Welcome to Catherine!

Catherine G. OBrion has joined the Virginia Supreme Court Law Library as Librarian-Archivist.

Catherine grew up in Richmond, Virginia, in the Bon Air area. She attended the University of Virginia, where she earned both undergraduate and master's degrees in history and, in 1997, a Ph.D. in history. In 2002, she earned a graduate certificate in archives and records management from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. Catherine has worked as an archivist at Virginia Tech, the Presbyterian Historical Society in Montreat, North Carolina, and, most recently, the Library of Virginia.

She is married to Chris OBrion, who is also from Richmond. They have two daughters, Carrington, who just started her first year of college, and Grace, who is in the fifth grade. Catherine lives in western Henrico County. She enjoys trying new restaurants, going to plays, shows, and movies, reading history, hiking with her two dogs, and visiting historical sites and parks with her husband and daughters.

In addition to responsibility for identifying, appraising, documenting and directing the safekeeping of judicial branch archival records, both print and electronic, and other historically valuable items in the Supreme Court of Virginia Archives, Catherine will coordinate the Oral History Program and other projects of the Supreme Court of Virginia Historical Commission. She is already busy processing items in our archival collection including the personal papers of four justices, historical court records, manuscripts, photos, and other items, supervising the library's student interns from VCU's history department, and, last but not least, assisting judicial staff and researchers by identifying appropriate research materials, retrieving items, and assisting in their use.

VALL welcomes Catherine and looks forward to seeing her at upcoming meetings.

To WestlawNext or Not? That is the Question.

by Nancy Loewenberg

I’d like express my appreciation to VALL for its generous grant that enabled me to attend the AALL Annual conference in my hometown of Philadelphia. In addition to the meeting’s excellent and relevant programming, being able to visit some of my old stomping grounds, such as the Rittenhouse Square branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, made this one of the more memorable AALL meetings for me.

I attended the highly anticipated session entitled “The New Generation of Legal Research Databases: Eighteen Months Later”. Based on the healthy size of crowd that gathered for this last session on the last day of the conference, many librarians shared my interest in the impact that WestlawNext, Thomson Reuters’s next generation of research service, has had on the legal research landscape since its introduction in February, 2010. The panel represented both the law firm and law school environments.

Prior to the conference, a survey was sent out to the AALL membership to gauge how WestlawNext has been received and the May, 2011 results were both interesting and instructive. The survey demographics were skewed towards law firms, with 76.7% of the respondents from firms; law schools were represented by 18.4% and government agencies/court/corporation libraries by 4.9%. The survey indicated that 48% of the total respondents had already rolled out WLN with 52% having not yet implemented the new platform. The survey showed a much greater adoption of WLN by law school libraries where cost considerations are not a factor. An informal poll was taken of the audience in the meeting room and it confirmed that there has been much greater adoption of WLN by law schools.

The survey revealed that there was still a lot of indecision among libraries that had not yet rolled out WLN, with 63% indicating that they had not yet made the decision to introduce it. Reasons for a delayed roll out included most prominently cost and pricing structure, the quality of the product, the limited scope of its content, and the fact that the product was still evolving.

Comments made by the panel about their experiences with WestlawNext, as well as additional survey results shed light on both its strengths and drawbacks. The strengths included ease of use with a simple, Google-like interface, particularly and predictably popular with students and younger attorneys; the folder and folder-sharing feature; faceted/aggregated search results which expose the researcher to new material; and the new search algorithm. Biggest drawbacks to WLN included most emphatically the cost; pitfalls with an oversimplification of research; a lack of precision; and the new platform not being conducive to power searching.

This program was very thought-provoking and inspired me to closely follow the dialog being conducted in the law library community about this new addition to the legal research arsenal. The stakes are high in terms of the quality and reliability of research results and we are understandably motivated to make the right decision for what best serves our institutions. If you are interested in a further discussion of the implications of WestlawNext, I recommend Ronald Wheeler’s article in the Summer 2011 issue of Law Library Journal, found at http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Publications/llj/Vol-103/2011-03/2011-23.pdf. To level the playing field, I recommend you read the response by a senior member of the WLN development team to questions and misconceptions raised about the new service that appeared on the rethinc.k blog this month: http://www.jasnwilsn.com/2011/10/03/on-westlaw/ and http://www.jasnwilsn.com/2011/10/05/part-2-on-westlawnext-westsearch-and-haters-a-brief-interview-with-mike-dahn-of-thomson-reuters/.

