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| Library Spotlight |  | |
Cambridge, MA |
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Blog of the Month! | |
Slaw is a Canadian co-operative weblog about any and all things legal.
It began in 2005 with a focus on legal information and research, but now considers any aspect of law. The audience is primarily lawyers, law librarians, and others working in or studying law. Slaw's aim is to share knowledge, offer advice and instruction, and occasionally provoke.
Recent posts include:
- By Mark Lewis, The End of an Era - Noting the retirement of the inimitable Ann Morrison as Director of the Law Library at Dalhousie.
Be sure to check it out! |
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Streaming Video! |
If you missed the Swank Digital Campus online demos last week you can still take a look. View the recorded demo at your convenience. Swank offers a great service that librarians can provide to support their faculty! |
| Send Us Your Pictures! | |
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We want to highlight your library and your staff on our website and in our newsletter. Please send in any images you'd like to see, along with a brief description, to tracy.thompson@nellco.org or theresa.mccue@nellco.org. All images should be jpgs of at least 620 pixels wide by 310 tall. We can work with larger images but nothing smaller. Now hit us with your best shots! |
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Let your colleagues know what they're missing! Forward this newsletter by using the
"Forward the Slice"
link at the bottom of this issue! |
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Director's Corner
- Welcome to our Newest Members!
- NELLCO Commissions Forward-looking Financial Review
- ASAE Annual Meeting Scholarship Awarded
Greetings! We've arrived back in Albany after a very full AALL Annual Meeting in Denver. This issue of Slice was slightly delayed as a result of attendance there. I know many of you came by the NELLCO table in the exhibit hall and chatted with Theresa McCue or myself, and many of you came to our Annual Meet & Greet event on Sun. evening at Wynkoop Brewing. It was great to see you all!
NELLCO Welcomes Six New Members!
NELLCO continues to grow as the potential for collaboration in challenging economic times is realized. The last few months have seen our membership expand by six!
Please welcome:
NELLCO to Examine Financial Future
At NELLCO's Spring Board of Directors Meeting in Portsmouth, NH the Board discussed at great length NELLCO's current and future financial position. As an organization NELLCO has grown from 25 members in the Northeastern U.S. in 2001 to 107 members in 4 countries today. We've gone from a single employee, to 1.5 fte, to 2 full-time, salaried employees. We've significantly expanded the menu of licensed resources available to members. We've enhanced the benefits of membership. We've developed new programs and undertaken new projects. Along with all of this expansion our operating expenses have increased as well.
In the current economic climate the value and importance of collaboration has become even more apparent, as evidenced by our expanding membership. NELLCO needs to be poised to meet the challenges and opportunities that the future holds for us. We need to be sure we have the capacity (facilities, staff, resources, etc.) to successfully accomplish our mission in the years to come. As the Board grappled with a number of financial issues and questions we realized that a comprehensive review of our financial position could serve us very well as stewards of the organization. What we envisioned was something more visionary and forward-looking than our annual audit, which simply gives us a snapshot of our finances and procedures at a moment in time. And it appears, based on this recent article in Philanthropy Journal, that we're in good company in our thinking!
To that end, the Board authorized me to draft an RFP to engage an outside consultant to conduct the review. The successful proposal came from Laura Freebairn-Smith of Organizational Design & Development Associates (ODDA) in Hamden, CT. This will be our second engagement with ODDA as Laura was the consultant with whom the Board worked on our most recent strategic plan. This means Laura is already quite familiar with NELLCO. I've already provided a wealth of information and documentation to Laura in advance. In early Aug. Karen Quinn (NELLCO President), Robert Nissenbaum (Finance Committee Chair), myself and Laura Freebairn-Smith will be meeting to kick off the review exercise. A completed report will be presented to the Board at our Fall meeting here in Albany.
ASAE Annual Meeting Scholarship
I am very pleased to have been awarded a scholarship from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) to attend their upcoming Annual Meeting & Expo in Los Angeles next month. I have been a member of ASAE for some time and have exploited many of their excellent resources, but have never had the opportunity to attend. The scholarship covers the entire registration fee of $795.00 and provides awardees with discounted room rates. I expect to learn a great deal and am especially interested in their Small Staff interest section program offerings. I will share my experience in the Sept. issue of Slice.
Yours in Collaboration,
Tracy L. Thompson-Przylucki, Executive Director |
NELLCO Opens 2011-2012 International Fellows Program |
The NELLCO International Fellows Program provides opportunities for member law librarians in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Hong Kong to exchange information and share knowledge and expertise with their colleagues in these countries. There will be a total of six Fellowships awarded in December, 2010. Fellows will spend two weeks visiting a law library or libraries outside of their own country in an effort to gain an understanding of legal education and information in the Host country. NELLCO will provide a travel stipend of $1500.00 USD to each Fellow.
The details of each Fellowship experience (itinerary, agenda, daily responsibilities, dates of visit, etc.) will be determined between the Director of the Host library and the chosen Fellow. Fellows will have an opportunity to study the Host library's organization, infrastructure, and work flow. Fellows will examine the Host library's collections to learn about the core content of the Host country, and will provide insight to the Host library on their collection of legal materials from the visiting country. Fellows will provide to the Host institution a research session on the legal information of their home country. Fellows will return to their home library better equipped to evaluate their own collection of materials from the Host jurisdiction. Fellows will share what they learn with other NELLCO libraries upon their return, through written articles, presentations or consultations. Fellows will complete an evaluation and submit a written report upon completion of their Fellowship.
