Spectrum AALL: Effective Networking Sharing your value by engaging in the law library community. In This Issue

Transcription

1 AALL Volume 18 No. 8 June 2014 AALL: Spectrum Maximizing the Power of the Law Library Community Since 1906 In This Issue A firm library s mobile tech fair experience Best practices for saving and transferring institutional knowledge Celebrating this year s Gallagher, Andrews, and Hall of Fame winners Effective Networking Sharing your value by engaging in the law library community

2 AALLCovJune2014:Layout 1 5/19/14 11:09 AM Page 2 DELIVER NEW VALUE Bloomberg Law is built to work the way you do. Be the source for critical information on the complex laws and regulations that have an impact on your business. We ve boosted the power of our system so you can approach your research by practice area, like Labor & Employment, Tax, Securities, or Intellectual Property, and by the type of issues you re researching litigation, transactional, or legislative and regulatory. Our unique combination of Bloomberg s world-class news and company and market information is seamlessly integrated with essential legal analysis, practice-area insights, and time-saving search and alert tools so you can give your organization a competitive edge. BECAUSE IN TODAY S LEGAL ENVIRONMENT, IT S NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL. To request a demo, call us anytime at or visit us at The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc JO11015

3 Vol. 18, No. 8 June 2014 AALL Spectrum Editorial Staff Marketing and Communications Manager Ashley St. John Editorial Director Catherine A. Lemmer Copy Editor Graphic Designer Law Library Journal and AALL Spectrum Committee Chair Vice Chair Members Ashley Ames Ahlbrand Judy K. Davis Shaun Esposito Grace Feldman Timothy Gallina Ryan Harrington astjohn@aall.org calemmer@iupui.edu Robert B. Barnett Jr. Kathy Wozbut Amanda Runyon Deborah S. Dennison Emily Marcum Alyssa Thurston James E. Duggan (Ex-Officio) Catherine A. Lemmer (Ex-Officio) Gregory R. Lambert (Board Liaison) AALL Executive Board President Vice President/President-Elect Secretary Treasurer Immediate Past President Executive Director Members Kathleen Brown Femi Cadmus Amy Eaton Steven P. Anderson Holly Riccio Deborah Rusin Gail Warren Jean M. Wenger Kate Hagan Kenneth Hirsh Gregory R. Lambert Suzanne Thorpe AALL Spectrum (ISSN: ) is published monthly except January and August with a combined September/October issue by the American Association of Law Libraries, 105 W. Adams Street, Suite 3300, Chicago, IL Telephone: 312/ , fax: 312/ , aallhq@aall.org. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, Illinois, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to AALL Spectrum, 105 W. Adams Street, Suite 3300, Chicago, IL Writers wanted contribute to your Association s magazine. For guidelines, visit spectrum/policy-spectrum.html or contact Editorial Director Catherine A. Lemmer at calemmer@iupui.edu. AALL Spectrum Submissions Article ideas for the following issues must be approved by the editorial director by the following dates: Issue Approval Deadline Vol. 19 No. 4 February October 9 No. 5 March November 13 No. 6 April December 11 AALLNET: Advertising Representative Innovative Media Solutions 320 W. Chestnut Street P.O. Box 399 Oneida, IL Telephone: 309/ Fax: 309/ bill@innovativemediasolutions.com AALL Spectrum is a free benefit of membership in the American Association of Law Libraries. Of each year s dues, $42 is for one year of AALL Spectrum. Nonmembers may subscribe to AALL Spectrum for $75 per year. For membership and/or subscription information, please contact the American Association of Law Libraries at the address above. AALL Publications Disclaimer This publication is provided for informational and educational purposes only. The American Association of Law Libraries does not assume, and expressly disclaims, any responsibility for the statements advanced by the contributors to, and the advertisers in, the Association s publication. Editorial views do not necessarily represent the official position of the Association or of its officers, directors, staff, or representatives. All advertising copy is subject to editorial approval. The Association does not endorse or make any guarantee with respect to any products or services mentioned or advertised in the publication. All content copyright 2014 by the American Association of Law Libraries, except where otherwise expressly indicated. Except as otherwise expressly provided, the author of each item in this issue has granted permission for copies of that item to be made for classroom use or for any other educational purpose, provided that (1) copies are distributed at or below cost, (2) author and AALL Spectrum are identified, and (3) proper notice of copyright is affixed to each copy. For items in which it holds copyright, the American Association of Law Libraries grants permission for copies to be made for classroom use or for any other educational purpose under the same conditions. from the editor By Catherine A. Lemmer You Got What? Last week I raised an inquiring eyebrow when a colleague walked in wearing sandals. The sandals were charming, but it was sleeting and there were still small mounds of snow scattered about on campus. In response to my raised eyebrow, she quipped, I have a soul problem. At least that s what I heard. I went on to say, Everyone has spring fever and is hoping to see some sunshine soon. She looked puzzled and said No, I have a sole problem. Noticing that I still was not catching on, she pointed to a Band-Aid on the side of her foot and added, Blister from running this weekend. The whole conversation left me with a sinking feeling. If the simplest of greetings can get miscommunicated, what chance is there that everyone will be on the same page during the many difficult conversations currently going on in libraries? Is it even possible that we can convey meaning to each other as we struggle to define law library and law librarianship in the rapidly changing legal education and work environments? Our personal bookshelves (real and virtual) are filled with books on management and leadership, and every one of those books includes advice on effective communication. I suspect that each of us has at least one favorite among these many titles, one book that we believe speaks to us and for which we reach when in need of advice or affirmation of a strategy. Rework, by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, is among my current favorites. Why? Because it speaks to me with its short, no-nonsense, memorable phrases, such as: Don t scar on the first cut ; Drug dealers get it right ; Skip the rock stars ; and They re not thirteen. My other favorites include Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown and Reframing Academic Leadership by Lee G. Bolman and Joan V. Gallos. It took the blending of these very different works to develop a style that works for me. I was very fortunate to attend the AALL Leadership Academy in April. It was a two-day opportunity to explore and discuss our role in defining and leading our profession. The Leadership Academy reaffirmed for me that our greatest professional strength lies in both our desire to take our profession forward and to hear all the voices at the table as we work to bring about the change. At the end of the day, no matter how much we read, the greatest learning comes from communicating and sharing our ideas with our colleagues to create a cohesive and inclusive vision. For this reason and many others, I look forward to the AALL Annual Meeting and Conference each year and encourage you to attend. It is as likely that the experiences you share while talking to an individual who you meet standing in line at registration, or while seated next to him or her at lunch, or while waiting for the program to begin, will be as valuable as the program you are attending. I hope to be one of those individuals with whom you strike up a conversation! I look forward to seeing you in San Antonio and continuing our conversations! Catherine A. Lemmer calemmer@iupui.edu AALL Spectrum June

4 contents FEATURES 06 A Keen Eye on Technology AALL 2014 Annual Meeting & Conference keynote speaker Andrew Keen analyzes how technology is affecting law librarians resources and responsibilities 22 Sifting Through the Dustbin of Legal Research History A look back at some long-forgotten legal research tools By Patrick J. Charles 08 Going Mobile One law firm library s mobile tech fair experience By Debra E. Fisher and Holly M. Riccio 12 Public Relations: Effective Networking Sharing your value by engaging in the law library community By Nicole P. Dyszlewski 15 Two Librarians Awareness of Current Awareness An academic librarian and a firm librarian discuss their institutions current awareness strategies By Kelly M. Leong and Kurt R. Mattson 19 A Note on Kindness in the Law Library A little kindness each day goes a long way By Steve Averett 20 Outrageous Outreach and a 10-Foot Tree What won t law libraries do to get some extra funds? By John W. Adkins 26 Creating and Teaching a Specialized Legal Research Course The benefits and considerations By Erika Cohn 28 Changing of the Guard Best practices for saving and transferring institutional knowledge By Katrina M. Miller 30 Celebrating Three of AALL s Most Accomplished The Association presents its most prestigious award to Berring, Johnston, and Nicholson By Heidi Frostestad Kuehl 32 AALL Recognizes Two Outstanding Publications Announcing the 2014 Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Awards By Frank G. Houdek 34 Introducing the 2014 Hall of Fame Inductees AALL honors Bredemeyer, Danner, Duggan, and Maes By Pauline M. Aranas Spectrum Communities AALL s My Communities offers several opportunities to become more involved with AALL Spectrum. Join the Spectrum Photo Community to receive notices of article topics scheduled for upcoming issues of Spectrum. If you have a photo you think would fit well with an article, you can submit it to Spectrum for potential publication with that article. Interested in writing for Spectrum or the Spectrum Blog? Join the Spectrum Volunteer Pool, where you will receive announcements seeking authors for possible article topics, as well as book titles that are available for review on the blog. 2 AALL Spectrum June 2014

5 COLUMNS From the Editor 01 From the President 04 Washington Brief 05 The Reference Desk 38 ANNOUNCEMENTS Last Chance to Renew Your AALL Membership 37 Next month in Spectrum 37 AALL 2014 Business Meeting in San Antonio 39 AD INDEX DEPARTMENTS Member to Member 36 Memorials 37 Views from You 40 Bernan 33 Bloomberg Law/ Bloomberg BNA BRILL inside front cover inside back cover Oxford 14 Thomson Reuters back cover Want 25 West Academic 39 Online Only! Read More Spectrum Articles Online Finding the Perfect Case By Hadas Livnat tinyurl.com/mry2nnx A confused student approaches you about a legal research assignment that involves a heavy factual component and asks for help finding a case that exactly resembles the fact pattern he is tackling. What do you do? AALL Spectrum June

6 from the president A Better Tomorrow It is difficult for me to believe that the end of my presidential term is fast approaching. In fact, this happens to be my final column. I want to thank the membership for the extraordinary honor of serving as AALL president for the past 11 months. Looking back on the past year or so, I am very pleased to have assisted librarians with moving their suggestions forward for approval by members of the Executive Board. One such advancement was the adoption in the AALL Bylaws of a provision for nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity. Another noteworthy development was the establishment of the Gen X/Gen Y Special Interest Section. Many other ideas from members have been referred to the appropriate committees or to AALL staff for further evaluation or implementation. Without a doubt, AALL members are an incredibly creative and dedicated group! I am also grateful for the Executive Board s support for the special committees and task forces that will further the goals of the Association s Strategic Directions. The work of the Economic Value of Law Libraries Special Committee lays the groundwork for crucial discussions with stakeholders about the value that legal information professionals bring to their parent organizations. The Digital Library Initiatives Special Committee is providing ideas about how law libraries can best work with large-scale cooperative digital repositories. The Access to Justice Special Committee will report on how law libraries of all types can better serve the growing number of self-represented litigants using our court systems. Next month, the board will receive final reports from the CLE and Practice-Oriented Education and Publication Task Force, the Promoting the AALL Principles and Standards for Legal Research Competency Task Force, and the Committee Review Task Force. Given the significant informationgathering and thoughtful discussions of task force members, I am certain that their recommendations will be thorough and well-conceived. Finally, Chapter Summit Planning Committee members will see the results of their hard work come to fruition on July 11, just before the start of the Annual Meeting. The Road Ahead I truly have enjoyed my involvement in this work of trying, in some small way, to set the stage for the future of law librarianship. Although there inevitably will be a few potholes in the road ahead, I believe that our outlook is a bright one, especially if we steer carefully but confidently. AALL s Envisioned Future is that AALL and its members will be the recognized authority in all aspects of legal information. We will be able to accomplish this by demonstrating to our stakeholders that we are essential contributors to the success of our institutions, by influencing the information policies of both government and private sectors, and by serving as the leading provider of continuing education to the legal information community. Some may view this as a tall order, but AALL and its innovative members are well positioned to carry out these goals. As we discuss our future plans, make decisions about goals, and choose which projects and services to implement, there is one key conversation that must continue the one about our collective professional identity. As law librarians increasingly work outside of traditional libraries, we need to define for ourselves and for our stakeholders how these developing roles support the knowledge and practice of law. As we move beyond boundaries, we should be examining the question of whether the greater inclusion of individuals in related law and information settings enhances our profession and our Association. At the same time, we need to ensure that those of us working with printed information sources continue to find support from an occupationally diverse profession and Association. As the practice of law becomes a global endeavor, how does a U.S.-based professional association respond? If we are in the process of asking who we By Steven P. Anderson are, how will we know who they are those who are outside our profession? Another critical question is how should AALL s member services evolve in this dynamic climate? All of us have something important to contribute to this dialogue. We might be able to come to some decisions quickly and easily, but I suspect that the topic will be better addressed one conscientious step at a time. It is possible, though, that we may never firmly agree with each other or decide the issue with finality. Given the turbocharged digital environment and technology-centric world in which we live, change, of course, is the only constant. Therefore, it is crucial that the ongoing process by which we continue the discussion of professional identity be respectful, open, democratic, and informed by many diverse voices. Because two of AALL s Core Values are community and collaboration, I am confident that members will chart the most appropriate future course for both the profession and the Association. Looking Forward My faith in a better tomorrow is bolstered by my experiences during the past year. When asked what the highlight of my year has been so far, I am eager to reply that it has been getting to know and work with you the AALL membership. I have been inspired, encouraged, and motivated by your passion for our profession and your many enthusiastic ideas. I have been guided many times by your wise counsel and voices of experience. And I have been buoyed by the personal support and understanding extended to me by so many of you. Thank you all for making this journey so meaningful and worthwhile! Steven P. Anderson (steve.anderson@ courts.state.md.us), AALL President and Director of the Maryland State Law Library, Annapolis 4 AALL Spectrum June 2014

7 washington brief A Busy Spring for the GRO WASHINGTON, D.C., April 8, 2014 It was a busy spring here in Washington, D.C., and as we head into summer, we re looking forward to promoting AALL s policy agenda at the national and state levels. As you may already know, AALL s Government Relations Office (GRO) is located in Washington, D.C., just steps from the U.S. Capitol and right next door to the Government Printing Office s headquarters. The work of the GRO is two-fold. First, to promote AALL s policy agenda to members of Congress, federal agencies, and the administration. We also coordinate with AALL chapters to influence public policy at the state level. Second, the GRO Emily Feltren (left) and Elizabeth Holland, AALL s GRO staff AALL President Steve Anderson and LLAM President Tonya Baroudi in the Hart Senate Office Building during the GRO s March 27 Lobby Day works to empower AALL and chapter members to influence outcomes through grassroots advocacy, and we provide our members with the tools to successfully advocate for themselves and their profession. The GRO works closely with AALL s policy committees the Copyright Committee, Digital Access to Legal Information Committee, and Government Relations Committee to accomplish these goals. We firmly believe that the skills used in advocacy are transferable and applicable to any number of everyday situations you ll encounter in your professional and personal lives. To this end, we provide many resources and opportunities to help strengthen your skills, including regular online advocacy trainings available at no cost; written materials like advocacy one-pagers, issue By Emily Feltren talking points, a blog, and a monthly bulletin; a listserv to learn from your colleagues; a unique Lobby Day training and opportunity to meet with your legislators; and an online Legislative Action Center for easy access to your members of Congress inboxes. In addition, at this year s Annual Meeting there is a great lineup of policy programs for you to attend: Pre-Conference Workshop: Legislative Advocacy Training 2014, July 12, 8:30 a.m.-noon A1: AALL Public Policy Update, July 13, 1:15-2:45 p.m. B2: Advocacy for Everyone: Get That Funding, Get That Program Rolling, and Get That Bill Passed, July 13, 4-5 p.m. C1: The Once and Future Federal Depository Library Program, July 14, 1-2 p.m. G2: Emerging Issues in Copyright: What You Need to Know, July 15, 2:30-3:15 p.m. Emily Feltren, Director, AALL Government Relations Office, 25 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Suite 500, Washington, D.C / fax: 202/ efeltren@aall.org Washington, D.C., law librarians Judy Gaskell, Scott Bailey, Melanie Knapp, and Emily Florio meet with Legislative Assistant Jason Spear (second from left) in the office of Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. Jason Eiseman of Yale Law School Library (right) snaps a "selfie" with Senator Christopher Murphy of Connecticut. AALL Spectrum June

8 A Keen Eye on Technology AALL 2014 Annual Meeting & Conference keynote speaker Andrew Keen analyzes how technology is affecting law librarians resources and responsibilities After founding Audiocafe.com in 1995, Internet entrepreneur Andrew Keen subsequently built the site into a popular first generation Internet company. Keen currently writes a column for CNN, hosts the popular Keen On TechCrunch chat show, serves as a regular commentator for global news outlets, and has written two books on social media and Internet use, The Cult of the Amateur: How Today s Internet is Killing Our Culture and Digital Vertigo: How Today s Online Social Revolution is Dividing, Diminishing and Disorienting Us. The acclaimed speaker, who often addresses how digital technologies impact 21st century business, education, and society, will be the keynote speaker at AALL s Beyond Boundaries 107th Annual Meeting & Conference, which will be held in San Antonio July AALL recently chatted with Keen about how the Internet has evolved, how it connects and disconnects us and how technology is changing the law librarian s role. You founded Audiocafe in How has Internet use changed since then? In 1995, the Internet was entirely different. The first difference would be bandwidth when you first accessed the Internet, you had to take the plug out of the telephone and put it into your computer. It was really slow it didn t seem so at the time, but if we went back to that now, it would be unimaginable. [Today s] kids have grown up with ubiquitous broadband, cell phones, and a network that s incredibly easy to access. You have to go hide in a cave to avoid the Internet these days, for better or worse. The second thing is, when I started Audiocafe, I had to hire a very professional team of web developers to build the site and the content. I knew exactly what I wanted, an informational news network, but it cost hundreds of pounds. Today, you can get capital and angel investors in about 10 minutes. The third difference is, back then, no one was on the network. When I told my parents I was going to start a business, I think they thought I was insane I probably was. In 1995, the vast majority of people online were university people and [tech] geeks. With more cell phone access and devices like ipads, it s become more ubiquitous. You ve written that the reality of social media is an architecture of human isolation, rather than one of community. Disciples of the Silicon Valley religion of sharing everything might call that blasphemous. What are they missing (or misunderstanding)? On one hand, it s obvious this technology can be good for people who live away from communities or are struggling to define themselves; I don t want to say the Internet has no positives. Who am I to say a grandmother shouldn t communicate with her grandchildren on Skype? In many ways, the Internet has, no doubt, created connections, but I m not sure if it s created a community. Searching for community on the Internet tends to be reflections of 6 AALL Spectrum June 2014