Volunteer for AALL AMPC

AALL is now accepting applications for the 2012-2013 Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC).
http://www.aallnet.org/Home-page-contents/NewsCallout/volunteer-ampc.html
Applications for AMPC are due November 1. (Note: The committee volunteer form for all other AALL committees will open on February 1. )

My AALL Experience

by David Knight

Many times at conferences, the keynote speaker’s address is something going on in another room while attendees run from booth to booth in the exhibit hall gathering as much vendor swag as possible. That was not the case at the AALL Annual Meeting, as the ballroom for the keynote speaker was packed beyond capacity, as many attendees, including myself, found a nice spot in the floor to listen to Dahlia Lithwick. And although she spoke for the full time allotted, and may have even gone over by a bit, hardly anyone left before she finished and it appeared as if the audience would’ve liked to continue to ask questions well into the next session.

Lyn Warmath recently posted her thoughts on Dahlia’s address as well, but I would like to discuss a different aspect of it. To me, the most thought provoking part of her address was about how technology is changing what we consider, or once considered, free speech. She drew an analogy about how yelling fire in a crowded movie theater was not free speech. But because social media and technology now allows for more direct, immediate communication, some question whether the movie theater is now the world. The omnipresent media we live with, combined with technology, can amplify private speech into public speech, and if public speech becomes assaultive, it should no longer be free. That technology outpaces the law is not a recent phenomenon. The difference we see today, she pointed out, is that technology forces us to alter our paradigm of what we might consider free speech more than ever.

One of the most memorable sessions I attended was Providing Excellent Service in Law Libraries: Hold the Pickles, presented by Vanessa Uribe from El Dorado County Law Library, and Kelly Browne from Sacramento County Public Law Library. Their model was inspired by a customer service training program developed by the owner of Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Zingerman’s Deli has become renowned in the small business circles as having a great employment culture. Zingerman’s model is so successful that the company set up a separate training company to meet demand.

According to this model, there are five steps to overhaul an organization’s culture: teach it, define it, live it, measure it, and then reward it. In the training step, one should remember the 5-90-5 rule, meaning that while 5% of people are born with great service instincts, another 5% would or could never provide great service. However, 90% of people fall in between, so it’s important to teach the desired method of service or tone of culture by example from the top down. In teaching great service, one must define it. Definitions might include, but are not limited to, making eye contact with the person being served, affirm any frustration and stop doing what you were doing when the customer approaches. Also taught in this step is how to best handle a complaint about service and the precept of “fairness is on another planet”. By this, it means employees should keep in mind that complaints are not to be taken as a personal attack. After great service is taught and defined, the organization must live it as systematic. Once it is systematic, it should be measured, comparing complaints against successes. And finally, are those who consistently deliver great service recognized or rewarded? Think not only of recognizing or rewarding individuals, but groups as well.

Many libraries and organizations across the country have implemented Zingerman’s model and changed their culture for the better. Who knew a small deli in a college town could have such an impact? This just goes to show that great ideas can come from anyone, anywhere.

High Anxiety at the High Court

by Lyn Warmath

I was a fortunate recipient of a very generous grant from VALL this year. The grant enabled me to attend AALL’s annual meeting in Philadelphia, one of the best conferences I have attended. I am pleased to describe a session I attended at the meeting, the keynote address by Dahlia Lithwick, a senior editor and legal correspondent at Slate Magazine, a columnist for Newsweek, a guest columnist for the op-ed page of The New York Times, co-author of a legal humor book, Me v. Everybody: Absurd Contracts for an Absurd World, and I Will Sing Life: Voices from the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a book funded by the late Paul Newman about seven children from a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses.

