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Exercise Your Right to Vote - AALL Online Election Closes November 30
It's time to vote for the next AALL vice president/president-elect, treasurer, and Executive Board members. AALL needs people on its Executive Board who represent the interests of all our members, so every member is strongly encouraged to vote. Polls close on November 30.
November 30: Deadline for receipt of all ballots at AALL Headquarters. Ballots will be tabulated at AALL, and the results will be announced once the candidates have been notified.
You can read the candidates' biographies and statements on AALLNET.
PLL Members Julie Pabarja and Holly Riccio are both candidates for Vice-President/President-Elect.
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FROM THE CHAIR
by Linda-Jean Schneider, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Philadelphia, PA
This past month was a productive one for our Section, in spite of the distractions of SuperStorm Sandy on the East Coast and of the federal election everywhere! In mid-October, the PLL Board hosted a conference call with the Leadership of the Section including Committee Chairs, Group Heads, and the AALL Liaisons to the ALA (Association of Legal Administrators), the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), and the Legal Division of the Special Libraries Association, This call was a kick-off to the year to identify specific objectives from the Strategic Plan and establish a framework for communication and reporting.
The targeted objectives include-but are not limited to-the following:
- Revise the Section Procedures Manual to reflect additions and changes to the PLL -SIS Committee/Group Structure.
- Review and revise the By-Laws to correspond to those of AALL as well as to represent more accurately the operation of the Section.
- Produce the fourth Summit experience, with its valuable and targeted programming for Law Firm Librarians.
- Align with AALL and other SIS leadership to explore ways to expand the Summit educational experience throughout the Association.
- Produce and feature periodic columns and updates from the various Section Committees and Groups.
- Restructure and enhance the PLL website as an effective tool for both visibility and communication among the members.
- Form stronger ties with Regional AALL Chapters and the corresponding ALA, LMA, and SLA entities, as ways to enhance the visibility and professional education opportunities of AALL members.
- Work with AALL to identify additional sponsorship and grant sources for PLL members.
Some activity has already been initiated, such as the recent LLSDC Showcase held in Washington DC, which invited local ALA and LMA members to an excellent event which provided a wealth of targeted information from a strong contingent of law firm colleagues. In addition, the LLAGNY workshop on Knowledge Management was offered at the same cost to AALL Members as a result of the sponsorship of the Bloomberg/BNA Continuing Education Grant. In response to a request from AALL Executive Director Kate Hagan, the AALL Liaison to the Legal Marketing Association, Karen Brunner, worked with Mark Gediman to craft a proposal for the LMA Conference. And of course, planning has already begun for Summit IV, co-chaired by Jean O'Grady and Joan Axelroth, to be held in conjunction with next year's Annual Meeting in Seattle. (Look elsewhere in this issue for their request for volunteers.)
Speaking of the Annual Meeting, a major focus of PLL Section is to schedule and coordinate the meetings and educational programs for our membership. This has already begun, and thanks to those who crafted proposals for submission to the AMPC-also last month! I know it was a great effort on the part of many of you, and we appreciate the strong efforts you made.
While on the topic of the Annual Meeting, you should know that it is never too early to plan to attend the conference-and the PLL Grant Committee will issue information in the near future to provide additional incentives.
The PLL Board also recently discussed the importance of recognizing our members, both long-time and new, and AALL Awards are one way to acknowledge professional excellence. As AALL President Jean Wenger has reminded us, it's never too early to apply for one! If the PLL-SIS Leadership can assist you in preparing your applications, feel free to reach out to us.
Finally, as activity accelerates and momentum builds, I urge you to directly face the challenges of the future by joining with other PLL members today. |
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INNOVATORS NEED APPLY: Volunteers Needed to Join the Summit IV Planning Committee
Extreme Makeover, Library Edition
If you are interested in developing innovative programming, seeking out speakers on the cutting edge, or have ideas about how to implement an extreme makeover of our libraries, join the Summit IV Planning Committee.
Assignments include: local arrangements, publicity, developing program ideas, recruiting speakers, and more!
PLL members who are interested should e-mail co-chairs, Jean O'Grady or Joan Axelroth.
