Family Social Hour Is a Real Circus

The AALL Family Social Hour was held on Saturday afternoon at the action-packed City Museum, home of some truly excellent exhibits including Enchanted Caves, MonstroCity, and a three-story slide.

The highlight of the afternoon was a private performance by the Everyday Circus featuring AALL members and their families.

Thanks to AALL and all of the volunteers for making this such a memorable family event!

Centennial Variety Show Tuesday Night

By Kelly Browne

Looking for something to do Tuesday night after the SIS receptions? Come to the Centennial Variety Show! It is free and you don't need an invitation. Ten fabulous musical acts and comedy sketches will perform in the cabaret-style show, which will be held fashionably late, from 9 to 10:30 p.m., in rooms LandMark 4-7 of the Renaissance Grand. A cash bar will be available (not that it will be necessary to enjoy the Show).

The Centennial Variety Show Band, under the able leadership of the Show's Musical Director, Bennie Braxton, has been rehearsing in earnest. The Musical Entourage consists of Bennie Braxton of Sughrue Mion at the piano, Eric Gilson of Rutgers-Camden on saxophone, and Matt Shear (husband of Joan Shear from Boston College) on guitar.  Between performances the Centennial Variety Show Band will play for your entertainment pleasure.

The acts, which will showcase the talents of geographically diverse law librarians employed in a variety of settings, include:

• “The Cell Block Tango,” from the musical Chicago. A very special surprise mystery guest will join law librarians from New York and Paris to portray the six merry murderers of the Crook County Jail. This is a reprise of the show-stopping rendition the Shearman & Sterling crew performed at the Law Library Association of Greater New York (LLAGNY) 65th Anniversary Show in 2004. He had it comin' ...
• “I'm a Law Librarian for the County,” a parody (lyrics by Kelly Browne of the Sacramento County Public Law Library) of “Wichita Lineman” by Jimmy Webb, made famous by Glen Campbell in 1968. Marcus Hochstetler of the King County Law Library will sing in this State, Court, and County Law Libraries-SIS sponsored act.
• “Willie does WestPac.” Join Western Pacific Association of Law Libraries (WestPac) officers past and present at the drive-in as they gather to watch and cheer the antics of their mascot, Willie, as he travels across WestPac country. Expect some hilarious hi-jinks from the Hawaiian-shirted buffalo as the drive-in theater goers (and you, the audience) marvel at his exploits.
• “MARC Fields and the Indicators.” A Greek chorus of Online Bibliographic Services-SIS members will give a dramatic reading of the MARC record of a legal title especially selected for humorous effect, accompanied by the beating of a flat goatskin drum and the strumming of a dulcimer.
• “The LLNERS,” that famous comedy and singing sensation duo consisting of Ken Svengalis of Rhode Island LawPress and Mike Hughes of Quinnipiac University School of Law Library, present “When I'm Not Near the Westlaw I Love, It's Lexis That's Bound to Please.” Join them for this parody (lyrics by Svengalis) of the song from Finian's Rainbow as they banter their way through their thrilling performance.
• The RIPS Singers (Research Instruction and Patron Services-SIS) are planning two numbers, “Fugue for Tinhorn Law Librarians,” from Joan Shear's skit, “Same Time, Next Library,” a centerpiece of AALL's Basic Legal Reference Workshop since 1999, and “Yesterday,” with parody lyrics by Matt Shear.
• “Showdown at the Long Branch Law Library.” The Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries (SEAALL) members reprise their winning entry in the 1989 West Party Talent Show in Reno. The skit features Ken Hirsh from the Duke University School of Law Library as Marshall “Wes Law” in a duel to the death with “Lex Reed,” played by Michael Klepper of the University of Virginia Law Library, and Taylor Fitchett, also of the University of Virginia Law Library, as “Miss Kitty.”
• “The NOCALL Beat,” written by Julie Horst of the University of California Hastings College of Law Library, and performed by Northern California Association of Law Libraries members. Those of you who attended NOCALL's May 2005 and 2006 business meetings in San Francisco will remember Horst's first composition, the “Treasurer's Rap-ort”: We're in the black, and that's a fact.
• “Those Were the Days, My Friend,” performed by a mystery group, the Purple Ribbonettes.

