Virginia Association of Law Libraries, a chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
VALL Dine-Around
Bertucci's Italian Restaurant
11721 West Broad Street
Short Pump Town Center
Richmond, VA 23233
http://www.bertuccis.com/
On January 12 at 7 pm.
RSVP to Evelyn Campbell at eve8camp@yahoo.com or simply comment on this posting below with your name and number in your party. Evelyn will make the reservation and will contact all those who have responded.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Online Reference Librarian: South University
As the South University Online Reference Librarian, you will act as the liaison for all South University online programs, you will make online students and their needs the primary focus of your actions, with reference and research assistance, instruction, and other services to users in an online environment your main duty. Incumbent must assure that the EDMC philosophy: quality services to clients; development, growth, involvement, and recognition of employees; sound economic principles; and environment which is conducive to innovation, positive thinking and expansion - is considered in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of this position.
Key Job Elements:
· Provide reference and assist all patrons with development of research skills.
· Create, write and update library publications, such as manuals, guides, bookmarks, bibliographies, subject guides and other information literacy/library promotional materials.
· Supervise any ILL services offered and contribute content to library web site.
· Review existing collections for continued curriculum relevance.
· This position will require weekend and evening hours.
· This position is located in Savannah, GA.
Reports To: Director , University Libraries, South UniversityDirectly
Supervises: None
Interacts With: Library Directors, online faculty, students, and staff, student affairs, curriculum
Job Requirements/Knowledge:
· Master's Degree in Library, Information Science, or related from an ALA accredited school.
· 1+ years experience working in a library in a post-secondary institution.
· Held positions of increasingly responsible experience in the industry.
· Knowledge of subjects usually taught at a post-secondary institution
· Knowledge of integrated library systems, OCLC, MARC records and current technologies
· Strong computer skills and customer service orientation preferred. Experience delivering library research assistance, instruction, and other services to users in an online environment preferred.
· Experience developing online tutorials or other learning objects; experience with online course management systems; knowledge of current and emerging trends in online learning and knowledge and experience using web development applications is highly desirable.
Skills:
· Fiscal and personnel management expertise.
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
· Strong interpersonal skills with both peer and subordinate personnel.
· Superior organizational skills
Abilities:
· Work effectively a team member to insure that departmental goals are met.
· Ability to work well within the principles and practices of collection development.
· Ability to teach information literacy skills
· Comfort level with expanding and contracting sphere of influence as required at times by the role.
· Ability to frequently lift 10 to 15 pounds.
For immediate consideration, please email your CV in MS Word format to: kasawyer@southuniversity.edu. Please include your salary history in the body of the
email.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Welcome, Meredith Duval!
She grew up in Chicopee, MA and moved to Maine to attend Colby College. Meredith graduated from Boston College Law School in 2009 and Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science in May 2010.
She met her fiance, Kevin O'Brien, while in law school, and they decided to move back to Richmond which is Kevin's hometown.
Meredith lives in the Museum District with her cat, Mr. Man, and enjoys running marathons in her spare time. "My dad is my marathon running partner so that's fun too," Meredith said. Her most memorable marathon was the Stowe Marathon in picturesque Vermont.
And when she is not running marathoms, she is not above indulging in other types of running ... for instance the "Mud Run" in Richmond in May (see photo of a mud-splattered Meredith with fiance Kevin).
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Message from the President