9 ourselves. When we go on Facebook, we re not really building a community; they re communities of self. Websites tend to be just platforms and opportunities for people to express themselves. It s very hard to build a real community; I don t think it really offers a genuine alternative to community. The communal aspect tends to be a reflection of what we want. With social networks, there s no commitment; it s not like living in a community where you have to have commitments and responsibilities. Globalization and more mobility enable us to live a more mobile isolated life. The drive to have an ever-growing social media presence pervades the culture of many institutions, including universities, public libraries, and law firms. What advice can you offer for managing the expectations of what this kind of presence can deliver? I can see a lot of value for libraries online and in social networks. Building networks of people, I would think, is absolutely key to libraries they should be on all the networks but know what they are and how to use them. They should understand that many of these networks are short-lived; it s hard to know [which are]. Everyone talks about how many people are on Facebook, but it seems to be becoming unfashionable with younger people. Google poured money into Google+ and now seems to be shutting it down. You need to place your bets carefully; you should have apps and websites, but shouldn t rely on [any one]... there are no magic bullets in social media. What is popular today may be forgotten in six months or a year, and librarians tend to think in longer-term cycles. How has online entrepreneurship changed in recent years and how does it stand to affect how informational content is exchanged in the future? We re seeing it, with moderate success, in newspapers, for example newspapers originally gave all the content away for free in the 1990s; they thought they could make money on advertising and assumed that was the best business model, but because of commoditized advertising and driving down prices, that wasn t the case. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times understand that is the only way to survive, and we re also seeing this in media and entertainment with the success of online video networks like Netflix and Hulu, which are paid content subscription models, and music with Spotify. These are viable models, and they work. The only real problem, though, is with the creative community. The problem is the revenue coming back to the artist is so minimal that it s de-stabling the ability for an artist to make a living. When it comes to libraries and content, it s the same with writers eventually you may have a subscription model for writers where you can have all the books for $10 a month, which will be very attractive to consumers, and maybe entrepreneurs can make it work if they do deals with publishers but whether or not revenue flows back to the writer is another issue. [But] the paid subscription model is the only future at the moment. The free model doesn t work. The sell by unit in the long-term doesn t really work. How far will society allow the erosion of privacy to progress? Has there been any pushback to the more obvious intrusions (e.g., being marketed to based on browsing history)? I m writing another book that will feature this [things may shift as] more people come to understand that the fatal flaw of the Internet lies in its business model. Google and Facebook give away stuff for free and build advertising around it; however, it s one thing to know that and another to come up with an alternative. I think we have to start paying for content. It s easy for me to say, People need to do it. But we live in a culture where consumers think they should have everything for free. It s going to take a lot more data catastrophes for us to finally wake up to this. You ve previously echoed MIT Professor Sherry Turkle s opinion that We expect more from technology and less from each other. What concerns does that mentality present? How do you see it evolving in the future? I think we ve seen a shift. I wrote my book, Cult of the Amateur, in 2007 I don't want to say I was the only critic of technology at that point because there have always been critics, but I think now, more and more people have become critical of what s happening. The balance has shifted. People like Turkle and [technology and culture author] Nicholas Carr increasingly reflect the concerns of mainstream people, and I think that s a good thing because none of those people are hostile about technology; they understand it and some of its drawbacks. The other thing I think we ll see will be a generational thing I ve got teenagers; they ve grown up [with] technology, and they love their iphones and ipads. I think their kids will react as if we re kind of in the 1950s now, and there will be a 1960s type of rebellion against technology that hasn t happened yet. In a New York Times interview, you said that data is the new oil, and that s where the value is. Librarians would argue that it s not the data, but the person who can manage (filter, analyze, apply) the data who brings the value. How do you see the role of the information professional evolving? The thing with the Internet is that it s kind of tone deaf. You can t make the kind of jokes you can make with a friend and understand that the friend will take it into context particularly jokes about race, sex, or identity. You can touch on politics, but you need to understand that you re talking to an audience that doesn t know you, and you don t know it. I think librarians are mature enough to understand that, but there are people who have essentially wrecked their lives through one stupid Tweet that was probably a joke about something, which is entirely inappropriate. The Internet doesn t really have a sense of humor. I can be controversial and say slightly inappropriate things because that s my brand; librarians can t. What can information professionals do to highlight and maximize their role so that the end user knows all that they re doing? They have to understand that they are in some ways an acronym they re on the front lines of all these changes to the old world of gatekeepers and checkpoints, where they controlled the library and all this knowledge. That s rapidly gone away any kid can go online and search for stuff. Libraries need to rethink themselves and their relationship with technology machines and artificial intelligence. They ll always offer value; on their own, the machines are still very inadequate. Librarians can be curators for artificial intelligence, just as they were for books and traditional human intellect. But they need to rethink themselves dramatically; they won t survive, otherwise. That doesn t mean there won t be libraries but there will be fewer and fewer libraries. That doesn t mean the challenge and need for curation of complex information will go away. AALL Spectrum June

10 Going Mobile One law firm library s mobile tech fair experience By Debra E. Fisher and Holly M. Riccio We raised our library s profile in one day. The secret was right in our hands. Mobile devices iphones, ipads, Androids, and, for those few holdouts, Blackberrys loom large in our personal and work environments. They help us plan our day, remind us of appointments, keep us in touch with colleagues and friends, map out routes, make dinner reservations, and, now, perform legal research. As law librarians, we have been adapting to changing technologies and evolving electronic resources for years. Staying up to date is an essential component of our jobs. More than ever, that means adding mobile devices to our law librarian toolbox. Our attorneys and paralegals are already performing legal research on mobile devices; we have a duty to not only understand the world of research apps but also lead the way on their use. How do we communicate our mobile-device expertise to our colleagues? How do we demonstrate that we are the ones they should turn to for guidance? In an attempt to answer these questions, the O Melveny & Myers LLP librarians recently decided to host our first Mobile Tech Fair in each of the firm s seven U.S. offices. These events resulted in a lively exchange of introductions, demonstrations, feedback, and downloads. In one day we established ourselves as mobile-device experts. You can too. 8 AALL Spectrum June Debra E. Fisher and Holly M. Riccio

11 The Planning Starts... Now! With so many moving parts to coordinate, it pays to begin your planning early. We started planning about a month before our tech fair took place, but we recommend a lead time of six to eight weeks. Our firm-wide electronic services librarian led the planning efforts and took control of coordinating the various parties and pieces involved. She started by polling the 10 research librarians to determine the best dates, within a two-week window, for each office. Then, she prepared detailed task lists, tip sheets, and other documentation. After selecting the dates, we informed our local IT and office services departments about the event. To avoid scheduling problems, we confirmed that conference rooms were available and that no all-attorney or office events would conflict with any of the tech fairs. It was then up to the librarians to select the most appropriate venues for their offices. We selected spaces that offered flexible setup while also being centrally located to allow for maximum visibility and foot traffic. Some of our librarians chose smaller spaces to create an intimate atmosphere while others preferred larger, more expansive areas. Whatever space you have available to you, be prepared to maximize it, as each setup presents its own set of pros and cons. For example, choosing a more open space may allow for additional foot traffic and casual interactions but will also make the room appear less active. One of the keys to a successful event is to think strategically about the space beforehand and capitalize on its assets. You should also ensure that your space has a sufficient number of power outlets, reliable WiFi or Internet connectivity, and ample room for multiple vendors and attendees. Book the room early, and make sure you include a buffer around your reservation at least two hours before the scheduled time for setup and an hour or more afterward for take-down. The Devil is in the Details As soon as the dates for each office s tech fair were confirmed, we moved to the selection of mobile apps to feature at our fairs. Our librarians gathered information on a variety of researchrelated apps, both those available to the general public and those accessed by our attorneys through firm-wide library contracts and subscriptions. We eventually winnowed the apps by selecting those most relevant to the practice areas of the attorneys in each office, such as Almanac of the Federal Judiciary for litigators and The Deal Pipeline for transactions attorneys. We created one double-sided tear sheet describing the apps, device compatibility details, images of the apps icons, and information on firm-wide IDs and passwords where applicable. To be thorough, we also generated individual password lists as some apps required personal passwords. Next, it was time to invite the vendors. All those invited were eager to participate and partner with us on this event. The vendors worked diligently to ensure the event was a success. Since our offices can have distinct areas of focus, all vendors did not attend all tech fairs, but we did develop a core list of five vendors Bloomberg BNA, LexisNexis, Westlaw, The Deal Pipeline, and Wolters Kluwer from which each office could choose. Where there was no vendor appearance, the librarians took on the task of demonstrating the apps features and functionality. We provided each vendor with guidelines that included the names of the apps to feature, the librarian contacts for each office, and a suggested timeframe for responding to us with details about their setup needs. We encouraged the vendors to send their materials foam poster boards, handouts, and giveaways to each office in advance. The vendors also arranged to have snacks delivered on the day of the fair, which was greatly appreciated. To get the event on everyone s schedule, we sent a save the date invitation as an Outlook calendar announcement to librarians, vendors, attorneys, paralegals, and the local heads of firm departments. We created a graphic unique to the tech fair and encouraged the librarians to include it in their local invitations. Testing Once we had finalized the list of 16 apps we wanted to feature, it was on to testing and training. Each of the apps was tested and retested by multiple librarians on a variety of mobile devices. Although each app required a slightly different approach, we wanted to be sure that for all of them we could download, run searches, and delete the app, then download it again. Experience showed that we had differing results depending on the person doing the testing and the device being tested. For example, an app that worked well on an ipad didn t always work as well on an iphone. Also, an app that worked on the current version of a mobile device sometimes did not work on an older model. Overall, we found that first-generation ipads could run only a few of the latest legal research apps, and that the ipad 2 and ipad mini were ideal for testing and demonstrations. For the tech fairs, each librarian needed to be ready to demonstrate various apps to attendees. This meant the librarians needed to have a mobile device they were willing and able to use. The librarians used their own devices or borrowed them from our IT department. Along with the testing, we conducted a steady stream of training events for the librarians. At the onset, each librarian had a different comfort level with mobile devices and apps. Although the librarians didn t have to be experts at using every mobile device out there, we did need to have a working knowledge of their basic functionality. We trained the librarians on downloading, searching, using special features, and troubleshooting the apps. Our goal was to have every librarian proficient with the core content and basic functionality of each app. The training also covered the more general features of remote connectivity, such as using MiFi devices (to back up the WiFi) and dongles (the connecting cable that allows a mobile device to be displayed on a larger screen or monitor). All of this preparation was critical to the success of the event, as each librarian wore multiple hats throughout the day of the tech fair. Not only were we presiding over the fairs as hosts, but we also had active roles as presenters, demoing The American Lawyer and the library catalog, among others. Our goal was to remind the attorneys that the librarians are the point of contact for legal research on mobile apps as well as to showcase our technology skills. Time to Rally the Troops Early in the planning process, the librarians met with their IT, office services, reception, and catering departments. In some offices, these meetings were held with each department individually; in others, the librarian met with all the departments together and in the room where the fair would occur. Each department added value by offering ideas and differing perspectives. As a result of these meetings, the communication channels were opened and everyone recognized the critical role their department would play in the event to come. We recommend communicating early and often with all involved departments as the planning progresses. While we were providing no food ourselves that was done by the vendors each office s catering department did deliver beverages, utensils, plates, and napkins. Our receptionists and building security personnel were provided a list of vendors, with the names of the companies and individuals attending, to expedite access to the building and allow for personal greetings. Our facilities staff prepped the spaces with tables and chairs, a registration desk, and easels for foam board displays. They coordinated with IT on cabling and table and room AALL Spectrum June

12 setup: monitors, dongles, projectors, and a projection screen. We included a standalone kiosk for attendees to register for our new Wall Street Journal mobileaccess subscription. Every location was unique in its layout, but each allowed for a smooth flow of people throughout the space. In most offices, the IT staff were present throughout the event to troubleshoot as needed, while the other departments checked in regularly to see if further assistance was needed. The vendors brought their own dongles, mobile devices, and accessory equipment. We provided backup MiFi and monitors. As it would happen, the WiFi ended up failing for a few minutes in one office, and the MiFi allowed for quick return to vendor presentations. To Market, to Market... Librarians know that good marketing is essential to the success of any event. Once we committed to holding these tech fairs, we quickly established a subgroup of librarians to plan the marketing for the event. This subgroup prepared the Outlook calendar invitation, intranet postings, announcements, and layout and design of foam boards and posters. We even partnered with our in-house graphic designer to create a custom logo for the event, which was used to brand everything associated with the tech fairs. (We did not date our posters or foam boards; they will reappear in future fairs.) The subgroup also discussed options for attracting attorney participation. Some of the ideas generated included drawings for prizes (such as new mobile devices), trivia games, branded balloons, or even a QR-code scavenger hunt. In the end, time did not allow for any of these promotions, but with a longer lead-up, implementing one or more could generate buzz and increase attendance. As it was, the addition of food and a raffle provided by each vendor helped draw more people. One other way to increase visibility is to partner with another department. In our case, our IT department had recently received approval to unveil the firm s latest generation of laptop computers. Knowing the tech fair was already planned and that it would spark additional interest, IT asked to participate in our fairs by setting up their own display table to showcase the new laptops. The firmwide from IT announcing their laptop display along with the library s tech fair promotions generated additional interest and increased foot traffic. In our announcements about the tech fairs, we encouraged attendees to bring their own mobile devices. We hoped to gain immediate impact by helping them download apps of interest. We had also hoped to conduct on-thespot training on apps and resources in their practice areas. As it turned out, only a handful of attendees ended up bringing their devices. Dotting I s and Crossing T s: It s Getting Close Our final pre-fair actions included reconfirming the names of the vendors attending; preparing the final vendor contact list for each office (to deliver to reception and building security staff); sharing the host librarian names with vendors; and encouraging early arrival of vendors, librarians, and other internal departments on event day for table setup and mobile-device testing. In some instances, the rooms were arranged the night before, but, where that was not possible, early day-of preparation and setup worked fine. Librarians and IT staff tested the WiFi, MiFi, monitors, and dongle connections. While the rooms were set up for walk-ins, each tech fair had a registration table where people were checked in, greeted, and furnished with handouts. The last steps before opening the floodgates were to review the handout copies one more time the apps tear sheets and customized password lists and send out the final reminder. Then it was time to wait anxiously. It s Showtime! At each tech fair event, a librarian personally greeted arrivals at the door and, knowing each attendee s practice area, directed them to vendors who had apps of interest to them. In offices with more than one librarian, attorneys were actually escorted to the vendor table and introduced to the vendor. Something as specific as: Mr. Vendor, this is Ms. Litigation Partner who is going to trial next month. Can you show her the app that will provide a bio of the 4th Circuit Judge? Or: Ms. Counsel, have you seen all the securities treatises in this app? These were great opportunities for our attorneys to acquaint themselves with the vendors, and the vendors truly appreciated the opportunity to shine. Before the fairs, librarians did research using the apps to identify articles, cases, or other items mentioning the firm or, if possible, attorneys resident in that office. We wanted to be prepared to show them something firm-specific when they walked in the door. Attorneys mentioned in Law360 articles, for example, were shown how to bring up the articles on their mobile devices. Antitrust attorneys were directed to the app for the popular Areeda & Hovenkamp treatise. Finding a way to personalize the interaction with each attendee contributed to the success of the event and to the satisfaction of the attendees. Adding that personal touch goes a long way, and the positive attitude and enthusiasm of our librarians for the apps and content were indeed infectious. The customized password lists, coupled with the list of the apps we were promoting, were also well received by attendees. The fairs lasted between two and four hours depending on the size of the office. Although it is hard to keep track of all who attend a casual, free-flowing event like this, especially in offices with just one librarian, attendance statistics proved helpful in our post-event evaluation. In our case, attendance exceeded expectations. Nearing the Finish Line Even after your tech fair is over, the work is not done. In fact, getting recognition for the event is almost as important as holding it. Consider preparing an article for internal distribution or intranet posting within a week of the last tech fair. Make sure to include photos and individual testimonials that demonstrate the value as seen through the participants eyes. Include attendance statistics if they are positive. Make sure to send out a survey to the vendors in attendance and ask for their opinions of the event. Was the event useful? Which apps were of most interest to attendees? If another fair were held, would they participate? Would they do anything differently? Do they have any recommendations for future tech fairs? Working with all the librarians and other internal personnel who contributed, prepare a list of lessons learned and best practices gleaned from the events. If your first tech fair is a success, you will want to host another one. A document compiling information from each office will go a long way in making future tech fairs even more successful and that much easier to host. After the fair, librarians provided personal follow-up with attendees who asked questions or requested additional training. For those attorneys and 10 AALL Spectrum June 2014

