Exhibit Hall Drawings: Monday & Tuesday

Paul Graller and Sally Holterhoff once again gave away goodies on Monday, July 10 and Tuesday, July 11, at the Annual Meeting Exhibit Hall Drawing. From almost 1000 entries, a few lucky winners are going home with prizes. Cheryl Niemeier (Bose McKinney & Evans LLP, Indianapolis, IN) and Roger Skalbeck (George Mason University School of Law Library, Arlington, VA) both won an Amazon gift card. Melanie Sims (Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center Library, Baton Rouge, LA) took home a AMEX gift card. Marian F. Parker (Wake Forest University Professional Center Library, Winston-Salem, NC) won a Palm PDA. Wadad Giles (North Carolina Central University School of Law Library, Durham, NC); James P. Walsh (Mercer University Law Library, Macon, GA); Herbert E. Cihak (University of Arkansas School of Law, Young Law Library, Fayetteville, AR) and Edward L. Craig, Jr.(Cumberland School of Law Library, Samford University, Birmingham, AL) took home iPod Shuffles. Margaret Maes Axtmann (University of St. Thomas, Schoenecker Law Library, Minneapolis, MN) and Jennifer Alexander (Nixon Peabody LLP, New York, NY) were the winners of the Nikon digital cameras. Ann H. Jeter (Jackson Walker, LLP, Dallas, TX) and Ted Smith (North Dakota Supreme Court Law Library, Bismarck, ND) both won Dell laptop computers.

Posted for Astrid Emel.

Rise to the Challenge: AALL in New Orleans, 2007

By Brian Huddleston, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law

AALL has had its annual meeting in New Orleans twice before, first in 1932 and again in 1991. New Orleans holds a singular position in the consciousness of our nation as an exotic, foreign destination located right here on American soil. New Orleans is in the South, but not of the South; it is in the United States but is unique among American cities in countless ways. The food, music, and architecture in New Orleans all reflect the diverse cultural influences that have been mixed together during our city's history. The allure of New Orleans is well expressed in many song lyrics such as this one from Tom Waits:

Well I wish I was in New Orleans
I can see it in my dreams
Arm in arm down Burgundy
A bottle and my friends and me

Typically, little effort is required to entice people to visit our city. But nothing is typical in New Orleans these days. In the sheer size of urban destruction our recent catastrophe is second only to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Almost a year later, hundreds of neighborhoods are still ghost towns and thousands of damaged houses and buildings still wait to be cleaned up or hauled off.

The French Quarter, uptown, the business district, all the parts of the city built on the high ground along the river escaped the flooding. This "sliver on the river" has now returned to a somewhat normally functioning city, and if you stay in these areas you can walk around and almost forget what happened (when we also call this the "Isle of Denial" we're only half-joking.)

All of us in New Orleans can only inadequately express in words the appreciation we have for our fellow law librarians who helped our two law schools, our law firms, and our court libraries, both with your offers of assistance and your words of sympathy and encouragement. We also know many of you contributed personally to the overwhelming charitable response that the nation, and the world, provided in the aftermath of the hurricane. For that we also can only make do with a heartfelt thank you.

In June, the ALA successfully brought back large-scale conferences to New Orleans. Eighteen thousand librarians attended the ALA Annual Conference and the city was more than ready for them. It was a resounding success and was even a top news story. Our appreciation of their commitment to retain their planned venue is second only to our appreciation of AALL's similar commitment to again meet here in 2007.

A more recent lyrical tribute was paid to us at this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. As unlikely as Bruce Springsteen may have been for this annual centerpiece of our city's musical life, his recent incarnation as a re-interpreter of good time "hootenanny" folk music fit in perfectly, and his performance was a milestone in the on-going processes of our healing and recovery. He concluded his otherwise rousing, foot-stomping set with a haunting, prayerful acoustic version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" and included two lesser known verses of this New Orleans standard:

We are all traveling in the footsteps
Of those that come before
And we'll all be reunited
On that new and sunlit shore

Now some say this world of trouble
Is the only world we'll ever see
But I'm waiting for that morning
When the new world is revealed

Please come to New Orleans and help us to continue finding the new world of our rebuilding. Come to AALL in 2007 and bring your spouses, partners, and families. Come early or stay an extra day to enjoy all we have to offer. Come eat our po-boys, buy some beads, get a beer and walk with it through the centuries-old streets of the French Quarter. Have a cool and refreshing Pimm's Cup at the Napoleon House to help beat the heat. Bayona, Peristyle and many others of the city's best restaurants are open, and you can be assured of having a great meal, or several great meals. Just ask one of us locals next summer for our best recommendations.

Music of every variety can be heard every night at dozens of clubs. Some of our city's musicians lost everything and have permanently relocated elsewhere, but many are back and some that can't return still stop in town while on tour. From national acts at the House of Blues to musicians who play mainly on the streets of the French Quarter, there's always good music to be found in New Orleans. Again, ask us for our personal favorites.

The Audubon Zoo and the Aquarium of the Americas are both open, and the John James Audubon Riverboat has resumed river cruises between these two venues. The New Orleans Museum of Art and the Smithsonian-affiliated Ogden Museum of Southern Art both survived the hurricane intact and offer world-renowned collections. The National World War II Museum (formerly the D-Day Museum) has repaired its damage, re-opened, and continues to serve as the nation's premiere tribute to the Greatest Generation. And these are just a few examples of what is available to see and do in New Orleans. More attractions, restaurants, and businesses are re-opening all the time.

