2009 - 2010 VALL Membership Applications

Applications are due June 1! Please contact Victoria Levy at vlevy@hunton.com or send a message to the blog master for a copy of the application form if you did not receive the one that Victoria sent out to the listserv last week.

Kudos to Jane!

Congratulations to Jane Baugh of Woods Rogers on being elected PLL vice-chair/chair elect! Jane will take on the responsibilities of vice chair in July 2009 and will serve as chair of PLL from 2010 - 2011.

VALL Spring Meeting, May 22, Washington & Lee University

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rittenburg/2480972708/

The Colonnade from the Chapel

The Spring meeting will be hosted by Washington and Lee Law Library in beautiful Lexington and will be a joint meeting with the Virginia Chapter of the Special Libraries Association.

The first program will be a discussion of library directions in tough economic times, featuring Sally Wiant of Washington and Lee, Jim Heller of William & Mary, Charles Condon of Appalachian School of Law, and Taylor Fitchett of the University of Virginia.

The second program will be an introduction to wikis by University of Virginia's Amy Wharton. Attendees will also have the opportunity to take a tour of Washington and Lee's law school, Leyburn Library, and Lee Chapel. VMI has also offered attendees the opportunity to take a tour of their archives.

Please refer to Fred's email of April 24 for the registration form and program details or send an email to the blog master at VALLBlog@gmail.com and the documents will be sent to you.

Deadline for registration is May 15.

Below are links to places to stay:

From Lexington and the Rockbridge Area Tourist Development:
<http://www.lexingtonvirginia.com/result_1.asp?table=lodging&type=Bed+%26+Breakfast>

From Virginia-hotels.org:
<http://www.virginia-hotels.org/cities/Lexington/?source=1097~G~Lexington-VA-hotels-Exact&gclid=CPXRseTOiZoCFeZL5Qod3VR9Fg>

Directions to the School of Law

Lexington is located at the intersection of Interstates 81 and 64. Washington and Lee is less than two miles from the interstate.

Campus Map: Large Image Printable Map (PDF)

If you are traveling from the north, south, or east, follow I-81 to exit 191 (which puts you onto I-64). Next, take exit 55 off I-64. Turn left on to Route 11 south at the stop sign.
If you are traveling from the west, take I-64 to exit 55. Turn right on to Route 11 south at the stop sign.
Once you are on Route 11 south, you will drive through three traffic lights. After the third stoplight, you will cross the Maury River, and bear right onto Route 11 Business.
Proceed to the second stop light which is Nelson Street, make a right. Go through a light and at the bottom of the hill you will go under an overpass with the Lenfest Center on your left. Turn right onto East Denny Circle.
Go approximately 1/4 mile and the Law School is on your left. There is visitor parking on your left. If it is full, you are welcome to park in any space, other than those reserved for handicapped, in the law school lot.

A Report on Computers in Libraries Conference by Dee Dee Dockendorf

Thanks to a VALL grant, I was able to attend the Computers in Libraries (CIL) conference in Arlington, VA held March 30 - April 1. I’ve always wanted to attend a CIL conference to learn about new technologies and ways different types of libraries are applying that technology. This year, two of my colleagues and I were accepted to give a presentation on our collaborative digital project (more on that in a future post!), and with presenting comes free registration. Yeah! With the VALL grant to help offset some of the travel costs, I was ready for CIL!

There were many practical sessions presented at the conference. I learned more about Wikis and the opportunities for use. Some libraries are using Wikis for instruction, while others use them as “administration” pages, containing library policies, procedures, tasks, and schedules. Yet another library discussed the ways they use an internal WordPress blog to share administrative information. The blog replaced the library’s shared internal drive and cut down on email. I also learned about Content Management Systems (CMS) and mobile applications. While some of these technologies may not apply to my library (at least not in the near future), it was great to see what is out there and what’s coming down the pipe. For those involved in strategic planning, this conference is a great introduction to some new and innovative concepts and applications.

The conference also presented a lot of conceptual programs. While the tools and gadgets out there can be fun to play with, many presenters stressed the need for goals when it comes to implementing new technology. Using technology for technology’s sake is unsustainable. New tools should address current problems or goals at an institution. It’s also important to remember about buy-in when introducing new technology. Many times, people focus on getting patron buy-in, which is important, but forget about staff buy-in. In order for projects to really get off the ground, it’s important to have the staff excited and on board.

All in all, I had a great time at CIL 2009 and I came back inspired and invigorated. I even made time to go see the cherry blossoms in DC! For anyone considering attending next year, I highly recommend it. It’s a great opportunity to meet librarians from different walks of life and learn about new and exciting trends coming to libraries!

The Washington Monument and Cherry Blossoms by Dee Dee Dockendorf

National Library Week Celebrations

Virginia State Law Library

Gail Warren and her team kicked off National Library Week with an open house for everyone in the building. There was a cake celebrating the theme Worlds Connect @ Your Library and there were also M&Ms echoing the same theme.

National Library Week Cake

Folks enjoying the open house

As part of NLW celebrations the State Law Library staff also sponsored their 4th annual book drive. The Grace Arents Library of St. Andrew's School in Richmond received more than 70 new and used books.

Here are some of the books which went to the Grace Arents Library


The law library staff with Kim Teeples (librarian & art teacher at St. Andrew's)

L-R: Dee Dee Dockendorf, Kim Teeples, Gail Warren & Janet Holland

Hunton & Williams Library

The H&W library did not celebrate National Library Week last year due to construction in the library and so this year's weeklong celebrations were geared towards bringing people into the library and introducing them to new library training and subscriptions.

With the hope that if you feed them, they will come, the library started NLW week with a European breakfast.

There was fruit to balance out the pastries

Part of the European breakfast spread

Stefanie Pollack from Westlaw Business kicked off the presentations and training sessions with an update on what's new.

Then Leanne Battle from Lexis did a presentation on finding expert witnesses.

Lynne Murphy from Bloomberg presented The Life of a Bond and how to find and use dockets on Bloomberg Law.

Stefanie Pollack from Westlaw Business

Laura Hernandez demonstrated People Map and public records on Westlaw. Cindy Carlson and Kelly Perkins also came to help with the presentation and give away prizes.

Laura Hernandez showing People Map

Presentations for the week ended with a Hands-On Blue Booking workshop for paralegals which reference librarian Michele Gernhardt conducted.

Michele Gernhardt teaching the paralegal blue booking class

In addition to the training sessions, giveaways and food, the library also sent out a quiz called How Well Do You Know Your Library Staff? and included fun questions such as Which Librarian's Band is on You Tube? Who Has Dined With Brooke Shields, Lunched With Tom Poston And Had Cocktails With Mariel Hemingway? and Who Has Climbed A Live Volcano That Recently Erupted?

The winner of the quiz was Mikray Arupjan who won a Starbucks gift set.

Since the week started with food, it also ended with food -- a dessert bar in the library which disappeared very quickly. Note for next year ... make more desserts.

Lemon cake, Oreo truffles, Black-bottom cupcakes, Chocolate Pie and Devil's Food Cake cupcakes to name a few of the desserts.