New Members

Welcome to the following new members:

Julie Beamer – Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals

Gabrielle Dennis – Thomson Reuters

Allison Gifford - Alexandria Law Library

Isaac Needell – Norfolk Law Library

Leslie Street – William & Mary Law School

Proposed changes to the Bylaws

VALL Voting Members ,

At the recent Executive Board meeting, two updates to the Bylaws were proposed to address changes to our organizational structure and operational processes. In accordance with the VALL constitution, members are being notified of these proposed changes in advance of the next meeting (October 25, 2019).

Article I, Sec. 5

Current language: Section 5: Suspension of Membership. Members failing to pay dues by August 1st, and after due notice by the treasurer, shall be suspended from the membership by the treasurer. Suspended members may be reinstated at any time upon payment of the full current year’s dues.

Proposed change: notice and suspension of membership for non-payment of dues shall be made by the Membership Chair rather than the Treasurer

Proposed language: Section 5: Suspension of Membership. Members failing to pay dues by August 1st, and after due notice by the Membership Chair, shall be suspended from the membership by the Membership Chair. Suspended members may be reinstated at any time upon payment of the full current year’s dues.

Article V, Sec. 1 

Current language: Section 1: Purpose. The property, business, and affairs of the Association shall be managed by the Executive Board which shall be composed of the officers of the Association, the last retiring president, and two directors of the Association who are not officers. The Chair of the Communications Committee shall serve as an ex officio member of the Board. The Executive Board shall have the power to fill any vacancy in elective offices except that of president. The person so elected by the Executive Board shall serve the unexpired term.

In the case of death or resignation of the president of the Association, the vice-president/president-elect shall become president and shall serve until the end of his or her own elected term.

Proposed change: remove reference to Chair of Communications Committee as ex officio member. The Communications Committee has been rolled into the Public Relations Committee.

Proposed language: Section 1: Purpose. The property, business, and affairs of the Association shall be managed by the Executive Board which shall be composed of the officers of the Association, the last retiring president, and two directors of the Association who are not officers. The Executive Board shall have the power to fill any vacancy in elective offices except that of president. The person so elected by the Executive Board shall serve the unexpired term.

In the case of death or resignation of the president of the Association, the vice-president/president-elect shall become president and shall serve until the end of his or her own elected term.

Thank you,

Megan Scanlon

VALL Secretary

Hungry, Hungry Hypos – A Reflection on a Great Program

by Molly Lentz-Meyer

As a relatively new research instructor I am always on the look-out for ways to improve my teaching and the experience of my students. This year’s programming provided a wealth of opportunity to learn what practitioners wish students knew, and how to teach them those skills.

I have found in prepping my courses that maybe the hardest thing to do is write a really good hypothetical. Frankly, even writing a kind of mediocre one can be hard. How do you balance interesting with relevance while avoiding pandering? Should you be clever or funny? Have silly names? What even makes a hypothetical a good hypothetical?

Happily, Hungry, Hungry Hypos was there to help. The presenters had put out a call on the listserv for hypos a few months ago, so the program had been on my radar for a while. I was hoping that it would be mildly helpful (managed expectations), and I was thoroughly surprised when it turned out to be amazing.

The presentation started with a hypothetical I happen to know well because it is used by UR’s very own Joyce Janto. The hypo was singled out as a great hypo because it meets what the presenters have identified as the “3 F’s” of a good hypothetical; functional, familiar, and fascinating.

These criteria are in order of importance. First and foremost, a good hypothetical must be functional. By this, they mean that a good hypothetical must be designed around the learning objective that it is attempting to teach. So, if you’re teaching how to research statutory law, your hypothetical must be functional for that purpose. As a corollary, and something I found alarmingly eye-opening to hear, there is no such thing as universally good hypo.

Second, a good hypothetical should be familiar. By this they mean that a good hypothetical should be familiar even to the student that they do not need to do any background research to start the research you have assigned. They cautioned however that pop culture references in hypotheticals should probably be avoided. You can never bank on everyone in the room being a Game of Thrones fan.

