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Save the Date
Preliminary planning is well underway for the AALL PLL-SIS 2014 Summit in San Antonio!
The planning committee is pleased to announce that the theme of the Summit is "The Voice of the Client." We will explore how law librarians can add value through client facing initiatives.
Save the date: Saturday, July 12 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Also mark your calendar for the Friday night July 11 Summit reception.
Please follow the Summit blog for updates.
Marcia Burris and Cheryl Niemeier, 2014 Summit co-Chairs
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PLL wishes you a Happy New Year!
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FROM THE CHAIR
by Jean P. O'Grady, DLA Piper, Washington, DC
Brief Member Survey to Guide Name Change Discussion
As you know PLL is considering a name change for the SIS. In order to assess the broader environment and the impact of changes in law firms on our members, we are asking members to participate in a short, 12-question survey by January 10, 2014. We will share the results of this survey with members to help us all understand the degree to which our members are being impacted by structural changes in law firms and how these changes may be impacting our roles in those firms.
We are not taking a vote on the PLL name change at this time. Rather we are gathering information which would help us determine the range of our members activities and how this should inform any future name change for the SIS. All responses will be kept confidential.
Everyone who completes the survey will be entered to win a $50 gift certificate.
Please take a few minutes to take the survey.
PLL Summit to Focus on the Client
We are all very excited that planning has begun for the 2013 PLL Summit. The working title of the day long program is "The Voice of the Client." The sessions will include a panel providing the views of corporate GCs. Programs will focus helping attendees understand how to support clients, as well as training attendees on how to gear their services to high level client support and to communicate to lawyers and GCs the value of the departments services. Thanks to Co-Chairs Marcia Burris and Cheryl Niemeier and members: Janice Henderson, Abigail Ross, Catherine Whitney, Carolyn Trask, Chris Laut, Sara Paul Raffel, Emily Florio, Ginger Gerton, Patti Schminke, Patricia Barbone, Denise Pagh, Lucy Curci-Gonzalez, Julia Hughes and myself as a "Chair Emeritus." If you have any ideas for speakers or topics related to the theme of the Summit please email Cheryl or Marcia.
Wishing you a Happy and Safe Holiday Season. |
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AALL Leadership Academy Grants Available From PLL
PLL is offering grants totaling up to $1000 for PLL members invited to attend the AALL Leadership Academy in April. The deadline for applications is Monday, December 23, 2013. If you have questions or would like more information please contact Julie Pabarja. |
Small- and Medium-Sized Law Library Group Formed
A group of 8 PLL members met by conference call on Dec. 5 to discuss the formation of a Small- and Medium-Sized Law Library group. We began the call with a discussion of what constitutes a small- or medium-sized law library, and decided that if you think you qualify to be in this group, join us! (This group does not replace the Solo Librarians group, but any solos who would like to join us are welcome.)
With an eye toward presenting programs at future AALL meetings or webinars, we discussed topics that we'd like to pursue. These include, but are in no way limited to, contract negotiation, marketing and use of technology, all geared toward those libraries that do not have big budgets or big staffs.
We welcome all who are interested to join us, and we especially welcome your ideas for programs and discussion! If you'd like to be included in the next conference call, please contact Jane Baugh to be added to the roster. |
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Update to the Model Law Firm Copyright Policy
A task force to review and revise the Model Law Firm Copyright Policy has been established. The members of the Task Force to Revise the Model Law Firm Copyright Policy are:
Patricia Barbone, Hughes Hubbard, New York, NY
Deborah Cinque, Weil Gotshal, New York , NY
Toral Doshi, Alston & Bird, Atlanta, GA
Elaine Egan, Shearman & Sterling, New York, NY
Andrea Hamilton, Davis Graham & Stubbs, Denver, CO
Wendy Lyon, Akin Gump. Dallas, TX
Lisa MacDonald, Cooley, Reston, VA
Kevin Miles, Norton Rose Fulbright, Dallas, TX
Nancy Scibelli Bouthilet, Locke Lord, Dallas, TX
The Task Force will be requesting feedback from our fellow PLL members on the existing policy - what works, what doesn't, and what needs to be added. Look for our communications in 2014. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts on the policy, please feel free to email them to any of the task force members. |
Feeling Collaborative?