It is with a deep appreciation that I write to commend our members for turning out en masse for the recently held annual meeting.
I see a rekindling of interest in the association as exemplified by the high attendance. Our association is not only active, but continues to respond to the challenges of our members. In this regard, we realized the importance of effective information dissemination and have used that to a successful end in re-energizing the membership base.
We also realized that times are hard and responded accordingly by amending our bylaws so that our association does not place too much demands on the members. In all of these my gratitude goes to the members and committee chairs who continue to give their time and talent so that our association remains strong.
As a dynamic association, we do not content with doing just the things that make us visible and viable. To the contrary, we step up to the challenge by doing the things that will continue to mark us information experts and managers, focusing always on the best interests of our members.
To this end, we will continue to use our Listserve, Blog and Wiki to help members with research problems and bring job opportunities to our members. We will also continue to expand our efforts at attracting new members, while at the same time promoting mentorship for the younger members in building successful career paths.
Just recently, too, we have come up with a social program that will enable members to network from time to time on a rotational informal basis. In all of these, I applaud the vision of some members and committee chairs who continue to volunteer their time and creative minds to our association. On a final note, there is still room for improvements. With your help and commitment we will continue to make our association great.
Thank you.
Anthony Brown C. Ikwueme
VALL Annual Meeting Oct. 29, 2010
VALL President Tony Ikwueme opening the annual meetingMembers enjoyed a continental breakfast courtesy of the LexisNexis Librarian Relations Group before trooping into the first program, The Googlization of Everything which was presented by UVA Associate Professor Siva Vaidhyanathan.
It was a scintillating, highly informative program which made you look at Google in a whole new perspective. If anyone ever thought Google was their friend, this program dispelled that notion.
Siva Vaidhyanathan entertaining and scaring VALL members with the workings of Google
Vaidhyanathan's program was followed by Reference 2010: The Sky is Falling and a New Day Dawns. Ben Doherty and Kent Olson from UVA's Law Library played the characters of Gloom and Doom, and took us through various adverse reference scenarios (the Sky is Falling) and offered a different view of the situation (a New Day Dawns).

Ben Doherty and Kent Olson masquerading as Gloom and Doom

VALL members being deGooglized

After a delicious lunch (courtesy of West) members went into the business meeting where all the proposed amendments were unanimously approved.
The next VALL meeting will be the Winter Meeting in 2011. Stay tuned for more information!
Beginning My Journey to the Summit
In May of 2009, I graduated from law school with the goal of becoming a law librarian. I had received my library science degree in 2006 and three years of law school had convinced me that I belonged in a law library.
In September of 2009, I began my first job as a law librarian. One thing I had heard from the start was that the Annual Meeting of AALL was an essential activity for all law librarians, and certainly for new librarians. It was with great anticipation that I looked forward to July 2010, when I would head to Denver and finally find out for myself what the Annual Meeting was all about. My trip was made possible by my employer, the University of Richmond, and by a grant from VALL, both of whom I am indebted to, because the Annual Meeting was everything I had hoped it would be, and then some!
One thing I had heard from others, but wasn’t fully prepared for was just how exhausting and overwhelming those 4 days of programs could be. I attended CONELL on Saturday and that alone made me realize the importance of pacing myself. CONELL was an exciting whirlwind of meeting others, be they newbies to the profession, like myself, or seasoned veterans who offered sage advice on how to get the most out of my time at the Annual Meeting. Between making as many contacts as I could, and being whisked around Denver on an amazing tour of the city and its surroundings, I was exhausted Saturday evening. Exhausted-and exhilarated-at the prospect of meeting even more people and learning about what had brought such varied people into this unique profession.
The bulk of the conference, for me, was spent in programs, meetings, and volunteering to man the SEAALL table in the exhibit hall, though I did make time on Tuesday to go white water rafting, wherein I almost died (not really) and broke my middle finger on my right hand (really). The moral of that “program” was that I’m better off sticking to the programs offered by AALL and not creating my own excitement at the conference.
Of all the programs I attended, the one that stuck out most in my mind was, “Starting Off on the Right Track: Avoiding Mistakes Common to New (And Not-So-New) Instructors.” One reason this program resonated with me is that I was preparing to teach a class for the first time once school began in the fall. The information I gained from the speakers shaped the planning and preparations I put into my class, including giving me a great activity to use with my students in the first session. As I looked around the room at others attending the program, I was comforted to see a mix of new librarians and librarians who had been teaching for years. It brought home that AALL is an organization that never stops being useful to a law librarian. As I progress through my career, I will need to meet others outside my own library and to learn from the experiences of law librarians across the country.
To me, that was the greatest lesson I took away from the Annual Meeting and I can’t wait for next summer and the chance to further broaden my horizons professionally!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Don't Miss VALL Annual Meeting!
Access the Meeting Information and Registration Materials here: http://vall.pbworks.com/2010-Annual-Meeting
Don't miss this opportunity to meet with colleagues in lovely Charlottesville!