Finally, a good hypo should be fascinating. This, of course, is the hardest to get right – and thankfully the one that is the least important. It is also where the presenters disagreed the most. Should you try to be funny (not unless you actually are), should you use cute names (are they distracting), are they actually functional if they’re fascinating (this is where mine most often fail)? While we should strive for fascinating, interesting enough might actually be enough.

It was an eye-opening and educational experience and I walked out more confident in my ability to write a good hypothetical – and armed with a bunch of really great examples.

AALL 2019- Capitalizing On Our Strengths

by Ashley Vavra

First, a highlight: AALL 2019’s Thompson Reuters reception at the Library of Congress. I saw Dr. Carla Hayden speak, gawked at the art on the walls and ceiling of that beautiful building, and met dozens of friends-of-a-friend. I took an entirely unsophisticated number of photos.

That opportunity was just one exciting piece of a great few days, though. This was my first AALL conference, and people were right when they said newcomers are very welcome. I had my “First Time Attendee” ribbon on my name tag, and I think people read that as “New Kid: Be Nice To Me and Tell Me To Join Committees.” No complaints here, and I’m very grateful for the VALL grant that made it possible for me to be there.

I am thrilled to say that I was part of this year’s CONELL class. That started with the dine-around option on Friday, which was a fun way to get out and meet the other new people, as well as our two kind hosts, who have been around long enough to give us plenty of good advice. I met our CONELL cohort on Saturday, and decided the value of identifying a few familiar faces early on in such a big conference really can’t be overstated.

I also went to several sessions during the program. One of my favorites- and one that was most relevant for my work- was Creating an Oral History Program: Capturing History and Building Connections. The Supreme Court of Virginia has had an oral history program since 2007, and, as the new librarian-archivist there, the oral history program is an important part of my role. This session was especially useful because it brought together people from different environments with different goals, to talk about how their programs got to where they are and how they prepare for and conduct oral history interviews.

Some of the other sessions I attended:

·          Opening session: The speaker was Shon Hopwood, an appellate lawyer and a professor at Georgetown who spent time in prison some years ago for bank robbery. He told us the story of how he taught himself about the law in prison, wrote a brief for a friend that was accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court, and eventually went to law school and made a new life for himself. His talk was very well received by a packed ballroom full of people, particularly the parts about how resources sent by law librarians helped him get to where he is. (He was on 60 minutes if you want to look him up.) 

·         How to be a leader when you’re not a manager, or “Growing Out, not Climbing Up”. Take-aways: Use professional associations to build connections and skills. Be flexible. Try new things in your own job. Become an expert at something, dive deep into research if that’s what you enjoy. Collaborate. Choose new markers of progress in your professional life. Many of us feel the pressure to “move up” the org chart at work, to become managers at some point, and we may hear or feel that if we haven’t moved up after a certain amount of time, we’ve failed. But managing is just a different kind of job that you may or may not want, and requires different skills and goals. It is possible to be a leader without being a manager.

·         Engaging Public Librarians in Access to Justice. This was sponsored by the Government Law Libraries section, and discussed ways law librarians, who may not always be the first point of contact for a person in need of legal help, can get non-law public librarians on board. Much of the conversation centered on programs to educate public librarians about the self-help resources and organizations they can direct patrons to, and how to make librarians feel confident that they can help in significant ways that don’t cross into unauthorized practice of law.   

I also went to a couple of roundtables, including one where I got to meet other archivists in law libraries. We’re a small percentage of the law librarian world, so it was wonderful to have the chance to meet a roomful of them.

And because the beauty of conferences-- the opportunity to meet people, learn new things, and share ideas at a slightly alarming pace that still manages to be incredibly friendly and engaging-- can be a lot to handle in some moments. I’d like to point out the forethought and kindness of whoever decided AALL needed a Quiet Room. It was a lovely, restful space which, in my opinion, recognized the different needs of attendees and enabled a better appreciation of the general bustle of the conference.

So, long story slightly shorter: D.C. is a neat place to be, I learned a ton of new things on a wide variety of topics and met even more new people. And I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend AALL this year.

And here’s another picture! I finally got to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture (which opened in 2016 and has been packed every day since then, as far as I can tell), and it was every good thing that’s been said about it. The bottom concourse levels show the history of African Americans from 1400 or so to the present, and the upper floors are busting with music and arts and other things I didn’t have time to fully appreciate before I left D.C. on Tuesday. But anyway, if you get the chance, get there. 

