by Jean P. O'Grady, DLA Piper, Washington,  DC 

PLL's Purpose - Time to Reassess

It is no secret that I advocate changing the name of  the Private Law Libraries SIS to a name that focuses on the future rather than the past and that reflects the growing diversity of functions which our existing and future  members perform. Incoming PLL Chair Cheryl Niemeier plans to continue exploring the name change in the coming year. In reviewing the PLL Bylaws I discovered that the name change issue appears to be directly linked to the "object" or goals of PLL as stated in the bylaws. I will cut to the chase. It is probably time to rewrite the bylaws. In particular I believe that the "Objects" or goals of PLL need an updating and expansion.

Here is the  current "objects" section?

Section 1. The objects of the Private Law Libraries Special Interest Section shall be to improve the quality and service of private law libraries by emphasizing their goals, needs and special interests and to represent its members' interests and concerns within the AALL. 

Certainly PLL does and should continue to represent the interests to our members to AALL.  But what should PLL be doing for us as professionals and for the organizations we serve?

I have to honestly say I don't really understand what  the current "object" section means. The statement of purpose appears to me, to be written only in reference to AALL and not in reference to the organizations we serve.

If I were to attempt to explain what I want from PLL I might say something like this.  PLL advances the professional development of its members in order to enable them to support the legal and business information needs of the organizations they serve and to be organized as the preeminent knowledge leaders and strategists in their organizations.

What do you think? How would you describe the purpose of PLL I will post this question to the PLL community bulletin board.  Please post your responses there or send them to me.

Are We Still Talking About This? The Struggles Of Women And Librarians

 Read Elizabeth Scheibel's powerful meditation on the meaning of librarianship and gender bias here.

Who's That Lurking Underneath My Bridge?:  Defining Patent Trolls - Truth or Fiction in Patent Litigation

FREE PLL IP Caucus Webinar

Patent Litigation is on the rise and so are the accusations that the plaintiffs are "Patent Trolls" or, more politely, Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs). Many of you have probably received research requests to determine if the plaintiff in your firm's case is a patent troll or not.

So what defines a patent troll? Learn the red flags of identifying a patent troll and tips and techniques for researching these often nebulous entities. Learn to identify when the party in fact is not a patent troll, and what information your patrons need about such entities when moving forward with litigation.  Who are the most prolific of patent trolls today and who are the most (allegedly) unfairly maligned?

Webinar space for this FREE program is limited to the first 100 registrants.  A recording of the webinar and the slides will be made available through the PLL-IP Caucus website.

Date: Thursday, June 19, 2014

Time: 1:00 p.m. (CST) 

Speaker: Diana Koppang, Senior Reference Librarian

Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP, Chicago, IL

Moderator: Sarah Mauldin, Director of Library Services 

Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP, Atlanta, GA