Find Your Niche
Smaller in size and less formal in structure than special interest sections, AALL caucuses connect members with more focused areas of interest.
Don’t see your particular interest below? We may have a special interest section for you.
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Caucuses have leadership and other volunteer positions that are a great way to get involved and grow professionally while expanding your network.
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Explore Our Caucuses
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Animal Law Caucus Purpose
The AALL Animal Law Caucus was formed in 2010 to support the efforts of law librarians, academics, and practitioners in the research, teaching, scholarship, and practice of animal law. Its purpose is to recognize and further the ongoing work of AALL members in this growing area of law.
The Animal Law Caucus is a legal resource for non-human, animal related humane issues, which arise from and have an effect upon our legal system. Members:
- monitor and provide comment on relevant legislation and policy-making decisions at various levels of government;
- offer legal education programs on animal law;
- compile and provide access via the website to relevant statutes, court decisions, and administrative determinations and reports and
- raise the profile of the field of animal law.
Contact
Sarah C. Slinger
Librarian Assistant Professor & Reference Librarian
University of Miami School of Law Library
PO Box 248087
1311 Miller Drive
Coral Gables, FL 33124-8087
p 305.284.1927
e sslinger@law.miami.edu -
Asian American Law Librarians Caucus Purpose
The object of the AALLC shall be: to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information on, and to represent its members’ interests and concerns within the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). It shall promote law librarianship; promote the study of Asian law; develop and increase the effectiveness of Asian American law librarians; foster cooperation among Asian American members of the profession; and provide for the further continuing education of Asian American law librarians.
Contact
Miss Mandy Lee
Research & Instructional Services Librarian
IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
565 W Adams St
Chicago, IL 60661-3652
p 312.906.5600
e mlee19@kentlaw.iit.edu -
Business and Corporate Research Instruction Caucus Purpose
The Business and Corporate Research Instruction Caucus is a collective of law librarians formed in 2020 to promote and facilitate quality instruction in researching business and corporate information. As there is more demand for law librarians to teach business and corporate research to upper-division law students, law librarians need a forum for developing ideas and sharing instruction experiences. To this end, we work together to:
- Discuss and explore pedagogy related to teaching business and corporate research;
- Explore best practices that will benefit instructors in their teaching;
- Encourage caucus members to share successes and failures to benefit and inform caucus members;
- Engage in other activities that serve the mission of the caucus.
Contact
Matthew Morrison
Cornell University Law Library
340D Myron Taylor Hall
Ithaca, NY
p 607.255.2487
e mmm72@cornell.edu -
Conference of Law Library Educators Purpose
The purpose of the Conference of Law Library Educators is to educate and inform law librarians who teach courses in library and information school masters’ programs and those who are interested in the educational preparation for our profession. We meet once a year at the AALL annual meeting to discuss new trends in law librarianship education, a status update from each of the major law librarianship programs in the US, and other topics of mutual interest.
Contact
Penny Hazelton
Gallagher Law Library
University of Washington School of Law
Box 325025
Seattle, WA 98195
p 206.221.5386
e pennyh@uw.edu -
Document Delivery Caucus Purpose
Serves as a clearinghouse of information on document delivery issues, including but not limited to interlibrary loan, commercial document delivery suppliers and resource sharing; solicits input and comments through meetings and web-based discussions; open to librarians from all types of law libraries and document delivery vendors.
Contact
Merle J. Slyhoff
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Biddle Law Library
3460 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3406
p 215.898.9013
e mslyhoff@law.upenn.edu -
Empirical Research Caucus Purpose
The Empirical Research Caucus was organized in January 2011 to:
- encourage law librarians to expand their knowledge of trends in empirical research, empirical research methods, and multidisciplinary resources related to legal topics and research.
- facilitate librarian instructional efforts to increase information literacy in regards to empirical research
- encourage law librarians to engage in research and publication regarding empirical evaluation of patron services, patron literacy, and other related topics such as law and society
- maintain a listing of publications by librarians on conducting empirical research or reporting empirical research
- partner with AALL Special Interest Sections, including ALL-SIS, PLL-SIS, and CS-SIS, to support and publicize programming and professional development opportunities addressing empirical research and the organization and administration of empirical research support programs
- provide a forum for sharing knowledge related to empirical research including development and archiving of data, availability of existing data, and requirements for institutional review boards.
Contact
Alissa Black-Dorward
Fordham University School of Law
150 West 62nd Street
New York, NY 10023
p 212.636.7968
e blackdorward@law.fordham.edu -
Encore Caucus Purpose
The purposes of the Encore Caucus are:
- To provide a forum for AALL members who are approaching the end of their careers or who are already retired, to continue long-time connections with colleagues, with the AALL, and with their profession;
- To create a vibrant and strong network for effective communications among Encore Caucus members, to share common interests and to further their personal and professional activities;
- To represent the interests of Encore Caucus members within the Association and to support the continued involvement of Encore Caucus members with AALL educational and advocacy activities;
- To promote the skills, expertise, and knowledge of retired members;
- To assist in mentoring and advising of AALL newer members and to collaborate, as needed and appropriate, with all AALL members; and
- To serve as resources and sources of expertise for the AALL and its chapters and special interest sections.
Contact
Sarah (Sally) Holterhoff
p 219.510.2947
e sally.holterhoff@valpo.eduMs. Michele Finerty
p 916.730.5506
e mfinerty3782@gmail.com -
Federal Law Librarians Caucus Purpose
To promote collaboration, resource sharing, and best practices among federal law librarians.