Who knows, there may even be an encore planned. Come and see!

AALL Staff Office Ready to Help

Need to pick up a program/meeting sign? Drop off something for AALL Headquarters staff? Speak to someone who can help troubleshoot a meeting problem? Visit the Staff Office, located in room 122, America's Center. Hours: 7:00am - 5:00pm, through Wednesday, July 12.

LISP/RIPS/SR-SIS Joint Roundtable on Library Services to Pro Se Patrons and Prisoners

Monday, July 10, 2006
10:15 - 11:30 am

"Services to Pro Se Patrons and Prisoners"
Moderator: Amy Hale-Janeke

What role do law librarians play in the do-it-yourself pro se world? How much help is appropriate? How do we deal with pro ses' expectations? Come to this roundtable and share your best strategies and worst reference horror stories. We will include some information about pro bono opportunities for pro se patrons. Additionally, Barbara Golden, the Minnesota State Law Librarian, will discuss the unique "Law Library Service to Prisoners" (LLSP) program at the MN State Law Library, which celebrated it's 20th anniversary in 2004.

AALL Alphabet Soup Reception

One of the nicest events at each AALL Annual Meeting is the "Alphabet Soup" reception, generously sponsored for many years by Innovative Interfaces, Inc., who have been faithful partners with AALL and law libraries. Doors open tonight (Saturday, July 8) at 6pm, with nice, reception-type foods and beverages being offered. It goes till 7:30pm. This year, it's at the Renaissance Grand Hotel, at the Majestic Ballroom A-B.

Officially called the TS/OBS/RIPS/CS-SIS Joint Reception, it's always a great "kick-off" event before everyone really gets busy with the Annual Meeting on Sunday. It's a time to relax and chat with colleagues, meeting new librarians, and spending some time with your old buds as well.

There promises to be much more seating than in the past, and we are expecting about 200. The food selection has changed and we have made some adjustments in menu and food delivery, so that we shouldn't run out of food in 30 minutes. There are two cash bars with a great selection of beverages, plus regular and decaf coffee!

Please come! Be sure to thank Innovative Interfaces, Inc. for their sponsorship of this special event. There will be several Innovative Interfaces representatives there.

Sincerely,
Your "Alphabet Soup" Committee
Brian Striman (TS-SIS)
Step Schmitt (OBS-SIS)
Holly Lakatos (RIPS)
Rob Jacoby (CS-SIS)

Town Meeting to Feature E-Life Cycle Management of Government Information

By Bryan Stevens, AALL Advocacy/Communications Assistant

AALL has arranged a “Town Meeting” this morning at 10:15 a.m. to discuss E-Life Cycle Management of government information. The meeting, G1 in the events list, will be held in America's Center room 130. This informative session should be of particular interest to users of government information from all types of law libraries, as well as law librarians who manage and use electronic federal government information. All interested parties are encouraged to attend. The meeting will feature two speakers, Bruce James, Public Printer of the United States, and Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States. Each will give a brief synopsis of agency initiatives related to E-Life Cycle Management. A question and answer session will follow.

AALL advocates for government accountability in ensuring the life cycle of electronic government information through standards for the development of easy-to-use search mechanisms, providing permanent public access, and authenticating and preserving electronic publications and records.

The meeting will focus on progress made by the Government Printing Office (GPO) and the National Archives (NARA) with initiatives designed to meet their respective missions to “inform the nation” and “ensure ready access to essential evidence.” Both initiatives also promise to meet the electronic life cycle standards set forth by AALL and mentioned above. A policy level assessment of agency progress against its mission will help determine if each agency is meeting the digital information needs of the legal community and public users.

The meeting will be moderated by University of Richmond Associate Dean for Library and Information Services & Professor of Law Timothy Coggins. Coggins also serves as the chair of AALL's Government Relations Committee.

AALL warmly welcomes the two featured speakers for the event—Public Printer of the United States Bruce James and U.S. Archivist Allen Weinstein. Mr. James, making his third appearance at AALL conferences, will discuss the progress made by the GPO in its Future Digital System initiative (FDsys). The GPO envisions that FDsys “will allow federal content creators to easily create and submit content that can then be preserved, authenticated, managed and delivered upon request.”

