President's Message

Hello, VALL members! I hope you all had a wonderful summer. My favorite time of the year is finally arriving, and there is much going on with VALL that I’d like to share with you. 

VALL at AALL

There was a good contingent of VALL members who attended the AALL Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas last July. We held our summer lunch meeting at Paesano’s on the Riverwalk.

 

Also during the conference, we had a VALL chapter table on display at the Exhibit Hall.

 

 

Thanks to our Public Relations Committee for having created special VALL 30^th Anniversary buttons made to give to the exhibit hall visitors.

 

Overall it was a great showing of VALL at AALL this year (Thanks to Stephanie Miller for the pictures)!

 

Memory Book

There is still time to share your memories with the 30^th Anniversary Committee for inclusion in the VALL Memory Book. As an incentive, all members who submit a memory for the book will automatically be placed in a drawing to win a $25 gift card from Barnes & Noble. You can send your VALL memories to Jane Harrison (jharrison@hunton.com) or Sally Wambold (swambold@richmond.edu).

 

Strategic Planning & Communications Committees

There are two projects of note that are currently ongoing. The first is the work of VALL’s Strategic Planning Committee. A mission statement has already been implemented, with a proposed strategic plan to be discussed by the Executive Board. There will be more news to follow. Thanks to the planning committee, under Chair Andrew Winston, for its hard work in creating an essential strategic plan for VALL.

 

The other project involves the Communications Committee, which is currently working to strengthen its communication to its members. As you may have already seen, the association blog, VALLTalk, has already gone through some revisions, with more to come. The plan is to improve the blog and possibly combine it with the VALL Wiki to create one integrated association blog and website. Communications Committee Chair Evelyn Campbell has been working hard with a focus group to identify those areas of communication improvement. The committee would appreciate any feedback by VALL members on the changes.

 

Fall/Annual Meeting

 

I am very excited about our upcoming Fall Meeting, to be held at Hunton and Williams LLP in Richmond on Friday, October 10. We will be hosting a special visitor and speaker: AALL Vice President Keith Ann Stiverson. She will talk about the work that the AALL Executive Board has been doing this year.

 

In addition to Keith Ann, we will have two interesting talks. Sherwin Siy, from Public Knowledge (https://www.publicknowledge.org/), will discuss net neutrality and the implications for first sale and copy ownership in the digital environment. Sally Wiant, from the Washington & Lee University School of Law, will speak about 3D printing and the intellectual property issues that arise from this new medium.

 

Finally, we have two special events planned right after the meeting. First, interested attendees will tour the Virginia State Law Library (which is where I happen to work), located in the Supreme Court of Virginia, and just a short walk from Hunton & Williams. Afterward, we will have a reception for Keith Ann at The Tobacco Company, also located near Hunton & Williams. The reception will be a great opportunity to meet Keith Ann in a more social setting. If you plan to attend the meeting, I do hope that you will be able to stay after and join us at one or both of these special events.

 

The meeting program and registration form can be found here, where you can print and fill out the form. Please note that you have until Friday, October 3 to register. You can send your completed registration form (or questions about the meeting) to Programs Committee Chair Stephanie Miller (millersc@wlu.edu).

 

Well, I think that is all for now. I hope to see you all at our Annual Meeting next month. Have a great fall season!

 

 Ben Almoite

 

VLA Council Meeting Sept 12, 2014

by Terry Long

 