13 paralegals who did not attend, librarians took to the halls, going office to office to distribute the list of legal apps featured at the fair and offering assistance with downloading and using the apps. Finally, remember to send a thankyou acknowledging the many people who helped make the event possible: catering, reception, IT, facilities, and the vendors. Lessons Learned And Best Practices Over the course of four weeks of planning and two weeks of hosting seven tech fairs, we learned a lot about what works and what doesn t, what to do and what to avoid. This article already provides many ideas, tips, and tricks, but here are a few more takeaways: Take photos. Photos can spice up post-event marketing such as intranet articles and newsletters. Make note of comments made by attorneys and vendors. These remarks prove helpful for further evaluation and follow-up. Positive comments could very well find their way into follow-up intranet articles. Report back to the librarian team on what worked and what didn t in real time so that others can benefit and make any necessary adjustments. Don t be afraid to make a last-minute change if you feel your location is not ideal. One librarian changed the room the day of the fair to take advantage of another event that drew more foot traffic. Walk the floors if you can, and encourage attorneys to stop by the fair. Give them a good reason to stay and participate. Demo other mobile apps that you know attendees would find useful. For example, if they don t know about the Microsoft Remote Client app that allows them to remote in to their work computer from their mobile device, let them know about it. This goes toward your credibility as mobile-device experts. If your attendance seems low initially, send a second reminder halfway through the tech fair. Highlight a specific app, the food, or vendor giveaways to entice people to stop by. So, What s Stopping You? Our tech fair successfully raised the library s profile at our firm. What s stopping you from putting together your own library mobile tech fair? Staying visible and relevant in the eyes of our users is more critical than ever, and hosting a tech fair goes a long way toward establishing the library and librarians as the ones to turn to for anything research related, mobile or otherwise. Debra E. Fisher (dfisher@omm.com), Library Manager, O Melveny & Myers LLP, Washington, D.C. Holly M. Riccio (hriccio@omm.com), Library Manager, O Melveny & Myers LLP, San Francisco Library Mobile Tech Fair Checklist Pre-Fair Reserve the tech fair venue, noting WiFi and power-outlet availability. Check for conflicting office events. Meet with IT, facilities, catering, and reception departments about plans for the event. Select list of apps to feature and invite vendors. Send save the date invitation to librarians, vendors, attorneys, paralegals, and firm departments. Begin marketing campaign including calendar notice, s, intranet announcement, posters, foam boards, drawings, prizes, and games. Test functionality of apps on all mobile devices. Train librarians on apps, MiFi functionality, the use of dongles, and presenting. Prepare tear sheet with brief description of apps, device-compatibility details, images of the apps icons, and firm-wide IDs and passwords where appropriate. Coordinate with IT to borrow extra ipads, if necessary. Print a list of all potential attendees for your office. Coordinate with local staff on plans for placement of tables, chairs, easels, food, drinks, etc. reception and building security personnel with a list of vendors (company names and individuals attending). Consider printing out personalized password reports for distribution the day of the fair. Day of Fair Set up the room early (tables, chairs, cables, monitors, projection screen, registration desk, easels). Prepare to demo apps on your ipad and project onto a monitor or screen. Test WiFi, MiFi, monitors, mobile devices, and dongle connections. Keep attendance statistics; have a list of potential attendees at the registration desk and check off names upon entry. Distribute mobile apps tear sheets and personalized password reports. Take pictures at the fair or allow someone to do this for you. Keep notes of attendees questions asked, training needed, and comments made for follow-up after the fair. Post-Fair Send list of attendees to whoever is compiling overall statistics. Solicit librarian, vendor, and attendee experiences. Share best practices and lessons learned with other librarians for future planning. Survey the vendors for event feedback. Review and share photos. Keep them handy for post-event articles, marketing, etc. Write an article about the fair for company intranet or other organization-wide publication. Identify raffle winners and deliver prizes. Follow up with attendees who had problems with passwords, asked questions, needed follow-up training, or otherwise indicated a need. Deliver personalized password reports and mobile apps tear sheets to non-attendees. AALL Spectrum June

14 Public Relations Effective Networking Sharing your value by engaging in the law library community By Nicole P. Dyszlewski No one has ever accused me of being shy. In fact, I consider myself a raging extrovert. Despite my outgoing nature, I, like many librarians, sometimes feel uncomfortable marketing myself, sharing my value, and networking effectively. In spite of how comfortable I am talking, I am not always comfortable talking about myself. Because part of the challenge of advocacy and marketing is communicating our own value as well as the value of our institutions and of our profession, I decided to investigate how to become more adept at this. What I Am Talking About (and What I Am Not Talking About) It is challenging to discuss self-promotion without sounding insufferable. We all know that person we work next to or serve with on a committee who is a shameless self-promoter. That is not what I mean by communicating your value. You are not effectively communicating your value if no one can hear your message above the roar of your own ego. My definition of communicating your value is promoting yourself, not at the expense of your institution and those around you, but to the benefit of your institution and those around you. Being an engaged member of the law library community can be the best act of self-promotion. Speaking Your Truth Joshua LaPorte is the circulation desk supervisor and a library services assistant at the University of Connecticut School of Law s Thomas J. Meskill Law Library. I met Josh a few years ago at an AALL Annual Meeting when he came up and introduced himself to me. He stuck out his hand and asked my name, and we became fast friends. I had never worked at a library with him. I had never worked on a committee with him. I did not know any of his co-workers, and he did not know any of mine. He just walked up and introduced himself to me. And then he introduced himself to other people, too. While this doesn t sound particularly complex or difficult, I have noticed that it is somewhat uncommon. At professional events, I have noticed that many people in our field stick with those they know, whether it is because people we already know are comfortable or because we are all trying to fit a lot of professional development and socializing into a short span of time. I was immediately struck by Josh s confidence and friendly approach (so much so that I started introducing myself to strangers!). Josh seems to have embraced the idea that one can promote oneself as a professional while being genuine and not coming across as showy. I ed Josh and asked him the secret of marketing yourself. He said, Self-promotion works best when it comes from a place of sharing. Share your ideas, your vision, your dreams; share your knowledge, your expertise, your skills. When you try to promote yourself by talking about your accomplishments, qualifications, or abilities, you risk appearing to be simply tooting your own horn. Josh was also quick to point out that sharing your experience should not in any way be limited to sharing your successes. I think the most important thing is to be honest, he said. Talking about our failures and how we handled them or the bumps we encountered in the process of getting a project completed helps us share our wins without sounding cocky. We are each our own biggest critic, and expressing your own doubts about your work can be a great way of presenting your accomplishments to others without having them come off as a lot of boasting. Sharing your successes and failures may teach others how to avoid pitfalls, allow them to reach out and ask for your help, or just provide a funny story that can serve as an icebreaker for further conversation. Thinking Outside the Stacks Ed Garcia, the library director at the Cranston Public Library in my hometown of Cranston, Rhode Island, is another library professional who has impressed me with his ability to share his value. Ed has been an American Library Association Emerging Leader, a Library Journal Mover & Shaker, a member of the Library Board of Rhode Island, and a Councilor-at-Large for ALA Council. I asked Ed how he approaches selfpromotion, and he said that as a library 12 AALL Spectrum June Nicole P. Dyszlewski

15 director, he is constantly marketing himself and his library in many ways to many different audiences. He uses creativity to try to educate stakeholders and decision-makers outside the library about himself and his institution. I constantly promote myself and the library to our city administration, city council, and state legislators, he said. In most cases they have fond recollections of the library from when they were children but don t quite grasp the education necessary to become a librarian or the evolving nature of library services today. Discussing the job of a librarian in terms of economic development or workforce training or digital literacy are things that most politicians can understand in a way that some other traditional library services don t resonate. Sweat Equity After my first few professional development opportunities and interactions with law librarians outside my library, I noticed that I found making contacts and networking to be unusually awkward for even an outgoing person. I examined my own reticence and found that it partly had to do with feeling like I did not fit in. I felt this most acutely at events for the Law Librarians of New England (LLNE), my local chapter. It felt like all of the There are many ways to volunteer in our profession, and the variety provides opportunities for everyone. librarians, and especially those most active within the chapter, knew each other and had worked together for years. Once I realized that some of what was holding me back from sharing my value was my own feeling of otherness, I developed a personal strategy to further my feelings of inclusion. My approach to sharing my value is through volunteerism. There are many ways to volunteer in our profession, and the variety provides opportunities for everyone. One can become involved in a local chapter, on a AALL committee, with a special interest section (SIS), with a caucus, as a writer for Spectrum (or the Spectrum Blog), as a writer for the Law Library Journal, as a presenter at a meeting, as a webinar host, or as a volunteer at an Annual Meeting (or on a meeting planning committee!). There are volunteer opportunities that fit all styles and interests. I have gotten to know others, engaged with my profession, and shared my value by becoming a frequent volunteer. I find talking to other law librarians most comfortable when I have something in common with them. Therefore, I have tried to create my network of work contacts through my volunteer activities. While volunteering is not without its own potential awkwardness, I will say that I have had some great experiences, met some wonderful law librarians, and consistently learned useful tips to bring back to my library. Although many of the librarians in LLNE (and AALL) have worked together in libraries and in professional associations for years, this has not stopped anyone from being warm, inviting, and genuinely appreciative of my contributions. Many of us have had the experience of meeting someone at a conference and giving her or him a business card. Many of us have also had the experience of never seeing or speaking with that person again until the next time we saw her or him at a conference and offered another business card. Promoting yourself, creating a professional network, and sharing your own value are not always easy and are not always comfortable, but they are necessary. I hope the next time you see me at a conference, you will feel comfortable introducing yourself and inviting me to volunteer on a committee with you. Nicole P. Dyszlewski (nicole.dyszlewski@ legislature.maine.gov), Senior Law Librarian, Law and Legislative Reference Library, Augusta, Maine AALL Spectrum June

16

17 Two Librarians Awareness of Current Awareness An academic librarian and a firm librarian discuss their institutions current awareness strategies By Kelly M. Leong and Kurt R. Mattson In today s information age, current awareness is almost redundant. With Smartphones, Facebook, and Twitter, we seem to know what s happening everywhere at all times. As information professionals, our jobs have become easier and more difficult at the same time. With an abundance of information available through technology, discovering information is a much simpler task. However, sifting through this data, coupled with our customers expectations of immediate delivery, can create a more stressful environment full of greater challenges and demands. This article will examine current awareness and the evolving role of the librarian in the law school and law firm settings. Although each librarian s circumstances and resources are unique, we aim to discuss our experiences and show how our positions and responsibilities, as related to current awareness materials, are continually changing. Current Awareness at Duke By Kelly M. Leong The J. Michael Goodson Law Library at Duke University School of Law offers a variety of current awareness resources to our full- and part-time faculty. Our current awareness services include the more traditional routing services, RSS feeds via the catalog, vendor s, and a customizable new titles . Each current awareness service presents challenges within the changing academic law library environment. The Usual Suspects Routing, Catalogs, and Vendor Features Routing print materials is still an integral part of our current awareness program. Approximately 320 titles are routed to faculty with an additional 25 available in the faculty lounge. An interesting finding and one that I think most librarians have seen anecdotally is that our newer, nontenured faculty members tend to not receive routing of paper materials. As with many other libraries, ours has been cutting print subscriptions where there is an overlap with electronic materials. This has led more faculty to embrace the RSS feeds and s that many online journals offer. In particular, Bloomberg BNA publications offer s that are heavily subscribed to by faculty. They are also the easiest for librarians to set up on behalf of faculty. In addition to routing and vendor services, our catalog can provide RSS feeds for new acquisitions based on searches. Setting up the RSS feed is as easy as running a search, using facets to further limit the search if necessary, and selecting the RSS feed. For our faculty members who focus their research on interdisciplinary topics, this has been a valuable supplement to our new titles s (which I will discuss in detail). A general acquisitions list from 1941 Current Awareness and New Titles The new titles service at Duke Law has had many incarnations throughout the years. From the 1940s through the 1970s, it consisted of general acquisitions lists. The earliest form was a list of items offered by publishers that noted items already purchased by the library and encouraged faculty to recommend purchases of other listed items. The later version was a selected listing of items the library had already received. In the 1980s the system transitioned to the New Book Truck/Cards system. A library truck of selected new titles was made available for browsing. In addition, the library distributed vendor catalog cards to faculty. The cards were sorted by subject, and student workers would photocopy them, cut them out, and distribute them to interested faculty. This system was then supplemented one or two times a year with a list of new journal titles. Each of these systems had their drawbacks, including staff time, requiring faculty to visit the library, and the inability to tailor the system to a particular user s interests. This system lasted until 1998, when our customizable new titles service was developed. In 1998, new titles moved to an automated version that used the automated catalog to create a weekly list of new acquisitions. This system used a Microsoft Access database that generated subject-based reports. These reports were then sent to faculty as an attachment or in print. The report included basic bibliographic information, including title, author, publisher, etc., which mimicked the information one would see on the vendor catalog cards utilized in the previous version. For the attachment version, the title of an item was linked in a way that would generate a pop-up window with pre-populated information about the item. Once the user hit send, the was sent to someone in Collection 2014 Kelly M. Leong and Kurt R. Mattson AALL Spectrum June

18 Services for retrieval and routing. In 2004, our transition to Aleph broke our system, and it was offline until mid- 2006, much to the dismay of many faculty members. In mid-2006, a collaborative effort by library staff and Web Services staff began to build a new current awareness tool. This tool was the first iteration of the new titles s that we still use today. The new system was and continues to be dependent on four different departments housed within the library: Reference Services, Web Services, Collection Services, and Technical Services. With the assistance of Reference, Web Services coded and maintained the original system. Technical Services facilitated the access to the cataloging system to generate the information needed. Once the system was built, Reference created a list of subjects and coordinated with faculty to create an individual faculty members list of subjects. Reference would then enter that list into the system. Once the system was in use, Collection Services filled the requests generated by the service. So what did the new system look like? It operated on a bi-weekly basis with a four-week delay, meaning the system pulled new acquisitions in twoweek intervals. These titles were then assigned particular subjects by a reference librarian and two weeks later were sent to faculty via . Each was unique to the faculty member s subject preferences. The would include only the titles where the assigned subject and the subject selected by the faculty member matched. Each title appeared with a Request link. When a faculty member clicked on the Request link, an was automatically generated and sent to Collection Services, which would then fill the request. This iteration remained in place until May Transitions In the summer of 2012, Duke Law transitioned to Drupal. Thankfully, unlike our transition to Aleph, our system did not break, but it was left on our old server and would eventually need to be transitioned to the Drupal platform. This appeared to be an opportunity to revise and update the system in order to provide our faculty with a higher level of service based on changes in the library and technological capabilities. It also provided the opportunity to streamline the administration of the new titles service. So, in late 2012, I, along with Sean Chen in Technical Services and our head of Web Services, Michael Wright, with input from Collection Services staff, began discussing a revision of the new titles service. As the primary administrator of the service, my first step was to identify areas of improvement. We were really looking for a way to present the user with resources within and beyond the law library. Adding electronic resources was important. We wanted to expand our service to include law-related materials at other Duke University libraries. In addition, we wanted to highlight materials available through a pilot project between the Triangle Research Library Network, a consortium of North Carolina libraries and Oxford University Press that includes print books and e-books. This led to the next enhancement, providing access to e-books and other electronic materials, including new databases. Of course, with each new enhancement comes a new issue. With e-books and other electronic resources, we needed to find a method for distinguishing them from print materials. We decided to create a hyperlink that stated Access Resource as opposed to our print materials that have a Request hyperlink. We needed to limit the new titles coming into the service from other Duke University libraries to law-related titles. Our team addressed this by restricting items from other libraries to materials with K call numbers. This methodology was also used to limit the titles from the TRLN/OUP pilot program to lawrelated titles. The next issue with the OUP titles was requesting them. Since requesting an item via TRLN is done via interlibrary loan request, an would need to be generated that went directly to our individual who manages the ILL service instead of Circulation. That turned out to be a fairly easy addition, but, of course, I sought buy-in from our ILL staff prior to making the change. Speaking of buy-in, our Collection Services staff, including ILL and Circulation, was an integral part of designing the system. Through discussions with them, we were able to identify shortfalls in the system and find more ways to improve the service from an administrative standpoint. In the previous service, the call number was not generated in the to circulation only the title was provided. As a result, staff would need to look up the item to get the call number before sending a student to retrieve the item. We added call numbers to the s that were generated and sent to circulation. For our ILL s, it was requested that we include the OCLC Control Number to make the ILL request process easier. Another issue we experienced that impacted reference and collection services was keeping statistics related to the number of requests. In the previous service, statistics were collected by tracking the s generated and sent to circulation. Unfortunately, when we shifted to a new system, the s were not being sent to the correct shared folder, and statistics were lost. Our statistics for about six months were a little imprecise. This led to another improvement upon the old system: automatic statistic collection. Using a simple Excel spreadsheet in a CSV file format, we track which items are requested and the subjects assigned to each item. The 2014 New Titles Administrator webpage You may have noticed in my discussion that a reference librarian manually selects subjects for each title. Not only are the subjects manually assigned, but the subject list is created by reference librarians with the input of faculty. We encourage faculty to make suggestions for new subjects. Why not automate the system based on Library of Congress Subject Headings? This is an excellent question, and the answer is simple: flexibility. With the liaison system of faculty services used at Duke Law, the reference librarians maintain a robust understanding of faculty research interests. Maintaining a list of subjects and encouraging user participation allows the service to remain flexible to changing interests. Manually assigning subjects provides flexibility where user interests are not clearly defined or when a resource may only be tangentially related to a subject offered in new titles. The main goal of this service is to provide the users of our services with information about all the resources available that are related to their specific research interests. 16 AALL Spectrum June 2014

