Committee News – Page 2 – Law Librarians of New England

LLNE Trivia Night 2021!

Join us on Wednesday, November 17th at 7PM (EST) for LLNE Trivia Night 2021! The event will once again be hosted by Ttodd and prizes provided by Lexis. We will be raising money for SouthCoast Fair Housing, a nonprofit fair housing organization dedicated to eliminating housing discrimination, ensuring equal housing opportunities, and developing inclusive communities throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Remember to register for the event and donate any amount! Once registered, the Zoom link will be sent to you prior to the event. This event is open to all, so feel free to invite family, friends, and colleagues.

Can’t make it to trivia? You can still donate to this great cause!

Questions? Contact Jessica at jessica.almeida@umassd.edu.

The LLNE Service Committee

Update From the Access to Justice Committee

Hello LLNE Members,

I am Anne Rajotte, the chair of the Access to Justice Committee. I am joined this year by three members: Dana Lucisano, Misty Peltz-Steele, and Sara McMahon. The Committee is actively seeking opportunities for outreach to public libraries and the community generally. Some possible initiatives this year include creating additional informational resources through Legal Link and submitting proposals to present at regional library conferences on topics related to assisting public library patrons with locating reliable legal information.

This fall’s virtual meeting, which focuses on technology and access to justice, should provide some inspiration and ideas for how law librarians can use their skills and resources to begin to bridge the justice gap. As our profession combines information seeking, legal knowledge, and technological innovation, we are natural participants in the movement to increase access to justice.

The Access to Justice Committee welcomes new members! Please contact me at anne.rajotte@uconn.edu if you are interested in joining us.

Committee Update: Government Relations

Greetings advocates,

AALL recently updated its legislative priorities for the 117th Congress. These include:

Funding to support the legal information industry
Equitable access to official legal information
Privacy protections for law library users

We encourage you to visit the Government Relations Section of AALLNET for more information on AALL’s policy positions, an advocacy toolkit, the AALL Legislative Action Center, and more. And, if you haven’t already, we encourage you to join the AALL Advocates Community, to receive regular advocacy updates, including news posts from members of AALL’s Government Relations Committee.

On the UELMA front, the U.S. Virgin Islands just became the 23rd jurisdiction to enact the legislation. Here in New England, the Massachusetts UELMA bill, H.1597, has been referred to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. Many thanks to LLNE’s Massachusetts members for your willingness to write to your representatives to seek (co)sponsorship, and to the members of the UELMA in MA Subcommittee for your tireless efforts to see this important legislation advance.

Feel free to contact either of us with questions or ideas. We would also welcome your involvement with the committee.

– Catherine Biondo and Emilie Benoit, LLNE GRC Co-Chairs

Save the Date!

Logo in blue and yellow for LLNE’s virtual fall conference, [In]accessible Justice: Innovation, Technology and Solutions with a yellow figure climbing the words

We are excited to announce, the LLNE Fall Conference, will be held November 12^th online.

Entitled, [In}accessible Justice: Innovation, Technology, and Solutions, it will focus on the intersection of technology and access to justice and explore ways that technology can help to bridge the justice gap. The day will begin with speakers from the National Center for State Courts defining the justice gap and discussing existing approaches to address it. The following panels will explore ways technology can improve access to legal assistance, information, and institutions. Speakers from technology firms, nonprofits, law firms, law schools, courts, and bar associations will discuss their initiatives and how they have used technology to address an identified need.

A lot of research and location scouting was done to find a COVID safe location for the Fall 2021 meeting. Sadly, after monitoring health recommendations and local and regional COVID-19 developments, it was decided to not hold an in person meeting.

Many more details and registration are coming soon on the conference website!

We look forward to seeing you there!!! -Nicole Dyszlewski, Jessica Almeida, Kaitlin Connolly, Danielle Lamontagne, Joshua LaPorte, Jessica Panella, Anne Rajotte, and Michael VanderHeijden

Hello and Welcome from the New LLNE President!

Good morning!

As the new LLNE president I wanted to take a moment and welcome everyone to this new membership year. In many ways, this year seems dishearteningly similar to last year, with all the uncertainty, anxiety, and apprehension about how the pandemic might affect our personal and professional lives. Our immediate past president, Nicole Dyszlewski, along with LLNE volunteers on and off the Executive Board, dedicated enormous quantities of time and energy to provide opportunities for us to continue to learn, engage with each other, and enjoy each other’s company — even without the luxury of face-to-face gatherings. Special thanks to all of you as well as to the following outgoing members of the Executive Board:

Bob de Fabrizio, outgoing past president, Manager of Law Libraries, MA Trial Courts
Ellen Frenzen, outgoing co-chair of the Communications Committee, Assistant Dean for Administration at Boston University Law School
Anne McDonald, outgoing co-chair of the Government Relations Committee, Law Library Coordinator, Rhode Island Dept. of the Attorney General
AnnaKatherine Wherren: outgoing chair of Scholarships Committee, Legal Research Librarian, Suffolk University Law School

I’d also like to welcome the incoming board members:

Catherine Biondo, co-chair of the Government Relations Committee, Research Librarian, Harvard Law Library
Kaitlin Connolly, co-chair of the Service Committee, Reference Librarian, State Library of Massachusetts
Josh LaPorte, vice president, president-elect, Head of Access Services, Boston University Law Library
Anne Rajotte, chair of the Access to Justice Committee, Head of Reference Services, University of Connecticut Law Library
Dawn Smith, chair of the Scholarships Committee, Head of Acquisitions, Yale Law School

LLNE means different things to each of us. For the 2012 version of me, membership simply meant seasonal meetings and the potential for engaging more with the LLNE community – once my infant and toddler daughters got a little older. In 2021, it means working with and learning from a group of awesome people from across New England. It’s also meant drawing cartoon llamas with other LLNE families and getting a glimpse of what executive board members’ canine companions think of them. Whatever this year brings, I hope we are able to find ways to continue to connect with each other.