People are capable of things they never thought they could do and hardships can only make us grow stronger. We're rising to the challenge and hope that you can come see our progress and enjoy another great Annual Meeting in New Orleans in 2007.

See you next year in New Orleans

Beginning AALL's 2nd Century--Rise to the Challenge!

By Sally Holterhoff, AALL President-Elect

It has been great to gather with colleagues here in St. Louis the past few days—to learn about issues confronting our profession, to network with friends old and new, and to celebrate a landmark anniversary for AALL. Congratulations to all who have worked so hard to make this Annual Meeting an especially memorable one.

Even as our time here draws to a close, plans are already well underway for next year, when we will be heading to New Orleans to hold the 100th AALL Annual Meeting, with the theme “Rise to the Challenge.” This theme reflects the spirit that has enabled the people of our host city of New Orleans to survive a disastrous storm and its aftermath and to begin the process of rebuilding for a brighter future. Their example serves as an inspiration for us, both individually and collectively.

As an association at the start of our second century, AALL's reliance on the energy and creativity of its members has never been more important. Having the capacity and motivation to rise to the challenge in our work lives is part of being a professional. Rising means looking ahead, anticipating new developments, taking the lead in areas where we are the real experts, and standing up to make ourselves heard. Through the next twelve months, culminating with our meeting dates of July 14-17, 2007, I hope to focus attention on the challenges we're all facing in our work lives, in our association, and in our profession—and what we can do to confront them successfully.

One way that AALL is responding to the needs of our members and their busy professional lives is to adopt a new, condensed format for future Annual Meetings. Starting with 2007, the length of the meeting will be four days (Saturday through Tuesday), rather than five days, as has been our previous schedule. The AALL Executive Board made this decision over a year ago, after much study and in response to suggestions and comments from all sectors of AALL membership, and following a growing trend in the planning of professional meetings.

I can assure you that in the new format we've found a way to include our usual number of slots for educational programs, as well as plenty of time for networking with colleagues and exhibit hall visits. Highlights will include an opening event on Saturday night, an opening session with keynote speaker on Sunday morning, and educational programs during the day on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Two events being eliminated are the Association Luncheon and the second AALL Business Meeting. The Exhibit Hall will close Tuesday afternoon and the Closing Banquet will take place on Tuesday night. A schedule for the new streamlined meeting has been developed and will be available on AALLNET soon.

Besides the planning for these changes in the next Annual Meeting, I have set in motion some other activities for the coming year, focusing on the key areas of education, leadership, and advocacy which are identified in the AALL Strategic Directions 2005-2010.

An important area of attention for the coming year is AALL's new Continuing Professional Education program, which reflects many of the ideas generated at the Education Summit we convened last September. A Special Committee on Continuing Professional Education, chaired by Carole Hinchcliff, has already begun working with our recently-hired AALL Education Manager Celeste Smith. One aspect of the committee's work will be evaluating requests and awarding grant funding for educational programs to be held outside the annual meeting which are proposed by chapters, SISs or individual AALL members.

To support and maintain the leadership value of our AALL committee work, I have appointed a Special Committee on AALL Committee Structure. This committee, chaired by Karl Gruben, will be reviewing the current framework of standing committees of the Association and making recommendations to the Executive Board concerning what committees we need for effective operation of AALL in the future.

The Special Committee on Pro Bono Partnerships, a third new group for 2006-07, will focus on cooperative efforts between law librarians and other providers of pro bono legal assistance. Led by Chair Sara Galligan, this committee will be exploring ways to promote and expand these efforts and encourage more AALL chapters and local law libraries to become involved.

In the area of advocacy, we are in the early stages of planning an Advocacy Summit, to be held in Spring 2007. This event will be the second summit AALL has convened to focus on one of our Strategic Directions. This summit will likely focus on a specific advocacy issue and more details will be available soon.

I am so pleased and honored to have the opportunity to serve as AALL President for 2006-07. I am excited about the prospect of working more closely with many of the smart, talented, and dedicated individuals who make up the membership of this association. I'll do my very best to make the coming year a great one for all of us in AALL and I look forward to seeing you next July in New Orleans!

ALL-SIS Presents Frederick Charles Hicks Award to Roger Jacobs

Tuesday evening the Academic Law Libraries SIS presented its Frederick Charles Hicks Award to Roger F. Jacobs at the annual section reception at the Washington University School of Law.

Professor Jacobs recently retired as Associate Dean and Director of the Kresge Law Library at the Notre Dame Law School. Professor Jacobs was at Notre Dame for 21 years. From 1978-1985, Professor Jacobs served as Librarian of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was also the founding law librarian at the University of Windsor and the Southern Illinois University.

Professor Jacobs is past-president of both the American Association of Law Libraries (1981-1982) and the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (1971-1973) as well as the founding president of the Mid-America Association of Law Libraries (1974-1976). He has served on over 25 American Bar Association site evaluation teams and as a consultant to more than 10 law schools. He has been an extremely active member of AALL for more than 40 years, and he has been a frequent speaker on a wide range of law library issues.

During Professor Jacobs' tenure at Notre Dame, he established and directed a law library staff known for delivering outstanding service to all patrons while also building a strong collection. Because of his sustained service to academic law librarianship, Roger Jacobs is a most deserving recipient of the Frederick Charles Hicks Award.

Ed Edmonds, Chair, ALL-SIS Awards Committee