The Legal History and Rare Books SIS was established in 1989 at the AALL Annual Meeting in Reno, Nevada. Its purpose is to promote the study and appreciation of legal history and rare books among members of the profession. To that end, the SIS hopes to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information concerning all aspects of these two different yet interconnected subjects. The organization publishes a newsletter twice a year and sponsors speakers and programs on both legal history and rare books at the Annual Meeting. In the hopes of attracting as wide an audience as possible, the SIS encourages vendors and book dealers to join the group.
History
| Year | Executive Board Members | Key LHRB Sponsored Program at AALL | Annual Report |
| 2020-2021 | Chair: Linda K. Tesar Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Heather Kushnerick Secretary/Treasurer: Hannah Miller-Kim Immediate Past Chair: Christine George |
No LHRB-SIS programs at the 2021 Virtual Conference. | 2020-2021 |
| 2019-2020 | Chair: Christine George Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Linda K. Tesar Secretary/Treasurer: Ryan Greenwood Immediate Past Chair: Frederick Dingledy |
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| 2018-2019 | Chair: Frederick Dingledy Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Christine George Secretary/Treasurer: Ryan Greenwood Immediate Past Chair: Elizabeth Hilkin |
“Creating an Oral History Program: Capturing History and Building Connections”
Host City History Roundtable: “Capital Lawyers: The Supreme Court Bar in the Nation’s History.” (Washington, DC 2019) |
2018-2019 |
| 2017-2018 | Chair: Elizabeth Hilkin Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Frederick Dingledy Immediate Past Chair: Karen Wahl |
“Special Collections Make for Special Relationships: Working with Your Institution to Bring Special Collections into the (UV-Filtered) Light”
Host City History Roundtable: “The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the Development of American Railroad Law” (Baltimore, 2018) |
2017-2018 |
| 2016-2017 | Chair: Karen Wahl Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Elizabeth Hilkin Immediate Past Chair: Kasia Solon Cristobal |
“Spanish and English Water Law in the American Southwest”
Host City History Roundtable: Tequila and the Law (Austin, 2017) |
2016-2017 |
| 2015-2016 | Chair: Kasia Solon Cristobal Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Karen Wahl Secretary/Treasurer: Laurel Davis Immediate Past Chair: Sabrina Sondhi |
“The Once and Future Presidential Library: From Lincoln to Obama”
Host City History Roundtable (Chicago, 2016) |
2015-2016 |
| 2014-2015 | Chair: Sabrina Sondhi Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Kasia Solon Cristobal Secretary/Treasurer: Laurel Davis Immediate Past Chair: Jennie Meade |
“Voices from the Past: Using Rare and Antiquarian Books in the Modern Practice of Law”
Host City History Roundtable (Philadelphia, 2015) |
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| 2013-2014 | Chair: Jennie C. Meade Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Sabrina Sondhi Secretary/Treasurer: Kasia Solon Cristobal Immediate Past Chair: Michael Widener |
“The Civil Rights Act of 1964: Celebrating Its 50th Anniversary”
Host City History: San Antonio Edition (San Antonio, 2014) |
2013-2014 |
| 2012-2013 | Chair: Michael Widener Vice Chair: Jennie C. Meade Secretary/Treasurer: Kasia Solon Cristobal Immediate Past Chair: Sarah Yates |
“Law Libraries and Advocacy: Using Special Collections to Tell the Story of the Japanese American Internment”
(Seattle, 2013) |
2012-2013 |
| 2011-2012 | Chair: Sarah Yates Vice Chair: Michael Widener Secretary/Treasurer: Joni Herbst Immediate Past Chair: Stacy A. Etheredge |
“The Law of the Salem Witch Trials”
“Digitizing Legal History” (co-sponsored) “‘Digging’ Legal History in Boston: The Case of the Boston Strangler” “Early Law Libraries as Historical Documents: Recording the Bookshelves of Long-Ago Lawyers” (Boston, 2012) |
2011-2012 |
| 2010-2011 | Chair: Stacey Etheredge Vice Chair: Sarah Yates Secretary/Treasurer: Joni Herbst |
“Old Into New: Collaborative Law Library Digital Collections”
“We the People: Constitutional National Treasures in Philadelphia Archives” “‘Digging’ Legal History in Philadelphia: The Meriwether Lewis Project” (Philadelphia, 2011) |
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| 2009-2010 | Chair: Stacy Etheredge Vice Chair: Amy Taylor Secretary/Treasurer: Daniel Blackaby Immediate Past Chair: Karen Beck |
“Mapping Uncharted Terrains: Introducing Archival Best Practices to the Management of Law School, Court and Law Firm Historical Collections”
(Denver, 2010) |
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| 2008-2009 | Chair: Karen Beck Vice Chair: Stacy Etheredge Secretary/Treasurer: Daniel Blackaby Immediate Past Chair: Laura Ray |
“Lincoln, the Law, and Libraries”
“‘Digging’ Legal History: Using Exhumation and Innovative Forensic Science Techniques to Verify Historical Legal Events” (Washington, D.C., 2009) |
2008-2009 |
| 2007-2008 | Chair: Karen Beck Vice Chair: Stacy Etheridge Secretary/Treasurer: Sarah Yates |
“Beer and the Law: A Legal History of Beer, Brewing and Government Regulation from the German Purity Law to the Microbrew Movement” (AMPC-sponsored)