The Academic Law Libraries SIS is looking for private law librarians who might be interested in writing for the Collaborative Law Librarian column in the ALL-SIS Newsletter. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Thomas Sneed or Barbara Traub. |
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What Is The PLL Board Reading?
The Board thought it would be fun to share our best reads
of 2013.
Emily Florio: Treasurer
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a fascinating and riveting tale of medical research gone awry. The writing is very scientific in nature, but is easy to read and impossible to put down. It will be of interest to a wide variety of readers and the topics discussed will be relevant for years to come.
Kristine Lloyd: Secretary
Snapper by Brian Kimberling: I recently picked up the story collection Snapper by Brian Kimberling for its eye-catching cover: a panoply of colorful birds. The interconnected stories are set in Kimberling's home state of Indiana, a place that doesn't seem to get much literary attention. The characters and the setting are very compelling, and though I might not feel obliged to visit by the book's end, I certainly feel I know the place. Nathan Lochmueller, the main character, is an affable if apathetic kind of guy who watches birds for a living. I am not patient enough to take an interest in bird-watching myself, but Kimberling's charming, easy narrative makes the practice seem scintillating and exotic. This is a great read if you treasure beautiful writing and have the patience for a meandering, uncomplicated plot.
Saskia Mehlhorn: Board Member
Anyone who enjoys Scandinavian literature should give Sun Storm by Åsa Larsson a chance. The story about the murder of a religious leader in Kiruna, Lapland, is well written and the author manages to not only develop believable characters, but paint a picture of the setting so lively that one expects to look out of the window and find oneself in the midst of the Swedish winter. I just finished this book and I went straight to her second one, in my opinion they're at the same level as Liza Marklund's books.
Cheryl Niemeier: Chair Elect
Ihave read so many books this year on my iPad Kindle app that choosing just one favorite was difficult. However, 2 books in particular truly stand out as my 2013 favorites. God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty by Rice Broocks in layman's terms presents nine basic proofs of the existence of God. It is a spellbinding read that argues for the existence of God using logic, science, and philosophy. The Invisible Wall: A Love Story that Broke Barriers by Harry Bernstein is a wonderful, engaging, couldn't put it down, memoir written when the author was ninety-three. It traces his and his family's lives in a small English town during the early 1900's and explores the barriers that separated the neighborhood Jewish families on his side of the street from Christian families on the other side of the street, ultimately showing how love can overcome cultural and religious differences among people.
Jean O'Grady: Chair
I loved Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson because it was not only a gripping, "warts and all biography" of a highly idiosyncratic technology legend but also a cultural history of "The Sixties." The book is most of all a powerful comeback story. Jobs suffered the public humiliation of being pushed out of the company he founded. He then focused on animation and became CEO of Pixar before returning to Apple for his triumphal recreation of the revolutionary line of Apple products: iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, App Store....
If you are tired of all the gloomy predictions of the future I recommend: Abundance: Why the Future is Better Than You Think by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler. Diamandis founded the X Prize Foundation, an organization which awards cash prized to entrepreneurs if they can achieve a difficult goal or solve a difficult problem. The authors point out that most gloomy projections of the future take no account of the impact of how breakthrough innovations in computing, medicine or energy will change the trajectory of the future at an exponential rate creating solutions we can't even imagine today.