19 Current Awareness at Lionel Sawyer & Collins By Kurt R. Mattson This portion of the discussion is intended to be from the law firm perspective. I believe that a better description for my portion is the old school law firm perspective. I write this caveat because, though members of our firm are very tech-savvy, we may not be as technologically advanced an enterprise when compared with large firms in Manhattan or Los Angeles. That being said, hopefully there is still something to be gleaned from the description of our current awareness strategy. Our methods are piecemeal, but this is perhaps the best way for us to disseminate customized information in our firm at present. As a solo librarian, my largest challenge with current awareness and with this position in general has been trying to ascertain the type of law each attorney practices. Although we are broken down into distinct practice disciplines, discerning whether a labor attorney is defending a discrimination claim or representing management in a labor dispute has taken both investigation and some trial and error. Another way of discovering the specific practice details was by the types of research requests I was receiving from specific attorneys. Lionel Sawyer & Collins is the largest private law firm in Nevada. LSC is a full-service business and litigation law firm with offices in Las Vegas and Reno. Our firm is extremely Nevadacentric and has been in existence since Most of the work that we do involves Nevada law and Nevada clients. Some practice areas, such as Labor, Environmental, and IP, obviously look to federal statutes and agencies. The Nevada State Legislature meets every two years in Carson City for 120 days, and there is currently no intermediate court of appeals. As a result, our focus is on the new and current events from the state capital in Carson City, as well as the state agencies and gaming corporations throughout the state. This means digging deep into the resources that we do have that pertain to our state and Clark County the largest metropolitan area in the state (which includes Las Vegas) and the county with the greatest amount of local government. Our larger office is in Las Vegas where the majority of the trial litigation also occurs. Since it s not within our budget to enlist the assistance of an aggregation software service, the library sorts through the incoming data and processes it on the fly. Much of what I do for current awareness fits into three categories: (1) free services and materials found by monitoring websites, (2) alerts from paid subscriptions, and (3) clipping services from vendors such as Westlaw and Lexis. I will look at each one in turn. Free Services As I prepared to draft my part of this article, it surprised me to realize the number and breadth of quality news resources available on the Internet at no cost. Of interest to librarians outside of the Silver State would be the regular s from publications such as The New York Times, Corporate Counsel Daily, and Law Technology News. These cover the bases as to national events and issues that I may need throughout the day. I also look at PinHawk s Law Administrator Daily and Law Librarian Daily. These two services have a comprehensive scope that includes a wide variety of news outlets in the legal industry from press releases to website monitoring and general legal news sources. These free services give me more than enough coverage of national and industry news. Monitoring Websites Our law firm practice areas, especially the gaming and regulatory group, need to be kept aware of news and decisions from the various state agencies and departments, such as the state gaming commission, the secretary of state s office, and several water district commissions. One website that is extremely important for our firm to monitor is the Nevada Supreme Court. The court releases its advance opinions on its newly revamped website on Thursday mornings, and a majority of the attorneys in the firm experience anywhere from idle curiosity to intense intrigue as to the contents of the opinions the court announces. The Nevada Supreme Court also releases unpublished orders throughout the week, so I check the site frequently. I have been using ChangeDetection.com to let me know via when there s been a change to the site. Although it s not highly scientific, I receive alerts for any small or subtle changes that don t involve new cases, but it doesn t hurt to be on top of the court s activity, as, again, it s the sole appellate court in the state. Another valuable and free resource is a weekly summary service ed from Justia. These case notes are categorized by jurisdiction and practice area, so I find them very beneficial to deliver new cases to attorneys interested in a particular issue, such as pre-trial procedure, or a particular area of law, like environmental or arbitration. Google Alerts is another solid free tool that I use to track current awareness of specific areas, companies, and individuals across the web. Social Media Monitoring social media has become a more important task in current The Nevada Supreme Court website AALL Spectrum June

20 Robert Ambrogi s LawSites helps me receive news immediately. awareness news gathering. I m tracking several legal blogs and following legal commentators for example, Robert Ambrogi s LawSites and news sources on Twitter. These are more sources that help librarians receive news immediately; however, use only verified sources that you can trust. Alerts from Subscriptions We are fortunate that there are so many valuable resources available at no cost, as it would be extremely difficult to afford this content that attorneys have come to expect. However, a daily that has a permanent reservation in the attorney inboxes at LSC is the Courthouse News Service (CNS). This subscription gives us up-to-date docket information on the cases filed in both Clark and Washoe (Reno) counties, which are home to the state district courts with the heaviest traffic. Another service that has been recently elevated to a permanent necessity in our law firm is Law360. We started with a subscription for our labor and employment practice group, but the demand for Law360 quickly caught fire, and now other groups such as environmental, regulatory, hospitality, and entertainment have requested access for their practice areas. The marketing for this service acquired by LexisNexis two years ago is quite effective: An individual signs up for complimentary access to a practice area daily news headline service. With this comes free access to five full-text articles. When the attorney reaches for number six, he or she is denied access but is most likely dialing the extension for the librarian to argue the case for full access. In my experience, I ve found that in many instances the Law360 article may be the only coverage on an issue, so locating a comparable new source can be impossible. Clipping Services I use the alert service on Westlaw to deliver new cases from the Ninth Circuit and the Federal District Court in Nevada and docket alerts for cases that we are tracking. Most subscribers have this as part of their fixed rate. Tax Notes Today (TNT) is another must have for the Taxation Department. We currently receive this content via Lexis, though I have looked into a contract directly from Tax Analysts for budgetary reasons. TNT is not available in flat rates, so we are charged daily for this clip. Print Our old school firm still subscribes to several magazines and newsletters in hard copy. Although the list is dwindling each year due to cost and availability online, there are some publications that attorneys insist on having in print. In our firm, BNA s US Law Week, Estate Planning, and RIA s Federal Taxes Weekly Alert are stalwarts in the hard copy current awareness world. Our firm continues to subscribe to select print magazines, including Estate Planning. Interestingly, we had subscribed to the Casino Chronicle for many years when I asked our gaming attorneys if they wanted to renew the subscription. One attorney reminded me that she wasn t even on the routing list any longer. By the time that newsletter circulated to me, she said, it was all old news. This definitely gives more proof that we are in a digital age and that current awareness materials in print form may no longer be able to keep up with the demand for immediacy and the latest electronic delivery platforms. (We canceled that subscription, by the way.) My Role in Change As you can see from the continued use of some print sources for current awareness, our firm is slowly making the transition to newer technology and new media. The role I have played in implementing change in the structure of access to current awareness involves a move to greater use of technology to help disseminate the relevant information to the appropriate audience. With that in mind, I have embedded the RSS feed from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the library intranet, collected documents and stored them on the firm s portal, and also conduct frequent training for the attorneys and staff to highlight the benefits of using varied technology and research tools to increase efficiency and effectiveness. We aren t there yet, but understanding the need for and leveraging these tools to present new ideas is an effective way to steer the transition. In the legal community today, every organization has a need for current awareness. That need is only amplified by younger attorneys and law students adept at using the latest technology to receive information. Leveraging this need and the ever-evolving ways to receive this information will advance our firm in our transition to realize a greater return on our library and marketing investments and to discover new ways to synthesize the information. Conclusion Both in the law school and the law firm, current awareness is a process or, as some might put it, a journey. The target is constantly moving, and, with the speed and evolution of technology, we as librarians can only continue to drive our organizations forward and continue to be a resource for our customers in harnessing information for their specific needs. We hope that our discussion has provided you with some ideas about how to integrate current awareness services into your library and broaden your role in your organization. Kelly Leong (leong@law.duke.edu), Reference Librarian, Duke University School of Law, Durham, North Carolina. Kelly wishes to thank Jennifer Behrens and Andrea Davis, both of Duke Law Library, for assistance with locating materials for this article. Kurt R. Mattson (kmattson@lionelsawyer.com), Director of Library Services and Continuing Education, Lionel Sawyer & Collins, Las Vegas 18 AALL Spectrum June 2014

21 A Note on Kindness in the Law Library A little kindness each day goes a long way By Steve Averett Irecently thought that, before I retire as a law librarian, I should write an article of some kind. I thought that an article on kindness and empathy in the law library would be just the thing. I m sure it won t come as a surprise to all of the wonderful law librarians out there that kindness and empathy are important in these settings, because I see you all as kind and full of empathy. Kindness and empathy are important for our patrons. [E]mpathy is declining in society, according to Neil Hamilton and Verna Monson s 2011 article, Legal Education s Ethical Challenge: Empirical Research on How Most Effectively to Foster Each Student s Professional Formation (Professionalism), from University of St. Thomas Law Journal. I personally think we just have to not follow the crowd in regard to decreased empathy. I don t mean to say that we have to make extraordinary efforts, like some that I will describe shortly. But I think we should help where we can and do the little things that show that we care. I think it is even sufficient that we have an attitude of kindness and empathy toward those we serve. I ve truly seen this in my law library director and among the other librarians who I work with at Brigham Young University, as well as at other law libraries where I ve worked in the past. I m sure you ve had similar experiences at your law libraries. For example, I ve watched my director reach out to some low-income people in a way that goes beyond what would normally be expected. One time he even evaluated the risks and determined that it would be safe for his family to take in a young homeless man for a night or two until housing could be secured for him. This took the young man out of the open field that he had been sleeping in and near the place where he had recently obtained employment. I m amazed that this director takes a daily reference shift, as well, where he comes into contact with such people. I ve seen great kindness and empathy among other law librarians here at Brigham Young, as well. They reach out to faculty and help them in extraordinary ways. For example, one day a fellow librarian was telling me that a professor had wanted to know the size of a nearby lake about 100 years ago. I was amazed to learn that my co-worker had found the information for the professor. They teach and assist students and other patrons, as well. Here are six ways that I think we can show kindness and empathy in the law library: Be caring. We shouldn t let patrons think they are a bother. I ve noticed that one of our librarians is sometimes even found in the law library during the evening and weekend hours helping students with their difficult research assignments. Listen with empathy. We shouldn t be distracted when patrons are explaining their needs. We soon will see that everyone has something important to say, if we will just listen with a bit of empathy. Perform kind acts. We should do more than just the minimum. A little kindness might persuade us to spend an extra few minutes with a patron and give him or her additional help. I have watched one of our librarians do this for many years. He would stay with a patron as long as he felt he was needed, even accompanying the person from one floor of the library to another to make sure he or she found the materials needed. Look for people who need help. I remember my first day in library school. This topic is what was talked about that day. I ve always remembered it, and I ve tried to put it into practice in my work. We can always keep an eye open for patrons who look a little bit lost; then we can go and help them. In this way, we can make their research time more productive; instead of wandering aimlessly through the library, they can, with a little help, quickly find the resources they need and spend their valuable time researching. Know our resources. This will help us to quickly and effectively get them into the hands of patrons who need them. One of our law librarians has a marvelous ability to understand how to use both electronic and book resources. He and a few other librarians have done a lot to make sure that these materials are easily accessible through the law library homepage. Then he is able to help patrons with these resources. He has often provided the other reference librarians with written instructions and/or trainings to help us know how to use the resources, as well. Look for additional ways to give. One of our law librarians went well beyond teaching one section of the first-year legal research class, each year, for many years. He taught a couple of sections of advanced legal research, as well. I m sure you can think of many other ways that we can show kindness and empathy for our patrons and for each other, and I m sure that doing so will be beneficial. Keep up the great work! Steve Averett (averetts@lawgate.byu.edu), Collection Maintenance Librarian, Howard W. Hunter Law Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Averett would like to express his appreciation for the wonderful examples shown by all of the librarians he has had the privilege of associating with, including those at the J. Reuben Clark Law School: Kory D. Staheli (Law Library Director), Gary L. Hill (Deputy Law Librarian), Alecia Andriafanomezana (Administrative Assistant), Laureen C. Urquiaga (Head of Access Services and Website/Electronic Materials Management), Dianne Davenport (Circulation Librarian), Colleen Liechty (Collection Maintenance Assistant), Dennis S. Sears (Foreign and International Law Librarian), Galen L. Fletcher (Faculty Services Librarian), Shawn G. Nevers (Head of Reference and Research Instruction), Dale Swensen (Head of Technical Services and Digital Access), Bonnie R. Geldmacher (Acquisitions Librarian), Andrea Howard (Acquisitions Assistant), Teresa Odam (Serials Librarian), David L. Armond (Head of Infrastructure and Technology), and Wayne Schneider (Electronic Resources Manager) Steve Averett AALL Spectrum June

22 Outrageous Outreach and a 10-Foot Tree What won t law libraries do to get some extra funds? By John W. Adkins As a public law library with scant resources, the San Diego Law Library is always looking for ways to increase revenue. In this article, I track the arc of an idea building a tree made of law books from its playful beginning to its eventual designation as a major component of our fundraising toolbox. About Public Law Libraries and Awareness Public law libraries are strange creatures, springing fully formed from the minds of legislators with good intent but lack of foresight. Who in their right minds would think that any court system would want to give up a chunk of its revenue when it needs every penny, and what county government would willingly house, maintain, and support its existence for free? Well, surprise! The California legislature of 1891 did, and they did so in a big way. The state required that each of its 58 counties provide a law library for its residents. Ever creative, the state legislature decreed that each county s superior court would gift a portion of the fees for first filing pleadings. Without tax dollars or other revenue to sustain us, filing fees are the mainstay of our livelihood. With the reduction in filing fee income and unsure economic times, public law libraries have learned to be creative in marketing their services and coming up with fundraising ideas to fill the annual budget gap. Usually we sell ourselves to expand awareness and tout our services. But sometimes we reach out for more prosaic reasons. Sometimes we harbor the idea that with this program or that event, we might gain more than just expanded awareness of what a great resource we are in our county. Sometimes... I hate to sound crass... but sometimes (come a little bit closer)... we are actually out for the money. With all that background, we can now get to our real story about a recent event that melded outreach with fundraising: our holiday bookmas tree. How an Idea Became Something Real Who knows where inspiration comes from? In this case, while surfing the Internet for something else, I found a story about how some libraries had California s Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) sponsored the creation of the Bookmas Tree. created holiday trees made of library books. They were tall, short, colorful, and monochromatic. It made me think... why not us? What if we created a tree like this? But instead of building it just for fun, like those I had read about, what if we marketed it as a fundraiser that the community could build together... one book at a time? My mind was awash and awhirl with ideas. I knew that building this tree would be a lot of work, and I needed help. Staff members here are already stretched very thin, and I hesitated to assign this as a project. So, instead, I decided to make it fun for staff by sending out an inviting all those who would risk it to a special secret group with a special secret mission. Staff members who responded with interest were instructed to report to a clandestine meeting on our staff-only fifth floor. The Secret Project Intelligence Team (or SPIT) was made up of four very brave folks who had no idea what they were in for. Explaining the concept to them was fun because they became excited about the top secret idea. The mission also made them think of this project less as work and more as a fun, important project that they were privileged to work on. Creation of this voluntary work group also solved my problem of assigning tasks to those who might resent it or who wouldn t want to do it. It was critical that we had workers who were eager, excited, and gung-ho about making this book tree happen. In the planning stages, we agreed that to maximize the project s exposure in terms of promotion and visibility, ideally we would unveil the tree at the law library s annual open house. That meant we had a six-week development period. I think that was the perfect amount of time. It needed to be lengthy enough so that the tree could be built but short enough so that the marketing was still punchy, fresh, and not too repetitive. In addition to the feel-good factor of seeing one s money grow on a tree, we also took a technique from a local grocery chain that asks shoppers to donate a dollar to a charity and then places a shamrock with your name on the wall. Instead of shamrocks, we made little books and put them on the wall. With each new donation, another book went on the tree and on the wall in the shape of a tree so that both trees would grow at the same time. Pulling it All Together To begin, we found an online how-to guide on building the tree itself. This was not a simple thing, but with a team of crafty volunteer staff, we made it happen. We built the frame out of rebar, chicken wire, and twisty ties. We made a topper out of cardboard, foil, and some electric lights. Sometimes it flopped to the side, sometimes not. Marketing Next, we needed to market the idea. 20 AALL Spectrum June John W. Adkins

23 I think it is the essence of the idea that makes the biggest difference in marketing. If you can get people interested in an idea something never done before, something for the greater good, something unusual then you can get things started. We began with some teasers on our blog and website about what was First, rebar was formed into a teepee shape. going to happen. Then we took to our enewsletter with an article about the creation of the bookmas tree and what it was meant to accomplish. For every $5 donated, another book would be placed around the chicken wire, and eventually with everyone s help! we would have a tree worth a darn. The effects were immediate. Generous folks realized that a $5 donation wasn t going to get us very far. Checks for $100 and $500 came in so that we could really stack those tomes and layer them on. It wasn t long before we had a good start and the race was on. Never underestimate the competitive nature of legal folks. We encouraged groups and law firms to donate and get recognized on the wall. Suddenly, professional pride was on the line. California s Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) significantly enhanced the spirit of giving by issuing a dollar-fordollar matching challenge up to $250. We plan on using this as a marketing device in the future. Come See the Tree At the Open House, attendees were enthralled with the tree. Everyone wanted a picture standing next to it. Our distinguished guests of honor Chicken wire was wrapped around the rebar and secured with 200 zip ties. Acting Mayor/City Council President Todd Gloria and County Supervisor Dave Roberts declared our tree the best of all the many holiday functions they had attended. In the end, we had created not just a tree made of books that we could admire but an admirable fundraising tool and a way to generate interest in an annual event with a money-making objective. We pulled in $2,000, which will more than cover the cost of our annual Open House. In prior years, we had no fundraising component. The bookmas tree concept was successful in several respects. For one, staff came together and basically fought over who would do what. It was a team-motivating, morale-boosting, energy-building project. Two, it brought us higher visibility in the community as patrons told others to come see the tree. Three, we discovered a way to get community interaction through competition. And four, we made money. You can be sure that this coming holiday season the Open House will be decked out with lots of decorations, the most important being the 2014 version of the bookmas tree. The expectation is that after a few more years, the tree building project will become a law library tradition. John W. Adkins (jadkins@sdlawlibrary. org), Director of Libraries, San Diego Law Library. Over a 30-year period, Adkins has worked in law firms, law schools, and public law libraries. He has J.D. and M.L.I.S. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. He pasted date due slips in his own books when he was six years old. He was a weird little kid. The largest and heaviest books were placed at the bottom in an overlapping spiral. AALL Spectrum June