Prospective Fellows must first have the support of their library director for participation in the program. The Fellow's home library will continue to assume responsibility for the salary and benefits of the Fellow during the two week visit.
Fellows will be selected through a competitive process. Candidates will be selected by the NELLCO Executive Committee based on the qualifications and statement of interest of the applicant, and a letter of recommendation. Professionals at all levels of experience and from all library departments are encouraged to apply.
Each applicant must submit a completed online application (available at www.nellco.org after 9/1/2010) and a letter of recommendation (via e-mail, fax or postal mail). Applications may be submitted between 9/1/2010 and 11/1/2010. Fellows will be selected and notified by 12/31/2010. All Fellowship visits must be completed by 5/31/2012. Fellows agree to cover all costs in excess of the $1,500.00 stipend, and will be responsible for sharing their experience with NELLCO through written articles, presentations or consultations.
Any NELLCO Full Member, Affiliate Member or International Affiliate Member wishing to Host a Fellow please e-mail tracy.thompson@nellco.org to register as a Host. Each Host library will be responsible for planning and organizing a constructive and valuable two-week agenda for their visiting Fellow. Hosts should also be prepared to help with local arrangements (ground transportation, entertainment options, etc.) and to provide social opportunities for the Fellow during the visit. Hosts should be willing to share their experience through a written report to NELLCO for distribution.
Melinda Renner, a former NELLCO International Fellow, shares her experience in "NELLCO International Fellowship - What a Thrill!" (2007)
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Grant Writing USA Extends Discounts to NELLCO Members |
NELLCO has partnered with GrantWriting USA to offer all NELLCO members a $100.00 discount on any Grant Writing or Grant Management seminar in the U.S. Find a seminar near you today! Can't find anything nearby? Consider hosting a seminar for the non-profit community in your area. In return, you receive a limited number of free seats for your staff! Contact us for more information. |
Redux: A Vision for a Shared Print Light Archive - Working with 'what is' to manage 'what if.' | |
Note: I'm repeating this article from last month as we've had the opportunity to bring this issue more to the forefront during the Annual Meeting in Denver. NELLCO and LIPA are considering a joint project to make the shared storage facility a reality. Margie Maes and I are working together on a proposal and hope to attract grant funding. A few additional resources:
Please let me know if this is a project in which you might be interested in participating.
Over the years, many times, the concept of a shared storage facility has bubbled to the top within NELLCO. It has never gained the necessary momentum for any number of reasons (competition, ABA standards, etc.), but it's my belief that the current climate presents the perfect opportunity for us to give this idea some serious attention.
There is endless talk about libraries having to straddle the fence between the print and electronic information worlds. We want to make that leap of faith into e-only. We want to be enthusiastic leaders of that transformative change. We want to repurpose library stack space. But we still don't (and can't) know what 'perpetual access' really means in the digital world. And for the many in our profession who see their role as one of stewardship for future generations of information seekers, the idea of discarding print without the necessary degree of certainty is anathema!
So in an attempt to create some certainty, libraries are entering into good faith agreements that distribute the responsibility for print retention over a particular period of time. This is definitely a step in the right direction and this work should continue as a short-term solution, but it doesn't go as far as it could. Will libraries really discard print in reliance on these agreements?
I propose a more coordinated, long-term effort. If NELLCO, perhaps in collaboration with other mission-friendly organizations, was able to create a shared print law collection, owned collectively by and readily accessible to the participating libraries, different local decisions could be made. Costs and collection decisions could be shared by the collective.
Several years back, a bit after Nicholson Baker's book Doublefold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper (2001) was released, the idea of shared storage bubbled up again. I visited the Nelinet storage facility in MA to begin gathering information. I recently learned that the Nelinet-now-Lyrasis Depository is being moved to a new, purpose-built, climate controlled facility in CT. The new facility will offer digital delivery of materials, quick turn arounds for retrievals, and an on-site reading room for scholars who may require direct access to the materials. I have had several conversations with Lyrasis about the idea and they are receptive. This is still a very early stage discussion so I would love to hear from members who have experience or advice to share, or who may be interested in participating or who think we should abandon this idea altogether (dare I say once and for all?). Please share your thoughts, ideas and concerns. I look forward to hearing from you!
Note these other examples for further reading and consideration:
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Current E-resource Trials | |
Cambridge Books Online ends 12/31/2010
- Cambridge Books Online is available to libraries worldwide under a number of attractive and flexible models, ensuring instant access to the best research available.
NEW trials soon to be announced!
- Oxford Journals
- Justis Publishing
- HW Wilson
Log on to www.nellco.org to view these offers!!!
Click on the Trials and Offers tab on your Member Dashboard for complete information! | |
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What's in your profile? |
NELLCO members have you updated your online profile lately? Did you know that we use the information in your profile to send you information about renewals, trials and discounts? We also use your library profile information to supply vendors with your current IP and contact information. So...if you have not heard from NELLCO in awhile it may mean that your profile information is incorrect or out of date! Please take a moment to update your profile today so you don't miss out on any NELLCO member communications. | |
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