Category: Committee News

Upcoming SNELLA Access to Justice Conference

By Mike VanderHeijden

For those of you interested in Access to Justice, SNELLA’s Spring Meeting is focused on A2J issues in Connecticut. Please see details, below.

The Southern New England Law Libraries Association (SNELLA) will host our Spring Meeting at UCONN Law’s campus on Tuesday, May 8, 2018. The day promises to be an great day of practical information about legal services to the public in Connecticut. If you aren’t a member and are interested in joining or you have any questions you talk to me or you can fill out the form here.

 

A2J: Law Libraries and Service to the Public

Tuesday, May 8, 2018 | 9:30-2:30

UConn Law School, Starr Reading Room, 55 Elizabeth Street, Hartford, CT 06105

Register here by May 1, 2018

$25 for Members | $30 for Non-Members

Schedule:

9:30-10:15: Registration, Continental Breakfast, & Welcoming Remarks

10:15-11:15: A2J in the Courts: Connecticut Court Service Centers. Presenters, Desiree Biggs, manager Court Service Center in Hartford & Alexandra Gillett, Program Manager for the Court Service Center Program.

11:15: Break

11:30-12:30: A2J Education: Law libraries and public librarians. Presenters, Anne Rajotte, Head of Reference Services, University of Connecticut School of Law & Christopher Roy, Law Librarian II, Connecticut Judicial Branch Law Library at New Britain.

12:30-1:30: Lunch

1:30-2:30: A2J in Public Libraries: Redefining Access to Legal Assistance for Immigrants. Presenters from The American Place Adult Education & Immigration Services at the Hartford Public Library

2:30: Closing remarks and tour

 

For directions and maps, see https://www.law.uconn.edu/about/maps-directions.  Please park in Lot B.

Engagement

By Bob DeFabrizio, Membership Committee

Engagement.  Much has been written about the need for organizations to engage their employees, members, voters, readers, etc.  But what does this mean?  Engagement is defined as “something that engages” or “emotional involvement or commitment.”  To engage is to “hold the attention of” or “induce participation.”

It is essential for maintaining a vibrant member organization, such as LLNE, that it strives to engage members.  LLNE attempts to accomplish this through education, blogs, social events, and community service.  By fostering a professional “community,” LLNE seeks to advance its stated purpose “to enhance the roles of law librarians in the legal and library professions.”

Unlike larger, better-funded, organizations, such as AALL, employing full-time staff, LLNE relies on the gift of time and energy by its volunteer members.  This task requires dedication and vision, keeping in mind the past, present, and future.  The Association must balance the needs of its diverse membership with the fiscal and administrative responsibilities incumbent with running such an organization.

One important and less discussed part of engagement is the responsibility of Association members to engage with the organization.  A community requires the involvement and commitment of its members to each other and to the community at large.  Members should endeavor to engage with other members.  We have much to gain and learn from each other.  When was the last time you had coffee or lunch with a colleague?  We need to take the time to connect with our neighbor members.  Today, technology is seen as keeping us “connected.”   However, as Sajan Patel recently pointed out “(t)echnology should be used to amplify your community, but it’s not your community itself.”  (www.entrepreneur.com/article/308921)

Just as LLNE needs to engage its members, its members must engage with LLNE, and more importantly, each other.

“ENGAGE, INVOLVE, COLLABORATE”

Service Committee Announces LRIP Scholarship Recipients

By the Service Committee

The LLNE Service Committee, in conjunction with the Education Committee and Legal Research Instruction Program (LRIP), is pleased to announce the public librarians awarded scholarships to attend LRIP this year. The Service Committee has awarded the scholarships to Alvin Ealy, Head of Adult Services and Reference for the Kingston Public Library in Kingston, MA and Heather Diaz, Assistant Information Services Librarian for the Forbes Library in Northampton, MA. Both librarians work extensively with the public and have a great interest in learning about responding more effectively to patron requests for legal information.  They are also hoping the strategies they acquire from the program will strengthen the research support they provide and increase their library’s value to their communities. Please help us in congratulating Alvin and Heather and look out for their upcoming blog posts about their experiences in the Legal Research Instruction Program!