Contact
Jennifer L. McMahan
Deputy Director, Library Staff
US Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Rm. 5317
Washington, DC 20530
p 202.616.8945
e jennifer.mcmahan@usdoj.gov -
First-Gen Professionals Caucus Purpose
To connect and support all AALL members who are the first in their families to cross a threshold into a professional career, including, but not limited to, those who:
- are the first in their families to attend or complete an undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree program;
- come from a low-income or working-class background; or
- are the first in their families to become a U.S. citizen or immigrate to the United States.
Specifically, the objectives of the caucus are to:
- Provide a forum in which first-gen professionals can network and share experiences;
- Coordinate mentorships between members;
- Promote law librarianship as a career for first-generation professionals and participate in AALL’s recruitment efforts;
- Promote professional development for first-gen professionals; and
- Represent the interests and concerns of first-generation professionals within the AALL community and the profession of law librarianship.
Contact
Joseph Lawson
Deputy Director
Harris County Law Library
1019 Congress St
1st Floor
Houston, TX 77002
p 713.274.5212
e joseph.lawson@cao.hctx.net -
Jewish Law Librarian Caucus Purpose
The objective of the Jewish Law Librarians Caucus shall be to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information on Jewish and Israeli law and to represent its members’ interests and concerns within the American Association of Law Libraries. It shall promote law librarianship; promote the study of Jewish and Israeli law; develop and increase the effectiveness of Jewish law librarians; foster cooperation among Jewish members of the profession; and provide for the further continuing education of Jewish law librarians.
Contact
Mr. Marcelo Rodriguez
Research and Training Librarian
U.S. Courts for the Second Circuit
40 Foley Sq
New York, NY 10007-1502
p 212.857.8912
e marcelo_rodriguez@ca2.uscourts.gov -
Latino Caucus Purpose
To provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information on issues of interest and concern to Latino law librarians and to represent them within AALL. To promote law librarianship and further the continuing education of Latino law librarians, and to develop and increase their visibility within AALL. To foster cooperation among Latino members of the profession. To recruit and mentor Latinos to the profession.
Contact
Ms. Victoria de la Torre
p 303. 902.4533
e Vdelatorre125@gmail.com
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Law Repositories Caucus Purpose
The Law Repositories Caucus is a platform-neutral group that supports law repository coordinators by providing a community for sharing information and resources. The caucus provides leadership and guidance on repository issues by looking both in and outside of the law library community to disseminate repository innovation and promote the future of repository work. It also provides professional development opportunities for the law repository community.
Contact
Benjamin Keele
Research and Instructional Services Librarian
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
Ruth Lilly Law Library
530 West New York Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3225
p 317.274-1929
e bkeele@indiana.edu -
Mindfulness in Law Librarianship Caucus Purpose
The Mindfulness in Law Librarianship Caucus was formed in 2013 to support the efforts of law librarians, academics and practitioners in the research, teaching, scholarship, and practice of mindfulness in law. Its purpose is to recognize and further the ongoing work of AALL members that improves the quality of life of all individuals in the legal profession. Members:
- compile and disseminate relevant resources and programs supporting mindfulness in legal education and practice;
- offer education programs on mindfulness in legal education and practice; and
- raise the profile of how libraries contribute to mindfulness in legal education and practice.
Contact
Mr. Kyle K. Courtney Esq.
Copyright Advisor
Harvard University
One Harvard Yard
Widener G-20
Cambridge, MA 02138
p 617.495.4089
e kyle_courtney@harvard.edu -
Native Peoples Law Caucus Purpose
The aim of the Native Peoples Law Caucus is to provide a forum in which Native law and other issues that impact Indigenous Peoples worldwide can be discussed, ideas shared, information exchanged, and education offered. The Caucus encourages and facilitates the analysis, cataloging, collection, dissemination, management, organization, and preservation of Native law in accordance with cultural tradition.
Contact
Darla Jackson
Research and Electronic Services Librarian
University of Oklahoma Law Library
300 Timberdell Rd
Norman, OK 73019
p 405.325.2907
e dwjackson11@ou.edu -
Publishing Initiative Caucus Purpose
Inspire and motivate law librarians to write articles for legal publications that are read by practicing attorneys, legal administrators, law professors, judges and others in organizations that employ AALL members. Encourage publishing as a way of promoting individual law librarians and the profession.
Contact
Jan Bissett
Arthur Neef Law Library
Wayne State University
474 Gilmour Mall
Detroit, MI 48202
p 323.577.6173
e ag3508@wayne.edu -
Research Crits Purpose
The Research Crits Caucus is a collective of law librarians, legal scholars, and legal information professionals formed at the 2019 AALL Annual Meeting & Conference in Washington, D.C., to study, promote, and practice Critical Legal Research (CLR), the application of critical legal theory to the process of legal research and analysis.
To this end, we work together to:
- support CLR scholarship by maintaining a comprehensive bibliography of CLR and CLR-related literature;
- develop pedagogical tools to aid law librarians in conveying CLR methods and strategies to legal researchers and legal research students;
- encourage our members to interrogate claims on neutrality and objectivity made by new and emerging legal research and law practice technologies; and
- engage in other activities that serve the mission of the caucus.
Contacts
Nicholas Stump
Head of Reference & Access Services
West Virginia University College of Law
George R. Farmer Jr. Law Library
101 Law School Drive
Morgantown, WV 26506-6135
p 304.293.5300
e Nicholas.Stump@mail.wvu.edu -
Teaching Legal Technology Caucus Purpose
Librarians interested in teaching legal technology in law schools and other settings. Any technology interest and skill level is welcome, the intended focus will be inclusive of any current or future technology used in legal practice.
Contacts
Mr. Michael J. Robak
Library Director
University of St. Thomas
Schoenecker Law Library
1000 Lasalle Ave MSL 112
Minneapolis, MN 55403-2025
p (651) 962-4903
e michael.robak@stthomas.edu