• Jobline is profitable which indicates more jobs are available.
• Institutional memberships have increased.
• An audit was recently conducted of VLA’s finances and no irregularities were found. An audit will be conducted every three years.
• Richmond Convention Center will be the site of the 2015 annual meeting.
• The Executive Committee has been discussing the future of the publication, Virginia Libraries.
• Though VLA is not a member of Southeastern Library Association, they are exploring ways to partner with them on programing.
• ALA has reaffirmed its stance on net neutrality.
• Registration for VLA’s annual meeting is progressing nicely.
• Speakers at this year’s annual meeting are: Dr. Michael Stephens, writer of the monthly Library Journal column “Office Hours” and assistant professor at San Jose State University’s School of Information, will speak at the opening session on Thursday. Keynote  speaker for Friday is Gene Ambaum, a co-creator of the “Unshelved” comic.
• Phil Abraham, VLA’s lobbyist, will be presented with the George Mason award at VLA’s annual meeting. This award is not always given each year;  rather , it is given when appropriate, to a librarian or an individual “distinguished for advocacy of libraries and/or informationaccess”… [In years past Phil has helped VALL with issues involving the General Assembly.]
• The Scholarship Committee is accepting baskets for their raffle at the annual meeting.
• New librarians in Richmond area will gather at Hardywood Park brewery for a social on October 2^nd.
• Association of College and Research Libraries is hosting a webinar on making effective presentations on September 23^rd. It will be archived on VLA web site.
• The next para-professional forum will be held May 17-19, 2015 at the Doubletree Hotel in Chesterfield.

 

VALL Through the Eyes of the President

by Jane Harrison

Ben Almoite, Librarian at the Virginia State Law Library in Richmond, Virginia, has already had a full professional calendar this year. He attended the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Leadership Academy in Oak Brook, Illinois in April – thanks to assistance from a VALL Grant; and he attended AALL’s Annual Meeting and Conference in San Antonio, Texas in July.

So how did Ben first find out about VALL? Well, he “Googled it”! In 2011, Ben was relocating to Richmond from Washington, DC, where he was a law firm reference librarian, and active in the Law Librarians’ Society of Washington D.C. Wanting to see if there was a chapter of AALL in the Richmond area, he did a quick search on Google. He was delighted to find VALL. Three years later, Ben now wears the president’s hat.

Among the things Ben is excited about this year is seeing VALL celebrate its 30^th Anniversary. “Thirty years as an association is a long time – a great achievement. I am honored to be the VALL president during this milestone year,” Ben said.

The 30^th Anniversary Committee has invited all VALL members to share their memories, which will be compiled in a “VALL Memories” book. So, what has been Ben’s most memorable moment as VALL president so far? “Definitely holding my first executive board meeting back in June. I had never ran a formal meeting before, let alone worry about putting together a meeting agenda, facilitating discussions and putting issues to a vote. For me it was certainly a memorable experience.”

Ben feels that VALL has been a huge influence in his professional development as a law librarian. “Being a member of VALL has given me the opportunity to keep in touch with trends in law librarianship, legal research and teaching. It has also allowed me to meet so many colleagues – both locally and nationally - and to use them as an occasional sounding board.”

During his tenure as VALL president, Ben wants to see an increase VALL’s visibility as a chapter. During the AALL 2014 meeting in San Antonio, VALL had a table set up in the Exhibit Hall, and the Public Relations Committee had special “30^th Anniversary” VALL buttons made, to be distributed to conference attendees. In addition, AALL Vice President Keith Ann Stiverson will be visiting and attending the Fall Meeting in Richmond in October.

He also wants VALL to continue to be an inclusive association, and encourages members from all regions of the Commonwealth to get involved with VALL. “Even though our members are widespread throughout the state, I want them to know that we are all ‘one’ through this association; and we need their involvement and participation in order for VALL to continue to be a strong organization.”

“Volunteering some time as a member of a VALL committee is a great way to get involved,” said Ben. “You can really make a difference without much of a time commitment.” “Another way to participate is following VALL in social media, where members can share news through a Community page on Facebook, and a Group page on LinkedIn.”

Finally, as to VALL’s role in the future of the legal community, Ben hopes that members will continue to write articles in the Virginia Lawyer, as well as promote VALL to other colleagues in the workplace.

“I think as long as we continue to show legal professionals who we are and what we do, through our work and contributions, VALL can remain relevant in the Virginia legal community.”

 

Seeking Your VALL Memories!

The 30th Anniversary Committee is seeking your memories of VALL for inclusion in the VALL Memory Book. if you recall, Ben Almoite talked about this in his President's Message, and this was also discussed at the fall meeting at South University.

Submit your memory to Jane Harrison at jharrison@hunton.com or Sally Wambold at swambold@richmond.edu, and your name will be placed in a drawing for a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card.

Come on VALLers, we know you've got memories you want to share!