James was confirmed as Public Printer by the Senate on November 22, 2002. Prior to this, James worked in the private sector where he founded, developed and managed technology-driven printing and publishing enterprises that operate throughout the country and around the world. In April 2006, James announced his retirement as Public Printer to pursue interests in higher education. James plans to remain in the position until a successor is appointed.

In his AALL conference debut, Dr. Weinstein, Archivist of the United States since February 2005, will similarly discuss progress made on NARA's Electronic Records Archive (ERA). NARA envisions a completed ERA will serve as a “comprehensive, systematic, and dynamic means for preserving virtually any kind of electronic record, free from dependence on any specific hardware or software.”

Weinstein's distinguished career has included serving as president of The Center for Democracy, a non-profit foundation that he created in 1985 to promote and strengthen the democratic process. He was also a professor of history at Boston University, University professor at Georgetown University, and professor of history at Smith College. Weinstein is an accomplished author, and has written numerous articles for scholarly journals.

Please join AALL in welcoming Dr. Weinstein and Mr. James.

Conference Registration Begins!

Registration got off to a good start Friday afternoon, with AALL volunteers from all over the United States assisting the Local Advisory Committee with registration duties. Under the watchful eye of Carolyn Weber, registration hours tomorrow (Saturday, July 8) are 7:00am to 6:00pm.

Document Delivery Caucus Meeting

Do you have questions about commercial document delivery or ILL? Are you a document delivery supplier – commercial or law library? Do you use document delivery services and have questions? Do you want to find out what your fellow ILL librarians are doing? Are you in a law firm, academic, court, or corporate law library and need ILL/document delivery help? Are you an independent law librarian who uses document delivery suppliers?

Come to the Document Delivery Caucus meeting on Tuesday, July 11, 7:00 am – 8:45 am for an informal ILL/document delivery discussion. Come with your questions, ideas, suggestions. Check the final program for the meeting room.

Merle Slyhoff
Coordinator

Weather Report

The weather is looking good for St. Louis for this time of year!

High 80s, low 90s during the day and 60s and 70s in the evenings with a chance of rain at the beginning of the week.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/allergies/tenday/USMO0787?from=36hr_topnav_allergies

Exhibit Hall Event: Meet Local Lawyers Who Are Well Known Authors

A new event for the exhibit hall!

Michael Kahn, author of the Rachel Gold series of legal thrillers (Trophy Widow, Firm Ambitions, Bearing Witness) will be signing books at the Left Bank Books booth #329 on Monday, July 10, from 3:00-4:00. His latest novel, under the pen name of Michael Baron, is The Mourning Sexton. Kahn, a St. Louis trial attorney, has been selected for inclusion in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America. See http://snipurl.com/s6th for additional biographical information.

Meet Kevin O'Malley, also a St. Louis trial attorney and co-author of the Federal Jury Practice and Instruction, on July 11, from 1:15-2:00 at Left Bank Books booth #329. He won't be signing books but he will tell you about his next book soon to be published and you can ask him any questions you may have about jury instructions. See http://snipurl.com/stq4 for additional biographical information.

You will also have the opportunity to buy autographed copies of Linda Greenhouse's book, Becoming Justice Blackmun, at the Left Bank Books booth. Her schedule is tight and may not permit a meet and greet session.

Do not forget that you can support Show Me the Books with a purchase for either school at the Left Bank Books booth. You also have the option to contribute to a LBB gift card for the benefit of Vashon Williams 9th Grade Academy or Wellston Central Elementary School. All books and gift cards will be delivered to the schools. Left Bank Books' participation in the exhibit hall is made possible by a generous donation from Greensfelder, Hemker and Gale, PC, with assistance from the Rocky Mountain Division of West Librarian Relations.

Phil Berwick
Associate Dean of Information Resources
Washington University School of Law in St. Louis

Getting to the ALL-SIS Reception and Awards Ceremony

If you are going to the ALL-SIS Reception and Awards Ceremony at Washington University School of Law Tuesday Night, don't use Mapquest maps and/or directions! Mapquest takes you to an area under construction where the streets are closed (the entrance onto Forest Park Parkway from Market St. is currently closed).

