ORALL TURNING 50 Y - archives.library.illinois.eduarchives.library.illinois.edu/erec/AALL_Archives/8501666a/news/ORA… · American Association of Law Libraries. CONTENTS AALL Call

ORALL Newsletter/December 1998 Page 1

Presidents’ Column-Keith BloughPresidents’ Column-Keith Blough

December 1998December 1998 Volume 1998, Number 4Volume 1998, Number 4

OFFICERS 1998-1999OFFICERS 1998-1999President Keith BloughVice-President/President Elect Richard HumphreySecretary Nancy S. ClarkTreasurer Tom HanleyExecutive Board Claudia Zaher

Deborah Bobinets[Imm. Past Pres.]Kathleen M. Carrick

Newsletter Editor Shaun Esposito

Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries is a chapter of theAmerican Association of Law Libraries.

CONTENTSCONTENTS

AALL Call for Papers Page 15Calendar Page 23Carol’s Corner Page 21Downsizing Page 7Meeting Minutes Page 9

ORALL TURNING 50

You are probably aware that the OhioRegional Association of Law Libraries will becelebrating its 50th anniversary next October inColumbus. I know that a number of ourmembers have already begun working hard toensure that the membership will gain a betterappreciation of our history andaccomplishments. Personally I have been kindof fascinated by the fact that this auspiciousoccasion is happening so close to the newmillennium. I find it entirely appropriatebecause not only are we preoccupied with theusual concerns and predictions relating to endof the century, but this time, as if there was alast or another new millennium for us, we haveto be concerned with the Y2K problem.

I recently received an interesting policyholderalert from the Library’s insurance company. The publication outlines a proactive strategyfor Year 2000 business survival. There havebeen numerous warnings relating to Y2Kpotential problems printed and broadcast in thevarious media for a couple of years now. If

you think you were saturated with O.J. andMonica, I have a feeling that Y2K will leave usyearning for the good old days. Some of thewarnings that have caught my attention includeprison doors opening at midnight December 31,1999, elevators not working, air traffic controlsystems running amuck and banks losing trackof my money, as if I need any additional help. The information in the pamphlet is sobering tosay the least. It states that cost estimates rangefrom one to six trillion dollars to find and fixworldwide Y2K problems. A governmentsourceclaims that the Defense Department’s “missioncritical” systems will not all be repaired until2009. According to the author, “The potentialexists for widespread disruption of financialmarkets, telecommunications, utilities andtransportation.”

At the Columbus Law Library we haveupgraded accounting, library automation and


various other software packages to be Year2000 compliant. We have also upgraded mostof the library workstations and operatingsystems. But there is still work to do. Weneed to take an inventory of every piece ofhardware and software in the library and notethe versions of all software that we anticipateusing past December 31, 1999. This will be agreat opportunity to delete all unused programsand data that are simply taking up space onworkstations and file servers. I will also belooking for ways to test the Y2K compliantsoftware we have purchased because we allknow that in computers as in life, it isn’tnecessarily so just because someone or thingclaims it to be.

I have a fantasy about New Years EveDecember 31, 1999. The place is TimesSquare with the traditional count down of thefinal seconds to the new year. Auld Lang Syneis playing and it is 20 seconds until the year2000. Suddenly we see a man on a stagepecking away at an old manual typewritersuitable for the Smithsonian. 10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5!4! 3! 2! 1!! The countdown clock begins tosputter and smoke and flames spew forth out ofits face. Finally a sign flashes above the clockand displays the message, This clock hasperformed an illegal operation and will be shutdown. The man behind the typewriter is noneother than Bill Gates.

Okay, enough of Y2K. I hope that all of youwill remember the 50th Annual Meeting this fallin Columbus on October 13-15. It will be aunique opportunity to celebrate the past andrecognize the many accomplishments themembership of ORALL has contributed to theadvancement of law librarians and libraries. The local arrangements committee has alreadybegun work and preliminary indications arepromising for an event worthy of a 50th

anniversary celebration. Also, pleaseremember the spring retreat and the ORALLreception at AALL this summer in WashingtonD.C. Wishing you all happy holidays and agreat 1999.

Report: Nominating CommitteeORALL, October 1998

To the Secretary:

The ORALL Nominating Committee ofJane Underwood, Janis Johnston and PaulMitchell worked diligently through thewinter months to propose a slate of officersfor the 1998-1999 Executive Board.

We presented to the membership acontested slate for the offices of Secretary,Interim Treasurer and Executive Boardmember-at-large. In addition, wesubmitted Richard Humphrey as theuncontested candidate for VicePresident/President-Elect.

Those elected are as follows:Vice President/President-Elect:Richard HumphreySecretary: Nancy ClarkTreasurer: Tom HanleyExecutive Board: Deborah Bobinets

Of the mail ballots, 48% were returnedwith the outcome above.

The Committee extends its congratulationsto the newly elected Board members, andits gratitude to all those who ran for office. We also encourage all members to seekopportunities for leadership in ORALL.

I would also like to add my thanks to ourcommittee for their efforts.

Respectfully submitted,Paul MitchellErnst & Young LLPChair, Nominating Committee


A few years ago, I started to teach myself howto create web pages. There was a lot of trial-and-error involved, and some of the resultswere not pretty. Even now, when I reviewsome of the stuff I’m posting to the web(http://www.udayton.edu/~lawlib) , I cringe. The point I’m trying to make is that I am doingit, and you should be too.

Even if your library does not have web access,it should not stop you from producing webpages. In the eventuality that your employerjoins the rest of us who are already connected,you will be ready to jump in and take the leadin getting yourself published. You could alsosubscribe to a low cost Internet ServiceProvider for use at your home, and publish aweb page that way.

Microsoft Word, Word Perfect, and NetscapeCommunicator are all good starting points foranyone who has never tried their hand atcreating a web page. You do not need to knowall of the codes involved, just have a basicknowledge of word processing. For some ofus, the latter programs are all we will everneed. For others who need to know how thepages are really created and want to fine tunehow the pages are displayed, there are plenty ofother programs available.

Microsoft Word allows you to create newpages by using templates. It is very easy tosubstitute your own text for the defaults. Youcan also start with a blank web page and juststart creating. Before you publish a page, youshould always see how it looks by previewingit in a browser, usually Internet Explorer orNetscape Navigator. Even if you don’t haveweb access, you probably have a copy ofInternet Explorer on your computer if you’reusing Windows 95/98. If you do have web

access, it is advisable to preview your pageusing both Internet Explorer and Netscape. This allows you to see how anyone accessingyour page will view it. You can then edit thepage if something looks out of whack. WordPerfect has Internet Publisher (off of the FileMenu), and Netscape Communicator allowsyou to create web pages by using the“Composer” function.

If you’re interested in other web page editors,and you have Internet access, travel on over toTucows (http://www.tucows.com) and checkout what they have to offer. By my count, theyhave 49 editors available within the advancedclassification, along with numerous others inthe Beginner and Text-Based classes. A decenteditor which is absolutely free is GhostHTML,available on the Tucows site. As you get moreexperienced with these programs, you willprobably use whichever is the easiest and mostefficient (and least costly).

