Service Committee

Committee charge

  1. The Service Committee shall consist of a chair, or co-chairs, and such additional members as the President shall designate.
  2. Recognizing that law librarians have unique skills to offer to the New England community and to foster a spirit of cooperation among the membership, the Service Committee shall identify, publicize and promote volunteer and community service activities for the members of LLNE.
  3. The Service Committee shall assist the Executive Board with distribution of any funds to charitable or other nonprofit institutions, consistent with the LLNE By-laws

Members

Nicole Belbin, Co-Chair
Associate Dean for Library & Information Resources
Western New England University School of Law		 Stephanie J. Farne
Legal Information Librarian & Lecturer in Law
Boston College Law School
John B. Nann
Senior Librarian for Research, Instruction, and Collection Services and Lecturer in Legal Research
Yale Law School		 Rebecca L. Valentine
Associate Librarian
Law Library Public Services
UMass Law School

Suggestions/Join

Do you have a suggestion for a project which the Service Committee can organize for the membership? Interested in learning more about Service Committee activities? Please contact the committee chair.

 

Upcoming and Ongoing Events

The Service Committee is currently meeting to discuss the project for the Fall 2021 Virtual Meeting.  If you have any ideas or would like to join the committee, please contact the co-chairs.

Past Events

2020/2021

  • For the Spring 2021 service projects, LLNE members donated funds to the NEADS Prison Pup Program.  This organization 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 $1,400.  If you would like to give to this wonderful organization, please visit  https://support.neads.org/llne. 
  • Members also pledged to create over 300 decorated cards and lunch bags for Meals on Wheels locations all over New England.  Meals on Wheels provide a hot meal and companionship to elderly residents throughout the United States.  We hope our members creations will bring a smile to the folks that receive them.  
  • Lastly, the committee encouraged members to to sign the Universal Declaration of Data Rights as Human Rights as part of the Coded Bias screening and panel.  
  • For the Fall 2020 project, members transcribed documents that are part of the Library of Congress’s New England Women Suffrage Association project.  LLNE also hosted a trivia night and raised $1,322.78 for RE∙Center.  The RE∙Center is an organization that works to promote racial equality in education.  The RE∙Center offers anti-racism programming to students, educators, and the community.  For more information on the RE∙Center, visit https://re-center.org/.

2019/2020

  • For the Fall 2019 service project, LLNE members were asked to play the online crowdsourcing game, Learned Hands.  Developed by the Stanford Legal Design Lab and Suffolk’s Legal Innovation and Technology Lab, Learned Hands asks users to spot legal issues in real people’s stories. The labels applied in the game aid in developing access to justice technology and also help link legal resources to the people who are searching for assistance.  Our collective goal was to earn 50,000 points and LLNE members crushed that goal by earning 205,350 points!  More than 4 times our goal!!  The committee also donated an official Green Bag Justice White bobblehead to the individual with the highest point total.  With 41,750 points, the winner was Nicole Dyszlewski from Roger Williams University.  Congratulations Nicole! The committee would also like to thank David Colarusso from the Suffolk Legal Innovation and Technology Lab for partnering with the Service Committee on this project and Michelle Pearse from Harvard for all her help getting the project off the ground.

2018/2019

  • In the Spring, the Service Committee took the transcription party on the road.  LLNE members from all over transcribed historical documents from the comfort of their home or office.  The committee is happy to report that we had 23 volunteers transcribe over 100 pages of the Rhode Island Equal Suffrage Association Journal from 1888-1892.  Thank you to everyone who volunteered and made this project a success!
  • For the Fall 2018 service project, the Service Committee hosted a Transcription Party at the Roger Williams School of Law Providence Campus.  Led by Rhode Island State Archivist, Ashley Selima, LLNE members transcribed documents from the Rhode Island Suffrage Association from 1868-1871 and 1888-1892.  The transcriptions will help make these fascinating historical documents more accessible to everyone.

2017/2018

  • In conjunction with this year’s Spring meeting, the Service Committee partnered with Veterans Inc., an organization that has assisted homeless veterans since 1990.  Veterans Inc. began by providing housing to veterans in the Worcester, Massachusetts area but expanded its services to include employment and healthcare assistance for veterans and their families throughout the New England area.  The Service Committee is pleased to announce that we received $555 in gift cards for veterans in need.  Thank you to everyone who donated! Click here to view this letter from Veterans Inc. to LLNE.
  • For the November LLNE/SNELLA Meeting, the Service Committees from both LLNE and SNELLA teamed up to raise money for the New England Innocence Project. NEIP provides pro bono legal representation to the wrongfully convicted all over New England. With only a small staff, the New England Innocence Project have exonerated over 70 individuals and work every day to reform the criminal justice system. Thanks to the generosity of its members and a matching gift from an anonymous donor, LLNE and SNELLA raised $7,700 for NEIP, making it the Service Committee’s most successful project to date.

2016/2017

  • Because the theme for the Spring meeting was professional development, the Service Committee asked members to donate professional clothing, toiletries, or money to SolutionsWear. Solutionswear provides interview-appropriate clothing and accessories to homeless and low-income men and women.
  • As part of the Fall meeting, the Service Committee donated over 150 stuffed animals for Project Smile to celebrate LLNE’s 70th anniversary.