“Law Library Journal at 100: The Evolution of a Publication” “Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act (DWDA): A Legal History” (AMPC-sponsored/co-sponsored by SR-SIS) “Explore the New World of Legal History Research–Be Prepared to Wiki!” (AMPC-sponsored) (Portland, 2008) |
2007-2008 |
| 2006-2007 | Chair: Laura E. Ray Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Karen Beck Secretary/Treasurer: Sarah Yates |
“Taking Up the Gauntlet: The Duel in Southern Legal History”
“Rome: The Power of Film to Teach Foundations of Roman and Civil Law” (co-sponsored by the Micrographics/Audiovisual SIS and Foreign, Comparative & International Law SIS) “Huey Long and the Press: Louisiana’s Contribution to Modern Constitutional Law” (New Orleans, 2007) |
2006-2007 |
| 2005-2006 | Chair: Laura Ray Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Karen Beck Secretary/Treasurer: Katherine Topulos |
“Promoting the Past to Assure the Future: The Lure of Legal History” (co-sponsored with the AALL Centennial Committee)
“Colonial Virginia’s Legal History” (St. Louis, 2006) |
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| 2004-2005 | Chair: Robert Mead Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Laura Ray Secretary/Treasurer: Katherine Topulos |
“Deadwood: The Power of Film to Teach Foundations in Native American Treaty Law and United States Territorial Law” (co-sponsored)
“Los Archivos de las Indias: Judicial and Legislative Information on the Spanish Colonial Period in the United States” “Values, Video, and Vignettes: Using Video Oral History Techniques to Document the Unwritten Histories of AALL” (co-sponsored) (San Antonio, 2005) |
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| 2003-2004 | Chair: Mark W. Podvia Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Robert Mead Secretary/Treasurer: Laura Ray |
“Creating and Maintaining Legal History Collections: Collections Development and Analysis Issues for the Law Librarian”
(Boston, 2004) |
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| 2002-2003 | Chair: Kurt X. Metzmeier Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Mark W. Podvia Secretary/Treasurer: Robert Mead |
“The Collision of Native American and Anglo-American Legal Concepts: A Legacy of the Louisiana Purchase”
“Creating and Maintaining Legal History Collections: Collections Development and Analysis Issues for the Law Librarian” “Researching and Writing Institutional History” (Seattle, 2003) |
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| 2001-2002 | Chair: Katherine I. Hedin Vice Chair: Kurt X. Metzmeier Secretary/Treasurer: Lucia Diamond |
“Legal History from the Reference Desk: Connecting the Past to Today’s Information Needs”
“Toward a Research Agenda for Legal History: Some Modest Proposals” (Orlando, 2002) |
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| 2000-2001 | Chair: Joel Fishman Vice Chair: Katherine I. Hedin Secretary/Treasurer: Lucia Diamond |
“Celebrating John Marshall: The Two-Hundredth Anniversary of His Elevation to Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court”
“Legal Historical Materials in a Nutshell: An Introduction to Legal Archives and Manuscripts” (Minneapolis, 2001) |
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| 1999-2000 | Chair: Daniel Smith | ||
| 1998-1999 | Chair: Laura Anne Bedard | ||
| 1997-1998 | Chair: Gretchen Feltes | ||
| 1996-1997 | Chair: Mark Folmsbee | “Glanville’s World: The Rise of English Common Law”
(Baltimore, 1997) |
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| 1995-1996 | Chair: Byron D. Cooper Secretary/Treasurer: Gretchen Feltes |
“The Impact of Roman Law on the Civil Law Tradition” (co-sponsored with the Foreign and International Law SIS)
“Secrets in the Stacks: Rare Books in Small to Medium-Sized Libraries” (Indianapolis, 1996) |
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| 1994-1995 | Chair: Mary Cooper Gilliam (took over by Byron Cooper midway through term) | “Judges’ Lives: Judicial Biography in America”
(Pittsburgh, 1995) |
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| 1993-1994 | Chair: Dan Wade Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Mary Cooper Gilliam Secretary/Treasurer: Gretchen Feltes |
[No programs]
(Seattle, 1994) |
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| 1992-1993 | Chair: Cynthia Arkin Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Dan Wade Secretary/Treasurer: Ann J. Laeuchli Editor: Janet Sinder |
[No program proposals accepted by the AALL Education Committee]
(Boston, 1993) |
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| 1991-1992 | Chair: Nicholas Triffin Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Cynthia R. Arkin Secretary/Treasurer: Ann J. Laeuchli Editor: Janet Sinder |
“Crime and Punishment in Early California Law: Legal History and Court Records” “Ephemera: To Collect or Not” (co-sponsored with the Acquisitions Committee, Preservation Committee, and Contemporary Social Problems SIS)
(San Francisco, 1992) |
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| 1990-1991 | Chair: Michael G. Chiorazzi Vice Chair/Chair Elect: Thomas A. Woxland Treasurer: Robert J. Nissenbaum Editor: Janet Sinder |
“The Historical Development of the Louisiana Legal System”
“Bridges to the Past: Looking After Older Legal Materials (Rare and Historical)” (co-sponsored with Technical Services-SIS and Academic Libraries-SIS) (New Orleans, 1991) |
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| 1989-1990 | Chair: Erwin Surrency |