Abby on the people being the heart of AALL and why she loves roundtable discussions
Abby Deese is the Law Librarian for Research Services at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
WHY DID YOU JOIN AALL?
As a first generation professional and graduate, I really felt the need for a professional organization. I had gone back to school for my JD and my MLIS after being in the workforce for a few years, and being able to gain access through the association to my colleagues on a national scale was incredibly important to me.
WHY DO YOU STAY A MEMBER?
The association continues to provide value to me as a forum for connecting to my colleagues and having conversations about the challenges and responsibilities of our profession. In particular, the special interest sections provide the issue-focused and more intimate settings for meaningful networking and collaboration that I really value. As long as the association continues to support and celebrate its members in their endeavors, and to facilitate opportunities for us to collaborate and develop ourselves as professionals, it continues to be worth the price of admission.
WHAT ONE MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT IS MOST VALUABLE TO YOU?
The special interest sections are truly the most valuable membership benefit that I have experienced. When I was a brand new librarian, getting involved in SIS committees and attending roundtable discussions hosted by sections of interest were such a huge help in developing my identity as a law librarian—and they still are! There’s something about the roundtable setting that I find particularly helpful for sharing and developing new ideas, and I recommend those programs to all new librarians.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY ASSOCIATED WITH AALL?
It may have become obvious at this point that what I really value about AALL is the people. AALL is privileged to have some of the most dedicated and caring members out there, and this association can truly come together as a community when needed. This year at the AALL Annual Meeting, I was able to work with my colleague and friend Kate Irwin-Smiler to organize a ribbon fundraiser to benefit RAICES in their work to advocate for asylum seekers and refugees currently experiencing or facing detainment in camps at the US borders. We raised over $2600 dollars in one short week, all with the help and generosity of the AALL membership. My favorite memories from #AALL19 are of meeting our friends from PLLIP to pass out more ribbons and being hailed in hallways with a hopeful “Have you got the ribbons?”
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING OUTSIDE OF WORK?
I love video games. I’ve played World of Warcraft for over ten years when time allows, and recently I’ve been playing another online game about outlaws in the West at the turn of the century so that I can spend time with my brothers and my dad.
I also really love art festivals and pottery shows, and I’m building a small collection of artisan pottery and very eclectic sketches and mixed media works.
WHAT BOOK(S) ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?
I’m just getting started on a horror novel called The Twisted Ones, by a North Carolina author named Ursula Vernon. This is her first foray into horror, and I’m admittedly a scaredy-cat, but I’m giving it a go because I fiercely love her writing.
At work, I’m currently working my way through Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom’s Lower Ed, which is about how for-profit education and credentialing outfits target and exploit marginalized students, and a book called Incidental Racialization by Dr. Yung-Yi Diana Pan, which is about how racial and cultural assimilation plays out in the law school environment.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL/VACATION DESTINATION?
I have been trying to get back to Rocky Mountain National Park for more than a decade, and I really would love to go back to Yellowstone as well. RMNP is great because you can start your journey in this quaint little tourist town called Estes Park, and then follow Trail Ridge Road up to the peaks, and the views are breathtaking. It’s time for a road trip!