ED ON WHY HE STAYS AN ALL MEMBER AND HIS FAVORITE AALL MEMORY
Edward T. Hart is Assistant Dean for the Law Library at the University of North Texas – Dallas College of Law in Dallas, Texas.
WHY DID YOU JOIN AALL?
I didn’t have a choice! When I accepted my first librarian position at New England School of Law Library, the director, Frank Bae, and the associate director, Anne Acton, signed me up automatically. I am very grateful to them for this mandatory introduction to AALL and the 21 years and counting of learning, growing, networking, and friendships.
WHY DO YOU STAY A MEMBER?
I enjoy the opportunities to learn from my peers through the formal AALL programs, the convention hall conversations, and the emails exchanged via the listservs and My Communities.
WHAT ONE MEMBER BENEFIT IS MOST VALUABLE TO YOU?
Networking: Connecting in person at the AALL Annual Meeting’s, meeting through service to the Association and linking via social media.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY ASSOCIATED WITH AALL?
The year 2013 was a difficult one for me, but a program in the very last slot of that year’s Annual Meeting in Seattle titled, “Is It My Job, or Am I Burnt Out?:Finding Career Contentment” with speakers Wendy Moore and Fran Norton, seriously renewed my spirits. The clouds lifted, and I could see new horizons.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING OUTSIDE OF WORK?
Boy Scouts: I am an Eagle Scout, and my son James will earn the rank in the coming year. Outdoor adventures of hiking Philmont, sailing the Florida Keys, and camping in the woods of Texas is the fun side. Working with Scouts as they advance through the Scouting program and watching them grow from small kids to young adults is the rewarding side.
WHAT BOOK(S) ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?
Kennedy’s Avenger by Dan Abrams and David Fisher, which tells the story of Jack Ruby. My law school is in Dallas’s old municipal building. The site where Lee Harvey Oswald was jailed and questioned after his arrest by the Dallas police. It is the place Oswald was leaving when Rudy shot him in the basement garage of the annex building next door. Rudy ended up in the same cell that had been used by Oswald. We have preserved that block of cells if anyone wants to come by and see them. I figured I should learn Rudy’s side of the story.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL/VACATION DESTINATION?
Before having a kid, Mount Washington in New Hampshire was our summer destination for seven years straight. Since having a kid, national parks, most recently Big Bend National Park, have become new favorites. Ask my wife Karen about the bears she spotted.