In addition to her many writing skills, Lithwick is a compelling speaker and skillful observer of human nature. Lithwick described her observations of United States Supreme Court justices over the years and their evolving love/hate relationships with the press and the public. Although the justices rely on the media to talk to the public, Lithwick notes the justices go to great lengths to demonstrate they do not need the media, while obsessively following the press.

According to Lithwick, the justices’ anxieties have increased over the years as technology has transformed the speed with which free speech can turn into assault. Lithwick has observed the justices’ increasing anxieties about technologies that have blurred the lines between public speech and private speech and she concludes the justices are not adapting well or enjoying these lessons.

Lithwick sees a court in retreat because it mistrusts a press and public it cannot control. But at the same time she expresses hope that the justices will learn private places no longer exist, overcome their fears, roll in the cameras and provide much greater transparency.

If you missed Dahlia’s address or would like to hear it again, it is available at AALL’s web site.

AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers

Have you been thinking of writing an article of interest to law librarians? The AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers Committee has just the incentive to get started.

The Committee is soliciting articles in four categories:

Open Division: for active and retired AALL members and law librarians with five or more years of professional experience.

New Member Division: for recent graduates and AALL members who have been in the profession for less than five years.

Short Form Division: for AALL members. Articles in this category will be shorter than a traditional scholarly article, and appropriate for publication in AALL Spectrum, a bar journal, chapter or SIS newsletter.

Student Division: for students in library, information management or law school. Participants in this division need not be members of AALL. To submit in this category, you must have been enrolled in law school, or in a library school, information management, or an equivalent program, either in the Fall 2011 or Spring 2012 semester.

Submissions in the Open, New Member and Short Divisions must be submitted by March 1, 2012. Articles in the Student Division must be received by May 15, 2012.

The winner in the Open, New Member, and Student Divisions will receive $650 and the Short Form Division winner will receive $300 generously provided by LexisNexis®, plus the opportunity to present the winning paper at a program during the 2012 AALL Annual Meeting in Boston!

Winning papers in the Open, New Member and Student Divisions are also considered for publication in the Association’s prestigious Law Library Journal.

For more information, a list of previous winners, an application and instructions on how to submit your article, please review the information below. Winning papers from earlier competitions can also be found athttp://works.bepress.com/aallcallforpapers.

If you have any questions, please contact a member of the AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers Committee: Chair, Jennifer Lentz, Vice-Chair, Mark Podvia, Benjamin John Keele, James P. Kelly, Jr., or Shawn G. Nevers.

Calling VALL Writers ...

The Publications Committee is looking for writers for upcoming columns in the Virginia Lawyer. There is an opportunity to write a 750-word article for the Law Libraries column and also for the February Family Law issue (deadline Jan. 8, 2012) and Senior Lawyers issue (deadline March 12, 2012). If you are interested please contact Gail Zwirner at gzwirner@richmond.edu.

Excellence in Marketing Award Winners

Check out the latest issue (Sept/Oct 2011) of Spectrum for a listing of all winners in the different categories. Congratulations to VALL for winning the Best Campaign award for articles published in the Virginia Lawyer and Virginia Lawyers Weekly.

Here is the link to pg. 16 (cut and paste into your browser):

http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Publications/spectrum/Vol-16/No-1/pr.pdf

This was possible because of the hard work and involvement of VALL members. When the opportunity arises don't forget to volunteer to write an article! We have many talented writers in VALL.

Welcome Nick!

Nicholas Stump is the new reference librarian at the Appalachian School of Law Library.

Nick grew up in Buckhannon, West Virginia. After attending WVU for both his undergraduate and law degrees he moved to Buchanan County, Virginia (pronounced the same!) to work at ASL.

Nick was a student worker at WVU's Law Library during his law school days.

When he's not answering reference questions for students and faculty, he's often found hiking out in the mountains.

VALL welcomes Nick and looks forward to meeting him at future VALL meetings.

VALL Business Meeting Oct.28

The next VALL business meeting will be held Friday, October 28, 2011 at 10:45 a.m. in the 1st floor Amphitheater of the Portsmouth Renaissance Hotel and Waterfront Conference Center. The address is 425 Water Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704.

Please submit all proposed agenda items to Michele Gernhardt (mgernhardt@hunton.com) by Friday, October 21.