AALL Annual Meeting and Conference

Registration - Saturday

Black Caucus Annual Scholarship Dinner at Ms. Tootsie's

The Supreme Court and Free Speech 

How the Supreme Court is fracturing over speech issues, and how the press and the public are both causing it, and suffering for it

Dahlia Lithwick is a senior editor at Slate, and in that capacity, writes the "Supreme Court Dispatches" and "Jurisprudence" columns. She is a biweekly columnist for Newsweek. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Harper's, The Washington Post, and Commentary, among other places. She received the Online News Association's award for online commentary in 2001 and again in 2005, for a series she coauthored on torture, and was the first online journalist invited to serve on the Steering Committee for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. She is the co-author of "Me v. Everybody: Absurd Contracts for an Absurd World," a legal humor book, and "I Will Sing Life: Voices from the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp", a book about seven children from Paul Newman's camp with life-threatening illnesses. She lives in Charlottesville, VA with her husband and two sons.

This session will be webcast live here.

Target Audience: Information technology librarians, technical services librarians, administrators interested in the next generation library management system

Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will identify at least three advantages and disadvantages of cloud-based solutions and three types of cloud computing- Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)-to lower the total cost of ownership.
2. Participants will be able to evaluate the library management functionality in OCLC's Web-Scale Management Services (WMS), a cloud computing interface, and the efficiency of OCLC's WorldCat Grid Services.

Libraries are on the forefront of migrating their data and services to the "cloud." Cloud computing is emerging as a key way for libraries to implement new services. Presenters will discuss how cloud computing can be implemented to leverage library end-user satisfaction and build the necessary interoperability. OCLC member institutions have been contributing to the idea of cloud computing through the centralized MAchine Readable Cataloging (MARC) records services. Now, OCLC's WMS promises less complexity in its library management system to create a more independent discovery and delivery platform. Panelists will also give a critical analysis on the trend of proliferated cloud computing services to demystify questions about privacy, security, and reliability that cloud computing often raises.

Target Audience: Researchers interested in the underlying legal issues in the movie, Philadelphia, and current HIV/AIDS discrimination litigation

Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will be able to track the progress of the case law relating to discrimination based on HIV/AIDS status.
2. Participants will be able to list and discuss the issues raised in cases of employer discrimination against employees based on HIV/AIDS status.

Clarence B. Cain was a standout student at the University of Virginia Law School in the 1970s. He is credited with touching the lives of hundreds of students by serving as a mentor before mentorship was popular. After graduation, Cain rose in the ranks at Hyatt Legal Services to a regional directorship until he was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and fired. Though successful in a law suit against his employer, Cain did not live to see the verdict or the movie, Philadelphia, largely based on his life. Professor Burris, noted scholar on HIV/AIDS issues and a consultant on the movie, will talk about the Cain case and bring the issues still faced based on HIV/AIDS status to the present with Ronda B. Goldfein, Executive Director of the AIDS Law Project of Philadelphia.

Target Audience: All law librarians

Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will evaluate the challenges and opportunities involved in creating visually engaging presentations by using visual content produced under the open licensing system called Creative Commons.
2. Speakers will gain important presentation skills through improvisation, while audience members will benefit from hearing about current topics of interest to law librarians, often delivered in a humorous manner.

At Battledecks, aka PowerPoint karaoke, intrepid volunteers are challenged to give coherent four-minute presentations without any preparation-because they will see their 12 slides for the first time as they present. Battledecks is a great workout for librarians who speak and teach, because it requires fast thinking, strong speaking, and improvisation. The slides for Battledecks have all been created by AALL members using Creative Commons images with proper attribution. The theme of the inaugural Battledecks AALL will be "The Law Library Goes to 11." Battledecks presentations at Lawberry Camp have been thoughtful, passionate, surprisingly insightful, and laugh-out-loud funny. Battledecks is often a cut-throat competition, but everyone will win this time. Do you have what it takes?

This year's Diversity Symposium will celebrate the first 10 years of the Minority Leadership Development Award, and what this award has meant to AALL members and to the profession.  The panel will feature previous winners, Lauren Collins, Joy Shoemaker, and Ron Wheeler, among others.

ALL-SIS Reception and Awards (sponsored by Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

GenX/Gen Y Caucus Meeting

Target Audience: Library staff who work on group projects, especially those who lead projects and those who support collaborative organizations

Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will evaluate the range of new technologies available to enhance collaborative work.
2. Participants will be able to identify and use skills needed to manage teams in collaborative work.

How do you collaborate with others? What if they work in other cities, countries, and time zones? New project management platforms such as Basecamp, collaborative mindmapping, and wireframe/mockup tools like Mockingbird and Balsamiq join familiar tools like wikis and Google Docs to make teamwork easier, regardless of where everyone is located. Join legal information consultants Connie Crosby and Kathie Sullivan for a tour of the latest collaborative tools being used in a number of industries and explore how law libraries can use them. Before the conference, Crosby and Sullivan will create a wiki for collecting resources and discussions about these tools; watch the CS-SIS blog for an invitation to participate. Lessons from this collaboration will be incorporated into the presentation.

Target Audience: All librarians interested in social networking

Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will be able to identify what legal issues might arise around social networking sites and usage.

2. Participants will be able to explain the pressures on and risks to courts, judges, and judicial staff – including court libraries – when engaging in social networking at the institutional level.