24 Sifting Through the Dustbin of Legal Research History A look back at some long-forgotten legal research tools By Patrick J. Charles When I was a reference librarian at Creighton University School of Law, my neighbor in Omaha had an old analog rotary phone with the long curled cord hanging on the kitchen wall. All of the neighborhood children, including my two kids and his five kids, played together in his huge backyard. It was always interesting when one of the neighborhood kids asked to use the rotary phone because it was such a foreign item to children accustomed to push-button and cordless landlines or cellular telephones. Those old analog rotary phones had their disadvantages: they were slow to dial and incompatible with digital phone lines. However, they served a purpose and led to the development of modern telephones. I recently was reminded of my neighbor s outdated analog rotary phone while preparing for an advanced legal research class on statutory codes, when I stumbled across several old statutory codes that were updated with stamps. I started thinking about the many antiquated modes of legal research that have been replaced by more advanced research tools and methods. You might remember some of these legal research tools while others might be less familiar; however, all of them served a purpose and were important in developing the legal research tools and methods that we have today. Print Shepard s In 1873, Frank Shepard developed a method of historically tracking all references to a specific case in subsequent cases. This was the beginning of the modern citator, and updating case law using print Shepard s (Shepardizing) was an essential part of legal research. Updating cases changed in the late 1970s and early 1980s when citators like Shepard s migrated over to electronic formats. These early electronic citators included Shepard s on Lexis and Westlaw, Auto-Cite, Insta-Cite, LexCite, QuickCite, and Shepard s PreView. The next generation of electronic citators began in 1997 with KeyCite on Westlaw and in 1999 with New Shepard s on Lexis. Electronic citators are far superior to print Shepard s because they are more current, easier to use, and more costeffective. When one updates a case using a citator, they retrieve a list of cases (citing authorities) that cite the case (cited authority), and this is done to make sure the cited authority is still good law. Shepard s examines the litigation chain of a case, which is referred to as the history of the case. If the history of a case indicates that it has been modified, dismissed, vacated, or reversed on appeal, it is considered to have negative history, and the case is no longer good law. Shepard s also examines the precedential value of a case, which is referred to as the treatment of a case. Treatment deals with how courts in subsequent and completely different cases have treated the law in the cited authority. If the treatment indicates that it has been overruled, then the case is no longer good law. Shepard s also provides a list of secondary sources ALR annotations, law reviews, treatises, and other sources that discussed the cited authority. Shepardizing in print was an almost mechanical process that involved several steps. The first step involved finding the correct citator. If you were Shepardizing a Pacific Reporter case, you would use the Shepard s Pacific Reporter Citations. The next step involved assembling all the print Shepard s volumes together to make sure the set was complete and up-to-date. This entailed checking the What Your Library Should Contain section of the latest softbound supplement, which listed all the hardbound volumes, hardbound supplements, and the different-colored softbound supplements. The next step involved finding the citation to your case beginning with the oldest hardbound Shepard s volume where you would see the case name and any parallel citations. This would be followed by history citations, treatment citations, and, finally, citations to secondary sources. To indicate history and treatment, Shepard s assigned history and treatment codes that appeared to the left of those citations. The final step in the print Shepard s process was updating. This entailed looking through all the subsequent Shepard s updates for the citation (including hardbound supplements and the different colored softbound supplements: goldenrod, red, blue, and white). During this step, it was important that you worked your way forward from oldest to most current. This was a rather cumbersome process, and for as many supplements that you looked through, the materials were still several months out of date. In addition, print Shepard s was very expensive ($2,665 annually for Shepard s Pacific Citations). Amazingly, print Shepard s is still published, and Lexis claims that the print products are still used by attorneys; however, considering the expense, the cumbersome nature of using it, and its lack of currentness, it is clear that print Shepard s is something to be avoided. Electronic Citators: Auto-Cite, Insta-Cite, LexCite, QuickCite, and Shepard s PreView Like print Shepard s, electronic citators such as Shepard s (New Shepard s) and KeyCite look at a case s history and treatment in deciding whether the case is still good law. Before Shepard s (New Shepard s) and KeyCite, there were several online citators available on Westlaw and Lexis. These online citators included: Auto-Cite (Lexis), Insta-Cite (Westlaw), LexCite (Lexis), QuickCite (Westlaw), and Shepard s PreView (Westlaw). All of these online citators either looked at history, treatment, or both. The distinguishing characteristics of these online citators included their currentness, their scope, and the level of editorial enhancements. Shepard s licensed its data to Westlaw in 1980 and Lexis in Unfortunately, online Shepard s was no more current than print Shepard s. This 22 AALL Spectrum June Patrick J. Charles

25 meant that both Shepard s products were several months behind; however, Shepard s provided a lot of editorial enhancements and was very comprehensive in looking at both the history and treatment of a case. To make up for the deficiencies in the currentness of Shepard s, two electronic citators, Insta-Cite and Auto-Cite, were developed. Auto-Cite was developed by Lawyers Cooperative in the late 1960s as an internal case verification system for the Rochester-based legal publisher. It was licensed to Lexis in the late 1970s. Unlike Shepard s, it only looked at the case s history and limited treatment to only severe negative treatment that affected the precedential value of a case, like an overruling. Insta-Cite was developed by West Publishing and initially used as its online internal case control system. It was made available commercially in 1984 on Westlaw. Like Auto-Cite, it was limited to looking at history and negative indirect treatment that affected the precedential value of a case, like an overruling. Auto-Cite and Insta-Cite ran about one to four weeks behind the courts, making them considerably more current than Shepard s; however, they were not as comprehensive and didn t retrieve all the citing authorities. Shepard s PreView was a service offered by Westlaw in the late 1980s, and it added another layer of currency. It focused on treatment, and it provided a current list of cases that cited the case; however, it didn t provide any explanation or reason for the citations. The user had to take the list and retrieve the cases to see why they were cited. It was also limited to cases published in West Reporters. Soon thereafter, both Lexis and Westlaw offered new products that added steps to the updating process but were even more current than Insta-Cite and Auto-Cite. The Lexis product was called LexCite, and it treated a case s citation as a search term. Once a user ran the program, it simply provided a list of all citing cases without any editorial enhancements or explanations. It was also a bit more expensive than other electronic citators because it depended on the database you were searching. The Westlaw product was called QuickCite, and it was similar to LexCite in that it used the case s citation as a search term and produced a list of cases that cited the case. LexCite and QuickCite ran about two to four days behind the courts, depending on the database searched. In 1997, Westlaw introduced KeyCite, which merged all the functions of Shepard s, Shepard s PreView, Insta-Cite, and QuickCite into one product that was comprehensive and current. Lexis followed suit in 1999 and unveiled New Shepard s. This merged Shepard s, Auto-Cite, and LexCite together as a one-stop shopping citator. Interestingly, even after the appearance of New Shepard s, Auto-Cite and LexCite did not disappear. They continue to the present day, and both exist on Lexis.com. Back in the day, for a Westlaw or Lexis user to update a case using online citators was a multi-step process. On Lexis, a user would first run the citation on Shepard s, then Auto-Cite, and then LexCite. On Westlaw, a user would first run the citation on Shepard s, then Insta-Cite, then Shepard s PreView, and finally QuickCite. Modern users of KeyCite and Shepard s are fortunate not to concern themselves with anything except using KeyCite and Shepard s (New Shepard s) and making sure they click the correct tabs. The National Reporter Blue Book (State Blue & White Book) The National Reporter Blue Book was a conversion table that listed the citations for the official state reporters and crossreferenced them to the citations for the regional reporters as found in West s National Reporter System. The National Reporter Blue Book was published by West and supplemented annually. West ceased publishing the National Reporter Blue Book in For 33 states, West also published a Blue & White Book, which also provided parallel citation tables that converted the official state reporter citation to the unofficial regional reporter citation, and vice-versa. The blue pages converted the official state reporter citation over to a citation for the regional reporter, and the white pages converted the regional reporter citation over to a citation for the official state reporters. West ceased publishing these books by West came to the realization that these were an expensive luxury in print and users could get parallel citations from Westlaw, Lexis, Shepard s on Lexis, KeyCite on Westlaw, or the table of cases volumes in West s regional or state digests. Code of Federal Regulations Pocket Parts Legal researchers familiar with the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) know that a new edition is published annually and comes in a different color each year. In 1970, the Office of the Federal Register began publishing each annual edition of the C.F.R. with different colors on the outside binding. In 1972, the Office of the Federal Register realized that it was too unmanageable to revise the entire C.F.R. at once and decided to revise titles on a staggered quarterly basis: titles 1-16 are revised effectively on January 1 of each year, titles are revised effectively on April 1 of each year, titles are revised effectively on July 1 of each year, and titles are revised effectively on October 1 of each year. Prior to 1970, the C.F.R. was updated in a variety of ways, including annual pocket parts. The first edition of the C.F.R. came out in 1938 and was supplemented with separate freestanding supplements in 1938, 1939, and Due to the Second World War, there was no 1942 supplement; however, a cumulative free-standing supplement was published in 1943 covering June 1938 through June There were also supplements published in 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, and In 1948, the second edition of the C.F.R. was published. Each book of the C.F.R. included a place in the back to fit AALL Spectrum June

26 a cumulative pocket part supplement. These cumulative pocket parts were issued annually for each book until it was decided that the book should be revised and reissued. When a book was revised and reissued, it also included a place in the back to fit annual cumulative pocket parts. Pocket parts were issued from 1948 through In 1970, the Office of Federal Register began revising the C.F.R. on an annual basis. Updating Statutory Codes with Stamps Pocket parts are the most common way of updating statutory codes; however, years ago, some statutory codes were updated with stamps. Every year, code publishers would send sheets of stamps to affix to the code section s page indicating that the statutory section was amended or repealed. Oftentimes, these stamps would be color-coded: if the statute was amended or repealed it would have a pink stamp, and if there was a new annotation to a case it would be a white stamp. Below is an example from Remington s Compiled Statutes of Washington States that used stamps or some variation thereof included: Iowa McClain s Annotated Code and Statutes of the State of Iowa 1888 Nebraska Compiled Statutes of Nebraska 1929 Oregon Oregon Compiled Laws Annotated 1939 & Oregon Code Annotated 1930 Oklahoma Oklahoma Statutes 1931 Washington Remington s Codes and Statutes of Washington 1915, Remington s Compiled Statutes of Washington 1922, and Pierce s Code of the State of Washington Annotated 1921 Retired West Digest Topics Outside of online keyword searching, the West Topic and Key Number System is one of the best methods for finding American case law. It has a long and distinguished history and has generated a considerable profit for West through the years. West publishes case law for all 50 states and the federal courts in the National Reporter System, and, in preparing each case for publication, West editors create headnotes, each representing a point of law, and assign at least one topic and at least one key number to each headnote. When John A. Mallory created the Topic and Key Number System of classification in 1896 for West, there were approximately 400 individual topics covering seven different areas of law: Persons, Property, Contracts, Torts, Crimes, Remedies, and Government. According to the 1947 Manual from West, the Topic and Key Number System classification system that encompassed the broad field of American law adhered to the following theorem: Law is the effort of society to protect PERSONS in their rights and relations, to guard them in their PROPERTY, enforce their CONTRACTS, hold them to their liabilities for their TORTS, punish their CRIMES, by means of REMEDIES administered by the GOVERNMENT. Through the years, the number of West Topics has remained relatively constant at approximately 400; however, the number of key numbers has increased exponentially as each topic has been further developed and expanded. West has been very conservative and rigid in not increasing the number of topics through the years. In spite of its conservative nature, West recognized that legal concepts were not static and changes in the classification system were sometimes needed. During the past 115 years, West has reorganized, renumbered, and retired a number of topics. According to Fritz Snyder, The West Digest System: The Ninth Circuit and the Montana Supreme Court, 60 Mont. L. Rev. 541, (1999), the following topics have been retired or subsumed into different topics: The topic Insane Persons was deleted in 1954 and cases were moved into the topic Mental Health. The topic Drunkards was deleted in 1978 and cases were moved into the topic Chemical Dependents. The topic Bastards was renamed Illegitimate Children in Illegitimate Children was then renamed Children Out-of-Wedlock in The topic Miscegenation was demoted to key numbers in the topic Criminal Law in The topic Paupers was deleted in The topic Fornication was demoted to key numbers in the topic Criminal Law in The topic Common Scold was demoted to key numbers in the topic Criminal Law in Dedicated Lexis and Westlaw Terminals: Deluxe, UBIQ, W.A.L.T, and Super UBIQ In the early days of computer-assisted legal research, both West Group (Westlaw) and Mead Data Central (Lexis) used dedicated terminals that were designed to be used for one particular application and did not do anything else. The Deluxe terminal was used by Mead Data Central to access Lexis, and it was a large sit-down console reminiscent of something out of NASA Mission Control. The Deluxe terminal had a keyboard that was user-friendly and loaded with function keys. It was essentially idiot proof in that it allowed even the most unsophisticated computer user to easily master it or at least become easily proficient in using it. 24 AALL Spectrum June 2014

27 The UBIQ (which stood for ubiquitous) was Mead Data Central s next generation in dedicated terminals for accessing Lexis. The distinctive red and black single-unit machine was introduced in 1979, and the UBIQ II was introduced in The keyboard was very small and some complained that it looked like a child s toy typewriter. The keyboard was very function-key driven and continued upon the premise that even a lawyer could use it. The transmission rate was 1,200 baud for the UBIQ and UBIQ II. The Super UBIQ terminal came out in 1987 and it boasted a larger keyboard and the ability to access other online services. The Super UBIQ transmission rate was 2,400 baud. The West Automatic Law Terminal (W.A.L.T.) was West Publishing s dedicated terminal used to access Westlaw. The W.A.L.T. first came out in 1982 and was also designed with special keyboards that made the system as easy and straightforward as possible. To its credit, the W.A.L.T. keyboard was much larger than the UBIQ terminals from Lexis. The W.A.L.T. transmission rate was 1,200 baud. The W.A.L.T. II terminals came out in 1987 and allowed users to access databases other than just Westlaw, including Dialog, CompuServe, and other online services. The W.A.L.T. II transmission rate was 2,400 baud. I remember using a UBIQ II terminal when I was a 1L at the University of Idaho College of Law in 1987; it had the look of the 1970s arcade video game Computer Space, and I recall the tiny chiclet keyboard. It was tiny, hard to operate, difficult to read, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Mosaic Web Browser January of 1994 marked the 20th anniversary of the release of Mosaic 2.0 web browser. Although Mosaic was not the first graphical web browser, it was the first browser to have inline images displayed with text. In the early 1990s, the Internet consisted mainly of text. Images, audio, video, and other multimedia were available; however, they were hidden behind links and would open as separate windows. Mosaic changed all that and allowed users to view inline images, something we take for granted today. Mosaic was the first popular graphical web browser, and it contributed to the success of the Internet in the 1990s. Mosaic was developed by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was available in UNIX, Mac, and Windows versions. Non-commercial use was licensed free of charge. Mosaic was easy to install and very reliable. Later in 1994, Marc Andreessen and other developers of Mosaic went on to start their own company, Netscape, which later created the Netscape Navigator browser. Netscape Navigator quickly overtook Mosaic in popularity, and, soon thereafter, Mosaic faded away. The NCSA discontinued support for Mosaic in In 1994, I was in library school at the University of Washington and worked as a reference desk intern/ assistant at the Gallagher Law Library when I first saw Mosaic being used by one of the reference librarians. I remember a group of people were around the computer and there was a lot of oohing and aahing because it was so different from anything we had ever seen. Conclusion Fast forward 20 years to 2014: many of the legal research tools we use today have evolved from the cumbersome and timeconsuming methods of yesteryear. Without CIS in microfiche, we would not have ProQuest Congressional; and Current Law Index paved the way for the development of LegalTrac. As a law librarian, it is easy for me to get nostalgic when reminiscing about the old ways of conducting legal research, especially when my fondness for print West Digests is not appreciated by fellow legal researchers because more modern methods have made the use of West Digests outdated. Two aspects have remained constant throughout the history of legal research. First, as technology advances we can count on the advancement of legal research. Second, and more importantly, legal research is only as good as the skills of the legal researcher regardless of technological advancements. Let me conclude with a bit of advice from someone who has observed the evolution of legal research for more than 20 years: don t let your legal research skills go the way of print Shepard s, West s Blue & White Book, or, for that matter, the old analog rotary telephone. Patrick J. Charles (pcharles@lawschool.gonzaga.edu), Library Director and Assistant Professor of Law, Chastek Library, Gonzaga University School of Law, Spokane, Washington free online updates NationsCourts.com Visit our website to Look Inside new edition Court Reference Publishers Since 1975 AALL Spectrum June