You can find complete driving directions as well as general and bus information, at the ALL-SIS annual meeting page.

Intellectual Property Law Librarians Offer Conference Events

If you or your library support an intellectual property practice, if you enjoy patent, trademark, or copyright issues, or if you just want to share your concerns and observations about IP issues with a group of like-minded librarians, join members of the PLL-SIS Intellectual Property Law Librarians Caucus for two exciting events at this week’s annual conference.

Early risers will especially enjoy the IPLL Caucus Business Meeting on Monday July 10 from 7:00 – 8:45 am. Plan to join a freewheeling discussion on issues ranging from recent patent database mergers to potential professional development opportunities geared for IP librarians over a delicious continental breakfast. You are welcome to bring up issues of special concern to you. Meet us in the Renaissance Grand Landmark 5.

Afternoon types can prepare for cocktail hour on Tuesday July 11 from 4:00 – 5:00 pm by joining us at program workshop “60 Key Intellectual Property Research Sites in 60 Minutes.” Caucus members Jacqueline Grossman of Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP, and Julie Watters of RWS Group will demonstrate and discuss the most important web-based resources for intellectual property research.

We look forward to seeing you at either or both events!

Organized in 1996, the PLL-SIS Intellectual Property Librarians’ Caucus is made up of librarians who deal with patent, trademark, and copyright issues in their libraries.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES-SIS

You are invited to attend the...

STANDING COMMITTEE ON LESBIAN & GAY ISSUES
ANNUAL RECEPTION

TUESDAY, JULY 11, 2006 7-10pm @
Union Station's Grand Hall and Balcony - Hyatt Regency St. Louis
1820 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri
(314) 231-1234

HORS D'OEUVRES / DESSERTS / CASH BAR

Fee: $15 per person

GUESTS:

Guests are welcome. Please encourage anyone interested in the work of the Standing Committee to attend.

RSVPS AND PREPAYMENTS:

RSVPs are requested but not required. It would be helpful if you could notify us of your intention to attend the reception by contacting Stephanie Davidson, 2005-06 Chair of the Standing Committee, via email at stephnd@law.uiuc.edu.

UNION STATION:

St. Louis Union Station, once the largest and busiest passenger rail terminal in the world, is now one of America's great marketplaces. Union Station first opened in 1894, but ceased operation as an active train terminal in 1978. Union Station reopened in August of 1985 as the largest adaptive re-use project in the United States. Today, this 110 year old National Historic Landmark of unmatched beauty and elegance has been dramatically restored and redeveloped.

DIRECTIONS:

Union Station is about 1 mile from the Renaissance Grand Hotel and the Convention Center. From the Renaissance Grand, it is about 4 blocks south to Market Street, then approximately 6 blocks West to Union Station. A map clearly indicating the location of Union Station can be found at http://www.stlouisunionstation.com/info/directions.cfm.

OUR SPONSORS

The 2005 Annual Reception of the SR-SIS Standing Committee on Lesbian & Gay Issues has been made possible from the generous contributions of our major sponsors, LexisNexis & Thomson West. An additional contribution was provided by Commerce Clearing House. If given the opportunity, please let our sponsors know we appreciate their continuing interest in and support of the work of the Standing Committee.

Fans of Brave Combo

Brave Combo will be in St. Louis on Friday, July 7th at the Blueberry Hill, located in The Loop at 6504 Delmar; (314) 727-4444. The show starts 9:30 p.m. and admission is $15/person.

If you have not seen Brave Combo, this might be a good time to check them out. They are from Texas and have won some grammys(sp?) and other music awards. Get ready to rock polka!

For band information: http://www.brave.com/bo/

Blueberry Hill is about 8 miles from downtown.

Update on Bloggers' Informal Gathering

Calling all Law Librarian Bloggers, Curious Bloggers and Bloggers To Be!

We will have an informal gathering at 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 10th for drinks, etc. at Kitchen K.

St. Louis blogger, Matt Homann says it is "a cool new space a few blocks from the convention center on Washington Avenue." http://www.kitchen-k.com/information/information-k3.html

Bloggers are invited to meet each other and share their ideas. And, even if you do not blog, you are invited to participate!