Don’t get hung up on the terminology. It’s notimportant for anyone starting out to know whatvml, xml, sgml, xxl, xsl, or any of the otheralphabet soup of abbreviations means. If youare interested in sounding like a web designer,and have the time to slog through sometechnical stuff, head to the World Wide WebConsortium (http://www.w3.org) and readsome of the articles. The latter site also allowsyou to keep up on whatever is happening in theworld of web design standards.

One last thing (or maybe the first thing) youought to consider when designing a web page isthe user who is sight-impaired. You can getstarted on the road to "accessibility for all" bypreviewing your web pages with a text-onlybrowser such as Lynx. Lynx is available onthe Tucows site. By previewing with Lynx,

Isn’t It Time You Started Designing Your Own Web Pages?By Ken Kozlowski, Head of Public Services

Zimmerman Law Library, University of Dayton School of [email protected]


you are able to tell if your information isgetting across to the user when they either can'tor have a hard time viewing graphics, or ifsomeone has turned off the graphics on theirbrowser. Users turn off graphics because thepages will load faster, especially when they areusing modems below 28k. If the graphics onthe page are more important than theinformation, the latter two groups of users willprobably not be able to use your page. A goodway I've found to test if your page will beaccessible to all types of users is to run itthrough an evaluator such as the Center forApplied Special Technology's Bobby(http://www.cast.org/bobby). This programwill test your web pages and offer suggestionson how to make it accessible to a wider varietyof users.

I hope this article has somehow persuaded youto try your hand at web page creation. To sumup the main points:

♦ Don't stay on the sideline, get involved andbe a driving force in your organization.

♦ You don't have to be an expert (I certainlyam not) at or on the World Wide Web tostart creating web pages.

♦ There are plenty of cheap and/or freeprograms out there you can use.

♦ Always consider accessibility and haveyour web pages tested or evaluated bysomeone other than yourself.

♦ Have fun and get started.

Thanks for reading, and please send commentseither pro or con.

BOOKPLATE INFORMATIONSOUGHT

Hello,

I am an Adminsitrative Judge with theUnited States Department of Defense. I amalso a collector of law library bookplates,and am writing a book about their use. Ifyou currently use, or have used, bookplatesin your library, I would be very interested inacquiring copies of them. If the bookplatesthemselves are not available, photocopieswould be fine. Your library would, ofcourse, get a copy of the publication. Pleasesend the bookplates to Administrative JudgeWilford H. Ross, Defense Office of Hearingsand Appeals, 21820 Burbank Blvd., Suite235, Woodland Hills, CA 91367.

Thank you.

Will Ross

Membership News

Rick Goheen has joined the Library Faculty at theUniversity of Cincinnati College of Law Library asInformation Access and Instruction Librarian,effective October 1, 1998. Rick is a 1994 graduate ofthe College of Law and has served as a member of theLaw Library's reference staff since 1995. He willreceive his M.S.L.S. degree from the University ofKentucky in December 1998.

On October 4, 1998, Mariano Morales-Lebron, Headof Information Access at the University of CincinnatiCollege of Law Library, was among one hundredHamilton County authors honored by the OhioanaLibrary Association during its 1997-98 annualprogram. Mariano received recognition for his book,How to Avoid Federal Income Tax Complications,which was published earlier this year.



Circle Friday, February 26, 1999 on your calendars asthe date of the second ORALL Retreat. The SpringRetreat concept was proposed by then-President JodyBeal in our September 1997 Newsletter. Jodyenvisioned the Retreat as an informal, less expensivealternative to an official conference, describing it as a“one-day, or slightly longer, event to provide continuingeducation opportunities in an informal atmosphere andto schedule ample time for professional networking andassociation business.”

Jody organized the first Retreat, providing us with alively, thoughtful and very enjoyable day at MohicanState Park. The program combined a presentation onRight Brain-Left Brain Thinking sponsored by theCounty SIG, a lively open forum on the future of LawLibraries and an after dinner presentation by RichardHumphrey discussing Law Publishing Issues and theactivities of AALL’s CRIV committee.

What the official program line-up cannot capture is theenergy created by the lively interchanges and open, fluiddiscussions that occurred throughout the Retreat. TheRetreat also allowed us to get our committees andactivities organized and focused. It allowed our SIGS togather and identify their goals and issues. It allowed the50th Anniversary Committee to plan the major eventsthat will highlight ORALL’s very special, year-longcelebration. And some might argue most importantly,it allowed the attendees to enjoy beautiful country-side,comfortable accommodations and delicious food whilein good company. It was a refreshing and invigoratingexperience and a very worthwhile Retreat.

It was a hard act to follow, but we will try. We willhold the February event at Hueston Woods, anotherOhio State Park Resort and Conference Center.ORALL has had a history of very good experiences atthese comfortable, service-oriented park centers, startingwith our Toledo meeting at Maumee Bay. HuestonWoods is located in College Corner, Ohio, (10 minutesfrom Miami University) close to the Indiana border andwithin an hour drive from Dayton and Cincinnati.Please remember, Spring comes a little earlier thefurther South you travel in Ohio, so the end of Februarymay not be suntan lotion time, but hopefully we will beable to feel the promise of Spring in the air and aroundthe resort grounds when we visit.

Another tradition that Jody established last year is thatthe Immediate Past President is responsible for planningthe Retreat. So, I am coordinating the program with the

help of our County and Firm SIG Chairs, Beth Langton(Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs - Akron) andGeorge Baker (Trumbull County Law LibraryAssociation - Warren). Although each SIG will presentits own program, everyone attending the Retreat will beable to attend all/any of the offered programs. Bethreports that the Firm SIG is planning programs in PowerPoint presentations and “How to organize an Internettraining program - training trainers” and the County SIGis suggesting a program on “Setting up your own webpage”. If you have comments or speakerrecommendations, please contact Beth, George and/ormyself, Kathy Carrick (CWRU - Cleveland). We areanxious to have your suggestions.

As an added incentive, our colleagues at Lexis-Nexishave invited ORALL to stop in before the Retreat tovisit their home offices in Dayton. RegionalInformation Manager Andrea Muto is planningactivities and details will be available with registrationmaterials. Rooms will be available at Hueston Woodson Thursday at the midweek rate (which is even a fewdollars cheaper than our off season, Friday night charge).

Perhaps a major factor that I should mention is that theRetreat is free - we do not have a registration charge forjoining us in any of the programs. You pay for yourmeal reservations and for your hotel room if you chooseto stay overnight. The hotel room on Friday night willbe in the low $90s; as I submit this to Shaun I have notbeen able to confirm the 1999 off-season rate with theState Park Conference Coordinator.

We realize that we cannot guarantee an early Spring, butwith your participation and suggestions we can assurea productive, invigorating Retreat. Personally I feel thatanytime you mix law librarians together with someinteresting topics and provide an atmosphere conducive- even encouraging - of debate, you will produce arewarding event and pleasant occasion. Pleaseremember to mark your 1999 Calendars for this firstevent of our ORALL Anniversary Year.