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PLL-SIS Executive Board Call
October 9, 2012
The meeting was brought to order at approximately 2:15 pm ET, with the following attendees:
Linda-Jean Schneider, Chair
Jean O'Grady, Chair-Elect
Steve Lastres, Immediate Past Chair
Elaine Knecht, Treasurer
Cameron Gowan, Board Member
Scott Snipes, Board Member
Minutes from the previous Board Call were approved, as revised by deleting a superfluous sentence as Steve requested. Elaine moved that the minutes be accepted as amended, Cameron seconded, and the Board approved. This is the version to be published in the next monthly eNewsletter.
There will be a Committee Chairs / Group Heads conference call in the next two weeks, to kick-off the year and establish expectations for reports, webinars, and follow-up for the coming year. Linda-Jean will send out a Doodle Poll to select the best time for this.
As recommended in the Communications Committee report, the PLL-SIS publication, PLL Perspectives was 'sunsetted;' the final issue was published in September. Linda-Jean suggested that some kind of special recognition be given Donna, Randy, as well as Sarah, other than just the acknowledgements from individual members-which have been expressed by many. Since Sarah is Chair of the PLL Awards Committee, Elaine and Cameron offered to work on devising an appropriate award or celebration (Elaine suggested a Festschrift) in their honor. They will report their recommendations to the Board when they have a chance.
In the future, there will be monthly eNewsletters posted on the website, which should provide more timely distribution of notices and information, as well as periodic reporting by the Committees and substantive content. This report will be part of the discussion on the PLL-SIS Leadership call. Sarah Mauldin will continue to edit the eNewsletter.
The Education Committee has been and will now be totally preoccupied with a major effort to produce program proposals for the AMPC by October 15th. In light of the scheduling of Summit IV, it is even more important to provide programming during the regular conference to respond to the continuing educational requirements of PLL members. Jennifer Berman and her Committee stand ready to assist anyone with proposals. Joan Axelroth derived several ideas from the responses to the Summit evaluations, and Linda-Jean will work with her to mold those into potential programs.
Of course, the major Education news is that there will be a Summit IV in Seattle-the unexpected response from the AALL Board was most likely due to a lack of sufficient time to revamp the entire process-as President Jean Wenger stated in her announcement. Nonetheless, this was a victory of sorts, as we will be able to provide a truly focused and relevant "Summit experience" for those attending this West Coast meeting.
The Membership Committee, led by Cameron and Karen Silber of BNA, sent out more than 400 letters to potential PLL members among the AmLaw firms, and also requested the Chair of Chapter Presidents, Holly Riccio, send a notice urging individuals to join PLL on our behalf. Holly recommended sending letters to the individual Chapter Presidents or Boards. Emails were sent to all Chapters.
Next, Elaine, Scott, and Cameron, who are serving on the PLL Media-Public Relations Committee, said there has been some difficulty in organizing a call, but it was pointed out that most of the Group's work is in the second half of the year.
Linda-Jean discussed programming and subgroup reports for the CI, IP and KM Groups. Mark Gediman drafted a presentation for the Legal Marketing Association, but ultimately, it was not accepted as a program for this year's conference.
Steve mentioned that three IP webinars are going to be proposed to the AMPC.
PLL and LLAGNY are presenting a webinar on November 16th, funded by a grant.
Proposals are in the works for a deep dive on KM. Also under consideration is a presentation on the basics of SharePoint.
Steve then discussed the LLSDC showcase. Scott Powell and a DC group are offering a marketing event by librarians for AALL members, the ABA and other law firm professionals to showcase law librarian skills, including cost containment, research, marketing and KM. If this is a successful effort, the program may be extended to other chapters. The event will take place at Pepper Hamilton on November 8th.
Linda-Jean was contacted by Marlene Harmon who is the liaison between the GRC and PLL to designate a PLL Board member as a contact person for government activity initiatives. Jean O'Grady volunteered to be the designated member.
The meeting adjourned at 2:56 ET. The next board meeting is planned for November 13th. |
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Member News
Stephanie J. Ball "The Competitive Advantage: Using Librarians as a Business Development and Competitive Intelligence Resource to Power Client Relationships" AALL Spectrum, Sept/Oct 2012 issue.