28 Creating and Teaching a Specialized Legal Research Course The benefits and considerations By Erika Cohn Specialized legal research courses are nothing new. Nonetheless, creating your own can be an intimidating task that takes time and hard work. Over the past year, I created my first specialized legal research course at Saint Louis University: a seven-week, onecredit-hour, practical skills course called Intellectual Property Law Research. I taught the class for the first time this past spring. What follows is an outline of my experience, and hopefully it will encourage you to create and teach your own. Why Offer a Specialized Legal Research Course? There are many reasons why offering specialized legal research courses could be a good option for you and your library. With the increased demand for practical skills courses, expanding librarian-taught classes beyond advanced legal research simultaneously fills a need and showcases the value librarians can add to the law school curriculum. Additionally, many areas of law have specialized resources that are not or cannot be adequately addressed in advanced legal research. Creating a course that focuses on a particular area of law provides an opportunity for in-depth coverage. This can be a great benefit for students who know (or hope) that they are going to practice in a given area. Your topical legal research course may also have a smaller class size than advanced legal research, allowing for more personalized, focused instruction. Finally, creating a specialized course benefits more than just the library, the law school, and the students. It also allows you, the librarian, to hone or develop an area of interest or expertise. Topic Selection Now that you are convinced that you want to teach a specialized legal resource course, you need to choose a topic. Do you have an area of interest or expertise? That might be the easiest way to go because you will have a head start on the appropriate content and research methods to cover. Perhaps your law school has an area for which it is well known or for which a concentration or certificate is offered. Choosing that topic might yield more interest from students and support from the school. Maybe there is a hot topic or an area in which jobs are available. You could also ask the curriculum committee for suggestions, as they will have a good grasp of curricular needs. For me, intellectual property was an easy choice. SLU offers an IP concentration, and it happens to be a personal area of interest. Syllabus Development If you are already an expert in the area, you might have an idea of what you would like to cover and how. If not, there are some good places to go for help. The first thing I did before creating my own syllabus was to look for examples from similar courses taught at other law schools. A quick Google search was fruitful for me, but reaching out to instructors whose materials are not readily available online would be another good option. You may also want to seek input from faculty who teach in the substantive area of law, as well as local practitioners, to find out what resources they use and how they use them. From there it s just a matter of organizing the material in a logical order, considering the time you want to spend on any given topic. Course Approval Your syllabus is ready to go; now you need to get the course approved. This process varies from school to school, so if you are not familiar with your institution s procedure, learn about it. If you need to go before the curriculum committee, as I did, you will want to articulate how your course will benefit students and provide specific examples of how you intend to meet course objectives. It was extremely helpful for me to have the support of the other IP faculty, as well as the support of interested students, when I brought my course proposal to the curriculum committee. Student Interest For a class to be successful, it of course needs students. There are several ways to drum up interest in your course. As you have hopefully created a good relationship with the other faculty who teach in that particular area of law, ask them to recommend the class to students in their courses. Better yet, ask if they will give you a few minutes of class time to come speak and answer questions about the course. Talk it up in 26 AALL Spectrum June Erika Cohn

29 IN ADDITION TO STATUTORY, REGULATORY, AND CASE LAW RESEARCH, MANY AREAS OF LAW REQUIRE PROFICIENCY IN SPECIALIZED RESEARCH RESOURCES AND TOOLS. your advanced legal research class. Participate in advising sessions if your course is tied to a concentration or certificate program. In short, create and accept any possible opportunity to be in front of students and plug your course. Teaching Plan You have drafted a syllabus, your course has been approved, and students are interested. Now you need a detailed plan for how you will deliver content, spend class time, and evaluate students. Content Considerations You want to provide a complete picture of the resources and research methods related to your topic. In addition to statutory, regulatory, and case law research, many areas of law require proficiency in specialized research resources and tools. Oftentimes, though, the tools are so specialized (and expensive) that law schools do not have access to them. This is certainly true in IP, where numerous products exist for sophisticated patent and trademark searching. Because these are tools lawyers use in practice, it is beneficial for students to be exposed to them in class. I was able to secure trial IDs and passwords for several products for use in class. Even when I could not secure such access for certain products, I made sure to at least mention and explain their purpose. It s also appropriate to reinforce general research skills in a specialized course, as they are applicable to nearly every area of law. This will be helpful for students who have not taken advanced legal research and will strengthen the abilities of those who have. Class Time Because this is a practical skills course, try to minimize the time you spend lecturing and maximize the time the students spend researching. There are numerous ways to achieve this goal, but, by way of example, my typical class consisted of about minutes of lecture and demonstration followed by about an hour of in-class exercises. On days when one of the in-depth research problems was assigned, I gave the students time to get started in class. Then I asked for volunteers to show the rest of the class how they were successfully navigating the problem. This also allowed students to ask questions during class if they were running into problems, rather than potentially spinning their wheels on their own. You should also consider bringing guest speakers into the class. Students really appreciate hearing from practitioners and getting a sense of what kind of research they might be expected to do in the real world. I had great success bringing in a local IP attorney to teach part of the patent section. He gave the students a rundown of his daily research tasks, as well as his favorite and least favorite resources, and he demonstrated several research tools and techniques. It was helpful to have a practitioner s perspective and even more helpful to have a practitioner reinforce the importance of efficient and accurate research. Vendor representatives are another great option for guest speakers. As I mentioned, there are some great specialized research tools available in many areas of law. Vendors know these products well and are always happy to spend time in front of students demonstrating what they have to offer. Students will use these tools in practice, so why not give them a head start? Evaluation There are many ways to evaluate students in a specialized legal research course. I opted to assign three in-depth research problems throughout the semester (one on each major area of IP copyright, trademark, patent), as well as a relatively short pathfinder on an IP-related topic of the students choosing. Class attendance and participation also counted toward the final grade. You might also consider a presentation or exam, depending on what works best for the topic and what you expect students to get out of your class. No matter your method of evaluation, expectations should be clearly defined. Course Evaluation Do not wait until the end of the semester to evaluate the class. Pay attention to how students respond to you and how they perform on in-class exercises and assignments. I try to grade homework assignments right away to grasp how well they are learning the material. If it s clear that a number of students have missed a given concept, I know I need to revisit the issue and modify my strategy going forward. The students also appreciate having feedback on their work during the course rather than waiting until the course is over when it s too late for them to adjust. The first time you teach your class, it s highly unlikely that everything will go exactly as you planned. At the end of the semester, take a look back and note anything that did not work or that you would like to change. Solicit feedback from your students and act on their suggestions. Course evaluations administered by your institution might be helpful, but at our institution they are not mandatory. The questions also tend to be generic, so it can be difficult to get useful information from the few that actually get submitted. I met with my students individually near the end of the semester and encouraged them to provide me with feedback either in person or via . Several of them offered very helpful suggestions and constructive comments, and I am working to incorporate them for next year. I will also keep in touch with my students after they graduate and follow up for more feedback once they have had some experience practicing in the field. Final Thoughts Creating and teaching this course was and continues to be immensely rewarding. In addition to providing students with a new and directed opportunity to gain useful skills, it displays the value librarians bring to the curriculum and allows me to advance my own knowledge of a subject I love. If you are willing to put in the time, I am confident that you too can find success creating your own specialized legal research course. Good luck! Erika Cohn (ecohn2@slu.edu), Assistant Professor of Legal Research and Reference Librarian, Saint Louis University School of Law, St. Louis AALL Spectrum June

30 Changing of the Guard Best practices for saving and transferring institutional knowledge By Katrina M. Miller Discussions about the imminent brain drain and leadership crisis caused by the retirement of baby boomers are prevalent in libraries today. An April 2012 AALL Spectrum article, Retirements in the Age of Economic Uncertainty, by Genevieve Zook, quoted a statistic that between 2010 and 2020 a whopping 45 percent of librarians would reach retirement age. Many law libraries are already experiencing these retirements firsthand, and most of us have colleagues who anticipate retiring in the next five to 10 years. In our law library, over the past three years we have experienced the departure of two librarians who worked a combined 54 years at our law school and three paraprofessionals who had more than 90 years of combined experience at Florida State. Although most of the focus of succession planning discusses how to replace the actual librarian after retirement, the conversation also needs to acknowledge the enormous loss of institutional knowledge and experience that accompanies retirements. Libraries must implement strategies to retain, transfer, and capture information and knowledge from retiring librarians to pass on to a new generation of librarians. Prioritize The first step is to make capturing knowledge a priority in order to bring it to the forefront of succession planning discussions. In a perfect world, the process of capturing information would be ongoing during a law librarian s career and then ramped up in the final years before retirement. The perfect scenario also allows a new employee coming into the position to train with the retiring librarian. In the real world, unfortunately, institutional knowledge may be lost because of downsizing, which occurs with little to no notice, or unplanned retirements. This uncertainty reaffirms the necessity of regularly capturing and maintaining institutional knowledge, even from employees with no immediate plans to retire. Develop a Plan Once your library has acknowledged the importance of saving institutional knowledge, the next step is to develop a formal and thoughtful plan. Be sure to include everyone in discussions and planning, not just the librarians. The wisdom of paraprofessionals and staff is just as vital to the library as the librarians expertise. The knowledge capture plan should encompass more than just saving a vast amount of information in manuals and folders. The information must be usable and organized or at least searchable. Capturing Technical Knowledge First, address capturing the how-to, or technical knowledge, which is typically workflow or task-oriented information and is generally easy to convey between employees. For this technical information, there is usually a concrete answer (or maybe a couple of variations), and the information may be captured in manuals or workflow charts. Sometimes the hardest part of documenting this type of information is just finding time. Before drafting a manual, take notes over the course of several days and remember to think about how work responsibilities may differ at different times of the year. The key to transferring tacit knowledge is collaboration with other librarians. For example, new students or new associates may only arrive in the fall or a spring legislative session may only affect day-to-day duties during specific months but may be easily overlooked if your manual is created outside of this season. Also try mind-mapping to visually see different components of your tasks or to demonstrate the interconnectedness of various people also involved in the work. Again, some of this technical information is best conveyed through manuals and face-to-face training, but remember to make sure that the information is organized and up-todate. The best advice is to document everything and document it often. Try to record training sessions, create policies or procedures, document answers to reference questions using the Springshare product LibAnswers, digitize files, and archive old s. Remember to make any old s searchable and accessible on a shared drive. An outgoing librarian may have a vast amount of s and files, so a useful idea is to flag the most important documents and include them on a LibGuide that is kept unpublished internally. Capturing Tacit Knowledge After the technical knowledge is captured, tackle the tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge includes skills, contacts, experience, judgment, relevant expertise, or procedural knowledge. Essentially, this type of knowledge is all the unique information that resides only in the brain of the outgoing employee. In the context of a library, this includes things like the personal technique and expertise used for solving a reference question or the judgment involved in collection development decisions. Tacit knowledge is more difficult to capture and takes a little more creativity and planning to transfer. The key to transferring tacit knowledge is collaboration with other librarians. This is more than just cross-training and explaining the aspects of a job. Collaboration includes working through questions together to see the different processes that librarians go through when tackling a problem. Create a mentorship or coaching relationship where librarians can shadow one another to watch and learn one-on-one. For reference librarians, if questions are answered via , blind carbon copy other librarians on the response so others can see the process used to answer the question. Our librarians also discuss interesting questions at librarian meetings to explore the answer and judgment that went into solving a question. Although meetings are not 28 AALL Spectrum June Katrina M. Miller

31 be known to librarians who have one-onone experience with the individual, but retiring librarians cannot convey that kind of knowledge in a manual or handbook. The fact that this information is not put in writing, however, does not mean it lacks importance. This type of sensitive or quirky knowledge should be passed on orally, and the hardest part is just remembering to include it in the knowledge transfer process. We recently wished a happy retirement to Anne Bardolph, who worked at Florida State University for 34 years. everyone s cup of tea, regular gatherings of librarians and staff are necessary to successfully capture and transfer institutional knowledge. The meeting is an opportunity to document everything, and another recommended best practice is to save meeting minutes in order to reference decisions and discussions from the past. Other ways to collaborate include co-teaching or recording workshops and classes to capture all the little insights and nuances a librarian developed to teach a research topic. Additionally, a shared cloud space containing an archive of workshop presentations is another alternative to save expertise on specialized topics. But just the slides or words on paper usually are not enough to capture everything. For example, I was able to shadow a librarian who met with students one-on-one to prepare them for conducting legal research as a summer associate or extern. The librarian and student interaction that I witnessed made me appreciate the librarian s approach to ease the students anxieties about working. There is no way that the librarian could have conveyed her style in writing; it took me shadowing the interaction to fully understand and appreciate her techniques. Another useful collaboration I experienced was a group meeting refining our collection development policies. Hearing the reasons for keeping older editions of publications along with some background information about publishers and all the tidbits of information that were never formally captured on paper was valuable to understanding the decision-making process. If time does not permit librarians to meet at the same time, an alternative is creating collaborative documents, such as a wiki or shared document. Another valuable tool to use for departing librarians is a recorded oral history interview. Taping an oral interview with a librarian may capture some highlights and personal memories gathered over a long career. For great examples of how to conduct an oral interview, check out HeinOnline s Spinelli s Law Library Reference Shelf, which contains an Oral History of Law Librarianship. Never underestimate the power of storytelling as an effective way to transfer institutional knowledge. These narratives help describe the story of the individual, other librarians, various libraries, and the history of our profession. Suggestions for capturing oral histories include having specific topics to discuss to keep the speaker focused and designating a regular time and setting to record the interview. Remember that while capturing the information, some things may be too sensitive to formalize on paper. The preferences of an eccentric professor may Recreating Lost Knowledge Finally, what if your library realizes that critical knowledge has been lost but an employee has already retired or left the workplace? To recreate lost knowledge, call on experts in other libraries who have not retired. If the information is specific to your library and other experts would not be useful, check institutional policies about hiring ex-employees and see if the retired employee would be willing to return as a consultant for a brief time. Also remember to keep in touch with retired employees. We tend to invite people back for yearly events or lunches to see how retirement is going and to fill them in on the current activities of the library. This helps to maintain the personal relationships and historic ties to the library. As a newer librarian, each time I rely on the knowledge of a more experienced librarian, I try to stop and think about what I would do if the librarian retired tomorrow. How could I save the information I receive so that other librarians can easily refer to it in the future? It is imperative for the junior and senior librarians to think about impending retirements and work together to minimize the loss of institutional knowledge. Katrina M. Miller (kmiller@law.fsu.edu), Research and Instructional Technology Librarian, Florida State University College of Law Research Center, Tallahassee AALL Spectrum June

32 Celebrating Three of AALL s Most Accomplished The Association presents its most prestigious award to Berring, Johnston, and Nicholson By Heidi Frostestad Kuehl The AALL Awards Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2014 Marian Gould Gallagher Distinguished Service Award: Bob Berring, Janis L. Johnston, and Carol Avery Nicholson. This award was established to recognize outstanding, extended, and sustained service to law librarianship, to the Association, or for contributions to the professional literature. It is the Association s highest honor. Bob Berring Professor Bob Berring s name has become synonymous with innovation and brilliance in the law librarianship field because of his trailblazing in law librarianship and genius as an influential author in the fields of legal research, law, and law librarianship. Berring began his career at the University of Illinois as an assistant librarian for one year. He then proceeded to work at prestigious institutions such as the University of Texas as an associate librarian and lecturer and the Harvard Law Library as acting and deputy director. Berring also served briefly as a professor of law and law librarian at the University of Washington School of Law. Finally, he settled more permanently at the University of California, Berkeley, as a dean in the school of Library and Information Studies and also with a dual appointment in the law library. Most notably, Berring has also acted as interim dean of the Boalt Hall School of Law (from ) and also as an associate dean and as professor of law (holding the Walter Perry Johnson Chair). Many who have worked with or for Berring view him as a visionary, a leader in law librarianship, and also as an extraordinary mentor. He has received numerous awards and honors from AALL for his many contributions. From the Academic Law Libraries Special Interest Section, he recently received the Centennial Award for Most Influential Author of the Past 50 Years. He is also the founding editor of Legal Reference Services Quarterly ( ). Professor Berring s work transcends law librarianship into the international realms of Chinese Law, the Editorial Board of Advisors of The Green Bag, the American Law Institute, and the Executive Board of the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction. Berring has actively served AALL as president ( ), as vice present/president-elect ( ), and on the Executive Board ( ). He has also participated on the Committee on Accreditation for the American Association of Law Schools ( ). Berring has testified as an expert on matters relating to Chinese Law in a variety of judicial and administrative venues and has also served as a consultant for law library accreditations. Berring s scholarship is vast and nearly unparalleled in its historic nature and its valuable contributions to our profession. Such valuable texts include Finding the Law, Winning Research Skills, and Legal Research Survival Manual. His research videos are legendary, and Berring has also contributed numerous chapters and articles that are showpieces for our profession. Berring continues to stay connected to law librarianship through his blog columns, chapters in books, and articles. In 1987, Berring was awarded the University of California, Berkeley s Distinguished Teaching Award. Berring has also been awarded the Frederick Hicks Award from AALL for his contributions to law librarianship. Janis L. Johnston Janis L. Johnston has had a stellar career in law librarianship, and her contributions to AALL have been many during her career at the University of Illinois College of Law. Johnston began her career at the Indiana University School of Law Library as the assistant head of technical services. She then moved to Notre Dame Law School as the head of collection development, associate director for technical services, and then acting director of the Kresge Law Library ( ). She also most notably served as the American director of the London Law Centre program at Notre Dame, the acting assistant dean for administration, acting associate dean, London Law Centre Faculty member, and acting associate dean and director of the law library. Johnston then went on to serve as the associate professor of law and director of the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Memorial Law Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Law in 1999, where she continued her outstanding career and devotion to law librarianship both nationally and internationally. Johnston has been extremely active in all levels of law librarianship and, especially, in AALL. She served as AALL president ( ), vice president/president-elect ( ), treasurer ( ), and Executive Board member ( and ), as well as a member of the Professional Development Committee ( ) and as co-director of the 30 AALL Spectrum June Heidi Frostestad Kuehl