Retreat News or Last Friday in February: ORALL Retreats to the Woodssubmitted by Kathy Carrick, Immediate Past-President


The following is a summary of the ORALLPrivate Law Libraries SIG meeting held onMarch 6, 1998 at Mohican State Park, Ohio.

As I was preparing my report of 1998 PrivateLaw Libraries/SIG activities to give at theORALL Business Meeting on October 30, 1998,I realized that I had too much to share in the wayof a brief summary of our meeting that was heldduring the ORALL Spring Retreat. So, I decidedto write a longer summary for the ORALLNewsletter. The topic of our discussion wasdownsizing and most, if not all, of what wasdiscussed is relevant to every ORALL member.

The group reviewed common problems we faceas we are expected to do more with less - lessmoney, fewer books, less space. Due to budgetconstraints, we may have to tell our users thattheir requests for material are denied. Or, wemight have to tell them that we can no longer payfor two or more treatises on the same subject,and that they will have to choose between a greatnew looseleaf book on the subject and an oldfriend - the looseleaf book of the same contentthat has stood the test of time. Sometimes spaceis a problem. It does not go over well to tell auser that we do not have the shelving space for amulti-volume set that would be valuable, butused only occasionally. Fortunately, we are ableto rely on our local academic and countycounterparts for materials we are not able toacquire or keep in our libraries.

We talked about the problems librariansencounter as we rely on fewer books and moretechnology. Our clients, the attorneys, are usedto a quick turn around time when materials arerequested. When the technology goes downbecause of damaged disks, expired license codes,or faulty phone lines, librarians are on thereceiving end of the frustration felt by theattorneys when they can’t get what they want ina moment’s notice. How often do we hearcomments like, “If we still had those books....”?Calmly, we let them know that there are other

means for quickly retrieving the information theyneed, and then quickly get it for them. At timeslike this, it seems that the users actually think itwas OUR idea to get rid of the books in the firstplace.

Non-researchers and administrators tend topromote and support the cancellation ofmaterials they do not use. What librariansrealize that these users do not is that in someinstances, it is more difficult to research onlinethe materials that are suggested for cancellation.For example, some treatises are just plain easierto use in print, especially if you need to keepflipping back and forth between pages andvolumes. At times, one needs to visually lay outthe materials to get the entire picture of aproblem and its solution. Multiple resourcescannot be opened on a computer screen in thesame way they can be opened on a desktop, andthe reader resorts to printing out several thingsjust to “see” it in print. Where is the savings inprinting materials just to briefly look at thembefore they are tossed?

Sometimes it is more costly to access materialsonline. Online usage agreements (a.k.a flat feecontracts) may not include materials from certainpublishers. In these instances, it may be moreeconomical to continue printed subscriptionsinstead of accessing these “excluded materials”online. Some materials such as archived,transfer binder types and older caselaw thattraditionally become space hogs are sometimesnot accessible online. Even though thesematerials may not be used often and are takingup shelf space, it may be much more of a hassleto try to get them elsewhere than to keep them onthe shelves.

The group briefly discussed the accessibility oflegal resources on the Internet. A concern amonglibrarians is that there is a misconception bysome researchers that legal resources found onthe Internet are current and accurate. Librariansneed to keep reminding lawyers that the Internet

Downsizing in Private Law Librariesby Beth A. Langton


is not the “preferred” source for some legalresources. While it may be an acceptablealternative for caselaw and many other types ofmaterials, the Internet is not the recommendedsource for some information, in particularcurrent version of statutes.

We talked about the variety of resources andformats we must now manage, not forgetting thatwe must educate the end-user in the appropriateuse of each format. We encourage the attorneysto become more self-sufficient and learn the newtechnologies. Still, there are some researcherswho are married to the books and it can becometime consuming for them to do their ownelectronic research, especially when they do notmake the time or commit to learning the newtechnology. It is often more timely and cost-efficient if we do the same research for them.Afterall, librarians have wonderful researchskills and are more experienced at finding,evaluating, organizing and disseminatinginformation.

A few suggestions were given on how to gain thesupport of the administration and theunderstanding of the users when downsizing thelibrary. Understanding what’s used or not, andwhich format is preferred for which subjects orpractitioners is vital. Communication is a keyfactor. Make sure that you post signs in thelibrary, and that announcements are placed innewsletters and on E-mail to effectivelycommunicate what’s happening in the libraryand, more importantly, why. Let the users knowthat you, the librarian, empathize with themwhen the printed collection is being reduced andthat it is an adjustment for you, as well, to goelsewhere for information you previously wereable to grab from the shelf. At the same time, beenthusiastic for your users and let them knowthat even though what’s needed may no longer beright there on the shelf, it is usually just a quickphone call or the push of a button away.

If you are faced with the challenge to downsizesome aspect of your library, you are not alone inyour struggle. When you must give up resourcesor space, resign yourself to the fact thatresources are not unlimited, and try to decidewhich materials and formats are essential andwhich ones can be discarded.

The following articles were referenced during thePLL/SIG’s discussion on downsizing.:

“Try these eight tactics to cut the cost of librarysubscriptions,” by Mark Estes. Law OfficeAdministrator, July 1997, Page 4-6.

“Turn to technology to save library space andcosts, but don’t overdo it,” by Kay M. Todd.Law Office Administrator. January 1997, Page4-5.

“The Law library downsizing dilemma: onelibrarian’s perspective,” by Barbara Silbersack.As reported on Law Library Resource Exchange(http://www.llrx.com/extras/downsize.htm),March 4, 1998.

“Insourcing the outsourced library: The Sunstory,” by Cynthia Hill. Library Journal. March1, 1998, Page 46-48.

“Not your traditional librarian anymore!Technology adds to job description,” Doris SmallHelfer. Information Today. May, 1997, Page66.

“Turf wars between librarian, records managersmay end up hurting both,” by Charles Heller.Legal Times. September 22, 1997, Page S42.

“Downsizing hits in-house libraries: informationis computerized, decentralized,” by Laura Koss-Feder. Crain’s Chicago Business, November 18,1996, Page SR13.

“SSSHH! Corporate libraries get quiet: morebusiness downsize, eliminate libraries to cutcosts: the age of “virtual libraries’,” by LauraKoss-Feder. Crain’s New York Business,October 14, 1996, Page 33.

“Law firms experience the best of times, theworst of times,” by Todd S. Lundy. Trusts &Estates. March, 1997, Page 24.


Ohio Regional Association of Law LibrariesExecutive Board Meeting

July 11, 1998Anaheim Hilton

Anaheim, California

In attendance: Kathy Carrick, RichardHumphrey, Jane Underwood, Kyle Passmore,Beth Langton, Keith Blough, Joanne Beal,Claudia Zaher, Paul Mitchell, Shaun Esposito,Deborah Bobinets, and Teresa Trimboli.

At 4:15 p.m. the meeting was brought to orderby president Kathy Carrick.

Teresa Trimboli reported we have 247 copiesof Ohio Legal Resources.

ORALL banner: Teresa Trimboli reported onthe various forms (silk screen or applique) thenew ORALL banner could take. She needs toknow which process the board wishes to useand if we have a logo we would like to use. The pluses and minuses of various formatswere discussed, with an emphasis on how longeach would last considering the banner wouldnot be permanently displayed but storedfolded between uses. In order for the bannerto reflect the 50th anniversary, a screen printwould be better. It was decided to get a logofirst, then price the job. People would look atthe different organizations’ tables in the exhibithall to check out banners. The issue of colorwas discussed, with no real conclusion.