St. Louis’ blawgers include Dennis Kennedy of http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/, Matt Homann of http://thenonbillablehour.typepad.com/ and http://www.lexthink.com/, Evan Schaeffer of http://www.legalunderground.com, and George Lenard, http://employmentblawg.blogspot.com/

For more information, please contact Barbara Fullerton at 214-800-4576 or bfullerton@10kwizard.com.

St. Louis Arch...The Film

As a child growing up in Missouri and visiting St. Louis often, an Arch visit was always on our agenda.

Underneath the Arch is a museum, shops, and theatres. In one theatre, a documentary shows how the Arch was constructed. To me, this was a wonder! Find out what happens when the builders get to the top and the two arch ends do not meet...

I would highly recommend this film, Monument to the Dream by Charles Guggenheim.

FACT: The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot catenary Arch made of stainless steel. The Arch is 75 feet taller than the Washington Monument and more than twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty.

And you thought gadgets were only for the kitchen...the return!

Hello all!
We are celebrating our fifth year anniversary and our third program at AALL!

In 2001 we presented our first gadget program at the annual meeting in Minnesota. Currently, we have presented gadget sessions at AALL, Internet Librarian, Texas Library Association, and various regional and local law librarian and special librarian meetings.

For this occasion we will be giving out prizes at each session. Please plan to attend and stop by after the programs to say hello to the panelists!

Sessions
J6: And You Thought Gadgets Were Only for the Kitchen-Returns: Current Gadgets Wednesday, July 12 at 1:30-2 p.m.

K6: And You Thought Gadgets Were Only for the Kitchen-Returns: What's in the Future?
Wednesday, July 12 at 2:15-2:45 p.m.

Panelists

Brian Neale
IT Specialist, Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw

Roger Skalbeck
Technology Projects Administrator, George Mason School of Law

Susan Skyzinski
Senior Librarian Relations Consultant, LexisNexis

Barbara Fullerton
Manager of Librarian Relations, 10-K Wizard

LIPA Presents the OCLC Digital Archive

The Legal Information Preservation Alliance (LIPA) will host a program presentation by Judith Cobb on the OCLC Digital Archive on Sunday, July 9, 11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. in the Renaissance Grand Hotel, Pershing Room. Ms. Cobb is a Senior Product Specialist at OCLC and an expert in digital preservation issues.

LIPA's draft strategic plan gives a high priority to launching a project to preserve critical born-digital materials. The OCLC Digital Archive is one of several services under consideration to provide support for a digital preservation project for legal resources. The OCLC service is standards-based, and it provides a platform to capture, manage and provide access to archived digital content. Ms. Cobb's presentation will give participants an opportunity to review the service in more detail in order to analyze its compatibility for the LIPA pilot project.

The LIPA business meeting will be held on Monday, July 10, 10:15-11:30 a.m. in Room 124 of the America's Center. Discussion and approval of the draft strategic plan will be the primary agenda item.

LIPA is an independent, fee-paid member organization established in 2003 as a collaborative effort to preserve legal information. LIPA's primary purpose is to provide the leadership and organizational structure to ensure the preservation of vital paper and electronic legal information by defining objectives, developing and adopting appropriate standards, creating networks, and fostering financial and political support. Thirty libraries in the country support this collaborative and innovative effort to preserve our legal heritage.

Anyone interested in preservation and the work of the Legal Information Preservation Alliance is welcome to attend these meetings.

- by Margaret Maes Axtmann

Libraries, Advocacy and Technology - Working with Decision Makers

"Think globally, and act locally" - in the context of "advocacy is politics and politics is advocacy." This is our challenge! As members of the library and information community, we are faced with the daunting and unprecedented task of trying to identify and use technology to the benefit of our patrons and to convince decision makers that more resources are needed to accomplish this task.

Mr. Mike Ragen, CALL's VIP, shares his experience on this subject by presenting “Libraries, Advocacy and Technology - Working with Decision Makers” at AALL on Monday, July 10, at 10:15 a.m. CALL invites you to join our members for this program, to be held in Majestic Ballroom H of the Renaissance Grand Hotel.