Social networking sites spread information effortlessly. For litigants and courts, this can be both risky and beneficial. Could your spouse gain access to your emails and IMs in Facebook during a divorce? How can courts engage in social networking in such a way that maintains impartiality and ethical standards while promoting public trust and accountability? This panel will discuss social networking issues that arise during litigation, provide an overview of a recent groundbreaking study by the Conference of Court Public Information Officers (CCPIO New Media Report), and survey the federal courts’ reaction to and use of social networking sites. This session will answer substantive legal and policy questions surrounding social networking and the justice system.

Karen Salaz recommends attendees view this YouTube video (EPIC 2015) prior to the session.

Target Audience: Librarians who implement web technologies or wish to communicate effectively with their IT department about their implementation

Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will be able to identify the skills and tools needed to begin using various programming languages.
2. Participants will be able to select possible applications for their library, based on the programming languages presented.

Programming languages and the web tools they create permeate today’s library. Daily, librarians make decisions about the tools they offer patrons online. They consult with IT staff about implementing online tools, but they may not have a realistic idea of what they’re requesting. Most librarians know a little, want to know more, and are willing to self-educate—but may not know where to start. This program will provide an overview of several programming languages that are currently being used by libraries. Panelists will discuss how they use these languages to create online tools for patrons, design and display effective web pages, and manipulate cataloging records.

Target Audience: Librarians serving rural areas

Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will be able to identify at least five specific instances wherein services to the legal community of a predominantly rural audience are significantly different from those provided to more populous regions.
2. Participants will be able to analyze data documenting these differences and use them to improve library services for their own communities.

Law schools and legal institutions in rural settings have a unique perspective on access to legal resources and instruction of legal professionals. Some vendors no longer support institution-specific representatives for smaller schools. Primary legal resources in low-population states are limited, and secondary sources may be nonexistent. New attorneys going into rural law offices will have neither the resources of large firms nor the benefits of additional training by firm librarians. Given these realities, three central questions need to be addressed: 1) What differences are legal institutions with significant rural populations noticing, and can these differences be documented? 2) What is being done to accommodate for them? 3) Where is it possible to affect change? Many law librarians in rural states are finding ways to benefit from this environment and making resources available to a grateful audience of legal professionals. This program will illuminate the weaknesses of supply and raise awareness among librarians and vendors who service rural areas with a goal toward improvement.

Join us as we look forward to the 2012 Annual Meeting in Boston with themed snacks and soft drinks. As attendees visit with exhibitors before the closing of the exhibit hall, there will be an opportunity to "meet the candidates” on the Executive Board ballot, view the Boston welcome video, win fabulous prizes and witness the passing of the gavel to our new president, Darcy Kirk.

Registered attendees with badges are welcome at this event.

Target Audience: Academic law library directors and other administrators; all academic law librarians

Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will learn about changes in the American Bar Association Standards for Approval of Law Schools that directly affect their jobs and their libraries.
2. Participants will be able to evaluate their libraries' policies and practices in light of the new standards.

During 2009-2011, the American Bar Association reviewed and is now revising its Standards for Approval of Law Schools and the accompanying Interpretations, the law school "accreditation standards." Significant changes have been proposed for law libraries and for educational outcomes, including legal research education.  The recommended changes are soon to be finalized and sent for approval.  Academic law librarians must understand the Standards and their implication for management of the law school library, especially as their law school approaches its sabbatical accreditation visit. In this program, two ABA committee members involved in the formulation of the recommended Standards revisions will describe the changes made to the law library standards and the proposals for outcomes measurement, and will then answer questions about the intended application of the new standards. Participants will be expected to have read the new Standards in advance of the program to allow maximum time for questions.

Target Audience: Public and instructional services librarians; audiovisual and computer services librarians

Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will be able to explain current guidelines for using DVD clips for teaching purposes.
2. Participants will be able to evaluate options for the legal circumvention of copyright protection systems on DVDs.

Faculty and presenters routinely use film content in instructional sessions and academic meetings. Previous rules prohibiting the "ripping" of DVD content hampered the ability to create smooth showings of multiple clips from a variety of DVDs. On July 26, 2010, the Librarian of Congress announced six classes of works exempt for three years from the statutory prohibition (i.e., 17 USC 1201(a)(1)) regarding circumvention of copyright protection systems. One of these classes is "motion pictures on DVDs" when "short portions" are used for educational use by college professors and film/media studies students. This program will review how to apply the new guideline, including procedures for circumventing DVD copyright protection systems. It will also examine socio-political and technological contexts for the DVD guideline change and their relevance for future media formats.

Target Audience: Librarians or information specialists interested in learning about mobile applications and how they work

Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will identify specific tasks suitable to achieve on a mobile device and assess applications to achieve those tasks.
2. Participants will analyze sources available to identify and evaluate applications on multiple mobile platforms.

Between the Apple iPhone and various Android devices, more than 300,000 applications are available to society for use in the workplace and home environments. Finding good apps is hard. Understanding which activities can be accomplished using mobile devices can be equally difficult. This program will highlight best-of-breed mobile applications by focusing on tools that solve problems for law librarians. Presenters will demonstrate various features of mobile applications for the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry devices, including some tools for iPad and other tablets. In addition, available resources to discover and evaluate new applications will be shared.