Scholarships for LRIP

By Alisha Hennen

All public librarians are encouraged to apply for a scholarship, sponsored by the LLNE Service Committee, to attend our chapter’s Legal Research Instruction Program.

The Legal Research Instruction Program (LRIP) is a six week seminar geared towards public librarians interested in learning more about law librarianship.  Each week, a different aspect of legal research is covered, everything from an overview of the U.S. legal system to finding transactional law documents.  The class will run on Tuesday evenings from April 10th – May 15th. The six classes will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Suffolk Law in Boston.  For more information about the LRIP course, go to http://llne.org/legalresearchinstruction/  or contact Brian Flaherty directly at brian2@bu.edu.

The LLNE Service Committee is providing two scholarships to cover the cost of registration.  Applicants must be public (non-law) librarians from the New England area.  For more information and to apply, go to http://llne.org/committees/service/.  Please send applications to Jessica Almeida at jessica.almeida@umassd.edu by Friday, March 30, 2018.

We encourage all LLNE members to share this scholarship opportunity with their local public libraries and any public librarians that would be interested in this excellent professional development opportunity.

Announcement from AALL’s Government Relations Office: free training!

Emily Feltren, Director of AALL’s Government Relations Office, announces that registration for AALL’s free online training, Advocating for Information Policy Change on Capitol Hill,

(April 11 at 11:00 a.m. CDT), is now open. This training is designed to sharpen your advocacy communication skills and prepare you to take action on AALL’s hottest policy priorities, including passage of the FDLP Modernization Act (H.R. 5305) and the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (H.R. 4631).

Emily says: You’ll leave this bite-sized 30 minute session prepared to contact your member of Congress with a pro-law library message during AALL’s Virtual Lobby Day on April 12, all from the comfort of your desk. I hope you’ll join me!

Members of Congress are currently debating key information policy issues that could change how law libraries access, use, and preserve government and legal information.

Join AALL’s online advocacy training to learn how you can influence your members of Congress to modernize current laws to benefit law libraries and their users. The training will prepare you to take action during AALL’s Virtual Lobby Day on April 12, 2018.

(Hat tip to Anne McDonald for passing this along to the blog!)

Changes to LLNE’s Service Committee

By Michael VanderHeijden

I’m writing to relay a change to the LLNE Service Committee approved by a vote of the attending members at the Fall meeting in Salem, MA.

In an effort to more effectively pursue two divergent initiatives (service projects and Legal Link), LLNE’s Service Committee has become two committees. The Service Committee will remain focused on planning and executing the public service projects associated with LLNE’s Fall and Spring meetings. A new Access to Justice (A2J) Committee has been created to continue the work on Legal Link and to pursue projects promoting access to and understanding of legal information.

The committee’s charge is copied, below.

Jessica Dziedzic Almeida, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Law School, is chairing the Service Committee. If you’d like to volunteer for the Service Committee, please contact Jessica at jessica.almeida@umassd.edu. Mike VanderHeijden, Yale Law School, is chairing the A2J Committee.

Members of the A2J Committee:

Sherry Xin Chen (Boston College School of Law);
Nicole Dyszlewski (Roger Williams University School of Law);
Suzanne Hoey (Barnstable Law Library);
Jessica Pisano Jones (Social Law Library);
Natalia May (Vermont Law School);
Sara McMahon (Western New England School of Law);
Misty Peltz-Steele (University of Massachusetts School of Law);
Jennifer Robble (Boston University School of Law)
Mike VanderHeijden (Yale Law School)

Access to Justice Committee Charge:

  1. The Access to Justice Committee shall consist of a chair, or co-chairs, and such additional members as the President shall designate.
  2. Recognizing the acute need in many New England communities for access to legal information and recognizing the unique training, expertise, and resources of New England’s law librarians, the Access to Justice Committee shall partner with public librarians, court personnel and others to leverage collections, professional knowledge and skills to promote access to justice through greater understanding and availability of legal information.
  3. Further recognizing that there are many as-yet unidentified opportunities to partner with Access to Justice communities of interest, the Committee shall not limit itself to familiar librarian roles. Rather, the Committee shall remain open to new and alternative modes and methods of supporting the Access to Justice movement.