Linda-Jean Schneider: Past Chair
My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor. A colleague mentioned this book, and I asked to borrow it, not knowing how immediately I would be drawn into Sonia's world of a young Hispanic woman finding her way to become an inspiring example for young Americans facing daunting challenges in their upbringing. Sonia specifies that this is not a documented biography, but a memoir, and in it she weaves a vivid world, which she describes with great honesty and affection. As described by Sara Nelson in The Amazon Best Books of the Month, Jan. 2013: "Hers is a voice that lands squarely between self-deprecating and proud, grateful and defiant; a voice lilted with bits of Puerto Rican poetry; a voice full of anger, sadness, ambition, and love. My Beloved World is one resonant, glorious tale of struggle and triumph." |
PLL-SIS Executive Board Call
November 22, 2013
The meeting was called to order at 11:44 p.m. EST, with the following attendees:
Jean O'Grady, Chair
Cheryl Niemeier, Chair-Elect
Linda-Jean Schneider, Past Chair
Emily Florio, Treasurer
Kristine Lloyd, Secretary
We had previously approved the minutes via email. Our first order of business was the Treasurer's Report. Emily received the AALL Financial Report in October which covers our expenses through September 30th. The Summit expenses were about equal to the revenue generated, so there was little net loss to PLL for the event. All of the speaker fees have been paid, and the PLL sponsored program has also been paid for. As of September 30th, our balance was $61,769.94.
Our next order of business was an update about the 2014 PLL Summit. Cheryl reported that the first committee meeting was held November 14th. Cheryl and Marcia, as co-chairs, have been discussing the planning process with Jean and Joan. At this initial stage, the general theme will focus on the client's view and the library's interactions with the client. Cheryl and Marcia are still recruiting volunteers. They have tentatively confirmed a keynote speaker. Their next meeting will take place in mid-December.
Jean suggested that we consider asking a presenter she heard while in Australia who conducted a study about law firms that outsourced library services in the UK. Perhaps a Summit presentation could have attendees taking a risk assessment. Cheryl wasn't sure whether this would fit in with the overarching theme of the Summit but suggested that it might make for a good Hot Topic.
Next, Emily reported on her recent AMPC meeting in Chicago. There are three PLL-SIS members on the AMPC: Emily Florio, Jennifer Hill and LaJean Humphries. Emily told us that there are several good PLL programs accepted for the 2014 annual meeting which she will report to the group once the speakers have been confirmed.
The official call for Hot Topics will be in January/ February. Emily also reported that overall attendance had been lower for the Seattle annual meeting, and that a smaller number of attendees were expected in San Antonio as well. There will be three collaborative programs; two with ILTA and one with the LMA, all on Tuesday. The AMPC decided after receiving feedback about the scheduling of the Deep Dive workshops last year that all would be held during a 90 minute time slot after the keynote speaker on Sunday. The AMPC selected two Deep Dive programs.
We then moved to the next agenda item concerning webinars. Scott Bailey and Jennifer Berman have arranged for a webinar on the FT-SLA Survey. This is to be scheduled. Emily has also spoken with Julie Bozzell at Hogan Lovells about reprising a presentation she gave at a LLAGNY meeting. Emily suggested that those programs which did not make the annual meeting cut could be considered for webinars.
Next, Jean reported that the Technical Services Group wants to disband. Linda-Jean suggested we rebrand the group as Electronic Services to encompass more skill sets. Jean asked if we had thoughts on organizing a new group for small/mid-sized firms. There was no real subsequent discussion on this.
Our next agenda item concerned the AALL Salary Survey. There was a discussion about whether we could conduct our own salary survey. Jean would like to see us get a list of AmLaw 200 firms, and Linda-Jean recommended using the NLJ 250. Linda-Jean also reminded us that we have tried in the past to create our own salary survey but there are potential conflicts with the larger organization. Cheryl offered to reach out to Elizabeth Scheibel. She attended the Annual Meeting in Seattle and is a member of the Salary Survey Committee. Cheryl believes that Elizabeth is aware of our concerns. Jean asked how we might get a proposal to the AALL Board for a survey that is directed to individuals rather than organizations. Cheryl also suggested we get in touch with Kate Hagan, and Jean agreed to do so.
We moved on to a discussion of the PLL name change and a possible survey of our membership. We discussed the possibility of a more general survey about perceptions of our profession, as well as a survey more specifically targeted to the name change. This discussion will be picked up again at a later meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 12:51. |
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Welcome New Members
Rebecca M. McGilliard, Balch & Bingham LLP, Birmingham, AL
Tiffney D. Tate, Balch & Bingham LLP, Birmingham, AL
Heather Williams, Paul Hastings LLP, Los Angeles, CA |
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