AALL Activities: Kathy Carrick reported onORALL’s participation in AALL activities.ORALL table in the exhibit hall: ORALL has aorganization table in the exhibit hall. It hasinformation on the Cleveland meeting and onthe 50th anniversary. Do we wish to staff itduring the meeting? Members will checkduring the opening reception to see if anyother organizations are staffing their table atthat time.ORALL breakfast: The ORALL/MichALLbreakfast is July 12th. The scholarshiprecipients are Richard Humphrey (Indiana U.)and Colleen Manning, new member, AALLscholarship (Ohio Northern U.). If Cindy Spohris available, she could introduce the recipients.Council of Chapter Presidents: There wasa discussion of the ethics proposal. ORALLshould consider running it on the listserv andin the newsletter for members’ responses. James Duggan will be the coordinator of thegroup next year. AALL Roundtable attendees: Kathy askedfor an evaluation of the roundtables from the

various attendees. Richard Humphreyattended Program Planning, Keith Bloughattended Meeting Management, WebsiteDevelopment was attended by DeborahBobinets and Richard Humphrey, Treasurers’Roundtable was attended by Kyle Passmore,Shaun Esposito attended the NewsletterEditors’ Roundtable, and Keith Bloughattended the Government RelationsRoundtable.

Website Development coveredsubmitting documents already in HTML and therole of the website in membershipdevelopment. It also raised the issue ofmoderating the listserv, and what is theorganization’s responsibility in this. We mightneed a set of guidelines in order to discouragecertain types of behavior. Deborah Bobinetswill find out if the Internet Committee will takecare of this, and if any other chapters haveany written guidelines. Kathy noted guidelinesconcerning businesslike behavior may have achilling effect on free speech.Chapter Visit: Has Keith received a form forthis from AALL? Each chapter receives a visitfrom the president every three years. Weshould request a visit next year during ouranniversary meeting.

Secretary’s Report: The minutes weresubmitted by Jane Underwood and accepted. 326 ballots for the election were mailed toORALL members, with 114 being returned. When asked if there was a time limit in whichto be considered a dues paying member inorder to vote, the answer was no. Since thereis no set date for dues payment, the duestrickle in through the year. There is an issueof the mailing labels list versus the Treasurer’slist as to determining who will actually vote. The mailing expense has not yet beenfinalized, as there is a $100 discrepancybetween the figure the mailing department atCapital University Law School gave the librarygiven and the figure the Main Campus chargedthe law library.

Treasurer’s Report: Kyle Passmore reportedas of June 30th ORALL had $42,112.11. Shedid deduct the expense of the breakfast in thisfigure. The breakfast cost $1136.36, with anactual cost of $17.40 but a subsidized membercost of $14. It is ORALL’s year to subsidize thecost of the breakfast, with MichALL’s turn nextyear.SIG Budgets: Beth Langton was the onlyone who submitted a budget, for the PLL SIG. The board has been giving the County SIG upto $500 a year. PLL would like ORALL to


support refreshments for the PLL SIG meetingat the ORALL fall meeting and would use therest of the budget request to bring in aspeaker or do a program at the Spring Retreat. She does not know if Sally Davis of the CountySIG wants anything.

Kathy questioned as to whether this isa permanent annual subsidy of SIG activities. Kyle felt it was X amount for this particularproposal, the board approves or rejects, withBeth commenting there is a $500 cap on thetotal amount for the group. It is not aguaranteed $500 amount per SIG per year. Richard suggested setting up a separateaccount for those monies, but there might be aproblem in doing this with 4 SIGs and Indianaamounting to over $2,000. Richard has notheard about this issue, which seems to bedormant at the moment.

Paul Mitchell suggested having it as anapplication for a grant, as the expenditure isapproved in advance by the board. It is not anentitlement. Joanne Beal suggested the actualfigure not be mentioned in the bylaws. Thelanguage could read “figure subject toapproval by the board.” The executive boardcould set a figure each year as an annualagenda item, with the figure then beingpublicized.

Kathy Carrick mentioned our lack of aformal budget, and maybe we need one. Wecould publicize it and members would have anidea of the organization’s expenses and thebudget figure. Beth’s request is for the 1998-99 fiscal year.

The board approved a $500 cap. Therequest needs to be submitted to the board,with the bills submitted to the Treasurer andthe Treasurer keeping count of the total figure. The board also approved a $500 cap for theCounty SIG for the spring program.

Kyle asked if this is the year theCounty SIG redoes their directory, which waspublished two years ago.

501(c)(3) status: Joanne Beal gave anupdate on ORALL’s tax status and nonprofitincorporation. The question came up aboutsales tax at the Mohican meeting. Theassumption was ORALL had been incorporatedas a 501(c)(3) organization. We are a501(c)(6) organization. Tom Hanley sent Jodythe materials. In August 1990 the form wasfiled for (c)(6) exemption, which is the same aschambers of commerce and bar associations,conferring an economic benefit on itsmembers. In December 1990 the status wasgranted by the IRS. This status does notprovide an exemption for hotel sales tax.

Vendors cannot give us freebies as a (c)(6). AALL is incorporated as a (c)(3). Jody calledthe IRS and explained. They said they’d call inten days.

ORALL can refile for (c)(3) status, butwe will have to begin the process from thestart. It is Form 1023. We will have to pay a$500 filing fee, as ORALL makes over $10,000in revenue. Jody has the original paperwork.

The board voted to change the IRSrecognition of ORALL from a 501(c)(6)organization to a 501(c)(3) organization withno opposition.

Cleveland meeting update: Program update: Keith reported thehonorarium for Berring is the mainexpenditure. He may get $1000 fromAnderson Publishing. He is coordinating theprogram with Jo Ann Fisher.Local arrangements: Kathy reported thelocal arrangements committee is chaired byPeter Pogacar and Jan Novak. The ORALLtable at AALL this time is the Clevelandmeeting and the 50th Anniversary meeting. Cleveland has a listing of ten landmark rockand roll cases.Registration cost/Packet mailing: A costof $125 is set, with no exceptions. There is noopt out option on the meals, as they areexpensive meals the organization hascommitted to. The packet will be in the mailby early September, with the meeting October28-30.

50th Anniversary Committee Update: PaulMitchell reported on the 50th Anniversarymeeting. It is October 13-15 in Columbus atthe Adam’s Mark hotel. Richard Humphrey willbe responsible for the theme as incoming VP. Jody Beal and Kathy Carrick are combing thearchives to pull together a commemorativebooklet. Kathy Carrick spoke to someone atCase Western who designed logos. There isalso an AALL person who has done work forAALL. She had two color schemes, which canbe changed. We want to use the log in anumber of different ways, perhaps even usingonly part of the design depending on howwe’re using it. There is a meeting of theAnniversary Committee Tuesday the 12th. Richard Humphrey mentioned doing somethingwith the logo in gold for the final anniversarybang. If anyone hears of appropriateprograms or speakers for the 50th AnniversaryMeeting, please contact Richard Humphrey.Special ORCLL Scholarships: Kathy Carrickexplained that ORCLL was the academic groupof law librarians before OhioLink was


established. It was determined there is noneed for ORCLL to continue, and it has beendisbanded. There is $1000 left in the ORCLLbudget, which may be used for scholarships forORALL. She asks if we wish to do scholarshipsfor academic law librarians for the 50th

Anniversary meeting or have scholarships forthe 50th meeting and for AALL in D.C.? Thenext chair of the scholarship committee needsto work this out.