Ragen is presently the Chief Deputy Director of the Illinois State Library. In that capacity he assists in the overall mission of the State Library to interact with the 4,000-plus libraries of Illinois and foster the relationship of libraries with decision makers. Prior to joining the State Library, Mike served as a policy analyst for the Illinois State Senate and focused primarily on issues affecting banking, labor law, election law and the general operation of state government. Mike holds an MLIS from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Springfield.

From: Naomi Goodman
CALL Past President, 2006/07
Naomi.Goodman@valpo.edu
219-465-7878
219-201-9948 (cell)

DON'T MISS THE ANNUAL PR SHOWCASE

LOCATED IN THE EXHIBIT HALL

Show and Tell Times

SUNDAY – JULY 9
9:00 – 10:00 A.M.

MONDAY – JULY 10
3:00 – 4:00 P.M.

MID-AMERICA ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES LUNCHEON AND BUSINESS MEETING

TUESDAY JULY 11TH 11:45am-1:00pm. at the America's Center, room 260 (check final program in case room number has changed).

MENU is a nice chef's luncheon buffet. If you haven't paid yet, you can pay Darla at the door. Price: $25.57. We will have invoices there if you need one.

If you are a new MAALL member, or a new librarian and are in the MAALL region, and weren't planning on coming, please come anyway and introduce yourself to Brian Striman, MAALL President. We are a great (and fun) AALL Chapter!

2006 Public Access to Government Information (PAGI) Award Winners

Established in 1998, the PAGI Award recognizes persons or organizations that have made significant contributions to protect and promote greater access to government information. The Government Relations Committee (GRC) solicits nominations, reviews those nominations, and recommends from two to four nominees to the AALL Awards Committee. The Awards Committee then makes a final decision concerning the recommending nominees. A winner need not be chosen every year.

This year's winners have distinguished themselves as leaders in the field of legal information by promoting equal access to government information. The importance of public access to government information cannot be disputed. The PAGI Award recognizes this importance. The GRC and the Awards Committee thank this year's winners for their commitment to this cause.

National Indian Law Library (NILL) (http://www.narf.org): The NILL is the most comprehensive and valuable collection of Indian Law Resources available. Access is provided to tribal constitutions, codes and federal Indian law resources. NILL's director David Selden and associate director Monica Martens are to be commended for their commitment to increasing public access to NILL's print and electronic collections. The NILL is funded by the Native American Right Fund and grants.

Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists: Steve is a senior research analyst at the Federation of American Scientists and director of is Project on Government Secrecy. For the past fifteen years, he has worked diligently to reduce the scope of government secrecy, to accelerate the declassification of cold war documents, and to promote the reform of official secrecy practices. He writes and edits the Secrecy News, a valuable and timely email newsletter that informs the public, the news media, and government officials of the latest developments in secrecy, security, and intelligence policies. Catch Steve at the Annual Legislative and Regulatory Update on Sunday at 2:45 P.M.

Please attend the Awards Ceremony on Sunday, July 9 from 2:45 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. in the America's Center Room 230 and congratulate the NILL and Steve Aftergood as they receive their PAGI Award.

Eric W. Young

Check This Out! in St. Louis

This is Jim Milles, your roving reporter from the Check This Out! podcast. Don't be surprised if you see me on the prowl in St. Louis with my digital recorder.

• I will be recording the meeting of the Gen X Gen Y caucus at 5:30pm on Sunday. If you can't be there you can still listen in!
• Throughout the conference, I will be posting a series of short nightly podcasts. A rotating team of friends and colleagues will sit down with me each night for a 20-minute lowdown on the day's highlights.
  
• I'll also try to catch as many of you as possible in the hallways and between sessions to chat and ask a question or two. Don't be shy! If you take the time to talk you will receive a beautiful CTO! button.
  

ALL-SIS Programs Too Good To Miss (But They Won't Appear in Your Official Program)

The Academic Law Libraries SIS is sponsoring two “alternate” programs that will run concurrently with traditionally scheduled AALL programs. Here are additional options for you to add to your conference itinerary. Enjoy!