Sara Witman co-wrote "In Just 15 Minutes: The Law Library Association of Maryland's Innovative Conference" AALL Spectrum, Sept/Oct 2012 issue.
Susan Mecklem co-wrote "Promoting Services and Celebrating Differences: Working Together to Provide Access to Legal Information and Justice" AALL Spectrum, Nov. 2012 issue.
Emily Marcum wrote "The Cognitive Disadvantage of E-Books: Although e-books Have Many Pros, Don't Ignore the Cons" AALL Spectrum, Nov. 2012 issue.
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PLL-SIS Membership Committee Report
Co-Chairs Cameron Gowan and Karen Silber are spearheading the Committee's efforts to craft an internal Membership Survey, and to send individual invitations to new AALL members who are with firms but have not selected an SIS to join. Neither of these is a simple undertaking, but they have set their priorities and are determined to accomplish their missions!
As result of the PLL Leadership call in October, the Membership Committee is reviewing the Strategic Plan to identify objectives to tackle during the coming year. The Committee will also collaborate with the Communication and PR/Media Committees to refine and improve our public-facing communication via the website, listserv, LinkedIn Communities, etc. If you have ideas to contribute to their efforts, feel free to contact Cameron or Karen directly.
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From the PLL IP Group
The PLL/SIS Intellectual Property group is a community of librarians who support IP practices or have an interest in patent, trademark and copyright issues. Since its founding in 1996, the Intellectual Property (IP) group has provided education, collaboration and networking opportunities for AALL members, from the most experienced IP researcher to the newbie librarian.
With the emergence and consistent growth of IP as a focus for businesses and the law firms that support them, it remains vital for law firm librarians to stay in tune with the resources available to support those practices and to build a network of like-minded professionals who can share experiences and expertise. There has been a great deal of investment in IP informatics and web-based research platforms over the past decade. Law firm information professionals are not only tasked with managing the right combination of IP research resources for the firm, but also with arming our lawyers with knowledge of what may be used by clients, counsel and R&D departments. This delicate balance can only be maintained by leveraging our collective knowledge of the IP information landscape, by connecting and sharing with our peers.
Benefits & Resources
Our website includes handouts and related materials from IP-themed annual meeting programs, articles from PLL Perspectives and several recorded webinars. One of our goals for 2013 is to update the recommended services documents for search firms, document suppliers and translation services.
The IP Community through AALLNET is the best resource for contacting other IP group members with questions, comments or announcements.
If you are unsure if you are a member, then you may want to log-in to the AALL website and check to make sure you are signed up. Sign into AALL and under the menu "Member Communities" go to "My Communities," and then "My Communities" under the "Communities" menu towards the top of the page. You can search for Private Law Libraries SIS Intellectual Property, select the group, and click "Join Community."
In order to receive "real time" communications from the IP community, you must change your settings since the community default is set to "daily digest." Click on the "My Subscriptions" link within "My Communities" and adjust your notification preferences. You'll also want to whitelist or add to your safe senders list the following email address: noreply@egroups.aallnet.org.
We also have a LinkedIn group that is not limited to AALL members and might be of interest.
2013 & Beyond
The IP chairs proposed three programs for the 2012 annual meeting. The proposals stemmed from ideas and recommendations from other IP group members. We'll learn in December if any of our programs will appear at the annual meeting.
In addition to annual meeting programming, we're hoping to offer webinars throughout 2013. Stay tuned for additional information, including topics and dates.
We do still hope to have several local events this year. Anyone interested in hosting an educational or networking event for IP librarians in your town, now is the time to think about volunteering.
Get Involved!
We're always looking for volunteers to provide ideas for conference programming, webinars, feedback and networking opportunities. You don't need to be an IP expert to get involved and any level of contribution is appreciated. We also have a track record of good leadership in the IP group, so please reach out to us if you are interested in being part of the team. It is a great opportunity to grow your network, while developing practical skills in IP research and resource management. Please contact Emily Florio (617-368-2102) if you would like additional information |
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Welcome New Member
Christine Bowersox, Harris Beach PLLC, Pittsford, New York |
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