CONELL: Class of 2019 - A Reflection

by Kelsey Cox

As a new law librarian (just shy of six months), I was very eager to attend my first AALL Conference and participate in the Conference of Newer Librarians (“CONELL”).  My mentors had described CONELL as a fun, engaging, and rewarding experience where lifelong bonds would be formed. With such high regards and a reputation that preceded itself, I was curious if my CONELL experience would live up to this portrayal. And …IT DID!

My CONELL experience began on Friday July 12^th when I participated in the “Dine Around Dinners” at Busboys and Poets—a vibrant restaurant (with a bookstore!). Besides the amazing food, this was a great opportunity to meet other law librarians and to get advice from two experienced AALL members. Tips for the upcoming conference included:  

·         Session Etiquette: Choose sessions that interested you. Don’t feel obligated to go to every session. Leave sessions that you are not enjoying.

·         The Importance of Networking—Meet everyone and make connections, as this could lead to new opportunities (e.g. collaborative work, hearing about new jobs).

·         Balance & Self Care—Pace yourself. Take to time to rest and clear your head in between sessions.

·         Remain Professional­—Avoid gossiping at social events. You never know who knows who.

Photo Curtesy of: BusboysandPoets.com

The connections I made at this dinner were valuable ones and would provide familiar faces to chat with the next day at the main CONELL event. 

With these tips and a thick stack of business cards, I made my way to Salon H of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center early Saturday morning.  After a brief breakfast and a warm welcome by the CONELL committee chair, Femi Cadmus (president of AALL) offered us some words of encouragement. She noted that the law library world is a collaborative profession and that we can grow individually through learning and sharing our experiences with others. “To Thrive, To Grow, To Network” were all themes she emphasized. Femi encouraged the CONELL Class of 2019 to get involved in AALL (e.g. volunteering on committees) and to push ourselves outside of our comfort zones. I appreciated her thoughts on being fearless with our career choices and always seeking to discover the “new you”. It’s important to continually grow and evolve and Femi suggested embracing change, rather than fearing it.  

After her message, we were able to meet AALL’s Executive Board through a question and answer session. A few points of interest were:

1.       Network Outside Of Your Profession:  Meet people with different ideas and ways of thinking. Develop your own knowledge and skill set. Cultivate expertise. Emphasize what you bring to the table. Attend programs outside of your practice area. Never think that you cannot do something.

2.       Get Involved: Whether that be with special interest sections, committees, or chapters. Start small. Get your feet wet. You don’t have to be an expert to join, other members will help you.

3.       Have Mentors: Have people to look up to and guide you. Choose people outside of your institution.

4.       Imposter Syndrome:  Everyone feels this at some point. It is normal. We are always learning. Focus on the positives of who you are, what you bring to your job, and your successes. Take the pressure off of yourself to be perfect. 

Photo Courtesy Of: AALL Twitter

After listening to these speakers’ encouraging messages, the CONELL Class of 2019 was divided into two groups to 1) attend the Marketplace and 2) to participate in Speed Networking.  I was first ushered into the Marketplace where 53 AALL groups (e.g. interest sections, committees, working groups) were set up around the perimeter of the space to eagerly recruit new members. There was a plethora of free swag including candy, chapstick, mini flashlights, pens, gavel pencils, penguin keychains etc. Business cards were flying as CONELL members entered prize raffles…which paid off for me as I won the book, Real World Mindfulness for Beginners by Sharon Salzberg, from the Mindfulness in Law Librarianship Caucus.

  

Soon after the Marketplace, I went to Room 103a for Speed Networking. This was one of my favorite parts of CONELL. With two rows of chairs facing each other, we had three minutes to get to know our fellow law librarians. We were given a list of questions as talking points, which included:  What advice would we give to our younger self? Why did we choose to become a law librarian? If we could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? This was a fun (and loud) experience to network in a casual, informal setting. 

After lunch and a brief break, CONELL concluded with a bus tour of Washington D.C. Our tour guide was informative and entertaining, constantly asking us trivia questions and providing us with tidbits of history.  The highlights included seeing the Capital Building, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument (pictured below). 

