 to pursue a research project on the Library of Congress Classification System.

Carol Avery Nicholson from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (carol_nicholson@unc.edu) provided an update on the forthcoming Law Library Systems Directory. She would like to transform this publication from a print product into an electronic one, and is currently discussing this possibility with the publisher of the directory. In addition to altering the format, Nicholson would like to incorporate the membership’s suggestions on how to improve the publication, and welcomes comments.

Kevin Butterfield from Southern Illinois University (kbutterf@sui.edu) attended the meeting to announce that LEXIS Publishing has pledged $100,000 to launch the AALL Research Fund. This fund will provide financial assistance to law librarians conducting research that is critical to the profession. AALL will be developing eligibility requirements and criteria for the grants. More information will be forthcoming via AALLnet and LAW-LIB.

Anna Belle Leiserson from Vanderbilt University (a.leiserson@law.vander-bilt.edu) and co-editor of the Technical Services Law Librarian also attended the roundtable. She informed the group that there are currently a variety of publishing opportunities available through TSLL. Several existing columns are in need of new columnists, and she indicated that they are always willing to establish new columns if there is interest. In addition, TSLL is interested in having articles submitted for publication. Please contact Leiserson or co-editor Linda Tesar, also from Vanderbilt (l.tesar@law.vanderbilt. edu), if you are interested in more information about these opportunities.

Rebecca Lutkenhaus
Drake University