Take care.

Mike

Service Committee Spring 2021 Project Wrap-Up

This Spring, the committee organized three projects to coincide with the LLNE FUNtivities and Spring Virtual Meeting.

Our first project was raising money for NEADS Prison Pup Program. NEADS is an organization that provides service dogs to veterans, people with physical disabilities, individuals with autism, and even assistance dogs that work in hospitals and courthouses. 90-95% of NEADS puppies are trained in correctional institutions in New England through their Prison Pup Program. Through the generosity of our members, we have raised over $1,300. If you would like to give to this wonderful organization, please visit https://support.neads.org/llne.

Child posing with a card made for Meals on Wheels.

Our second project was creating cards and decorated lunch bags for Meals on Wheels locations throughout New England. The committee is happy to report that members have pledged to create over 300 cards and bags. Please remember to take a photo of your creations and use the #LLNEFuntivities on Twitter. The sign-up form is now closed, but if you are interested in contributing to this project, please email Jessica at jessica.almeida@umassd.edu.

Our last project highlighted an informational resource to compliment the Coded Bias screening and panel on Friday, June 11th. The committee showcased the filmmaker’s activist toolkit, containing ways to get involved in the algorithmic justice movement. The committee is encouraging members to sign the Universal Declaration of Data Rights as Human Rights, which was developed by the Coded Bias team, if you are interested in further supporting this cause. Upon signature, your name and zip code are sent to US elected officials. For more information, go to https://llne.org/interested-in-algorithmic-justice-here-are-ways-llne-members-can-help/.

If you are interested in joining the Service Committee or have an idea for a project, please contact Jessica Almeida at jessica.almeida@umassd.edu.

Interested in algorithmic justice? Here are ways LLNE members can help!

Don’t forget to register for the June 11^th (this Friday!) screening and discussion of the acclaimed documentary Coded Bias. The event starts at 7pm EST: tinyurl.com/xr5dm9wf. The filmmaker, Shalini Kantayya, has also compiled an activist toolkit for those interested in becoming advocates for “algorithmic justice.” If any LLNE members would like to get involved, page 24 of the toolkit lists recommended organizations to which you can subscribe and make donations.

Another way to get involved is by signing the Universal Declaration of Data Rights as Human Rights, which was developed by the Coded Bias team. Upon signature, your name and zip code are sent to US elected officials. The committee is encouraging members to sign the declaration if they are interested in further supporting this cause.

We hope to see you on Friday!

LLNE Service Committee

VOTE NOW! For the 2021-2022 LLNE officer candidates

The 2021-2022 slate of LLNE officer candidates has been announced and now is your opportunity to vote. Please go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PHZYW9Zto cast your anonymous vote. The poll will close on Friday, June 4th at 5:00 pm.

VP/President-Elect: Josh LaPorte, Head of Circulation, Boston University, Fineman & Pappas Law Libraries
Treasurer: Rachel Weiss, Research Librarian, Nixon Peabody
Education Director: Maureen Quinlan, Reference & Gov Doc Law Librarian, University of Maine School of Law

Service Committee Project: The Prison PUP Program

In conjunction with the Law Librarians of New England (LLNE) FUNtivities , the Service Committee is raising funds for NEADS, an organization that provides service dogs to veterans, people with physical disabilities, individuals with autism, and even assistance dogs that work in hospitals and courthouses.

The money we raise will go to the Prison PUP Program. According to NEADS “90-95% of NEADS puppies are trained in 7 correctional facilities throughout New England. Our statistics show that, under the guidance of NEADS staff, inmates are able to provide consistent training at a high level simply because of the amount of time they are able to devote to the dogs. This enables us to place dogs faster with people in need.”

For more information, please visit https://neads.org/training-placement/prison-pup-program/.

For a first person post about the program, please visit https://neads.org/prison-pup-program-a-win-win/.

Due to the generosity of our members, we have increased our goal! To donate, go to https://support.neads.org/llne.

The Service Committee

From the Education Committee

As my 2019-2021 term, as one of the Educational Directors draws nearer to the end I wanted to reflect on this time. Like everyone else I thought this commitment would be the usual experiences of some in-person conferences and some telephone meetings.

LLNE has two Educational Directors. Each serves two years with the terms ending on different years. My term started in July 2019. I did not attend the annual AALL meeting in 2019 in Washington, D.C. as I was at a family reunion. I was without a care and thought I would attend the meeting in July of 2020 in Cincinnati.

One strange thing about being one of the co-Educational Directors is attending meetings and thanking hosts for work done by previous Educational Directors. My first LLNE Conference as Educational Director was hosted by the Harvard Law Library and was on Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms in Law Libraries and Legal Practice. Little did we know this was the last in-person conference that would be planned for a long time.

One of the many wonderful experiences working with LLNE has been meeting so many dynamic and creative law librarians. There was a resilience and a commitment to moving forward during challenging times. LLNE leadership stepped up as COVID-19 protocols were put in place and planned a virtual spring 2020 conference. Summer gave way to fall and COVID-19 would not allow an in person conference. So, the University of Connecticut Law Library planned a virtual Fall Conference. Suffolk will host a virtual conference in the late spring of this year.

We will meet virtually for the AALL Annual Meeting this summer. When the new academic year starts and the leaves fall again LLNE will again plan and host the meeting. The traditions will continue.

– Maureen