Overall, I had a wonderful and memorable experience; it was the perfect way to start the AALL conference.  I am truly grateful to have been part of the CONELL Class of 2019!

Happy Retirement to Jim Heller!

submitted by Linda Tesar, 

Interim Director/Head of Technical Services & Special Collections

Long-time VALL member Jim Heller officially retired on June 25, 2019 after more than 30 years as library director and professor of law at William & Mary Law School.

Jim at a retirement luncheon with his staff, looking through a scrapbook put together by staff - a law library tradition.

After earning his J.D. at the University of San Diego and his M.L.S. at U.C. Berkeley, Jim began his career as associate law librarian, head of reader services at the Jacob Burns Law Library, George Washington University National Law Center. He followed that position with short stints as director of the Dept. of Justice, Civil Division Library and director of the University of Idaho Law Library before moving to William & Mary in 1988.

Never one to sit on the sidelines, Jim built an enviable resume of organizational participation at every level of law librarianship. He served as president of VALL (1994/1995), SEAALL (1996/1997) and AALL (1998/1999), as well as chair of the Northwest Consortium of Law Libraries (1987/1988). He also participated in at least 20 different committees in those four organizations, leading as chair 18 times, including four times as chair of the AALL Copyright Committee.

Jim was equally prolific as a writer and speaker. At AALL meetings, Jim made 11 presentations over the years and coordinated or moderated 10 times. He spoke 12 times at SEAALL conferences and six times at VALL. He also presented more than 60 times at a variety of conferences and events including the meetings of the American Library Association, the British and Irish Association of Law Libraries, the Canadian Association of Law Libraries, the Medical Library Association, and the Virginia Library Association. 

Jim complemented this long list of speaking engagements with a list of publications nearly as long. In the course of his career, he published three books – including two editions of The Librarian’s Copyright Companion – three book chapters, 24 articles and more than 40 book reviews.

Even with all of this activity, Jim saved his best for William & Mary. Under his leadership, the law library consistently ranked as the best law school department in student surveys. From 2003 to 2007 Jim created one of the most popular spaces in the law school when he served as project manager and driving force behind the library’s renovation and addition. Throughout his tenure, he oversaw multiple initiatives to improve library services and strengthen the reputation of William & Mary Law School.

Jim’s legacy of innovations expanded beyond traditional library walls to include teaching (Legal Research, Law & Public Policy and Law & Literature), leading an early adoption of an institutional repository, the William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository, and recreating George Wythe’s library and developing its companion piece, Wythepedia. Shortly before he retired, Jim spearheaded the development of a timeline display of the law school’s history (now hanging in the library) and the launch of its digital twin.

Jim enters retirement joyfully planning attendance at blues festivals and travels with his wife, Janet, who retired from her position as assistant library director of Williamsburg Regional Library on June 28^th.

VALL members have a couple of opportunities to see Jim and wish him well in his retirement. Jim and his band, Winslow Ridge, will be playing at Cogan’s Deli & Sports Pub in Williamsburg on July 12^th. For those of you attending this year’s conference in D.C., the band will also be playing at Madam’s Organ in Adam’s Morgan on Saturday, July 13^th,  from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. And on Tuesday, July 16^th, at the Association Luncheon, Jim will be awarded the highest honor AALL can bestow, the Marion Gould Gallagher Distinguished Service Award.

In a W&M law school tradition, Jim leaves his last class to applause from students, faculty and staff

Cheers to Jim! Best wishes for a very long and very happy retirement!

President's Message: Farewell

Hello VALL members,

My term as President seemed to fly by.  I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you some of the highlights from our recent Spring Meeting, and to express some well-deserved VALL gratitude.

Spring Meeting

The meeting was held at the offices of Hunton Andrews Kurth in Richmond on May 3, 2019.  This proved to be an excellent venue for our association to meet, as it allowed us to take advantage of the firm’s conference facilities on the twentieth floor, with its sweeping views of the city and the river.  Doug Granger, the managing partner of Hunton’s Richmond office, opened our day with a warm welcome. 