33 Cataloging Institute. She also served on the Financial Advisory Committee and Financial Long-Range Planning Committee, AALL-Sponsored Publications Advisory Committee, Publications Committee, and as chair of the Technical Services Special Interest Section. Amid all of this service to AALL, she also made time for local, regional, and international associations, including the Chicago Association of Law Libraries, the Mid-America Association of Law Libraries, the Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries, and the International Association of Law Libraries. She is truly the epitome of active service and has been one of our profession s greatest assets. Johnston also developed and contributed to the first through the third International Conferences of the Chinese and American Forum on Legal Information and Law Libraries while co-chairing the third conference in Shanghai in She is an expert on how these international associations can be beneficial to law librarian members. Finally, she recently served as an Executive Board member of the Legal Information Preservation Alliance. Johnston has written seminal articles in our field, such as Managing Your Boss and Paying for the Future: Financial Planning as Part of the Strategic Plan. She has also received many awards, given many consultations, and delivered many speeches as a result of her publications and numerous professional activities. As one nomination letter duly noted, On the basis of this dedicated and outstanding career in law librarianship, her unrelenting service to the profession, and her willingness to embrace the cloak of leadership over so many years, it is beyond dispute that Janis career clearly evidences a wealth of achievement that is worthy of Gallagher Award recognition. Carol Avery Nicholson Carol Avery Nicholson has served AALL in many capacities over the span of her long and inspiring career. She began her career as a monographic cataloger and reference librarian at Duke University s Perkins Library. She then moved on to be a government documents librarian at the North Carolina Central University s Shepard Library and also the head of the Cataloging Department at North Carolina Central University s School of Law Library. Finally, Nicholson settled into her longstanding service to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill s Kathrine R. Everett Law Library as head of cataloging services and finally as associate director for technical services ( ). Nicholson has served as a AALL member since 1982 and has pursued many leadership positions within the Association, including as president ( ), vice president/presidentelect ( ), Executive Board member, and Leadership Fellows Mentor. Additionally, she served on the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee, Nominations Committee, Law Library Journal and AALL Spectrum Editorial Board and Advisory Committee, Professional Development Committee, Special Committee to Promote the Development of Resources for the Legal Information Community, Online Bibliographic Special Interest Section, Technical Services Special Interest Section, and Black Caucus Bylaws Committee (among others). She has also been actively involved in the Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries (SEALL) (also serving as president and on the Articles and Bylaws Committee) and the ABA Law Libraries Committee. Nicholson has been instrumental in other local law library groups, such as the North Carolina Serials Conference Planning Committee. As a result of her many outstanding activities, she received the Kathrine R. Everett Award of Merit from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill s Law Library in 2011 and the Technical Services Special Interest Section Renee D. Chapman Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions in Technical Services Law Librarianship in She also received the Service to SEALL Award in Nicholson has contributed much to law librarianship literature through her numerous publications and speaking engagements via AALL and other regional organizations. She shared her expertise with our profession and as a mentor by publishing two well-regarded books: Celebrating Diversity: A Legacy of Minority Leadership in the American Association of Law Libraries and Law Library System Directory. As one of her nomination letters mentioned, She has also endeavored, through her work at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Library and Information Services, to pass along her knowledge of and passion for the field of technical services. Nicholson was AALL s first African- American president and continues to serve as a role model for law librarians of color. She has also served on many special committees, including the Special Committee to Promote the Development of Resources for the Legal Information Community and the George Strait Scholarship Fundraising Committee. Even now in retirement, Nicholson continues to serve AALL as the editor of the Price Index for Legal Publications. Overall, she has contributed much to our profession over the span of her excellent career, has served as a mentor to many, and has numerous accomplishments that make her worthy of this year s Gallagher Award, our Association s most prestigious honor. Please join us in celebrating and recognizing our three Gallagher Award recipients at this year s AALL Annual Meeting and Conference in San Antonio on Tuesday, July 15, at the Association Luncheon. Heidi Frostestad Kuehl (h-kuehl@law.north western.edu), AALL Gallagher Awards Committee Chair and Interim Associate Director for Research and Reference Services and Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Librarian, Pritzker Legal Research Center, Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago AALL Spectrum June

34 AALL Recognizes Two Outstanding Publications Announcing the 2014 Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Awards By Frank G. Houdek It should come as no surprise that when AALL created its first award nearly 50 years ago, in 1967, it sought to recognize a scholar, librarian or bibliographer whose contribution... is particularly noteworthy and of value to law librarians and to the legal profession (remarks of Thomas Reynolds, Proceedings of 70th Annual Meeting, 70 Law Libr. J. 453 [1977]). It made sense that law librarians would focus on individuals whose work enhanced the legal literature of which they were stewards in important ways. Named in honor of the longtime ( ) and legendary reference librarian of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the Joseph L. Andrews Bibliographical Award soon became the highest honor that AALL as a professional group can bestow (letter from Robert C. Berring [Jan. 17, 2014]). In 2013, the Executive Board changed the name of this coveted recognition to the Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award, acknowledging that its scope now includes not just bibliographies but any significant textual contribution to legal literature and also reflecting the broader concept of legal publications that the award recognizes, including online works. The AALL Awards Committee is particularly pleased to announce the first two recipients of the newly renamed award because they so aptly represent the values recognized by the expanded criteria. The 2014 winners are Law Librarianship in the Digital Age, a printed book that explores the pulse of the profession in the 21st century, and Walter F. Mondale: Spokesman for Reform and Justice in the U.S. Senate, a website that collects, documents, and makes widely accessible important legal and political materials. A Closer Look at the Award Winners For Law Librarianship in the Digital Age, the Andrews Award honors the achievement of its editor and guiding light, Ellyssa Kroski, director of information technology at the New York Law Institute, as well as the many legal information professionals who contributed chapters to this wideranging work, which one nominator referred to as a manual for working librarians [that] has the potential [for serving] as a text book for students studying the field. In her preface, Kroski identifies the ambitious goal of providing a comprehensive guide to ensure that today s law librarians are digitally literate and possess an understanding and awareness of recent developments and trends in information technology as they pertain to the library field. To achieve this goal, Law Librarianship in the Digital Age is divided into eight major parts, including, among others, technologies, reference services, instruction, technical services, knowledge management, and marketing. Within this structure, there are 28 individual chapters authored by important younger scholars from a variety of library settings and perspectives. They cover a myriad of critical topics, ranging from E-Books in Law Libraries, Tablets and Mobile Device Management, and Social Software to Technical Services 2.0, Knowledge Management, and Digital Age Marketing. The book closes with chapters about professional associations, publications, and conferences, as well as The Future of Law Librarianship. Given its wealth of information, the stature of its authors, and the breadth of its coverage, this book stands as a worthy and overdue successor to the two law library manuals whose tradition it most closely follows: Law Librarianship: A Handbook (1983) and Law Librarianship: A Handbook for the Electronic Age (1995), both under the general editorship of Patrick E. Kehoe. It is a must-read for today s law librarian and those striving to join the profession. In contrast to the wide reach of Law Librarianship in the Digital Age, Barbara Berdahl, special collections assistant librarian at the University of Minnesota Law Library, provides a deep dive into a relatively narrow topic as the principal author and developer of Walter F. Mondale: Spokesman for Reform and Justice in the U.S. Senate. And what a dive it is: the website (mondale.law. umn.edu) explores in depth Mondale s leading role in the passage of key legislation that, taken as a whole, reflects the broader legal, political, and social issues that dominated the country during his time in the senate ( ). To do this, Berdahl and her collaborators, Multimedia Specialist and Webmaster Glen Anderson, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections Katherine Hedin, and Circulation/ Reserves Librarian Daniel Matthews, have divided the site into distinct topical areas representing Mondale s legislative efforts (e.g., fair housing, civil rights, poverty, children and education) and his leadership on other landmark legislation (e.g., environment, Indian rights, consumer protection, foreign relations). Each section includes a narrative introduction outlining the senator s contributions followed by excerpts from his speeches and writings. Next comes an annotated bibliography linked to the full text of Mondale s speeches in the Congressional Record, a bibliography of hearings in which he took part, and a bibliography of committee prints and reports issued by the committees on which he served. Numerous photographs visually highlight each section of the website, but they predominate in the fascinating biographical sketch of Mondale provided in the photo album section. While the 32 AALL Spectrum June Frank G. Houdek

35 site s focus is Mondale s senatorial career, which ended when he was elected vice president in 1976, the photo album reminds of his many achievements beyond the U.S. Senate, including his role as attorney general in Gideon v. Wainwright and his groundbreaking selection of running mate Geraldine Ferraro in the 1984 presidential election. With its release in May 2013, Walter F. Mondale: Spokesman for Reform and Justice in the U.S. Senate instantly became a primary tool for those interested in researching Mondale s senatorial career and his role in the passage of key legislation between 1964 and But, equally important, it also established a valuable resource for anyone researching legal, historical, and social developments during these years as the senator s career reflected almost all the major issues of the day. The site illuminates not just the work of Mondale but also that of other key members of Congress and probes into the passage of several important laws in the nation s history, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (prohibiting discrimination in housing) and the Indian Education Act. Congratulations! Law Librarianship in the Digital Age and Walter F. Mondale: Spokesman for Reform and Justice in the U.S. Senate are worthy additions to the long list of works honored with the Joseph L. Andrews Bibliographical (now Legal Literature) Award since its establishment in The 2014 awards will be presented at the Annual Meeting in San Antonio. Please join the Awards Committee and the entire AALL membership in congratulating the winners of this prestigious award. Frank G. Houdek (houdek@law.siu.edu), Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, Southern Illinois University School of Law, Carbondale Why Buy CFRs from Bernan? Stay current complete set priority shipping actual low government nt price! For all 50 volumes visit or call Best Price! Best Service! Best Choice for CFRs! AALL Spectrum June

36 ab Introducing the 2014 Hall of Fame Inductees AALL honors Bredemeyer, Danner, Duggan, and Maes ab By Pauline M. Aranas Four distinguished and longtime members of AALL will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July. The Hall of Fame was created in 2009 to recognize AALL members who have made important and lasting contributions to the Association and the profession. The Awards Committee is pleased to present the 2014 Hall of Fame inductees: Carol Bredemeyer, Richard A. Danner, James E. Duggan, and Margaret K. Maes. Carol Bredemeyer Carol Bredemeyer, assistant director for faculty services at Salmon P. Chase College of Law Library, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, is an exemplary AALL member, volunteer, and leader. One simple but telling illustration: Bredemeyer has served on at least one AALL or special interest section (SIS) committee or board every year since beginning her professional career in 1984! There is little doubt that her example has inspired countless members with the notion that they, too, can be a leader, regardless of job position or title. Bredemeyer s leadership roles within the Association include service as an Executive Board member; chair of the Awards Committee, Law Library Journal and AALL Spectrum Committee, Public Relations Committee, and Publications Policy Committee; member of the Academic Law Libraries SIS Executive Board; and chair of the Reader Services SIS. In recent years, AALL leaders have called on her exceptional leadership skills to chair the Law Student Research Competencies Task Force ( ) and the Special Committee on New AALL Awards Implementation ( ). As noted in a nomination letter, Bredemeyer s contributions to law librarianship and her service through many years as an AALL member, volunteer, and leader have certainly been significant, substantial, and longstanding. In 2004, as chair of the CONELL subcommittee, Bredemeyer introduced the Friday night Dutch Treat Dinners and the Speed Networking session, both of which are still part of the CONELL program. As chair of the Law Student Research Competencies Task Force, she shepherded the creation of specific, measurable competencies for legal instruction based on the Research Principles adopted by the AALL Executive Board the previous year. Under her leadership, the Special Committee on New AALL Awards Implementation developed procedures for several new awards, including the Hall of Fame, Emerging Leader, Volunteer Service, Distinguished Lectureship, and Innovations in Technology awards. Bredemeyer s service is not limited to AALL she is a past president of the Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries and is an active member of the Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries (SEALL). Bredemeyer also has demonstrated the value of law librarians within her own institution, serving as president of the Northern Kentucky University Faculty Senate and on numerous university committees. One nomination letter called Bredemeyer a wonderful cheerleader and advocate for AALL membership and the law librarian profession in general. She inspires and motivates those with whom she works with her dedication and professionalism. Truer words could not be written. Richard A. Danner Without question, Richard A. Danner, the Archibald C. and Frances Fulk Rufty Research Professor of Law and senior associate dean for information services at Duke University Law School s J. Michael Goodson Law Library in Durham, North Carolina, belongs in the Hall of Fame. Danner is an educator, scholar, mentor, and administrator, and he has made substantial and significant contributions to the Association and the profession throughout his long and distinguished career. Danner s leadership positions in AALL are numerous and critically important, chief among them serving as AALL president ( ); chair of the Academic Law Libraries SIS; chair of AALL special committees and task forces, including ones on Strategic Partnerships, Visions of the Academic Law Library, and the AALL Research Agenda; and, last but hardly least, as editor of Law Library Journal ( ). Leadership roles in other legal education or law librarian organizations include serving as president of SEALL, member of the Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools, and two terms as first vice-president of the International Association of Law Libraries. But service and leadership is just one aspect of Danner s professional life. Equally significant is his prolific scholarship. Danner has written (and presented) on topics relating to the impacts of information technology on legal education and the profession of law librarianship, as well as on the effects of electronic publication on scholarly communication in law. His seminal article, Redefining a Profession, received an AALL Call for Papers Award and later was selected for inclusion in The Essential Law Library Journal, a 2008 compilation of influential readings from the first 100 volumes of Law Library Journal. In addition to more than 50 articles, papers, and book chapters, Danner also is the author or editor of several important books, including Strategic Planning: A Law Library Management Tool for the 90s and Beyond (2d ed., 1997); Toward a Renaissance in Law Librarianship (1997); co-editor (with Bernal) of Introduction to Foreign Legal Systems (1994); co-editor (with Houdek) of Legal Information and the Development of American Law (2008); and co-editor (with Winterton) of the IALL International Handbook of Legal Information Management (2012), which received the 2012 AALL Joseph L. Andrews Bibliographical Award. Other examples of Danner s important contributions to the profession include his efforts on behalf of open access to legal scholarship and mentoring new law library scholars. In 2009, Danner hosted a meeting of law library directors that resulted in the Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship, calling for law schools to stop publishing their journals in print and to rely instead on electronic 34 AALL Spectrum June Pauline M. Aranas

37 publication and a commitment to keep the electronic versions available in stable, open, digital formats. And recently, Danner co-organized the Duke/UNC Legal Information and Information Law and Policy Workshop to mentor and support the scholarly efforts of law librarians and lawyer librarians and to further the development of the field of law librarianship. Not surprisingly, Danner s work has not gone unrecognized. He was previously honored with the Frederick C. Hicks Award for Outstanding Contributions to Academic Law Librarianship in 2002, an AALL Presidential Certificate of Merit in 2002, and, as noted, the AALL Call for Papers Award in 1998 and the Joseph L. Andrews Bibliographical Award in And now he receives the AALL Hall of Fame Award, which could not be more appropriate. James E. Duggan James E. Duggan, director of the law library and associate professor of law at Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, has provided distinguished service to the Association, not just over a substantial portion of his membership, but throughout all of it. Duggan has held many leadership positions within AALL. He served as president ( ) and as a member of the Executive Board ( ). But he also chaired the Placement, Nominations, Awards, and AALLNET Advisory committees, as well as the Council of Chapter Presidents. He chaired both the Computing Services and Social Responsibilities SISs. On the local level, he was president of two chapters, the Mid-America Association of Law Libraries and New Orleans Association of Law Libraries. And showing that he is far from finished, Duggan currently serves as the editor of AALL s scholarly publication, Law Library Journal. As AALL president, Duggan promoted two initiatives with longlasting impact for AALL. One was initiating a review and renovation of AALLNET. The lengthy process to redesign the Association s website led to a new look and feel and enhanced functionality to meet member needs. The second initiative was the creation of new awards, including this very Hall of Fame Award which he now receives. Duggan sought to increase ways to recognize more members of AALL for their contributions, including those who have a record of accomplishment as well as those with the potential to contribute in the future. Following his charge, the Member Recognition Special Committee recommended and the Executive Board approved the establishment of several new awards: Hall of Fame, Innovations in Technology, Distinguished Lectureship, Emerging Leader, and Volunteer Service. He also established the practice of awarding pins to members who have 20-plus and 40-plus years of continuous membership. In addition to this remarkable record of service, Duggan also has published numerous articles on law librarianship, leadership, legal research, and legal information in publications such as Law Library Journal, AALL Spectrum, Legal Reference Services Quarterly, and bar journals, to name a few. He has served as a speaker, coordinator, and moderator for countless AALL and chapter educational programs. As one nomination letter notes, Any listing of James innumerable professional activities and accomplishments fails to capture the enthusiasm, persistence, creativity, and spirit that James has brought, and continues to bring, to every professional endeavor which he undertakes. It is with equal enthusiasm that the Awards Committee presents him with the 2014 AALL Hall of Fame Award. Margaret K. Maes Margaret K. Maes, executive director of the Legal Information Preservation Alliance (LIPA), is well known to many members of AALL. She has a long and distinguished record of significant and sustained contributions to the Association and to the profession. Her contributions include active and ongoing SIS participation, serving on and chairing critical AALL committees, service as a board member, as the Association s president, and now as its vendor liaison. Maes is highly regarded for her expertise and acumen in building academic law library collections, and she has generously shared and utilized her knowledge and expertise. Maes has chaired or been involved with standing and special committees that relate to information resources or vendor relations, such as the Committee on Relations with Information Vendors, the Price Index for Legal Publications Committee, the Vendor Colloquium Planning Committee, and the Special Committee on Licensing Principles for Electronic Resources, to name a few. Maes also was involved in the formation of LIPA, an affiliated non-profit group that brings law libraries together for the purposes of studying and furthering preservation of the print and electronic legal record, and now serves as its executive director. Finally, in her current role as AALL vendor liaison, she serves as a liaison to all the major legal information providers, translating the needs and concerns of law librarians to the private information publishers at the highest level. Her work in this area has proved invaluable in facilitating communications among vendors and the law librarian community. As a leader, Maes consistently explores not just the value of law librarians today, but what our value can be how do we as professionals develop and grow to meet the challenges of the ever-changing legal information environment? This is evident in her work as a principal contributor to the Renaissance of Law Librarianship Task Force ( ) and the Future of Law Libraries in the Digital Age Task Force ( ). Maes also chaired the Long-Range Planning Committee responsible for AALL s The Strategic Challenge, During her presidential term ( ), Maes initiated a leadership development retreat for SIS chairs and created a Task Force to Enhance Law Librarianship Education. Maes longstanding contributions have been recognized at the national, SIS, and chapter levels. She received an AALL Presidential Certificate of Appreciation in 2004, the Minnesota Association of Law Libraries Law Librarianship Award for Outstanding Service in , and the AALL Technical Services SIS Renee D. Chapman Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions in Technical Services Law Librarianship in To this impressive list, she can now add the richly deserved 2014 AALL Hall of Fame Award. Presentation of Awards The Hall of Fame Awards will be presented at the AALL Business Meeting on Monday, July 14, at the Annual Meeting in San Antonio. The members of the 2014 Hall of Fame Subcommittee are Frank Houdek, Patrick E. Kehoe, Heidi Frostestad Kuehl, and Chair Pauline Aranas. Please join the Awards Committee and the Association in congratulating the 2014 Hall of Fame inductees. Pauline M. Aranas (paranas@law.usc.edu), Associate Dean, Chief Information Officer, Director of the Law Library, and Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law, Los Angeles AALL Spectrum June