ORALL Archives: While researching thearchives for executive board decisions for MaryPersyn, Bruce Johnson mentioned to JaneUnderwood OSU would like to locate thearchives somewhere other than the OSU LawLibrary. They wish to turn the “dump the filecabinets and boxes here” room into a networkadministrator’s office. The followingalternatives were discussed.

Deborah Bobinets mentioned storageat OhioLink’s storage facility, perhaps at Akronor Cleveland State. Richard suggestedestablishing an archivist position with ORALL. Beth Langton mentioned the University ofDayton as a possibility, as the University ofDayton Law Library had just agreed to be thepermanent business address for ORALL. KathyCarrick thought we could negotiate with OSUto allow us to remain for six months to a yearwhile we figure out where to transfer the files.

Paul Mitchell noted before the files aretransferred we need to list what items must besubmitted to the archives. Richard Humphreyasked if microforms were an option in dealingwith the material. Keith Blough mentioneddigitizing the records on a CD-ROM. RichardHumphrey asked if anyone would be willing todonate the digitizing or do it at a reduced cost. Richard and Jane will work on this.

SIG Committee update: Jody Beal reportedon the SIG Committee project being carriedout by Jody, Jo Ann Fisher, Mary Persyn andCarol Suhre. The working draft of the SIG willbe sent to the members in a month. Thecommittee will meet in Cleveland to hash outthe items. The hope is in October thecommittee will meet to finish this, so that anamendment will be presented to vote on in theAnniversary meeting. The big thing is the SIGbudget amount, with the amount reverting toORALL’s budget at the end of the fiscal year. The D.C. group had IRS problems with the subgroup hanging onto the money. No SIG canindependently solicit vendors, etc. The SIGswere competing against each other. Wecannot have a situation arise where the SIGincurs indebtedness for the entire organization.

Awards: Kathy Carrick mentioned they wereup in the air concerning the resumption ofawards. ORALL used to give awards fordistinguished service/outstanding service. They used to be in the bylaws. In the ‘90sthere was a huge bylaw revision, and theawards may have been inadvertently dropped. We could slip it back into the description of thenominating committee.

Future Business:Spring Retreat: Kathy Carrick reported theoutgoing president has the responsibility ofsetting up the spring retreat. She thoughtHueston Woods between Dayton andCincinnati on the Ohio/Indiana border wouldbe a good choice. It would bring in theIndiana members to the retreat.

Committee Structure: There is pressurefrom the national organization for a publicrelations committee. Organizational brochures,etc. are a coordinated effort. Kathy Carrickhas discussed this, and the Public ServicesCommittee may evolve into the PR Committee.

D.C. Meeting: AALL needs programproposals in August soon after the Julymeeting. Kathy would like us to come up withsomething that could showcase what ORALLhas done, perhaps in the field of legislativelobbying.

Beth Langton moved the meeting beadjourned. Keith Blough seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 6:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,Jane Underwood, SecretaryOctober 28, 1998


OHIO REGIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LAWLIBRARIES

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETINGOCTOBER 28, 1998

THOMPSON, HINE & FLORYCLEVELAND, OHIO

In attendance: Kathy Carrick, Jane Underwood,Kyle Passmore, Richard Humphrey, BethLangton, Keith Blough, Joanne Beal, DeborahBobinets, Claudia Zaher, Thomas Hanley, NancyClark, Shaun Esposito, James Heller (guest).

At 1:10 p.m. the meeting was brought to order bypresident Kathy Carrick. She moved that themeeting be conducted in an informal manner, andBeth Langton seconded the motion.

Secretary’s Report : Secretary Jane Underwoodsubmitted the minutes of the Executive Boardmeeting held on July 11, 1998 in Anaheim duringAALL. She pointed out several errors andomissions. The minutes were approved, pendingcorrection.

Treasurer’s Report : Treasurer Kyle Passmorereported ORALL currently has $60,192. Thisfigure includes vendor contributions for thecurrent conference. The hotel costs for thecurrent conference have not yet been paid.

1998 Conference Budget : TheTreasurer commended Jo Ann Fisher’s efforts insoliciting vendor support for the Clevelandconference, with $11,520 in vendor contributions. West Group is sponsoring the reception. Theconference has $14,618 in registrations. There is$26,138 in current income. Kathy Carrick notedORALL has been building funds for the 50th

Anniversary conference in 1999. Anne Abate, JoAnn Fisher, and Carol Bredemeyer are allrecognized for their efforts during conferenceplanning in keeping ORALL on a sound fiscalfooting.

Projected Anniversary Budget Issues : It was suggested ORALL have a projected budgetfor the 50th Anniversary conference submitted bythe incoming President and Paul Mitchell. ORALL now has two meetings to look athistorical budget data. Kathy mentioned manyitems, such as name tags and photocopying, havebeen local contributions, but ORALL will notalways be able to count on such local support. Keith Blough felt there would be excellentColumbus support for the next conference.

Committee Reports: Executive Board liaisons

AALL Arrangements : Tom Hanleyreported on the ORALL/MichALL breakfast atAnaheim. It was sponsored by ORALL inAnaheim. He contacted the Treasurer, President,catering services at the Hilton, and the AALLmeeting planner. Kathy and Kyle set the menu,while ORALL subsidized the cost. The AALLmeeting planner required documentation at thistime. They contacted the Hilton and cateringconfirmed the room and meal event. Theregistration form was mailed in April, withconfirmation May 27th. The confirmationdeadline was set several days before the Hilton'sdeadline. Sixty members registered on time, andthey requested sixty eight seats. We had seventythree registered, counting late registrants. Luckilynot all showed, and no one had to be turned awayat the door. The fees from late registrants werecollected by mid-August.

Kathy Carrick said Michigan has alreadycalled concerning the breakfast at AALL in D.C. There was a discussion whether ORALL wantedto participate in the breakfast, since we areplanning a reception in during the D.C. meeting. It was decided to have the breakfast, as MichALLis the host and would be doing all the work thatyear. MichALL would also be subsidizing thecost.

Education Committee: Keith Bloughwill submit his report at the business meeting. Richard Humphrey reported four people haveconfirmed to present at the 1999 conference. There may be financial constraints depending onwhat we ask the speakers to do. Anne Abate willtailor one of her computer training courses to ourorganization's needs. Mary Alice Baish fromAALL's Washington Affairs office will give alegislative update. Susan Freeman, who presentedat AALL on team building, has been contacted. Another presenter contacted is Kenneth Crews,who talked at ORALL in Cincinnati. He wouldgive a copyright update. Richard has also talkedwith Paul Mitchell concerning the 50th

Anniversary reception in D.C., and there may bea possibility of getting some members of Congressfrom ORALL’s states to attend, and gettinggreetings from the governors and the supremecourts from all four states at the reception. Thereis no keynote speaker yet. Whether or not allfour mentioned above are chosen for presenters isstill up in the air.