Sunday, July 9, 2:45-4:00 PM - America's Center-Room 262
What Public Services Should Know About Technical Services and Vice Versa

Library technical services and public services colleagues often know just the bare essentials about each other's viewpoint and work focus. The object of this program, with a panel of people who have worked in one area or the other, and sometimes in both, is to promote teamwork by describing innovative things they have done to bind their two crucial areas into a dream team dedicated to fulfilling the library's mission. Come and contribute your thoughts to the discussion!

Wednesday, July 12, 9:00-10:15 AM - Renaissance Grand-Benton
Harnessing Digital Video Technology

Do you want to hear ideas on how to use digital video technology to market the library to other parts of the law school? Do you want to learn about preserving and archiving your existing videos, including deteriorating videotapes? Are you curious about using digital video technology in marketing your school to the world at large? Are you eager to hear the best methods for incorporating digital video technology into the classroom? This panel of experts will explore the video world with you.

Technical Services SIS: What a Year!

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Amid extensive hurricane damage to libraries, the OCLC-RLG merger, the decision by the Library of Congress to no longer control series, and reports on the dubious future of cataloging as we know it, we've been through quite a year. Fortunately, your TS-SIS colleagues have come to the rescue with an outstanding package of programs, meetings, roundtables, and other events to help us understand and assimilate what's been going on. Be sure to catch our AALL-sponsored programs, but don't miss all the other learning opportunities that TS-SIS is offering this year.

Start out on a light note by sharing greetings, gossip, and war stories at the annual TS/OBS/RIPS/CS-SIS Joint Reception, scheduled for 6:00-7:30 Saturday evening, and once again generously sponsored by Innovative Interfaces, Inc. After a year like this one, we could all use a little down time.

Sunday, a program on transforming technical services librarians into digital librarians (A-5) will feature Carol Hixson from the University of Oregon Libraries, a nationally recognized expert and speaker. Carol will also lead the discussion on law cataloger education at the New Law Catalogers Roundtable from 2:45 to 4:00. Immediately afterwards (4:15-5:15), please join us for our centennial celebration program, “Conversations across the Cubicles: Pioneering Change in the TS-SIS, 1978-2006.”

Other open-to-all sessions scheduled for Sunday include the Preservation Committee Meeting (11:45-1:15), the Preservation and Binding Roundtable (2:45-4:00), the Heads of Technical Services Roundtable (11:45-1:15), the Web Site Advisory Roundtable (11:45-1:15), and the TS-SIS Business Meeting (5:30-6:30). All members are welcome and encouraged to attend!

On Monday, TS-SIS will be presenting a special forum on “21st Century Technical Services: Reorganizing for the Future” (10:15-11:30). In the afternoon, you can participate in a real cataloging hot topic by attending “Cataloging at the Crossroads: LC's Series Decision and Its New Role in National Cataloging Policy” (2:00-3:00). Monday open meetings include those of the Serials Committee (7:30-8:45am), the Cataloging & Classification Committee (8:30-10:00), and the Acquisitions Committee (9:00-10:00).

Tuesday will offer Program G-3 on the transformation of AACR2 into “Resource Description and Access” (RDA), presented by our own Ann Sitkin, Kathy Winzer, and Jennifer Bowen. Also meeting on Tuesday will be the Education Committee (11:45-1:00), Acquisitions Roundtable (5:15-6:15), and Heads of Cataloging in Large Law Libraries Roundtable (5:15-6:15). And on Wednesday you can take part in the Management Issues Roundtable (7:00-8:45am) as well as the very first meeting of the brand-new Membership Committee (noon-1:15).

For building and room locations of all these events, check the chronological and alphabetical lists of meetings in your Annual Meeting program booklet, which you should receive when you check in at the registration desk. By attending them, in just a few days you can learn an awful lot about where we came from, where we are, and where we may be heading!

CS-SIS News and Annual Meeting Events

CS-SIS Grants Committee Announces Awards for Annual Meeting

Since 2000 the Computing Services-SIS has provided a number of grants for registration to the AALL Annual Meeting. The Grants Committee is pleased to announce the 2006 recipients of the CS-SIS grants. Our three grant recipients are very worthy candidates who hold promise of future and continuing involvement in the law library profession. Marin Dell is a new librarian at the Florida State University Law Library, and is pursuing postgraduate study in law librarianship as well. Frank Lima is the new Computer Services and Reference Librarian at Northern Illinois University Law School. Hadi Amjadi is the Systems Librarian at Golden Gate University Law Library, and has been active in the CS-SIS. Please take a moment to seek them out and congratulate them on receiving a grant. Many thanks to the Grants Committee members for all their hard work: James Gernert (Chair), Irene Good, Robert Jacoby, Judith Kaul, Cynthia Lewis, Melissa Serfasss, Bonnie Shucha, and Eric Young.