The first educational session at the meeting was A Leopard CAN Change its Spots, co-presented by Suzanne Corriell and Megan Scanlon.  This was an interactive experience, in which the members in attendance worked together in groups to tackle one of our biggest challenges:  how we can guide users to newer technologies, resources, and work processes.  After working collaboratively on selected issues in our groups, we reconvened, and a spokesperson for each group presented the proposed strategies the group had developed for its assigned topics.  These topics included:

·         “Ol’ Faithful” – How do we help veteran patrons move beyond their familiar resources?

·         “The Paperless Office” – How does the law library help implement a management directive to go paperless by 2025?

·         “Partner in Crime” – How do we leverage vendor relationships to ensure adequate training on library resources?

·         “Better Balance” – How do we encourage newer attorneys to use current versions of codes available in research databases?

·         “The Missing Pieces” – How do we help users get more out of resources that they believe they “already know”?

·         “Win or Lose” – How can we enable users and colleagues who reflexively say no to new ideas to explore more positive approaches?

To capture the knowledge created and shared, Megan and Suzanne compiled a summary of the strategies devised by the small groups on all of these topics, which Chris Vassey circulated afterward.

For our next educational program, Scott Kimpel, a partner in Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Washington, D.C. office, provided a briefing entitled How Blockchain Technology is Revolutionizing Business and the Law.  Scott explained that blockchain is a type of ledger, but a distributed, decentralized one.  He described Bitcoin, one of the most well-known blockchain applications, and provided other examples of how blockchain technology can be used for supply chain management, home equity loans, and tracking insurance policies and claims.  Scott provided an overview of the emerging body of federal and state laws and regulationsregulations on blockchain.  Federal agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodities and Futures Trading Commission, and Federal Trade Commission, as well as state regulators like the New York Department of Financial Services, have all taken an interest in cryptocurrencies that use blockchain.  Some states, such as Wyoming, are modifying their laws to enable the use of blockchain technology for digital business.  He also recommended resources for researching and staying current on blockchain regulation.

Our last educational session was Build Your Brand with Social Media, presented by Sameena Kluck, Vice President of Business Development at Paladin.  She gave an excellent course on personal branding using social media.  She provided a wealth of advice on how to get the most out of LinkedIn.  She recommended, among other things, not writing your LinkedIn bio as if it were a resume.  Instead, think about what elements of your experience you want to highlight and convey to the reader of your LinkedIn page.  Sameena also shared her insights on how to be an effective Twitter user and how to tweet in a way that is professional and also congruent with your personality.

At our business meeting, I was delighted to welcome our new President, Chris Vassey, our new Treasurer, Alexis Sharp, and our new Director, Anna Price.  Continuing in their leadership roles are Secretary Megan Scanlon and Director Liz Schiller.  We also received reports from outgoing Treasurer David Knight and from committee chairs.  Additionally, the members voted to award Terry Long a Lifetime Membership in VALL in light of her retirement after years of dedicated service to VALL and to our profession.

Jane Harrison, Frosty Owen, and Alexis Sharp led tours of The Library, the library space in Hunton’s Richmond office that has been repurposed into a dynamic location for collaborative work, as well as a place for gathering with colleagues.  This was an opportunity that many of those in attendance had been looking forward to since VALL’s 2018 Fall meeting, at which Alexis previewed the renovated space.

Our 2019 Spring Meeting built on the themes of innovation and building a personal brand and offered the usual opportunities to reconnect with VALL members from across the state.  It was a great success, and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at VALL’s 2019 Fall Meeting—and at the AALL Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. in just a few weeks!

Thank You

Now that my term as President has finished, I would like to take a moment to thank the members of VALL for being committed to our chapter.  It was great seeing those who could make it to the Fall and Spring Meetings.  I am grateful for your enthusiasm and participation at our meetings, on committees, and in the countless ways you make VALL a unique organization.

To my fellow Executive Board members – thank you for your diligent work and support over this past year.  I am especially grateful to past Presidents Lara Dresser and Patty Petroccione for their advice and guidance—it was invaluable.

I am excited about the coming year and I know that with Chris’ leadership VALL will continue to shine.  I look forward to seeing what the future holds for us!

Andrew