2015/2016

2014/2015

Service Theme: Outreach to Public Libraries.

  • LLNE Legal Link: In 2013, the Service Committee of the Law Librarians of New England (LLNE) launched the Outreach to Public Libraries initiative in the interest of promoting access to legal information. The LLNE Legal Link web portal was the second product of that initiative. The first was the 2012/2013 public library book drive. In collaboration with LLNE colleagues, public librarians, publishers and vendors, the Service Committee will develop programs such as on-site training, webinars, and research guides to empower public librarians with basic legal research materials and techniques. These projects will accompany LLNE Legal Link.

2013/2014

2012/2013

  • Food Drive for the Greater Boston Food Bank: Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) is the largest hunger-relief organization in New England.  GBFB works to acquire, store, organize and distribute food through local food pantries, community meal programs, homeless and residential shelters, youth programs, senior centers, and day-care centers embedded in communities throughout the nine counties of eastern Massachusetts. We delivered a large carton of member donations of nonperishable food to GBFB after the Spring meeting.
  • Help for NY and NJ Libraries impacted by Hurricane Sandy: Hurricane Sandy hit the Atlantic Coast five miles southwest of Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the evening of October 29, 2012. Numerous public libraries in New Jersey and New York’s coastal areas sustained extensive damage from flooding and debris. To assist our neighbors in their recovery efforts, LLNE collected funds to donate to the New Jersey and New York Library Associations’ disaster relief funds.  Thank you letters from the Associations appear below.

Thank you letter from NJLAThank you letter from NYLA

2010

2006

  • Prosser Library Children’s Collection Book Drive: The LLNE Service Committee collected 26 books and $60 in monetary donations to benefit the Prosser Library in Bloomfield, CT. The library had lost half of its children collection due to water damage. Many thanks to LLNE members for their generous donations!

2005

  • Coats for Kids Drive
  • NAMI Walkathon Team met its fundraising goal of $200, thanks to team captain Ginny McVarish and walkers Carolyn Michaud, her brother and daughter.
  • Dress for Success Drive at LLNE Spring Meeting: Two large carloads of clothes were donated thanks to the generous donations of LLNE members.

2004

  • Mandeville College of Law in Jamaica: The Law Library was wiped out in a hurricane and LLNE members were asked to donate books and journals.
  • Walk for Hunger 2004! The LLNE Service Committee raised $896 at our Third Annual Walk for Hunger, Sunday, May 2, 2004. Thanks to everyone who pledged or walked for your support of Project Bread.
  • Earth Day April 24, 2004: A group from LLNE worked along the Charles River in Boston as part of the annual Charles River Clean up. Thanks to all who joined in!

2003

    • Read about the LLNE Service Committee in the Public Relations Column (p.8) of the June 2003 issue of AALL Spectrum.
    • Walk for Hunger 2003: LLNE Walkers raised over $600 on Sunday May 3 to help end Hunger right here in New England!
    • LLNE Spring Meeting 2003 Service Committee Table
Service committee table
Service Committee table at the Spring 2003 Meeting
  • At the Pine Street Inn on January 19, 2003 and on March 9, 2003, an enthusiastic group from LLNE had a great time serving dinner.
  • On January 25, 2003, a group from LLNE sorted and sent books to prisoners with the Prison Book Program.

2002

  • LLNE’s Service Committee coordinated book drives for America Reads in Boston and Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford in Connecticut for the 2002 holiday season. Thanks to all who donated.
  • Several LLNE members recently assisted the Prison Books Program at their annual Pack-A-Thon!
  • Inaugural Event: The Walk for Hunger, on Sunday May 5, 2002! The Service Committee organized a group from LLNE which participated in this annual fundraiser.

Public Librarian Scholarships

The annual Introduction to Legal Research Program is LLNE’s 6-week overview of the basic skills and materials used in legal research. To help give public librarians the tools necessary to approach their patrons’ research questions with confidence, the Access to Justice Committee offers two scholarships for free program registration.   If you have questions about the Legal Research Program, contact Brian Flaherty at brian2@bu.edu.  If you have questions about applying for a scholarship, please contact the chair of the Access to Justice Committee.

Past recipients:

  • Alvin Ealy from the Kingston Public Library and Heather Diaz from the Forbes Public Library were the recipients of the 2018 scholarships.
  • Emily Todd of the Fields Corner Branch of the Boston Public Library and Brian Hodgdon of the Saugus public Library were the recipients of the 2017 scholarships.
  • April Pascucci of the Library of U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and Jazmin Idakaar of the Boston Public Library were the recipients of the 2016 scholarships.
  • Jeanne Bent of the Hope Public Library in Scituate, RI and Kathleen Clifford of the Boston Public Library in Boston, MA were the recipients of the 2015 scholarships.
  • Philip Peck and Jean Slavkovsky, both of Massachusetts, were the recipients of the 2014 scholarships.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer Opportunities in New England The Committee collects links to volunteer organizations and opportunities throughout New England for publication on the LLNE website.