CONGRATULATIONS TO UFUOMA LAMIKANRA! – THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2010 FCIL SCHAFFER GRANT FOR FOREIGN LAW LIBRARIANS
Ms. Lamikanra is the Readers’ Services Librarian at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) at the University of Lagos, whose clientele includes postgraduate law students, legal practitioners, and members of the judiciary. Ms. Lamikanra has worked at NIALS in virtually every capacity since 1985. She currently supervises senior staff and participates in reference and noter-up services, indexing and abstracting legal publications, and compilation of bibliographies and reading lists. While on leave in 2008, Ms. Lamikanra set up the law library of the newly established Babcock University Law School and taught Legal Methods, Environmental Law, Use of the Library, and Evidence to first and fourth year college students. She is also an adjunct lecturer in Business Law for the Distance Learning Institute at the University of Lagos. Ms. Lamikanra has authored and edited numerous books and law review articles.
NIALS Technology Challenges
Ms. Lamikanra explains that in a developing country such as Nigeria, librarians and library patrons encounter a multitude of problems related to information technologies, such as databases and electronic catalogs, in their libraries. She hopes that AALL will give her an opportunity to learn how law librarians have implemented new ideas for building a legal collection and improving information services. She hopes to gain an insight into modern technologies and their applications in law libraries and be in a position to undertake an informed assessment of the technologies which are suitable for use in Nigerian law libraries. “I will return home better equipped to map our future in spite of the challenges we face in Nigeria.”
Anticipating AALL
Ms. Lamikanra anticipates that AALL will offer her a unique opportunity to meet and interact with law librarians from the United States and beyond which will give her an opportunity to network professionally outside Nigeria. She is eager to learn about new technological developments in the law library world which will be beneficial to law libraries and law librarians in Nigeria, with whom she intends to share her experiences with upon her return home.
Improving NALL
Ms. Lamikanra is a member of the Nigerian Library Association, Nigerian Association of Law Libraries (NALL), Nigerian Bar Association, British and Irish Society of Indexers, and Legal indexing Special Interest Group. While in Denver, Ms. Lamikanra plans to study the general structure of AALL as an organization including its many special interest sections and activities. She plans to improve upon the structure and organization of NALL and its future conferences.
Presentation
Ms. Lamikanra willl deliver on Conflict of Laws in a Federation: The Nigerian Experience at Executive Committee Presents on Monday, July 12, 2010, 12 noon – 1:15 pm, CCC Room 109. This event is open to the entire AALL community. Ms. Lamikanra’s presentation will naturally pertain to the complex Nigerian legal system and its literature. In addition to providing a succinct introduction Nigerian legal system, which covers pre-independence and post-independence of the Nigerian State, Ms. Lamikanra will also discuss the complexity of the legal system due to the presence and issues associated with the influence of English law, customary law, and Sharia law in Nigerian legislation and judicial decision making. Ms. Lamikanra will discuss the administration of justice in Nigeria along with the system of law reporting, including its evolution, trends, and the challenges. This segues into a look at the publication of primary and secondary legal materials in Nigeria, and the challenges facing the industry, with suggestions for overcoming these difficulties. Finally, Ms. Lamikanra will share the challenges law librarians face in the acquisition of Nigerian legal materials and attempts made to overcome these problems.
Please join us in welcoming Ufuoma Lamikanra to Denver this summer!
2010 FCIL Schaffer Grant Search Committee Members: Teresa Miguel, Lucie Olejnikova, and Trinie Thai-Parker
FCIL-SIS gratefully acknowledges the generous contributions of many Donors.
Despite valuable support from AALL, FCIL, vendors, and individual AALL members, the FCIL Schaffer Grant for Foreign Law Librarians Fund at this time does not fully cover the recipient’s transportation, lodging, and food costs. Your tax-deductible donation will enhance the Grant’s impact and ensure the continued presence of foreign law librarians at AALL. Make a Contribution.