Internet : Shaun Esposito reported theORALL membership directory is online, linked tothe website. It updates the membership lists, andprovides links to online law catalogs. JillWilliams from Cleveland State University LawLibrary has provided more content. Colleen


Manning from Ohio Northern University LawLibrary did the pages with the online cataloglinks, sending the HTML to Shaun to put up onthe site. Deborah Bobinets attended the websitemanagement meeting at AALL and suggestedcommittee assignments, linked to the directorylistings, be added to the site.

A discussion on listserv civility followed. Should we be involved in policing behavior onthe listserv? Deborah Bobinets had attended theprogram for chapters on website management,and said many websites have greetings or welcomemessages outlining guidelines for use. The boarddecided we could put a statement on civility andethics as part of ORALL’s welcome message onthe website.

Bylaws : Jody Beal gave the report. Twoissues were discussed, the SIG structure and thereinstatement of the awards for outstandingservice and for the distinguished law librarian. The issues were examined by Jody, Jo Ann Fisher,Mary Persyn, and Carol Suhre. It was decided theawards were inadvertently left out of the bylawsrevision in the early 1990s and should bereinstated. Beth Langton was on the board at thetime of the revision and does not recall anydiscussion concerning the awards. The awardscould be part of a mail ballot for an election onthe bylaws amendment for the SIG structure.

Vendor support of the SIGs was firstdiscussed at the May 4, 1994 executive boardmeeting in Toledo. The board has been asked toprovide up to $500 support each year for SIGactivities. After a thorough discussion, the boarddecided to not allow separate solicitation of SIGsby vendors, but to have all requests be approvedby the executive board. The board did not want asituation where the SIG is doing one thing andwithout knowledge of the SIG’s activities ORALLis attempting to work on something else with thesame vendor. Beth Langton explained some ofthe PLL SIG’s activities, and why a program feemight be charged to recoup room expenses. Inthe discussion, it was determined if the PLLwanted money for the expenses, the chair of theSIG must ask the executive board for expenses. Ifa vendor approached the PLL and wished toprovide refreshments for the meeting, the chair isalso required to get board approval. KathyCarrick noted the effort should be coordinated. The paragraph from the May, 1994 Toledoexecutive board minutes stated that the SIGs maynot accept any money or support from vendorswithout coordinating with the Executive Board. The draft of the bylaws amendments will bedistributed at the business meeting, thenpublished in the newsletter before the retreat.

The members will be able to fully discuss thembefore voting by a mail ballot in the April. It wasdecided not to rely totally upon communicationto members via the website or the ORALLlistserv, as not every member has internet access.

Government relations : Jody Beal statedJan Novak is preparing a report for the businessmeeting.

Membership : Tom Hanley reported onmembership activities. The directory is on thewebsite, and could be used for automaticallyupdating the membership list. We need toactually assign someone the job of maintaining it. This could be assigned to Tom as he has themailing list and is coming on as the treasurer. The print version was produced in house atMontgomery County, and the cost was paid byORALL. Nine members asked to be excludedfrom the online version. In October 1998ORALL had 342 members. In October 1997there were 324 members. Keith Blough askedTom to continue on in this capacity next year.

Public Services : No report given fromClaudia Zaher.

Newsletter : Shaun Esposito asked ifthere should be a contest to change ORALL’snewsletter masthead? Perhaps part of theanniversary logo could be used.

Nominating : Jane Underwood listed thenew officers elected. The committee was pleasedso many members agreed to run; ORALL had acontested election except for the Vice-President/President-elect position. She did voicea concern as to how to tell if a member is actuallyallowed to vote, as she had two separate lists towork with. There were a few glitches, but if indoubt a ballot was mailed to the individual. Theanswer as to when a person has paid the dues andis considered able to vote is in Bylaw IV.

Placement : Kathy Carrick reported theCommittee is looking at folding the job noticesinto the Internet Committee for a more timelydistribution of employment opportunities.

Public Relations Committee : Theboard decided to have a public relationscommittee for the 50th Anniversary meeting. If itworks out, then it can continue for the next year'smeeting.

ORALL Activities:50th Anniversary planning : The co-

chairs of the local arrangement committee areSandra Hyclak and Jane Underwood. KeithBlough has signed the contract for the Adam'sMark hotel. Carol Bredemeyer is arranging thereception in D.C. at AALL.


A discussion followed concerninginvitations to the reception. It was decided not tomake it an "open to everyone at AALL" receptiondue to money issues. It will be ORALL'smembers and invited guests, by invitation only. A post-dinner, dessert and coffee or champagnereception is planned. If we wanted to send out e-mail notifications, Tom Hanley noted out of 342members, perhaps 50 are not at an institutionwithout some access to e-mail.

1999 AALL Meeting - VIP proposal : The VIP is a guest invited by the chapter toAALL. The invited person is someone importantto ORALL who would benefit by seeing AALL inaction. The chapter benefits by having contactswith someone who understands the importance oflaw librarians and the issues they face in Ohio. AALL gives each chapter two free registrationsand meals; the rest of the expenses is borne by thechapter. The names are due to AALL by January. Various candidates were suggested. Consideringthe issues of funding for the county law librariescurrently in the legislature, a lobbyist or a judgewould be a good choice. Many programs willemphasize information policies, so law firmmanagers, players, legislators should also be underconsideration. Many of this category of guestwere invited to the Pittsburgh meeting. KeithBlough suggested someone from the criminalsentencing commission, which is currentlyinvestigating funding through fines and feeswhich are now being used to help fund county lawlibraries. Jim Heller suggested ORALL may wantto decide in advance which state asks the VIP forwhich conference. It may be a good year for aHoosier because of Richard Humphrey beingincoming Vice-President/President-elect.

Future meetings :1999 Retreat - Hueston Woods : It was

decided March 5-6 was a good time, withprograms on Friday and the Executive Boardmeeting on Saturday morning. April was a littletoo late in the season. About sixty membersattended last year. The rooms are priced for theoff-season, about $92-93 a night. The outgoingpresident designs the program, and is centering itaround service. ORALL already has a program onservice that was not accepted for AALL that canbe used. Kathy Carrick mentioned ORALLstopped meeting in the spring in the 1990sbecause of the problems of two planning sessionsand the strain on the local arrangementscommittees. This is the reason why the retreat islow key, aimed at bringing members together fordiscussion.

Kentucky proposal for 2000 : WhenKathy Carrick attended a conference in

Nashville, Lexington was being touted as aconference site. When she mentioned havingORALL meet in Lexington to the library staff atUniversity of Kentucky, they said yes. The non-local members will need to pitch in to alleviatethe pressure on the local arrangementscommittee. According to the bylaws, the boardcan fix the time and place of the meeting. Theboard unanimously voted for Kentucky in 2000. We need to remember that ORALL is not justOhio.

