Description
The AALL Spectrum Article of the Year Award honors outstanding achievement in writing an article that contributes to topics relating to librarianship, law librarianship, and practical applications for library work or to an understanding of legal materials, legal systems, legal information, or to professional and staff training and development. The winner is selected on the basis of quality of writing and effectiveness of the communication technique. The AALL Spectrum Article of the Year Award is open to both members and nonmembers.
Purpose
The purpose of the award is twofold: (1) to honor outstanding achievement in writing as represented by a work published in AALL Spectrum; and (2) to encourage the submission of such works of high quality to AALL Spectrum.
Process
Criteria
The following are factors that may be considered in determining the recipient of the award:
Contributions to topics relating to librarianship, law librarianship, and practical applications for library work or to an understanding of legal materials, legal systems, legal information, or to professional and staff training and development. Quality of writing and effectiveness of the communication technique utilized for the information sought to be conveyed.
Eligibility
All articles published in AALL Spectrum during the previous year of publication will be eligible to be considered for the award. The previous year of publication is considered to be January through December. Length and format of the article will not affect eligibility.
Articles originally published elsewhere will not be eligible for the award. However, revisions of previously published works or pieces originally presented in another form or media (e.g, paper presented at a conference) will be eligible for consideration.
Procedure
The AALL Spectrum Article of the Year Award is determined under the following procedure:
- The editor of AALL Spectrum shall prepare a list of all eligible articles no later than three weeks after publication of the last issue under consideration.
- The AALL Spectrum Article of the Year Award Jury shall select one or more recipients for the award or no recipient if it deems none of the nominees sufficiently qualified.
- The award recipient(s) must be selected by March 1, 2023.
- The award will be announced and presented during a virtual awards presentation and at the Annual Meeting following the selection of the recipient by the AALL Spectrum Article of the Year Award Jury.
Winners
2020 - 2023 2023
CO-AUTHORS
John J. DiGilio
Firmwide Director of Library Services
Sidley Austin LLP
Los Angeles, CACourtney Toiaivao
Director of Research Services
Holland & Knight LLP
New York, NY“The Great Resignation: Obstacle or Opportunity?,” AALL Spectrum Vol. 26, No. 5 (May/June 2022)
2022
CO-AUTHORS
Pablo D. Arredondo
Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer
Casetext
Palo Alto, CAJaved Qadrud-Din
Machine Learning Engineer
Meta Platforms, Inc.
Union City, CA“From Vellum to Vectors,” AALL Spectrum, Vol. 25, No. 5 (May/June 2021)
2021
CO-AUTHORS
Edna L. Lewis
Reference Librarian
UC Berkeley School of Law Library
Berkeley, CAClanitra Stewart Nejdl
Head of Professional Development and Research Services Librarian; Lecturer in Law Vanderbilt University, Alyne Queener Massey Law Library
Nashville, TN“Academic Law Libraries & the Early Days of the COVID-19 Pandemic,” AALL Spectrum, Vol. 25, No. 1 (September/October 2020)
2020
Rena Seidler
Reference Librarian
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
Indianapolis, ID“Shedding Light on Legal Research Accessibility Issues for the Blind,” AALL Spectrum, Vol. 23, No. 3 (January/February 2019)
2010 - 2019 2019
CO-AUTHORS
Rachel P. Licona
Staff Attorney, Family and Probate Divisions
Sixth Judicial Circuit Court
Clearwater, FLTaryn Marks
Professor of Legal Research &
Faculty Services Librarian
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL“Enhancing the Online Learning Environment,” AALL Spectrum, Vol. 22, No. 4 (March/April 2018)
2018
Lori B. Andrews
University Distinguished Professor of Law
Director of the Institute for Science, Law and Technology
IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago, IL“iSpy: Threats to Individual and Institutional Privacy in the Digital World,” AALL Spectrum, Vol. 21, No. 5 (May/June 2017)
2017
Pat Newcombe
Associate Dean for Library and Information Resources
Western New England University School of Law Library
Springfield, MA“Crowdsourcing Legal Research: The Opportunities and Challenges,” AALL Spectrum, May/June 2016
2016
Jason Hawkins
Research Librarian
Thurgood Marshall Law Library, Francis King Carey School of Law
University of Maryland
Baltimore, MDDavid E. Matchen Jr.