Don't miss any of these CS-SIS events!

Saturday, July 08, 2006

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM TS/OBS/RIPS/CS-SIS Joint Reception (Sponsored by Innovative Interfaces, Inc.)

8:30 PM - ? Karaoke Night Out 2006
Where: Tom's Bar & Grill, 20 S. Euclid, St. Louis, 314-367-6699. Meet in the lobby of the Renaissance Grand Hotel between 8:30 and 8:45 P.M. Then we will cab over, or take the Metrolink from the Convention Center station to the Central West End Station and walk 3 1/2 blocks. Or meet us at the restaurant later. For more information see http://www.law.duke.edu/ken/karaoke2006.html.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

11:45 AM - 12:45 PM Web Development Committee Meeting. All are welcome!

4:15 PM - 5:15 PM C2: Let's All Wiki Wiki! Creative Uses for Wikis in Any Library with Deborah Ginsberg.

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Business Meeting

Monday, July 10, 2006

7:00 AM - 8:45 AM Breakfast Meeting
Speaker: John Mayer, Executive Director of CALI

10:15 AM - 11:30 AM Roundtable 1: Organizing Legal Databases on Library Websites
How are the links on your webpage organized and who maintains that organization? Are free legal websites commingling with your online subscriptions? Does your webpage organization make sense to anyone outside the law library? If these questions keep you awake at night please come with suggestions and ideas about the effective organization of links and databases.

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM E3: Invasion of the Podcast People: Podcasting for the Law Library with Fred Barnhart, John Mayer, and James Milles.

5:15 PM - 6:15 PM Program Planning Meeting

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

11:45 AM - 1:00 PM Roundtable 2: Web Site Design & Maintenance
Have you found a great new web tool that you would like to share? Are you struggling with a design issue and stuck for a solution? Are you trying to figure out how to attract more hits to your web site or track the hits you get now? Come and exchange tips on effective web site design and maintenance.

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM H5: Managing Beyond the Library: Successful Management of IT Departments for Law Librarians with Fred Barnhart, Penny Hazelton, Filippa Anzalone, and Richard Danner.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

2:15 PM - 2:45 PM K2 : Beyond Google: Hot New & Specialty Search Engines with Susan Boland

PLL-SIS Alternative Programming

There's never enough programming for law firm and corporate librarians, but AALL has given the PLL-SIS the opportunity to schedule some extra programs as alternatives to the official programs at St. Louis.

If any of these programs are of interest to you, please plan to attend:

Sunday, July 9, 4:15–5:15pm, America's Center-Room 260
Creating New Best Practices Through Law Firm Expansion: How to Avoid Having to Circle the Wagons

The trend in law firms is to use mergers as a way to expand their global presence. With over 170 law firm mergers in the last three years, the chances of it happening to you are becoming increasingly likely. Participants will be able to better analyze and identify collection management, staff integration, and reference services issues inherent in law firm mergers/expansions. The panel consists of law firm librarians who have successfully survived mergers and used them to proactively create new best practices within their departments.

Tuesday, July 11, 9–10am, America's Center-Room 263
Marketing 101: Five Easy Steps to Successful Library Marketing

Building on the 2005 program Marketing Schmarketing! Program, this programs asks, and answers, the questions: is a marketing plan really needed? How do you evaluate the success of your marketing effort? etc. Speakers offer five tips they've devised to help any Librarian focus on marketing.

Tuesday, July 11, 4–5pm, America's Center-Room 263
The Butterfly Effect: Are You Ready for Change?

Attendees will analyze which skills and competencies should be developed over the next 20 years and also gain insight in law firm library trends over the next 20 years. The panel discusses predictions of what the next 20 years will hold for law firm libraries based on changes that they have seen over the last 20 years.