AALL Strategic Challenge : KathyCarrick sent a copy of the Challenge to theincoming president. Does the Board as asubgroup of 4-6 members need to meet to setgoals? The steps to be taken for outreach andallies are important, but it was decided ORALL isalready taking many of the steps AALL mentionsin its Strategic Challenge. No separate meeting isneeded at this time. It was mentioned thatORALL did not affiliate with AALL as a chapterof AALL at its inception due to the requirementof AALL that its members have the MLS degree,and many valuable ORALL members did nothave that degree.

Other Business:Remarks by AALL President Jim

Heller : Many of the initiatives in the StrategicChallenge came from the Renaissance CommitteeKathy Carrick chaired for AALL in 1994-1995. In D.C., AALL has been working with half adozen organizations on joint sponsorship ofprograms, in a “we play with you, you play withus” mode. It strengthens our ties to otherprofessional organizations. AALL’s pet project isto involve the public, university, and collegelibraries who also have law collections but mayneed help in using their collections for legalresearch and reference service. AALL wantsinput concerning the Strategic Challenge andwhere the chapters feel they fit. TheGovernment Relations challenges faced by bothAALL and the chapters have come to the front inthe past year.

ORCLL considerations : Members ofthe board whose non-OhioLink institutions reliedon the lending agreements of ORCLL are havingproblems with OhioLink libraries concerningILLs. Claudia Zaher of Chase College of Lawbrought up this issue. Kathy Carrick commentedORCLL is now dissolved, but the underlyingagreements affecting ILL may still be in effect. Aletter should be sent to all institutions involvedreminding them of these agreements.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m.


Respectfully submitted,

Jane Underwood, SecretaryNovember 16, 1998

OHIO REGIONAL ASSOCIATION OFLAW LIBRARIES

ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETINGOCTOBER 30, 1998MARRIOTT HOTELCLEVELAND, OHIO

The meeting was called to order at 12:10p.m. by President Kathy Carrick. She welcomed all ofus to the business meeting in her hometown. Shecharacterized ORALL as a democratic populist group,and hoped there would be productive ideas andcomments from the membership.

Secretary’s Report : The minutes weredistributed to the membership. Kathy Carrick movedthe minutes be accepted, with Carol Bredemeyerseconding her motion. The minutes were accepted byvote of the membership.

Treasurer’s Report : Secretary Kyle Passmorereported ORALL finished the year with $60,192, anddistributed the Treasurer’s report in written form to themembership. Kathy Carrick thanked Kyle for herthree year stint as ORALL’s treasurer, having servednot only her own two years as treasurer but also servedone year as treasurer when the elected candidate hadto resign suddenly.

President’s Report President Kathy Carrickreported on ORALL’s year, highlighting the success ofthe Cincinnati conference in October 1997, and thefirst spring retreat at Mohican State Park. Shethanked all involved in the web site, and NataliePitman for her work in getting out the ORALLdirectory. Government Relations and the County LawLibraries SIG were very busy this year due to thefunding issues brought up by the state legislature. Shethanked Jan Novak and Keith Blough for their work ineducating the legislature on the funding issue and forkeeping all the membership alert to developments.

President Carrick also thanked the vendorrepresentatives for being at the Cleveland conference

CORRECTION

Due to an editorial error, the articlecommencing on page three of theSeptember ORALL Newsletter omittedtwo paragraphs from the printed versionsent to membership. The correctversion of the article is available on theORALL website:

http://www.uky.edu/Law/orall/sept98.pdf

AALL/Matthew Bender Call for PapersCompetitionsubmitted by Ellen McGrath([email protected])

Attention writers! The Call for Papers Committeeseeks your original works of scholarship relating tolaw librarianship for the annual AALL/MatthewBender Call for Papers Competition. There are threecategories of eligibility (and potential winners): OpenDivision (current AALL members who have beenmembers for five years or more); New MembersDivision (current AALL members who have beenmembers for less than five years); and StudentDivision (students currently enrolled in library schoolor law school, whether or not AALL members). Papers must be postmarked by March 1, 1999 andreceived by March 8, 1999 in order to be consideredfor this year's competition.

The Call for Papers Competition is a wonderfulopportunity to share your work with others and toobtain recognition for your scholarly efforts. Winnerseach will receive a cash award of $750 (generouslyprovided by Matthew Bender) and will receiverecognition at the AALL Annual Meeting inWashington, D.C., as well as the opportunity topresent their papers during one of the AnnualMeeting programs.

Further information about submission requirements,along with the required application form, can befound on AALLNET (look under Member Services). The Call for Papers Committee looks forward toyour submissions!


and showing their products. Slider represented a newstandard in entertainment. Jim Heller said people hadtold him he was entering the lion’s den by speakingbefore ORALL. ORALL doesn’t mind hard questionsor taking unpopular stands. ORALL values input andindividuality. ORALL’s successful financial state isdue especially to Jody Beal, Paul Mitchell, and othersfor a budget over the years that will allow for awonderful 50th anniversary celebration. ORALL’smembership pulls together with a like vision andcommon concerns. It’s a fun group, and she thankedthe membership for their support during herpresidency.

Committee Reports :Standing Committees :

AALL Arrangements : TomHanley reported on the logistics of planning theORALL/MichALL breakfast at AALL in Anaheim. The breakfast announcements were mailed in April,with a May 28 deadline. Sixty members registered, andhe had sixty eight places held. Ultimately seventythree registered or paid at the door. Luckily he did nothave to turn anyone away, as some people did notcome. The late registration fees were collected byAugust.

Membership : Tom Hanley reported onmembership. Natalie Pitman had the membershipdirectory printed. The directory was mounted on theweb site, along with an application to join ORALL. An information request was sent to the membershipwhen the ballots to vote were mailed in the spring. Nine members stated they did not want to be displayedin the online directory. ORALL’s membershipincreased from 324 to 342. This report was submittedby Tom Hanley and by Natalie Pitman.

Kathy Carrick stated the board had discussedhaving no ORALL/MichALL breakfast in D.C. due tothe reception also being planned, but decided to haveboth the reception and the breakfast at AALL in D.C.

Bylaws : Mary Persyn reported on thecommittee’s work in rewriting the bylaws pertaining tothe SIGs. The SIG funding issue was examined byMary Persyn, Jody Beal, Jo Ann Fisher, and CarolSuhre. It is the consensus of the board the applicationof the new bylaws, once approved by the membership,will be in the Fall of 1999. The Final version of thedraft of the text of the bylaws to reestablish the awardsfor outstanding service and for the distinguished lawlibrarian. The revision of Bylaw XIII pertaining to theSIG issue will be discussed by the membership. One ofthe things that has happened over the years is severalgroups formed SIGs, and then have not been activesince. (The Indiana SIG admitted they mainly meetin bars.) The SIG structure is to be made more formal. If any members have comments on this issue, pleasecontact Mary Persyn or Jody Beal.

Education/Activities : Keith Bloughreported on the committee's activities. On readingBob Berring's article, he was contacted in January andinvited to be the speaker at the Cleveland conference. In March the committee met and decided on speakers

for internet communications and personnel law. Noneof the choices required an honorarium, and Julie Davissaid to forget her expenses.