38 member to member Summer is often accompanied by reading time in cars, on boats and airplanes, at the beach, and poolside, so AALL Spectrum wants to know: What s on your must-read list this summer? I don t frequently read nonfiction on my own time, but I am determined to read Benjamin Ferencz, Nuremberg Prosecutor and Peace Advocate Alice Pidgeon by Tom Hofmann. Professor Ferencz taught at Pace University years ago, and we had wonderful discussions about peace and other lofty topics. He is a fascinating man, and I hope to learn more about the Nuremberg trials, which he prosecuted. It s so wonderful to have known a person who did so much for mankind without much recompense or glory. He deserves to be better known. Alice Pidgeon, Head of Technical Services, Pace University Law Library, White Plains, New York (1) How Jesus became God, Bart Ehrman (2) The God Problem, Howard Bloom (3) Death in the City of Lights, David King It s not really what it looks like it just happens that these three titles are at the top of my Kindle list, so I have to read them before I buy anything else. Elliott C. Blevins, Manager of Library and Information Services, Sandberg Phoenix & Von Gontard, P.C., St. Louis My must-read list includes Frank Bryce McCluskey and Melanie Lynn Winter s The Idea of the Digital University: Ancient Traditions, Disruptive Jessica Haseltine Technologies and the Battle for the Soul of Higher Education and Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown s A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change. As digital natives are sweeping the ranks of law students and young lawyers, it s becoming increasingly important for law librarians to understand how this new generation thinks and learns. My summer will be spent following the thread started by John 36 AALL Spectrum June 2014 Palfrey s Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives, trying to gain an even deeper understanding of these young people s expectations of higher education and how those affect legal research instruction and training. Jessica Haseltine, Texas Tech University Law Library, Lubbock One Hundred Years of Solitude, yet again, since our great friend Garcia Marquez is gone. I ve read it six or seven times over the past four decades for its restorative Paul J. Donovan properties; each time, I regard life with more amazement, affection, humor, and tranquility. Paul J. Donovan, State Law Librarian, Vermont State Library, Montpelier I m a big fan of English history, so I m finally going to try getting through Thomas B. Costain s four-volume history of the Plantagenets. It begins with the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066 in The Conquering Family and ends with the death of King John in 1216 in The Last Plantagenets. In between are The Magnificent Century and The Three Edwards. Comedian Joan Rivers considers these must-read titles and says she reads them every 10 years. Good enough for me. Sharon Bradley, Special Collections Librarian, University of Georgia School of Law, Athens Dante s Divine Comedy. I ve been attending a weekly lecture series this spring that only has been addressing about a quarter of the masterpiece, Martha Campos and now I have to read the rest. His extended similes are, well, like beautiful jewels, to use a simile. Wish I could read it in Italian! Martha Campos, Manager of Library Services, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, San Francisco This year I am participating in the Literary Exploration Challenge. The challenge is to read books from 12, 24, or 36 genres, depending on which level (easy, Tiffani Willis hard, and insane, respectively) one chooses. I chose the insane level, or 36 books. This summer I am aiming to tackle some of the bigger books for the challenge: Wolf Hall for historical fiction, The Secret History for literary fiction, and Middlemarch for Victorian. Tiffani Willis, Research Services Librarian, Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu, California Joyce A. McCray Pearson author. It is an excellent book! I will read My Dear Boy by John Edgar Tidwell and Carmeletta M. Williams. It is a compilation of letters that Langston Hughes mother, Carrie Hughes, wrote to him as an adult Joyce A. McCray Pearson, Director and Associate Professor of Law, Wheat Law Library, University of Kansas School of Law, Lawrence Some may recall the scene in the film Goodbye, Columbus in which Ali MacGraw s character and her new boyfriend, played by Richard Benjamin, swim at a cliché-ridden country club pool and pass by a lounging middle-aged sunbather who is heavily made up, easily distracted, and reading Tolstoy s War and Peace. Despite the comic nature of such superficial attempts, I actually believe serious reading can be tackled with a deep satisfaction in the summer. I plan to read Thomas Piketty s Capital in the 21st Century in Arthur Goldhammer s translation. Irrespective of one s politics going in, and without knowing if it really is a seminal, magisterial, heir to Tocqueville s tradition of analytic history as one of Amazon s listed big reviewers states (Jacob

39 S. Hacker and Paul Pierson American Prospect 25 (2014):76), it is not a big price to pay in time or money for the chance to be present at the creation of some sort of watershed. In fact, the non-kindle and hardcover is only $23.97 on Prime. OK, I buy international and foreign law. And what if it does end up in the line of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes? You ve done your intellectual duty and are ready for the faculty lunch. So make an umbrella drink, float along with the dismal science, and then watch Game of Thrones. You do not need to worry about income inequality if you have dragons. Marylin J. Raisch, Associate Law Librarian for International and Foreign Law, John Wolff International and Comparative Law Library, Georgetown University Law Library, Washington, D.C. The book that captures my attention for summer reading is Fighting for the Press: the Inside Story of the Pentagon Papers and Other Battles by James Goodale. Bess Reynolds While my usual summer reading tends to be mysteries and historical novels, this is a title that I find compelling. As a librarian and strong supporter of the First Amendment, I remember Nixon s war on the press and Agnew s nattering nabobs of negativism when I read about the current cases of Edward Snowden, Bradley Manning, and Julian Assange and Wikileaks. The author, James Goodale, is a retired partner at my firm. In 1971, Goodale was the chief counsel for The New York Times when they were presented with the opportunity to publish the Pentagon Papers, the secret Defense Department documents that outlined the U.S government policy on Viet Nam. If anyone has the inside story, this is it. Bess Reynolds, Technical Services Manager, Library and Knowledge Management Department, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York announcements Last Chance to Renew Your AALL Membership The new AALL membership year began June 1. If you haven t already done so, we hope that you are planning to renew your membership, which both strengthens the profession and provides you with essential career resources. This month, a final set of dues invoices for will mail to all library directors for their institutionally paid memberships and to all other individual members. Be sure to renew before August 1 to ensure your membership benefits continue for another year! Following is the 2013 membership renewal schedule: June: Third and final dues invoices mailed out August 1: Expired members deleted from the AALL membership database and access to the AALLNET Members Only Section and Law Library Journal and AALL Spectrum subscriptions discontinued. For more information or to renew your membership online, view the application form on AALLNET at Join-benefits. If you have any questions about your membership renewal, contact AALL Headquarters at membership@aall.org or 312/ next month in spectrum Here s a taste of what you can look forward to in the July issue of Spectrum: Interviewing with Skype Grant writing and law libraries Gen X/Gen Y: transition from caucus to special interest section The 2014 Day in the Life photo contest winners Memorials AALL Spectrum has been advised of the death of Linda Dean. Ms. Dean worked for Nixon Peabody LLP in Rochester, New York, and was an AALL member since She passed away in November AALL Spectrum carries brief announcements of members deaths in the Memorials column. Traditional memorials should be submitted to James Duggan at Law Library Journal, Tulane University Law Library, 6329 Freret St., New Orleans, LA or ed to duggan@tulane.edu. AALL Spectrum June

40 the reference desk By Susan Catterall Q:I was just chewed out by an associate. I m still chafing. It was totally unnecessary, and I m just thankful that it happened via voic . It would have taken all of my self-control to keep from saying something that I would have regretted. What makes people think they have to be right all of the time? I m a reference librarian in a law firm library. Our firm has several offices, all in the same state, and the library is located in the main office. The library staff supports the other locations via , phone, fax, and other types of media. Recently, an associate who works in another office called and left a voice message telling me that she was ing a request. When I checked my , I found that she wanted me to determine the cost of retrieving some court documents and let her know before proceeding. We routinely contract with various services to retrieve court documents and we had already requested a run to the same court, so I simply included her request. It wasn t that I deliberately ignored her instructions, but I was trying to juggle several priorities, and I had interpreted her to mean that time was of the essence with attorneys, it often is. Based on my experience, I did a quick cost-benefit analysis. I knew that by combining the requests, the cost of retrieval would be spread across multiple clients. In retrospect, I see that I was swept up in the moment and I should have checked with the associate. She had wanted to avoid unnecessary costs for her clients and was upset that I had acted without first consulting her. As it turned out, both she and I spoke with my director. (I was admitting my mistake and asking for advice. I can t help but think that she was just ratting me out.) My director was wonderful and very professional. She wrote off the costs to the associate s client but furnished the attorney with the documents. For my part, I called the associate and left a voice message in which I admitted my mistake and apologized. Sometime later, she reciprocated, again in a voice message, beginning with, I feel that I have to say... and taking pains to set me straight. I was speechless. I thought that apologizing, taking responsibility, and remedying the situation would have been sufficient. I think what blind-sided me is that this individual was a librarian before she went to law school and we previously had what I thought was a good working relationship. I guess I was wrong, and this has certainly chilled our working relationship. A:I feel for you. Most anyone would. Who among us hasn t had a similar experience? This is another illustration of when technology is not our friend. This entire incident is muddled by too many voice messages and s and not enough direct, voice-to-voice communication. For instance, see how quickly and smoothly things were resolved when each of you had conversations with your director? Technology s role in our workplace will only increase, and we ll need to learn how to manage it rather than let it manage us. As we process events such as this one, it s always good to ask ourselves what we ve learned. Already, you ve analyzed what you could have done differently. I m certain that you ll remember this incident and that your actions will be guided by it in the future. For what it s worth, I think you handled yourself well. There was nothing else you could have done short of climbing into Mr. Peabody s Wayback Machine. You had already taken responsibility, apologized, written off costs to the client, and given the associate the benefit of free court documents. In other words, you behaved professionally and modeled that example. The associate s reprimand may have stung all the more because it came from someone whom you had held to a higher standard, either as a colleague or (more likely) as a librarian, and I agree that her remarks were unnecessary and out of line. I suspect that someone came down hard on her and that she was trying to redeem herself at your expense. That s only speculation on my part, of course. You can t control her behavior, and she may already regret her words. Put it behind you, and, in your next interaction with this (and other) associates, continue to conduct yourself in the same poised and professional manner. I wish you the best. Susan Catterall (scatterall@ charlottelaw.edu), Reference Librarian, Charlotte School of Law, North Carolina Are you in a sticky situation with a colleague? Looking for ways to discuss advancement with your supervisor? Send your questions to columnist Susan Catterall at scatterall@charlottelaw.edu. 38 AALL Spectrum June 2014

41 announcements Agenda General Business Meeting Steven P. Anderson, President, Presiding AALL 2014 Business Meeting in San Antonio General Business Meeting and Members Open Forum: Monday, July 14, 4 p.m. HBGCC Grand Ballroom C Call to Order and Introductions Steven P. Anderson Adoption of the Standing Rules Steven P. Anderson Adoption of the Agenda Steven P. Anderson President s Report and Year in Review Steven P. Anderson Vice President s Report and Goals Holly Riccio Treasurer s Report Gail Warren Secretary s Report on Elections Deborah Rusin Introduction of New Board Members Steven P. Anderson 2014 Hall of Fame Inductees Steven P. Anderson President s Certificates of Appreciation Steven P. Anderson Memorials Steven P. Anderson Introduction and Remarks of Special Guests Steven P. Anderson Resolution of Appreciation Steven P. Anderson Other Resolutions Steven P. Anderson New Business Steven P. Anderson Announcements and Adjournment Steven P. Anderson Members Open Forum Moderator: Mark Estes Monday, July 14 Immediately following the Business Meeting and adjourning no later than 5:15 p.m. A Members Open Forum will be held immediately at the conclusion of the Business Meeting. The Open Forum provides members with an opportunity to raise questions and discuss issues without following the requirements imposed by parliamentary procedures. Action may not be taken during the Open Forum. Issues may, however, be raised and referred to the president for further action. INSPIRING For more than 100 years, West Academic has been the leading authority on legal education materials. From traditional casebooks, nutshells and treatises to innovative new series and platforms, we are proud to be an essential presence in the legal people turn to you for legal information and insights, look to West Academic for answers you can trust. Where innovation meets tradition in professional legal education AALL members always get 10% OFF. Use promo code AALL10 at store.westacademic.com. For volume discounts, call Visit our booth at AALL LEG, Inc. d/b/a West Academic West, West Academic Publishing, and West Academic are trademarks of West Publishing Corporation, used under license. AALL Spectrum June

42 views from you Share Your Views with Spectrum What views of your library are meaningful to you? Whether it s the atmosphere surrounding your reference desk, a striking scene outside your window, a unique event taking place in your library, or a moment captured on your morning commute, this is your chance to share it with AALL. In order to be publishable, pictures must be of relatively high quality. Digital submissions are preferred and must be high resolution (300 dpi). Submit your photos to AALL Marketing and Communications Manager Ashley St. John at astjohn@aall.org. A snowy view captured in January from the library of Thompson Hine LLP s Cleveland office, which is located on the 39 th floor of Key Tower. This photo shows frozen Lake Erie, First Energy Stadium (home of the Cleveland Browns), and the shadow of Key Tower. There are other interesting landmarks in this photo, which faces north, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on the far right (the glass, pyramid-shaped building) and the Great Lakes Science Center in between the stadium and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (the building that looks like it has on a helmet). Photo taken by Christine Stouffer, Director of Library Services 40 AALL Spectrum June 2014

43 The Hague Academy of International Law / Académie de Droit International de La Haye Print - latest volumes Online Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law - Recueil des cours Recueil des cours, Collected Courses, Tome/Volume 366 (2014) Trusts in Private International Law by D. Hayton, Judge at the Caribbean Court of Justice and Res Judicata and Lis Pendens in International Arbitration by K. Hobér, Professor at the University of Uppsala. March Hardback (416 pp.) List price US$ Recueil des cours, Collected Courses, Tome/Volume 365 (2013) Chance, Order, Change: The Course of International Law, General Course on Public International Law by J. Crawford, Whewell Professor at the University of Cambridge The Hague Academy Collected Courses Online / Recueil des cours de l Académie de la Haye en ligne Features and Benefijits - Content of new courses added to the online edition throughout the year - Online edition is bilingual - Full text search, advanced search functionality - Full text chapters presented in PDF format - DOI at title and chapter level - COUNTER compliant usage statistics Subscribers to the printed book series Collected Courses of the Hague Academy, receive a substantial discount to the online collection. Available since 2007 E-ISSN Purchase Options and 2014 prices Annual Subscription: US$ 5,210 Outright Purchase: US$ 78, Installment Fee: US$ 2,070 For more information, please visit brill.com/haco December Hardback (408 pp.) List price US$ Recueil des cours, Collected Courses, Tome/Volume 361 (2013) The Common Heritage of Mankind: Then and Now by M.C.W. Pinto. Competence-Competence in the face of Illegality in Contracts and Arbitration Agreements by R. Kreindler, Professor at the University of Münster See also: Workshops/ Law Books of the Academy/ Recueil des cours - Colloques/Livres de droit de l Académie brill.com/radc The Pocket Books of the Hague Academy of International Law / Les livres de poche de l Académie de droit international de La Haye brill.com/hapb August Hardback (488 pp.) List price US$ For information on more volumes, please visit brill.com/radi

44 Reason #4 to use new PeopleMap on WestlawNext: RESEARCH PUBLIC RECORDS AND DEEP WEB DATA IN ONE PLACE The Web is full of valuable information about people, but locating it can be like finding a needle in a haystack. PeopleMap gives you access to public records and deep Web data, including social networks, business and corporate data, blogs, chat rooms and other websites all in one view. Choose PeopleMap on WestlawNext and make your next public records search the only one you need. To learn more, visit legalsolutions.com/peoplemap. The data provided to you by PeopleMap on WestlawNext may not be used as a factor in establishing a consumer s eligibility for credit, insurance, employment purposes or for any other purpose authorized under the FCRA Thomson Reuters L /4-14 Thomson Reuters and the Kinesis logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters.