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ALLUNY NEWSLETTER

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES OF UPSTATE NEW YORK-

CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES

Inside this issue:

A Taxing Situation 1, 4-5

President’s Message 2-3

ALLUNY Officers

List

2

Editor’s Corner 4

But I Digress... 6-7

Top Ten Things 7

Miscellaneous

Citings

8-9

Something About…

Deselection

10

Technical Tips: How

is Your Library

Handling RDA?

11-13

Will You Be the

Next to Join

Technical Tips?

13

ALLUNY Board

Activities and

Actions — In Brief

14

ALLUNY Board

Meeting

14-16

ALLUNY Board

Teleconference

Meeting

17

Treasurer’s Report 18

ALLUNY Members

in the News

18-21

ALLUNY Needs

You!

22

News 23-24

News from AALL 25-28

Have you renewed

your ALLUNY

membership?

28

Membership

Application

29

A Taxing Situation: good news, bad news, and what we're doing about it by Nancy Babb, University at Buffalo

Although I‘ve been known to agree with the sentiment that the best surprise is no

surprise at all, I will admit that there can be happy surprises. I enjoy, for example,

surprise birthday parties, so long as I‘m not the guest of honor. And who could ever

mind second prize in a beauty contest or getting out of jail free, per the happy surprise

of Community Chest cards in a game of Monopoly? Our recent ALLUNY surprise, alack,

was not of this ilk, and it‘s my sad – albeit ultimately optimistic! – task to share it.

As we settled up the bill for last year‘s annual meeting, we discovered that our tax

exempt form was in the name of a previous treasurer. No worries, there; we simply

contacted the appropriate agencies to have the form changed. And – surprise! We

discovered that ALLUNY‘s tax exempt number was no longer valid. So we settled up

the annual meeting accounts – including tax for the time being – and settled down to

untangle the surprise of our tax status. My guess is that changes in how New York State

has interpreted and applied federal tax law along with natural increases in income have

resulted in our no longer being able to simply take for granted the status that once

seemed static. And now having untangled enough to begin winding up the skein again, I

can say: well, there‘s good news, and there‘s bad.

The good news is that in terms of federal tax exemption ALLUNY is fine; we are indeed

a legally incorporated non-profit 501(c) association. Our EIN (Employer ID Number, aka

Federal Tax Identification Number) is no longer active, but we can obtain a new one, and

once we have an active EIN we can confirm our federal tax exempt status.

The bad news is that we face a challenge in terms of New York State tax exemption.

ALLUNY was incorporated as a 501(c)(6) business league, as defined by the IRS as:

an association of persons having some common business interest, the purpose

of which is to promote such common interest and not to engage in a regular

(Continued on page 4)

Membership Chair

Lynn Fullshire, Life Member

Shoreham, NY

(631)744-7640 [email protected]

Newsletter Chair

Venessa Hughes (see listing above)

Nominations Chair

Laura Suttell (see listing above)

Public Relations Co-Chairs

Melissa Bednarz

SUNY at Buffalo Law Library

(716) 645-2301 [email protected]

Miranda Ashby



Anne Marie Swartz



Vendors & Corporate Sponsors Chair

Timothy C. Hunt

7th District Supreme Court Law Library / Rochester


Webmaster

Nancy Babb (see listing above)

2010-2011 ALLUNY BOARD

PRESIDENT

Nancy Babb



VICE PRESIDENT

Jean-Paul Vivian

N.Y.S. Supreme Court Library / Nassau


SECRETARY

Judy Lauer

N.Y.S. Supreme Court Library / Binghamton


TREASURER

Andrea Rabbia

Syracuse University College of Law


BOARD OF DIRECTORS

J. Jay Deveau

N.Y.S. Supreme Court Law Library / Elmira


Venessa Hughes

Coutts Information Services / Niagara Falls


Cynthia Kesler

N.Y.S. Supreme Court Law Library / Syracuse


Laura Suttell

Phillips Lytle LLP / Buffalo


Everett Wiggins

Hiscock & Barclay, LLP / Syracuse


2010-2011 COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Archives Co-Chairs

Joan Hoolihan

Appellate Division Law Library / Rochester


Robert D. Cunningham


(585)530-3265 [email protected]

Constitution and By-Laws Co-Chairs

Judy Lauer (see listing above)

Betsy A. Vipperman



Education Chair

Jean-Paul Vivian (see listing above)

Grants & Scholarship Chair

Linda C. Dean

Nixon Peabody LLP / Rochester


Listserv Manager

Robert J. Weiner



Message from the President

by Nancy Babb, University at Buffalo

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

I‘ve never been much for making resolutions, especially not at New Year‘s. Too

often the act of resolving ends in disappointment, and I don‘t like to make

promises I can‘t or won‘t keep, not even to myself. I especially don‘t like to

make such promises publically, ensnaring the outcome in anyone else‘s judgment

or opinion. The New Year‘s custom has come to represent for me resentment

at resolutions too often externally imposed. I chuckle to note my kinder-resolve

to be ―Nice‖ rather than ―Good,‖ although I‘m fairly certain that I made no

intentional distinction at the time. ―Nice‖ is how we appear, while ―Good‖ is

what we are inside. I‘ve also grown weary and increasingly wary of the

aggressive post-holiday consumer-driven mandates of manners: Weight loss

plans! Fitness clubs! A gum for all seasons! How could and why would I possibly

buy into anything so stridently sold? I could however weep and would shriek at

the attention to appearances and the implication of attendant inner virtue. I have

over the years

come to believe

with equal parts

cynicism and

sanity that it is

indeed far

worse to

resolve and lose

than never to

resolve at all.

Thus, I have

resolved not to

resolve.

This year, however…

There is something to be said for doing something just because you can. There is

something even to be said for doing anything just because it is all you can and

that‘s more than nothing. It may be the times we live in or the age I‘ve reached

or something else entirely, but more and more I‘ve come to appreciate the value

of doing – yes, anything. Because that is the only remedy, isn‘t it, when you feel

as if there‘s nothing you can do? Do something, just – anything. And you may

be surprised (as I‘ve been surprised) what a great difference even seemingly

infinitesimal increments over nothing can make.


Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

The ALLUNY Newsletter is published on the web at: http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/alluny/newslett.asp

The ALLUNY Newsletter, the official publication of the Association of Law Libraries of Upstate New York, Inc. (a Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries), is

published three times/year in March, July, and December and is provided as a benefit of membership. The Editors reserve the right to make final publication decisions. The

opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Association. All content is copyright by the original authors and photographers and may not be reused without

permission.

Forthcoming issue:s

Issue: Cover date: Release date: Anticipated deadline:

36, 2 July 2011 July 1 June 6

36, 3 December 2011 December 1 November 7

Contact the editorial team at:

[email protected]

Venessa Hughes

Coutts Information Services

1823 Maryland Ave

Niagara Falls, NY 14305-1708

e-mail [email protected]

phone (716) 566-0945

ALLUNY Newsletter Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

Editor:

Venessa Hughes

Editorial Team/

Newsletter Committee:

Nancy Babb

Christine Brown

Judy A. Lauer

Amanda Steinbacher

Columnists:

Ruth G. Balkin

Elaine M. Knecht

Amanda Steinbacher

Everett Wiggins

Additional Contributors

This Issue:

Nancy Babb

Marcie Baranich

Jay Deveau

Venessa Hughes

Judy A. Lauer

Deb Melnick

Andrea Rabbia

Steve Weiter

Message from the President

I found myself starting this year not with grand resolutions, precisely, but a renewed

commitment to following through, to doing – something. Anything. To giving heed to

those little actions that I become too busy to bother with, that sometimes seem too

small to matter. If you haven‘t a lot of money or much political clout, it can sometimes

feel as if there‘s not much you can do; ―Why doesn‘t somebody do – something?!?‖ is a

frustrating question, especially when you feel that you would if you could, but you can‘t.

And there isn‘t necessarily strength in numbers nor comfort in company, if all of us are

at the same time asking that question, and none of us able to turn ―somebody‖ into

―me.‖ Instead of asking why somebody isn‘t doing something, we‘ve just got to do what

we can. We‘ve just got to! There‘s only so long one can bang one‘s head against a stone

wall before something gives; flesh or stone, which is likely to go first? If doors or

windows seem impossible, can we try at least for chinks in the mortar, a chance to see a

glimpse of sun, a little fresh air to breathe?

So, little things. Not resolutions, perhaps, but promises to myself: to be more active

with animal rescue; to give blood more regularly; to embrace other volunteer activities

as they come my way. It‘s surprising how little effort these acts can take, especially when

contrasted to the ―self-improvement‖ projects that provide common fodder for

resolutions. Will-power? Worry? No, don‘t think. Just do. And before you know it,

there‘s some good done, and at least you can say on that day: well, good. The smallest

kindness makes a difference to a dog; every drop of blood donated can help someone in

need. It may not be much but it‘s something – and that‘s more than one dares hope for,

some days. Like that ―dust of snow‖ in Robert Frost‘s poem, the smallest thing can save

the day, some days. Any day. Every day.

Commitment. Follow through. Promises to one‘s self. Does

that sound like New Year‘s resolutions to you? I guess I

should admit it; it does to me, too. Maybe this year I‘ve

learned or am learning to embrace the custom – at least a

little.

Wishing you all a little dust of snow,

metaphorically, that is!

--Nancy

(Continued from page 2)

Dust of Snow

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

--Robert Frost

http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/alluny/newslett.asp

mailto:mailto:[email protected]

mailto:mailto:[email protected]

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

Editor’s Corner by Venessa Hughes, Coutts Information Services, Niagara Falls

As editor, I have the honor and privilege of reading all of the wonderful submissions to the ALLUNY newsletter before

everyone else, even our top notch Newsletter Team. Sometimes my little letter strays from the contents of the issue,

often it provides a taste of what is to come, but it is always inspired by something I have read when putting together

the pages of our publication. This time around, I must thank Nancy for her very inspiring words of wisdom in her

President's Message and her eloquent call to action. Wherever your passion lies, DO something—anything—to indulge

them; more often than not your actions will in turn have a reaction at least equal to the effort you yourself have

expended.

For instance: my passion for gardening. My choice of graphics for the newsletter was very much influenced by, not only

when this issue of the newsletter is published (March, and soon—Spring!) but also by where my brain is at this time of

year—always, really, gardening is always on my brain! Such a small thing, graphics in a newsletter, but my hope is that

someone's day will be brightened a little when they see the cheerful colors and reminders of spring throughout this

issue and that it colors their day accordingly. Similar to how my actual garden seems to brighten people‘s day in the

neighborhood I live in. Our house straddles the West Side of Buffalo and Allentown, a very diverse population—I'd

argue the most diverse neighborhood in Buffalo—and our work in progress is not only a house we rescued from years

of neglect and disrepair but also an adjacent lot that has an old house buried underneath it and was littered in for

decades. I started the gardens last year and hardly a day goes by, even in winter, when a passerby doesn't comment on

them. Truthfully, I didn't intend for this to happen, although it is a nice side effect to all the hard work we've put in (I'll

hazard a guess that your average gardener doesn't pull up shovelfuls of glass, bricks, hitching posts, and metal park

benches every time they go out digging!).

Simple actions that please you may (and do) have unintended consequences—good or bad—on the people

around you. People you may not have ever met or seen before, but who will remember you for your

actions. Carry this with you when you venture out into the world and apply it everywhere: at work, on

your job search, to your book club, at the grocery store....you never know who you'll inspire.

~ Venessa

A Taxing Situation

business of a kind ordinarily carried on for profit. Trade associations and professional associations are business

leagues. To be exempt, a business league's activities must be devoted to improving business conditions of one or

more lines of business as distinguished from performing particular services for individual persons. No part of a

business league's net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual and it may not

be organized for profit to engage in an activity ordinarily carried on for profit (even if the business is operated

on a cooperative basis or produces only enough income to be self -sustaining).

source: http://www.irs.gov/charities/nonprofits/article/0,,id=96107,00.html

Good enough, yes? At the federal level, yes – but in New York State 501(c)(6) organizations are no longer routinely

recognized as tax exempt; New York State currently grants tax exemption primarily only to 501(c)(3) charitable

organizations. There are a number of court cases in which 501(c)(6) organizations filed for recognition of tax exempt

status in New York State – and lost, despite non-profit status and despite federal tax exemption. Surprise!

The good news is that ALLUNY does seem to meet the requirements of a 501(c)(3) organization, as defined in the

Code as:

Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious,

charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or

international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic

facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of


http://www.irs.gov/charities/nonprofits/article/0,,id=96107,00.html

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

A Taxing Situation

which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of

which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise

provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or

distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public

office.

Source: Cornell University Law School, Legal Information Institute, U.S. Code §501(c)(3)

The IRS explains further:

To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized

and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may inure

to any private shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not

attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign

activity for or against political candidates. Organizations described in section 501(c)(3) are commonly referred

to as charitable organizations. Organizations described in section 501(c)(3), other than testing for public safety

organizations, are eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions in accordance with Code section 170. The

organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests, and no part of a section

501(c)(3) organization's net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. If the

organization engages in an excess benefit transaction with a person having substantial influence over the

organization, an excise tax may be imposed on the person and any organization managers agreeing to the

transaction. Section 501(c)(3) organizations are restricted in how much political and legislative (lobbying)

activities they may conduct. source: http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=96099,00.html

ALLUNY‘s activities do not seem out of compliance with these requirements; thus, we should qualify as a 501(c)(3)

organization. It would not be unusual or unreasonable for us as an AALL chapter to seek such status; indeed, our

colleague organization LLAGNY is 501(c)(3). We should be able to make this change without any change to our

existing mission and activities. If and when we are officially recognized as 501(c)(3) by New York State, our tax

exempt status will be reinstated. The bad news, however, is that our articles of incorporation explicitly identify us as a

501(c)(6) organization.

So here‘s our challenge and conundrum: we need to reinstate our tax exempt status at both the federal and state

level. The federal level should not be a problem but only a matter of filing appropriate paperwork. The state level,

however, presents us with a choice of routes, to either:

1. Seek tax exempt status based on our current 501(c)(6) designation, or

2. Seek to change our designation to 501(c)(3), which will effectively ensure tax exempt status.

Currently, the ALLUNY Board is researching to determine what route will result in the fewest surprises for the

membership and the organization overall. We‘re seeking advice and information from (non-fee-based) experts,

including business/community development clinics at the University at Buffalo and our friends at LLAGNY. Ultimately,

we may need to seek the assistance of a lawyer and an accountant – if you are either and would like to volunteer, you

could certainly help the balance shift from bad to good news really radically! Of course, you needn‘t be lawyer nor

accountant for your insights and opinions on these – and indeed any – ALLUNY issues to be very, very welcome;

please do feel free to contact me or any member of the Board.

Anyway, in summary, we‘ve a fair amount of work ahead of us and our bank account is not as healthy as we‘d hope.

Which isn‘t the best of news, but it‘s more than small comfort that at least now we know we can both fix the problem

and set a course for smooth sailing in a no-surprises future. Furthermore, we have more to look forward to than to

dread, including our fast-approaching Spring Institute and networking and communication opportunities throughout the

year.


http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/26/usc_sec_26_00000501----000-.html

http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=96099,00.html

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

But I Digress… by Elaine Knecht, Hiscock & Barclay, LLP, Buffalo

I was born in New York City and began going to the

Queensborough Public Library (http://www.queenslibrary.org/)

when I was five years old. I took a bus to kindergarten – not a

yellow school bus, but a regular New York City bus. The bus

went right past the Steinway Street branch of the library.

Occasionally I would get off the bus to visit the library on my way

home from school. A librarian helped me choose some

appropriate material. I got on the next bus that came to that stop

and made my way down 48th St. to our apartment. (When I told

this story highlighting my youthful independence to my daughter

who was about seven years old, she said, ―But that was in the old

days when people loved children and didn‘t try to hurt them.‖)

No doubt I saw the main branch of the New York Public Library before my family moved from New York City to Long

Island. My father was one of New York‘s Finest (a policeman) and although we lived in Queens, we made many trips

into Manhattan for events like the St. Patrick‘s Day Parade, pay day (this was in the days before direct deposit), and the

Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall. We moved to Commack in the early 60s, when the City of New York

loosened the regulations on its employees, allowing them to fulfill residency requirements in Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland

and Westchester counties as well as the five boroughs.

Our subdivision had only just recently been a potato farm so needless to say when we arrived there was no public

library. There was a bookmobile, which made regular appearances in the parking lot of a nearby shopping center. I

think it was an old bus or mobile home that had been refitted with shelves. You would enter at the front, browse

through, make your choice, and check out before you went down the steps and out the door that was near the back.

It was some time before we had a permanent public library. By then I was in high school, and was able to travel, via the

Long Island Rail Road, to the New York City home of Patience and Fortitude, as well as to the Performing Arts Library

in Lincoln Center. I had my first coffee buzz on the train from Northport to Penn Station, trying to get myself awake

enough to do a day‘s worth of research for a film class term paper on Mack Sennett.

For the past several years, whenever I‘ve gone to New York,

I‘ve seen the Stephen A. Schwarzman building of the NYPL

swathed in netting. The building has been undergoing

renovations, including sand blasting to restore it to its former

glory. And glorious it is indeed. Today I saw it as I perhaps

had never seen it before—gleaming white—but there‘s still a

lot of dingy snow in New York that needs to be ignored so as

to best appreciate that grandeur. As important as the

contents of the building are, the edifice itself was honored

with National Historic Landmark status in 1965. You may be


Photo from Queens Library website

Photo from Queens Library website

http://www.queenslibrary.org/

http://www.queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_id=148&section_id=12&branch_id=S)

http://www.queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_id=148&section_id=12&branch_id=S)

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

But I Digress…

interested to know that the lions were originally called Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, after the founders of the venerable

institution. Then they were called Lord Astor and Lady Lenox. It was NYC Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia who re-

christened them Patience and Fortitude, saying that these were the characteristics New Yorkers would need to get

them through the Great Depression.

I‘m enjoying a few days of R&R here in the Big Apple, visiting my old friend the Rose Reading Room, and the several

illuminated manuscripts that are on display at the Morgan Museum. (This has been a big day for me, as between the

Morgan and a special exhibit of selections from the Rare Book Collection of the NYPL I have seen no fewer than three

Carolingian manuscripts and two jewel-encrusted book covers from the same period.) My daughter made

arrangements for a big city haircut, and I‘ll be dining with her, her brother, and our future son-in-law tomorrow. Our

firm‘s ―Crossroads of the World‖ office will provide hospitality for a few days of library business.

The friends I‘m staying with have an apartment that overlooks Ground Zero. The building of the Memorials is going on

24/7 as the city, and indeed the whole country, prepares to honor those lost ten years ago come September. Here in

New York buildings go up and come down; through them we can remember the past and look to the future, while

keeping our feet firmly planted in the present.


Top Ten Things: A Series of Columns by Ruth Balkin, Balkin Information Services

Some thoughts about being in business, getting started, etc.

A lot of your time will be spent on marketing, especially when you are starting out. Even if you

have a lot of billable hours, allow some time for marketing. This is especially important if you are working on large

projects for very few clients.

Leave time for training and continuing education. When I first started out in business, I set aside time specifically for

learning as much as I could about legal research, the books and the publishers.

Don't expect to do everything yourself. Ask for help. Do what you do best and hire the rest. Some areas to outsource

might be: IT support (If I can't fix it by turning the computer off and on again, I call my IT guy); bookkeeping and

accounting, including tax preparation; writing and editing. Consider what your skill level is and what your time is worth.

Get out and network. Join local groups to start with and volunteer. Get to know people. I've mentioned Rochester

Professional Consultants Network (RPCN) before. I originally joined to learn how to network. I've been an active

member for about 18 years. Now, the only time I miss a weekly meeting is if I am sick or out of town.

Be flexible. What you start out doing may not be the same services you provide 5 or 10 years later. My business has

gone through a lot of changes. I started out in 1978 managing small law firm libraries. We picked up accounting libraries

and corporate legal departments as well. Then came library moves. In the mid 80's we saw the writing on the wall, so

to speak, and started designing training programs to teach attorneys how to use CDs (Lawyers Co-op; Shepard's , etc).

The biggest change came soon after when a client asked us to do research. Now the business is mostly business

research. When someone from RPCN asked us to monitor voicemail while she was out of the country, we started

offering virtual assistant services.

There are a lot of problems and concerns when you own your own business. But there are also a lot of rewards.

Reach out and network with others. Help them and they will be there to help you through the bad times.

Miscellaneous Citings #57 by Amanda Steinbacher, Reference Librarian, Phillips Lytle LLP, Buffalo

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

Resources

Reviews

―What is significant about LISA is that it brings you the intelligence on legislative

action in real-time whenever possible.‖

See: http://tinyurl.com/6y4uapk

● Garvin, Peggy. LISA: Real-Time Monitoring of State Legislative Action. NewsBreaks (November 15, 2010).

―The Government Printing Office (GPO) is phasing out GPO Access.‖

See: http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2010/12/thomas-the-last-update-of-the-year/

● Weber, Andrew. Thomas: The Last Update of the Year. Weblog entry. In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of

Congress. (December 13, 2010).

―[Q]uality control of the metadata in online law library catalogs was shown to be lacking. Errors ranged from five to

eighty percent.‖ –p.609

See: http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v102n04/2010-34.pdf

● Briscoe, Georgia. The Quality of Academic Law Library Online Catalogs and Its Effect on Information Retrieval. Law

Library Journal 102(4): 599-612 (Fall 2010).

Among the titles reviewed here are:

Welfare’s Forgotten Past: A Socio-Legal History of the Poor Law.

See: http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v102n04/2010-36.pdf

● Miller Jr., Creighton and Annmarie Zell, compilers. Keeping Up with New Legal Titles. Law Library Journal 102

(4): 635-56 (Fall 2010).

―As much as his book is about the prison world and the people he encountered, it is also a disquisition on the

library‘s—any library‘s—role.‖ –p.90

See: http://tinyurl.com/4qfa84d

● Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison

Librarian. Avi Steinberg. Nan A. Talese (2010). Reviewed by Mary Ellen

Quinn. American Libraries 42(1/2): 90 (January/February 2011).


Photo from Books 2 Prisoners

Image taken from Creative Commons

http://tinyurl.com/6y4uapk

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2010/12/thomas-the-last-update-of-the-year/

http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v102n04/2010-34.pdf

http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v102n04/2010-36.pdf

http://tinyurl.com/4qfa84d

http://www.books2prisoners.org/mission.htm

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

Miscellaneous Citings #57

Professional Development

Technology

―I know that when I was working in the law library we had plenty of text guides (web pages, handouts, signs, etc) but

not one video tutorial.‖

See: http://www.llrx.com/features/opensourcetutorialtools.htm

● Engard, Nicole C. Open Source Tools for Tutorials. LLRX.com (December 19, 2010).

―Try this: Use full sentences or passphrases as your passwords, which will make them much easier to recall.‖ –p.24

See: http://www.abanet.org/lpm/magazine/articles/v36/is6/pg24.shtml

● Nelson, Sharon and John Simek. Creating Secure Passwords: The Rules Have Changed (Again). Law Practice

Magazine 36(6): 24-26 (November/December 2010).

―While these tools vary in their features and interfaces essentially Web-based project management software is

designed to serve as a central repository for all the critical information related to a given project, enabling you and

your team to work together on the project from anywhere, anytime.‖—p.21

See: http://www.abanet.org/lpm/magazine/articles/v36/is6/pg21.shtml

● Mazzone, Erik. Here, There and Everywhere: Web-Based Tools for Managing Nonbillable Projects. Law Practice

Magazine 36(6): 21-23 (November/December 2010).

―Skilled law librarians will always be in demand; the ones most in demand will be those that can multitask and cover the

business side of the law as well.‖—p.19

● Germano, Michael. Courting General Counsel. Information Outlook 14(7): 17-19 (October/November 2010).

―If you find your library is in a situation in which you have to cancel subscriptions, it is our hope that you will consider

the fundamental areas explored above to guide you during this difficult task.‖—p.10

See: http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_sp1011/pub-sp1011-CRIV.pdf

● Jenkins, Mary, ed. The CRIV Sheet 33(1): 1-12 (November 2010) (AALL Spectrum 15(2)).

―With great responsibility should come great power.‖ –p.13

See: http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_sp1012/pub-sp1012-Directors.pdf

● Norton, Francis X. Twelve Directors. AALL Spectrum 15(3): 10-13 (December 2010).

Copies of articles from print publications cited herein should be obtained through regular interlibrary loan procedures or by

contacting the publisher(s) directly.


http://www.llrx.com/features/opensourcetutorialtools.htm

http://www.abanet.org/lpm/magazine/articles/v36/is6/pg24.shtml

http://www.abanet.org/lpm/magazine/articles/v36/is6/pg21.shtml

http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_sp1011/pub-sp1011-CRIV.pdf

http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_sp1012/pub-sp1012-Directors.pdf

Something About … Deselection by Everett Wiggins, Hiscock & Barclay, LLP, Syracuse

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

Most of us became librarians because we love books—love reading them, buying them, discussing them—collecting

them and, eventually, realizing we have too many of them. Acquisitions are the most exciting part of librarianship, after

all, and there is always something missing from a collection, but at some point we just run out of shelf space.

We encountered this problem while I was at the University of

Michigan‘s Undergraduate Library (the UgLi, and an appropriate

abbreviation if you‘ve seen the building). When built, the UgLi was

intended to be a model collection for any undergraduate institution,

consisting of the 100,000 most important titles. This wasn‘t an

arbitrary number, but one based on the average holdings of a typical

liberal arts college and meant to ensure that, no matter an

institution‘s size, it would provide an appropriate collection for a solid

education; if a UMich student needed more, he could walk next door

to peruse the five-million plus volumes in the Graduate Library. Yet

after fifty years, during which acquisition librarians tried to maintain

currency and relevancy of their collections, the UgLi was now stuffed

to over-flowing, with closer to 300,000 volumes in the catalogue.

My assignment was developing criteria for our student shelvers to apply in an initial pass through the collection. Books

culled at this stage would get several additional screenings; only those rejected at every step would ultimately be

discarded. For the students, we wanted easy, binary choices. We had originally selected all of these titles, so quality

was no concern—but currency and usage were: we wanted only the most current, and most requested, material. To

achieve this, I built a decision tree, with any ‗yes‘ answer meaning a book stayed on the shelf.

The questions: is the book less than ten years old? If no, open the book. Has it been checked out in the past two

years? If no, has it been on course reserves in the past five years? If no, place it on the culling cart for additional

screening. These three questions address the currency and perceived value of each item, bringing those which are

questionable to light.

Next, subject librarians examined the culled items to insure that nothing of seminal importance, the absence of which

could compromise a collection‘s credibility, was up for withdrawal. After that, students checked remaining titles

against the University catalogue; any unique titles, with no other holdings, were immediately transferred to the

Graduate Library. Books still marked for weeding were then corralled in a holding

pen, where selectors from other University libraries had the option of claiming

them for transfer. Only if rejected at every step of the process would a book

finally make it to the University book sale, then finally the recycle bins behind the

loading dock where, after dark, some sad student might go digging for treasure.

A law library—even an academic one—is of course very different from the UgLi.

For starters, most of our clients wear more than pajamas when they visit. But the

lessons are transferable: when weeding, objectives must be clear; non-arbitrary

criteria must be developed to support them; all potentially-affected clientele must

be considered. The UgLi was only interested in the monograph collection; we

have additional considerations, as well. How do print materials relate to, or

duplicate, digital collections? Are we comfortable leasing information via

databases, or do we need an archival print copy? What can we afford, and what

do we do about print material no longer kept current? Each answer is part of the

decision and each decision deserves consideration, because mistakes can‘t be un-

shredded.

Photo from University of Michigan

Image taken from Creative Commons

http://www.engin.umich.edu/caen/computers/shapiro.html

Technical Tips: How is your library handling RDA? by Guest Columnist Venessa Hughes

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

As of this writing, RDA has not yet gone live in the library community, in fact, it hasn‘t yet been decided if it will be

adapted in the future. Meanwhile webinars abound, debate ensues on a variety of list-servs, and test records keep

appearing in OCLC, the Library of Congress, and a number of other libraries who agreed to participate in the testing

period. A list of all of the test libraries can be found here.

At my organization, we‘re not yet working with RDA records, although we have purchased a subscription to the

toolkit and are encouraged to familiarize ourselves with it. Since we provide records to a number of different

institutions, we are kind of in limbo, waiting to see if they want RDA records provided to them. A few, so far, have

indicated they will accept the RDA test records, the rest are being provided with AACR2 records. To date, we‘ve

attended five webinars, but not having the experience of creating the RDA records ourselves, it‘s personally hard to

get a feel for, well, how I feel about RDA.

So it‘s hard for me to discuss what I do and do not like about RDA, since I‘ve only seen and tried to study the test

records—I don‘t feel that I have the necessary experience to qualify any criticism I have of RDA. However, what I most

conclude out of the webinars I‘ve attended is that it seems as if the arbitrariness of what may or may not be included in

a record, depending on the judgment of the cataloguer (and, perhaps, the kind of day they are having) might lead to

great inconsistency among records in even just one large library‘s catalogue.

It is beyond the scope of this publication, and, again, my experience, to provide a thorough analysis of even the basics

of RDA, although past articles by guest columnist Ellen McGrath have given us thorough examinations of a variety of

webinars available for interested cataloguers and librarians (thank you, Ellen!). If you haven‘t yet viewed any test

records for yourself, there are a few ways you can. If you wish to view them in OCLC‘s database, use the command

line search = dx:rda . Don‘t have access to OCLC? As of mid-February, the Library of Congress has nearly 4,000 test

RDA records available for viewing. From LC‘s basic search screen, type 040e rda in the search type box and select the

expert search option as the search type.


http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/rda/test-partners.html

Technical Tips

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

Sample RDA test record:

Here is a comparison between an AACR2 record and an RDA record for the same title.

AACR2:



Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

Will You Be the Next to Join Technical Tips?

Enthralled by the fast-paced and glamorous exciting world of technical services? Sure, we all are. But only YOU can

become the next columnist for Technical Tips.

Wikipedia spares merely three sentences on ―library technical services,‖ dourly defined as ―the processing and

maintenance of a library's physical collection‖ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Library_technical_services). You know that it is so much more — meriting not only

sentences but three columns a year. You think about it. You live it. Why not share it

here? Feeling daunted? Consider contributing one column a year, sharing the space

with two other rotating columnists.

Still nervous about taking on the proud mantle of full-time columnist? Then just try out

the role, as a guest columnist. The editors — nay, the readership — nay, the world! —

will welcome your contributions, and we think you‘ll be glad you did.

Technical Tips

RDA:

What about you? How is your institution handling RDA? Have you implemented it, do you like it? Share your thoughts on RDA in

the next newsletter!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_technical_services

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_technical_services

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

ALLUNY Board Meeting ALLUNY Board Meeting

Appellate Division Library, Rochester, NY

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Present: President Nancy Babb, Vice-President/President-Elect Jean-Paul Vivian, Treasurer Andrea Rabbia, Board

Members Cindy Kesler, Jay Deveau and Everett Wiggins. Telephonic attendance for portions of meeting: Secretary

Judy Lauer.

The meeting was called to order at 10:25 a.m.

The minutes of the October 2010 meeting were approved (Kesler, Vivian).

No requests to amend printed agenda.

Treasurer:

Rabbia reported ending bank balance of $3,036.61. She requested clarification of some entries based upon records

inherited from the previous treasurer. Report subsequently approved via email vote on January 19-20, 2011. It was

agreed that chapter contribution to Andrew Kloc benefit still needed to be issued. It was also agreed that follow-up

inquiries on sponsorship deposits to 2010 Annual Meeting be made to Timothy Hunt.

Committee Reports:

Archives: Robert Cunningham reported that committee work is to begin next month. He indicated the

current repository is a work room within the Appellate Division Law Library. The current

collection includes a wide array of different items accumulated from a number of past conferences.

The committee will weed the collection as necessary and pass along any items which may be useful

for future conferences. Committee work will continue to build upon work already completed by

Steve Weiter. Cunningham raised question as to availability of a print directory to be included for

historical purposes. Babb indicated current directory format does allow for print version to be

distributed to life members and archives. Kesler indicated willingness for herself and Lauer to

assist with archival review in Rochester. Babb offered assistance in digitizing photographs.

Constitution & Bylaws: No report.


ALLUNY Board Actions and Activities — In Brief

Following meetings and discussions, the Board has agreed upon the following actions:

to pursue re-recognition of tax exempt status at both federal and New York State level, including notification to

members and timely progress reports

to hold Spring Institute 2011 as usual (date: April 29) to hold a two-day annual meeting in fall 2011 rather than the traditional three-day meeting

to finalize updates to ALLUNY Operations Manual and make available on the ALLUNY website

to change ALLUNY members-only password and print copy of membership directory by March 15, 2011 ● to provide print copy of membership directory to ALLUNY life members (if desired), to ALLUNY Archives, and

to HeinOnline (for electronic archives)

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

ALLUNY Board Meeting

Grants & Scholarships: No report.

Education: Vivian indicated Spring Institute and Annual Meeting information would be discussed as New

Business.

Listserv: No report.

Membership: No report.

Newsletter: Written report submitted by Hughes. No official news to report however article submissions are

always welcome. Still attempting to find a Technical Tips columnist.

Nominations: No report.

Public Relations: No report.

Vendors & Corporate Sponsorships: No report.

Website: Membership inquiry to be issued to obtain suggestions for possible website revisions. Membership

renewal deadline will be used to update password access to member only sections.

Old Business:

2010 Annual Meeting at Rensselaerville was a success. Positive review of facilities and programs. Costs exceeded

projections.

New Business:

ALLUNY Operating Manual

General agreement that manual guidelines are not always in line with past practices and therefore some content

updating may be appropriate. Request for Officers, Board Members and Committee Chairs to review sections to

propose changes to better align contents with past practices. Lauer volunteered to forward relevant portions of

Manual to Committee Chairs for their review. Proposed date of February 3 or 4 to hold conference call to

discuss. Vivian proposed submission of possible changes via email prior to conference call. Motion to add Listserv

entry to Operating Manual (Wiggins, Kesler). Motion to empower President to provide annual membership roster

to Listserv Chair to update system (Wiggins, Vivian). Need to determine status of ALLUNY Meeting Manual as

provided by Weiter (remain separate document or incorporate into Operating Manual). Possible updates to

Meeting Manual available from Suttell.

ALLUNY Tax Status

Previously used federal and state tax identification numbers are not currently recognized. Babb has met and plans

further consultation with the Community Economic Development Clinic at UB. Rabbia suggested contacting

LLAGNY to determine their operational tax status. Babb indicated she would make those inquiries. Chapter

needs to establish an address of record. Babb has approached Voisinet with possibility of using Appellate Division

Law Library address. Forms and annual returns will need to be completed to resolve tax status problem. No

substantial chapter expenses are foreseen to complete this process. Motion to table discussion for later review



Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

ALLUNY Board Meeting

and updates (Wiggins, Vivian).

Treasury Updates

Board agreed that chapter check signers be limited to President, Vice-President and Treasurer. Board also

approved purchase of self-inking stamp.

ALLUNY Audit

Two people needed to complete long over-due chapter audit. Kesler and Wiggins offered to volunteer for that

project. Date of such audit will be decided at another time. Babb proposed that a separate line item be created to

reflect allocation to grants and scholarship fund. Agreed to set committee budget in May after membership

deadline.

2011 Spring Institute

Vivian proposed return to Syracuse University College of Law to host session. Favored date appears to be May 6.* Vivian will contact French to determine space availability. Vivian proposed topic of digital ownership and archiving.

Topic received favorable support. (*revised to April 29 after meeting)

2011 Annual Meeting

Location set as Binghamton Holiday Inn for dates of 9/29 - 10/2. Discussion about contract including block of 30

rooms although contract language appears to release any unbooked rooms prior to set date with no financial

obligation for the chapter. Vivian proposed meeting theme of ―Librarian‘s Toolkit‖. Agreed that this theme allows

for wide range of programming. Deveau put forward need for practical programming to allow wider range of

membership to attend with employer support. Also suggested need for programming of interest to the technical

services community. (Subsequent Board email conversation introduced major concerns about availability of funding

for future annual meetings particularly in light of current treasury balance.)

2012 Annual Meeting

In light of recent annual meeting locations, Buffalo/Western New York has been suggested as an appropriate locale.

Babb, Suttell and Knecht may scout out possible facilities.

2013 Annual Meeting

Utica has been suggested as possible location. ALLUNY has not recently been held in this city. It provides easy

accessibility along with affordable facilities. Kesler indicated a willingness to contact possible hotels in the area.

Next Board Meeting Date

Tentatively set as May 6* at Spring Institute. (*revised to April 29)

The meeting was adjourned at 12:57 p.m. (Vivian, Kesler)

Submitted by Jay Deveau, Board Member


Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

ALLUNY Board Teleconference Meeting ALLUNY Board Teleconference Meeting

Friday, February 4, 2011

Present: President Nancy Babb, Vice-President/President-Elect Jean-Paul Vivian, Secretary Judy Lauer, Treasurer

Andrea Rabbia, Board Members Jay Deveau, Cindy Kesler, and Everett Wiggins.

Not-present: Past-President Laura Suttell and Newsletter Editor Venessa Hughes.

The meeting was called to order at 10:08 a.m.

Fiscal Issues:

2011 Annual Meeting: A discussion regarding the 2011 Annual Meeting took place. Given the Association‘s

limited financial resources and the unlikelihood of increased corporate sponsorship, Lauer proposed the

possibility of reducing the usual Friday-Sunday Meeting to a one day event much like the Spring Institute. After

much discussion the Board decided to compromise and reduce the event to Friday-Saturday with the banquet

will being held Friday evening and the business meeting taking place Saturday. Other economical actions will be

taken as well. Lauer will contact the venue and ask for a revised contract.

Tax-Exempt Status: Babb explained the situation regarding the NYS tax-exempt status. Although our

Federal exempt status is fine, NYS laws have changed over the years so that our 501(c)(6) business

organization status no longer allows us to be tax exempt. The Board agreed that the Federal status should be

amended so that we can move forward with changing the NYS status to a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Babb will pursue this as well as prepare an explanatory piece for the ALLUNY Newsletter.

ALLUNY Operating Manual:

The Board went through the ALLUNY Operating Manual and made several changes. The final draft will be emailed

to the Board by the Secretary as soon as possible and, upon approval, uploaded to the Members Only section of the

ALLUNY website.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m. (Wiggins, Kesler).

Submitted by Judy Lauer

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

Treasurer’s Report ALLUNY Board Meeting

Jan. 18, 2011 – 10 a.m.

Appellate Division Library, Rochester NY

Treasurer‘s Report – ALLUNY Board Meeting - 1/18/2011

Balance on 10/08/2010 (from the bank’s statement) $23,288.16

Expenditures

Deposits

Submitted by Andrea Rabbia, Treasurer

2010 Annual Meeting Center cost $- 20,834.76

Service Charge for Account -1.09

2010 Annual Meeting reimbursements (Bednarz, Suttell) -94.70

2010 Annual Meeting refund (Wantuch) -100.00

2011 AALL Insurance -121.00

Deveau Spirit Award to LASNNY -100.00

Subtotal of Expenditures - $21,251.55

Sponsorship check from UB & Lexis (for Annual Meeting Dinner) $1000.00

Subtotal of Deposits + $1000.00

Ending Balance on January 2011 bank statement

(of which $230 is for the Grant/Scholarship fund)

+$3,036.61

ALLUNY Members in the News

A new data model for U.S. federal legislative information provided by the Library of Congress (LC) will be developed

by The Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell University Law School, led by director and co-founder Thomas R.

Bruce, according to an announcement on the LII Announce blog, http://bit.ly/gjLiHK .

This model will contribute to LC's ongoing effort to improve access to its rich collections of legal information.

Joining LII on the project will be metadata expert Diane Hillmann (former ALLUNY member from Cornell Law Library) and

her team at Metadata Management Associates, and John Joergensen, creator of the Rutgers Camden digital law library.

For more information, please see the announcement: http://bit.ly/gjLiHK .

— Robert Richards

Submitted by Judy Lauer

http://bit.ly/gjLiHK

http://bit.ly/gjLiHK

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

Former SUNY Buffalo Law Library Director (1961-63) and former ALLUNY member Morris Cohen, Professor

Emeritus of Law at Yale has passed away. Though he has been gone from ALLUNY for a long time, many of us have

met, known, and respected Morris for his work and his dedication to the field.

His official Yale bio is at http://www.law.yale.edu/faculty/cohenbio.htm

Submitted by Steve Weiter


Currently the University at Buffalo Charles B. Sears Law Library has a display honoring Morris Cohen,

and his life and work. Enjoy these images from the display.

All images © Nancy Babb. Photos may not be used without permission.

http://www.law.yale.edu/faculty/cohenbio.htm

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011


Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

ALLUNY Needs You!

ALLUNY Needs You … to help develop a career information section for the ALLUNY website

There can be many different career opportunities in law librarianship. There are different types of libraries and

different types of jobs, with varying routes to and requirement for each.

In an ideal world, there would be numerous job opportunities available throughout ALLUNY territory, and our Job

Postings page http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/alluny/jobs.asp would be ever-rewarding. Although we may not

always have many jobs to offer, perhaps we members of ALLUNY can at least offer helpful job information,

specifically for those seeking law library and related opportunities in New York State.

Would you be interested in helping to provide, organize, and present (on the website and in other forums as

desired) this information? Some ideas to get started might include:

1. identification of different employment options, such as: types of libraries/work places (academic, court, firm, public, etc.) types of jobs (reference, technical services, solo) 2. descriptions of / suggestions for required education, training, examinations, etc. and best practices; the "how

to" section 3. links and references

4. [your ideas here]

Please contact Nancy Babb at [email protected] if you are interested -- and please let me know, too, if you would

be willing to serve as primary contact on this project.

Submitted by Nancy Babb

Help Improve the ALLUNY Website

The organization of the ALLUNY website has not

changed in quite a while, and I fear that our navigation

has grown unruly. Do you have any suggestions for how

to better organize the content? Can you suggest ways in

which our menu might be shortened, perhaps revising

from one long list on the left side to a shorter list with

sub-menus across the top? Are there things that you

dislike or find difficult about the website? Do you have

any suggestions for how it might be made more useful or

easier to use?

With the new standards of HTML5 now available, I‘ve

been thinking about making some changes to the

ALLUNY website, so it seems a grand time to implore

your help and advice. Please do share! I‘m especially

eager to simplify the navigational menus, although all

suggestions are welcome.

Send your ideas to: [email protected]

Submitted by Nancy Babb

Go where,

now?

http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/alluny/jobs.asp

mailto:[email protected]


Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

News

Choice Magazine has selected HeinOnline‘s World Constitutions Illustrated: Contemporary & Historical Documents &

Resources for inclusion on the Outstanding Academic Title list for 2010. World Constitutions Illustrated was released

in April of 2010 and was HeinOnline‘s first library presented in the new platform that brings together documents,

books, articles, bibliographic references, and web sites all related to a subject area in one database.

Choice‘s Outstanding Academic Titles are considered to be the ―best of the best‖ and works are chosen based

upon excellence in scholarship and presentation, and significance in contribution to the field of study. Of the more

than 25,000 titles submitted to Choice for review in 2010, just over 9% were reviewed and less than 3% were

selected as an Outstanding Title.

Reviewed by Choice earlier this year, World Constitutions Illustrated focuses on the constitutional and political

development of every country in the world. Every country includes the current constitution in its original language

format, commentary about the constitutional development, reference books about the development of government,

direct links to specific chapters within the classic constitutional books, links to scholarly articles that discuss the

constitutional and political development of the country, links to online sources that directly relate to the constitution

or the government, and a bibliography of other select constitutional works. The Choice review appeared in the

October 2010 issue of CHOICE.

This platform bolsters one of HeinOnline‘s primary objectives. Jefri Ruchti, Lead Editor on the project,

explains, ―A guiding objective of the existing libraries in HeinOnline is to provide a modern approach to legal history.

World Constitutions Illustrated is designed in that spirit, to preserve and present that heritage.‖ He goes on to say,

―Its ambition is to present a complete constitutional hierarchy for every country. The primary documentary history

has a concurrent partner: the publishing history. This continuing sequence of editions, translations and commentaries


The New York State Working Group to Ensure Access to Electronic Legal Information could use your help!

We‘re a group of about 15 volunteer members from academic, government, law firm, and court law libraries

assembled in support of the advocacy effort of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Government

Relations Office to ensure free, permanent public access to authentic online legal information on government

websites. Similar groups exist throughout the states. Our groups are compiling a national inventory of primary legal

materials at state, county and municipal levels of the three branches of government. Our deadline is June 2011.

Our members have assumed responsibility for entering data associated with various primary legal resources into a

spreadsheet that serves as our inventory. Members enter data into a form segregated into jurisdictional areas for

state, county and municipal resources. When a form is completed and submitted, the spreadsheet is automatically

updated with its data.

While we‘re making progress in identifying and describing the primary legal resources at the state level, we have a

very long way to go – for example, 62 counties and a host of municipalities throughout the state! We welcome

anyone interested in joining us in this project. Volunteers may become a formal group member or may make a single

form entry – all contributions are appreciated!

Links to AALL Government Relations Office project details, to our state inventory spreadsheet, to the forms and to

other resources can be found on our New York Legal Inventory website https://sites.google.com/site/

nylegalinventory.

Please contact Deb Melnick at [email protected] if you‘d like additional information.

Submitted by Deb Melnick

https://sites.google.com/site/nylegalinventory

https://sites.google.com/site/nylegalinventory


Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

News

has run for years, decades and even centuries after some of the subject documents themselves have lost their force.‖

World Constitutions Illustrated brings historical constitutional documents back to life in a digital form and presents

them in an image-based PDF format to preserve their original form. World Constitutions Illustrated is still in its infancy

and will only continue to grow. HeinOnline is seeking the help of the legal scholar community and asking scholars from

all around the world to contribute to the project. With contributions from libraries, organizations, scholars, and

constitutional law experts, the goal is to fill in the constitutional history by providing every constitutional document,

commentary and supporting resource for every country. Since the release of the library, HeinOnline has had a number

of contributions. Mr. John P. Zangwa, a lecturer from Zambia in Southern Africa; Jootaek Lee, Reference Librarian and

Assistant Professor at the University of Miami; Richard Albert, Assistant Professor at Boston College Law School;

Kaydian Smith, a legislative counsel to Parliament in Kingston; Cheryl Saunders, Laureate Professor and Director of

Studies at the University of Melbourne; Branko Smerdel, professor of Constitutional Law and Comparative

Government at the University of Zagreb Law Faculty in Croatia; Frank Hendrickx, Deputy-Clerk of the Standing

Committee on the Interior and Kingdom Relations for the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament, and

Clerk of the Credentials Committee and of the Parliamentary Contact Group Germany; Suzie Navot, Associate

Professor at the Law School – College of Management Academic Studies, Reshon LeZion, Israel; Dr. Kevin Tan Yew

Lee, director of Equilibrium Consulting Pte. Ltd., President of the Singapore Heritage Society, and Chairman of the

Foundation for the Development of International Law in Asia; the University at Buffalo; D‘Angelo Law Library at

University of Chicago; Robert S. Marx Law Library at University of Cincinnati; Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU);

Organization of American States (OAS); Buffalo Erie County Public Library; and the United Nations Dag Hammarskjold

Library have all contributed. It is this type of collaboration that HeinOnline hopes to foster to continue building upon

the framework of the project.

“We are honored that HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated is part of the Choice Outstanding Academic Titles

list,” said Kevin Marmion, President of William S. Hein & Co., Inc. “It is our vision to partner with the legal scholar

community, as we have done in the past ten years since the unveiling of HeinOnline, to build the world’s greatest

collection of constitutions and constitutional resources. With the help of libraries and scholars from around the world, we

believe we can develop a comprehensive resource for researchers studying constitutional law, comparative law, and

political science.”

Submitted by Marcie Baranich

[email protected]


Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

News from AALL Manage with Confidence

From transforming libraries and nurturing staff for new roles and responsibilities to developing a strategic plan for the

library to building partnerships, new law library managers have a lot on their plates. The 2011 AALL Management

Institute, to be held April 7-9, in Chicago, will provide new and aspiring managers with the opportunity to

collaborate with your colleagues from all types of law libraries and develop the skills you need to manage with

confidence today.

Learn how to:

● Build and nurture a professional network

● Develop effective communication

● Negotiate and handle difficult situations

● Develop a strategic plan

● Take on project management

● Champion the library‘s role within the institution and build partnerships

The registration deadline is March 7, and the number of attendees will be capped at 50. Don‘t wait – register

today!

Registration for the 2011 AALL Annual Meeting and Conference, to be held in Philadelphia, PA , will open in

early February. AALL's educational programming is now available for viewing online, and will continue to be updated in

the weeks to come. You can now find registration rates online, including a convenient single conference rate. You can

also view this year's conference schedule, reflecting some exciting changes – including two new events on the exhibit

hall floor: the Exhibit Hall Ribbon Cutting/Opening Reception on Saturday, July 23 from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m., and the

Closing Reception on Tuesday, July 26 from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

Once again, we are pleased to offer a complimentary one-year AALL membership for non-AALL members who

purchase the conference registration package. If your colleagues are not yet part of the AALL community – but should

be – please let them know!

AALL Annual Meeting Chapter VIP Program

It's not too early to start considering and planning for a Chapter VIP to attend the AALL Annual Meeting in

Philadelphia.

Chapter Registration Awards 10 Chapters are eligible for Chapter Registration Awards for Philadelphia:

● ALLUNY

● GPLLA

● LLAGNY

● LLAM

● LLNE

● LLSDC

● NJLLA

● SEAALL

● SNELLA

● WPLLA

AALL will underwrite one free conference registration for each of the above chapters. It is the intent that the award be

presented to newer members of AALL who meet whatever other criteria the awarding chapter may determine.

Information will be sent to these chapter presidents from AALL later this winter with more information, as well as

instructions for recipients.

http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=929599

http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=929599

http://aall11.sched.org/list/type/programs

http://www.aallnet.org/events/registration.asp

http://www.aallnet.org/events/schedule.pdf

http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/vipman.asp

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

News from AALL

Get a Free Year of AALL Membership with Nonmember Annual Meeting Registration

AALL offers nonmembers a complimentary one-year membership when they register for the AALL Annual Meeting and

Conference, to be held July 23-26 in Philadelphia. The membership includes:

Career resources, such as the online Career Center and continuing education to help you learn new skills to

advance in your career

Access to specialized information created just for law librarians, such as the Biennial Salary Survey and the Price

Index for Legal Publications

Subscriptions to the monthly magazine, AALL Spectrum, and quarterly journal, Law Library Journal, to help you keep

up on the latest trends in law librarianship

The opportunity to network and connect with other law librarians from across the country who share similar

interests and are facing the same challenges ● Discounted rates on all AALL products and services, such as publications, webinars, and online job postings

Annual Meeting registration is now open. Register by June 1 at the early bird rate and save $100. Be sure to take

advantage of this special offer for nonmembers.

Renew Your AALL Membership Early for a Chance to Win a Free 2011 AALL Annual Meeting

Registration

In March, AALL dues invoices for 2011-2012 will mail out to all library directors for their institutionally paid

memberships and to all other individual members. The deadline for membership renewal is May 31.

When you renew early—by May 1—you will be entered in a drawing for a free 2011 AALL Annual

Meeting and Conference registration. If you renew on time—by May 31—you'll be entered in a drawing

for a free AALL webinar of your choice in 2011-2012. Following is the 2011 membership renewal schedule:

March: First dues invoices mailed out.

May: Second dues invoices mailed out.

June: Final dues invoices mailed out.

July: Expiration notices e-mailed to all members—individuals and those paid by institutions. ● 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. If you have any

questions about your membership renewal, contact AALL Headquarters at [email protected] or 312/205-8022.

Unleash Your Inner Leader October 28-29 New law librarians in the early stages of your career—achieve your leadership potential by attending the 2011 AALL Leadership

Academy, October 28-29 in the Chicago area. Designed as an intensive learning experience aimed at growing and developing

leadership skills, the academy program will help you discover how to maximize your personal leadership style while connecting

with other legal information professionals.

The program will feature speakers Gail Johnson and Pam Parr. Johnson is a widely regarded leadership and communications expert

and holds a Master of Arts in Communication Studies. Parr has extensive business management and customer service expertise.

They have conducted many leadership programs for library organizations and will speak at the 2011 American Library Association

Annual Conference.

The application period will start April 1, and applications will be due by June 30. Watch for more details coming soon.

http://www.aallnet.org/events/

http://www.aallnet.org/events/

http://www.aallnet.org/events/registration.asp

http://www.aallnet.org/about/join.asp


Volume 36 , Issue 1

News from AALL

AALL2go Pick of the Month

AALL's Continuing Professional Education Committee presents the AALL2go pick of the month: Web 2.0 Challenge.

Need a refresher on blogs or RSS? New to creating wikis? Want to know what colleagues are saying about the value of

social networking for your library? AALL2go offers you solutions.

The AALL Computing Services Special Interest Section (CS-SIS)'s Web 2.0 Challenge is an online course for law

librarians about social media and how to use it in their libraries. It is a comprehensive and social learning opportunity

designed for law librarians based on hands-on use of these technologies.

Each of the five sessions includes:

An introduction to the topic and suggested learning outcomes for the week

A screen cast explaining the technology with step-by-step instructions on its use

Links for further learning

Examples of libraries/librarians using the featured tool

● An assignment with activities designed to give you hands-on experience with each tool

Whether you're just browsing some of the articles listed or you're looking for additional ideas for a particular social

networking solution, you have the flexibility to decide how much or how little information meets your needs. To

follow along with the course, log in as a guest. (Guests may access most course content, but may not contribute to the

site.)

Find this and more than 80 other free continuing education programs and webinars for AALL members

on AALL2go!

Unraveling the Mysteries of the Law Firm Marketing Department

How much do you know about the marketing department in your firm? What does your chief marketing officer (CMO)

envision as the biggest challenges and opportunities in this tough business climate? And most importantly for you, what

is your role in helping your firm win new business and sustain longstanding and profitable client relationships?

In this installment of the Private Law Libraries (PLL) Change as Action Summit, you will hear from Joe Calve and Kelly

Brown of Morrison & Foerster. Calve is MoFo‘s chief marketing officer, and Brown is the director of client relations.

For the past year, the MoFo Research and Intelligence Group (the library) has reported to Calve and Brown in the

Marketing Department. Calve and Brown bring a deep understanding of the capabilities of the MoFo Research and

Intelligence team, and they are in a unique position to share their thoughts about how libraries can position themselves

to become active participants in the practices of their firms by providing research at the highest level, both for business

development and for client work.

This program will be videotaped and posted on the PLL website and will be available for free beginning

on March 28 on AALL2go. It can be viewed by individual members or by groups. You may want to suggest that your

chapter or SIS plan an educational program around the video. For example, tap a marketing director from a local firm

to attend a brown bag lunch and watch the video with you; then, follow-up with a Q&A session.

This is the third in a series of five programs moderated by PLL members to provide a primer in law firm management

from the view point of firm managers and administrators. The series is part of a two year program undertaken by the

Private Law Libraries Special Interest Section (PLL-SIS) of AALL. The goal is to identify significant changes taking place in

the legal world, to understand how these changes provide opportunities for assuming leadership roles, and to develop

concrete plans for librarians to become leaders within their organizations. The culmination of these efforts, the Change

as Action Summit, will take place in Philadelphia on July 23.

http://www.softconference.com/aall/sessionDetail.asp?SID=178216

http://cssis.org/

http://www.cssis.org/Web20Challenge/login/

http://www.softconference.com/aall/

http://www.softconference.com/aall/

http://www.aallnet.org/sis/pllsis/

Volume 36 , Issue 1

March 2011

and please — remember your membership dues!

1. See back cover for membership form 2. Dues are payable to the ALLUNY Treasurer

Questions about ALLUNY membership? Contact the Membership Chair:

Lynn C. Fullshire, Principal Law Librarian

Supreme Court Law Library, Suffolk

220 Center Drive, Riverhead, NY11901


And remind your friends &

colleagues —

ALLUNY dues are waived for

unemployed and life members.

Be sure to fill out a renewal

form and keep your

membership current even if you

don‘t need to send a check!

ALLUNY‘s members-only

password and directory will be

updated in early March—don‘t

miss out!

Planning a Successful Sunshine Week Event

via AALL's Washington Blawg by aallwash on 2/16/11

Next month, AALL and OpenTheGovernment.org will host our sixth annual national webcast during Sunshine

Week. This year‘s event, ―The Road Forward on Open Government,‖ will feature two panels that will assess the

Administration‘s progress on President Obama‘s commitment ―to creating an unprecedented level of openness

in Government.‖

The first panel will focus on the challenges and opportunities that the Administration‘s Open Government Initiative have created at

the Federal level. Speakers include:

● David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States ● Steven P. Croley, Special Assistant to the President for Justice and Regulatory Policy, White House Domestic Policy Council

(invited)

● Gary Bass, Executive Director, OMB Watch (invited)

The second set of panelists will discuss the ways in which technology is being used to increase access to government data and

information, and the potential limitations. Speakers include:

Todd Park, Chief Technology Officer U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (invited) ● Jennifer LaFleur, Director of Computer-Assisted Reporting at ProPublica

● Tom Lee, Director of Sunlight Labs at the Sunlight Foundation

● Sheila Krumholz, Executive Director of the Center for Responsive Politics

AALL chapters and sites are highly encouraged to show the webcast and host programs on open government in their communities,

or become co-sponsors of local events. As always, participants at sites around the country and at the live event in Washington, D.C.

will be able to ask the panelists questions during the program. If you cannot show the program live, there will be a recorded version

available shortly after the event.

NOCALL‘s Michele Finerty, who has coordinated several excellent local Sunshine Week events, has put together a very useful guide

for AALL chapters and members on creating interesting and informative programs. The guide includes sources for identifying local

panelists and co-sponsors for the event, as well as NOCALL‘s program description and registration form for their 2011 event in

Sacramento.

If you are interested in hosting or co-sponsoring an event, please email AALL Advocacy Communications Assistant Emily Feldman.

News from AALL

I’m late! I’m late! For

a very important

date! With ALLUNY….

http://aallwash.wordpress.com/2011/02/16/planning-a-successful-sunshine-week-event/

http://aallwash.wordpress.com

http://www.openthegovernment.org

http://www.openthegovernment.org/article/articleview/463/

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-1777.pdf

http://www.whitehouse.gov/open

http://www.archives.gov/about/archivist/archivist-biography-ferriero.html

http://web.law.umich.edu/_facultybiopage/facultybiopagenew.asp?ID=173

http://www.ombwatch.org/node/171

http://www.propublica.org/site/author/jennifer_lafleur

http://sunlightfoundation.com/people/tlee/

http://www.opensecrets.org/about/staff.php

http://www.aallnet.org/aallwash/toolkit/Sunshineweekplanning.pdf


2011 Membership Application

Membership is open to all individuals employed within a law library or law section of a general library (active membership), as well as those

expressing interest in law libraries (associate membership). Students enrolled in a Graduate School of Library Science are most welcome to

join (student membership). Membership includes the newsletter subscription and access to members-only online resources.

Questions about membership may be addressed to Lynn C. Fullshire, Membership Chair, e-mail: [email protected]

Membership Information (Please note any changes)

2011 ALLUNY MEMBERSHIP DUES PAYABLE BY JANUARY 31, 2011

Checks payable to: Association of Law Libraries of Upstate New York, Inc.

Please return this form with remittance to the ALLUNY treasurer:

Andrea Rabbia

Technical Services Librarian

H. Douglas Barclay Law Library


554 E.I. White Hall

Syracuse, NY 13244-1030

(315) 443-9562

Name: Position:

Institution:

Mailing Address:

Telephone: Fax:

Email:

AALL Member: Yes No I wish to have my name/email added to the ALLUNY listserv: Yes No

Membership Status (includes Newsletter subscription)

Active Membership $30.00

Associate Membership $30.00 New Membership

Student Membership $15.00 Renewal

Currently unemployed

or Life member: Dues waived Life Membership

Newsletter subscription

only: $15.00

Permission to use photographic images:

Photographs of ALLUNY members may be used in various ALLUNY communications, including the ALLUNY Newsletter

and website. Group photographs taken at ALLUNY events may be used without identifying individual members. For indi-

vidual photographs, please indicate your permission for use:

ALLUNY has my permission to use and identify photographs of me.

ALLUNY does not have permission to use and identify photographs of me.

ALLUNY must contact me before using any identified photographs of me in ALLUNY communications.

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