Circulation/Reference Librarian
University of Baltimore Law Library
University of Baltimore School of Law
Baltimore, MD“Faced With Crisis: The Importance of Establishing a Comprehensive Crisis Management Plan,” AALL Spectrum, November/December 2015
2015
Christine Bowersox
Collection Management Librarian
Harris Beach PLLC
Pittsford, NYKristen M. Hallows
Research Librarian
Bricker & Eckler LLP
Columbus, OH“Dialectic of Transformation: The Shaping of a Name” AALL Spectrum, April 2014
2014
Ingrid Mattson
Reference Librarian
Ohio State University, Moritz Law Library
Columbus, OHLinda-Jean Schneider
Electronic Resources Manager
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
Philadelphia, PA“Negotiating and Complying with Electronic Database License Agreements” AALL Spectrum, February 2013
2013
Laurel E. Davis
Legal Information Librarian, Lecturer in Law and Curator of Rare BooksChester Kozikowski
Educational Technology SpecialistBoston College Law Library
Newton, MA“Rare Books & Technology: Collaborating Within the Library”
2012
Steven A. Lastres
Director of Library and Knowledge Management
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
New York, NY“Collection Development in the Age of the Virtual Law Firm Library” AALL Spectrum, June 2011
2011
Steven J. Melamut
Information Technology Services Librarian
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Law Library
Chapel Hill, NC“Freeing Creativity: Understanding the Creative Commons licenses” AALL Spectrum, April 2010
2010
James M. Donovan
Faculty and Access Services Librarian
University of Georgia School of Law Library
Athens, GA“Back Away from the Survey Monkey! Optimize Research Results with an Honest Assessment of Methodology” AALL Spectrum, November 2009
2000 - 2009 2009
Carl A. Yirka
Professor and Library Director
Julien & Virginia Cornell Library, Vermont Law School
South Royalton, VT“Perspective: The Yirka Question and Yirka’s Answer: What Should Law Libraries Stop Doing in Order to Address Higher Priority Initiatives?” AALL Spectrum, July 2008
2008
Mark P. Bernstein
Omer Poos Law Library
Saint Louis University School of Law“One Size Fits All No More: The Impact of Law Specialization on Library Services” AALL Spectrum, March 2007
2007
Barbara A. Bintliff
Joseph C. Hutcheson Professor in Law and Director of Research
Tarlton Law Library
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TXGeorgia Briscoe
Associate Director and Head of Technical Services
Boulder, COUniversity of Colorado at Boulder Law Library
“The Ethics of Electronic Record Sharing”, AALL Spectrum, June 2006
2006
Leah Sandwell-Weiss
Reference Librarian & Adjunct Assistant Professor of Legal Research
University of Arizona College of Law
Tucson, AZ“Putting Ideals into Action: AALL Washington Affairs Office is the Hub of Law Librarianship” AALL Spectrum, April 2005
2005
Leah Sandwell-Weiss
Reference Librarian and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Legal Research
University of Arizona College of Law
Tucson, AZ“A Look at the USA PATRIOT Act Today” AALL Spectrum, July 2004
2004
Jean M. Holcomb
Law Librarian and Director
King County Law Library
Seattle, WA“The Annual Report: An Overlooked Opportunity to Tell the Library’s Story” AALL Spectrum, June 2003
2003
Mary Rumsey
Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Librarian
University of Minnesota Law Library.“Libraries Confront the Challenges of Accommodating Disabled Users” AALL Spectrum, April 2002
2002
James S. Heller
Director of the Law Library and Professor of Law College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, VA“Collection Development and Weeding a la Versace: Fashioning a Policy for Your Library” AALL Spectrum, February 2002
2001
Ann Walsh Long
“Get Your Library Ready for Distance Education” AALL Spectrum, May 2000
2000
Joanne Dugan
“True Confessions of a Copyright Wimp” AALL Spectrum, February 2000