Service Committees Raise $7,700 for New England Innocence Project

By Jessica Almeida

In conjunction with the fall meeting, the Service Committees for LLNE and SNELLA partnered up to raise funds for the New England Innocence Project (NEIP).  Since 2000, the NEIP has been promoting criminal justice reform and exonerating the wrongfully convicted in the New England area.  To date, the NEIP has helped free 70 wrongfully convicted individuals through the use of DNA testing, questioning of faulty eyewitness testimony, and revealing the misconduct of the police.  To read their stories, go to http://www.newenglandinnocence.org/new-england-exonerees/.

Thanks to the generous donations of our members, the LLNE Service Committee is pleased to announce that $3,850 was raised to help NEIP provide legal assistance to the wrongfully convicted in the New England area.  This amount was matched anonymously, so a total of $7,700 was donated to this worthy cause.  This is the most money the Service Committee has ever raised for one cause and we couldn’t have done it without the kindness and generosity of our members.  A special thanks to Kathy Ludwig and her father, Bruce Williams, for their substantial donation.  For more information on the New England Innocence Project or if you would still like to donate, please see their website at http://www.newenglandinnocence.org/.

Thank you to Nicole Dyszlewski and the rest of the Service Committee for organizing the New England Innocence Project Drive.  The LLNE Service Committee is always looking for more volunteers!  If interested, go to http://llne.org/committees/service/.

LLNE/SNELLA Service Project: New England Innocence Project

By the LLNE Service Committee

For the upcoming fall meeting, Hysteria, Hyperbole, and Witch Hunts: 1697 & 2017 on November 17th, the Service Committees from both LLNE and SNELLA have teamed up to raise funds for the New England Innocence Project. NEIP provides pro bono legal representation to the wrongfully convicted all over the New England area. With a very small staff, including attorneys, paralegals, interns, and volunteers, the New England Innocence Project have exonerated over 70 individuals. Recently, due to budget concerns, NEIP has been unable to take on new cases. Please consider donating to this worthy cause.

To donate, please go to https://secure.squarespace.com/commerce/donate?donatePageId=57326d1a9f726693272775f8.

For more information on volunteering, please go to http://www.newenglandinnocence.org/volunteer-or-intern/.

LLNE’s 2017 AALL Award Winners

The LLNE Membership Development Committee would like to recognize the following LLNE members who have won awards granted by AALL:

  • AALL Spectrum Article of the Year: Pat Newcombe, Western New England University School of Law Library
  • LexisNexis/John R. Johnson Memorial Scholarship: Alisha Hennen, Roger Williams University Law Library
  • Marcia J. Koslov Scholarship: Jessica Lundgren, Maine Law & Legislative Reference Library
  • AALL Annual Meeting Grant: Elaine Apostola, Maine Law & Legislative Reference Library
  • AALL Annual Meeting Chapter Grant: T.K. Adkins, Boston University Fineman & Pappas Law Libraries
  • LISP-SIS Kathy Garner Grant: Jessica Almeida, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth School of Law Library
  • SR-SIS Alan Holoch Memorial Grant: Joshua LaPorte, University of Connecticut School of Law Library

See more details on the awards at http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Member-Resources/AALLawards/2017AALLawardsbrochure.pdf

Congratulations all!

Raquel M. Ortiz & Jenna Fegreus

LLNE Membership Development Committee Co-Chairs