Education/Grants & Scholarships : CindySpohr stated ORALL gave two $500 scholarships. Richard Humphrey received the general scholarship,while Colleen Manning received a scholarship andAALL conference registration. Two $250 scholarshipswere given by the committee. Melissa Scheireyreceived the student scholarship, while the generalscholarship was given to Colleen McGuire, ClimacoClimaco Lefkowitz and Garofoli.

Kathy Carrick explained the status ofORCLL and the impact of OhioLink. The money inthe treasury tied to ORCLL has been designated by theboard for $1000 worth of scholarships for ORALL's50th anniversary year; perhaps there will be moredesignated especially for students.

Government Relations : Jan Novak reportedon a very busy year. The committee passed on toORALL members legislative alerts concerning theWorld Intellectual Property Organization's treaties,database protection, GPO reform and UCC Article 2Bfrom the Washington Affairs Office of AALL. Michael Whiteman drafted a letter on fair use and theWIPO bills, which ORALL's executive board thenapproved. The committee helped stop state legislationin December which would have cut in half the fundingfor county law libraries.

Internet : Jill Williams reported on the workof the committee, which also includes Greg Laughlinand Colleen Manning. They are expanding andimproving the web page in discussion with the PublicServices Committee and other committees. Themembership directory is now on the web site, morecurrent than the print directory. The committee isalso in charge of the listserv, with one hundredseventeen subscribers. Instructions on subscribing arein the newsletter and on the web site.

Newsletter : Shaun Esposito reported on thenewsletter, which appears in print and also on the website. He noted Teddy Artz is an especially goodcontributor to the newsletter, and made a general callfor anything of interest to the membership to besubmitted to the newsletter. Please send anything [email protected] .

Nominating : Paul Mitchell reported on thecommittee, comprised of Paul, Janis Johnston and JaneUnderwood. The committee presented to themembership a contested slate for the offices ofSecretary, Interim Treasurer and Executive Boardmember. In addition, we submitted RichardHumphrey as the uncontested candidate for VicePresident/President-Elect. Nancy Clark was electedSecretary, Tom Hanley was elected Treasurer, andDeborah Bobinets was elected Executive Boardmember. Of the mail ballots, 48% were voted andreturned with the outcome above. The Committee


extends its congratulations to the newly elected Boardmembers, and its gratitude to all those who ran foroffice. We also encourage all members to seekopportunities for leadership in ORALL.

Placement : Katherine Malmquist reportedon Placement. The committee is looking to puttingany jobs or placement information on the web pageand the listserv. The members of the committee areKatherine, Andrea Muto, and Sheila Collins. Public Service : There was no report, butKathy Carrick thanked Teresa Trimboli and theDayton Law Library for the new ORALL banner.

Special Committees :50th Anniversary Committee : Paul

Mitchell reported on the progress of the 50th

Anniversary celebration. The committee met at theretreat, at AALL in Anaheim, and at the conference. There will be party favors and a gold theme. AnitaShew will have publicity packets for your area media tobe disseminated on National Library Week. A logohas been created and will be unveiled on the web siteand in the newsletter. Carol Bredemeyer is arrangingthe reception at AALL in D.C., to be given onTuesday of the conference week. It will be a dessertand coffee buffet from 9:00 p.m. to 11 p.m., byinvitation only. There will be no cost to ORALLmembers. There will be a big hoopla at the ColumbusORALL conference in 1999. Richard Humphrey is theprogram chair, and he already has some ideasconcerning presenters. The local arrangementscommittee is co-chaired by Sandra Hyclak and JaneUnderwood. The hotel is the Adam’s Mark. It isOctober 13th through the 15th, 1999. We areconsidering an anniversary T-shirt sale at D.C. duringAALL.

Special Interest Groups :Academic Law Libraries : No meeting or

report.Indiana Law Libraries : No meeting or

report.County Law Libraries : Sally Davis reported

on their activities. The SIG held its spring meeting inconjunction with the spring retreat at Mohican StatePark. Twenty nine members were in attendance. BillyGrey, Cincinnati Law Library, gave a legislativeupdate. Linda Briggs gave a demonstration on theOhio Capitol Connection web site. Brenda Wisemanspoke on left brain-right brain thinking and how thatcan operate in our workplace. She showed there ismore than one way to look at situations and ideas.

The fall meeting was held at the ORALLconference in Cleveland, with twenty seven membersin attendance. Billy Grey gave a status report on thecurrent legislation. Joanne Beal, Dayton Law Library,reported on the bylaws changes. The amendmentconcerning SIG funding will be discussed at thebusiness meeting and at the spring retreat. CorlissDavis, Akron Law Library, distributed a current copy ofthe County Law Library Directory. This is an ongoingproject of the SIG and an important contact tool. The

program speaker was Natalie Pitman, Dayton LawLibrary. Natalie talked about developing web siteswith off the shelf software, and her experience indeveloping the Dayton Law Library site. Elections forChairperson were held. Jill Montgomery had towithdraw as 1999 chair because of conflicts with herlibrary and their move. George Baker, TrumbullCounty Law Library, agreed to take the Chairpersonposition for 1999. Mary Kovacs, Lorain County LawLibrary, agreed to accept the job for 2000. The votewas unanimous. The county librarians agreed to meetagain at the Spring Retreat to be held at HuestonWoods.

Private Law Libraries : Beth Langtonsubmitted the report. The Private Law Libraries SIGmet twice this year, once at Mohican State Park andonce in conjunction with the Cleveland ORALLmeeting.

There were nine librarians present for themeeting at Mohican State Park in March. Theyreviewed the structure of the PLL SIG and its lack of achairperson and formal programming in recent years. The group agreed the SIG should continue to be activein presenting programs of interest both to the SIGmembers and to the general ORALL membership. Beth Langton will serve as chairperson until the closeof the PLL SIG meeting in Columbus in 1999. Thetopic of discussion was downsizing. Common problemsdiscussed included doing more with less space, moneyand materials. They also discussed how to gain thesupport of the administration when downsizing thelibrary, and problems in managing differenttechnologies.

The second meeting was held on Wednesday,October 28, 1998 at Cleveland. There were sixteenlibrarians present. They discussed changes in theirlibraries, including the anticipated move of one libraryto a new building and the development of an Intranetfor the library. They also considered topics for aformal program to be planned for the ORALL Retreatat Hueston Woods in March 1999. The group was infavor of a program on presentation skills that wouldinclude power point and how to organize an Internettraining program. Details of the program will be willbe announced at a later time.

There were no further PLL SIG activities in1998.

Related Organizations :OSBA Law Libraries and Legal

Information Service Committee : Jan Novakreported on this committee’s extremely busy year. TheCommittee Chair, ORALL's President, and severalORALL members have been busy over the last twelvemonths. Working with the Ohio State BarAssociation, they put an immediate halt to a billwhich would have cut in half the fine money receivedby many county law libraries. They found a sponsor forthe OSBA Law Libraries and Legal InformationServices Committee funding bill, helped draft sponsor


testimony, and provided proponent testimony athearings in Columbus last spring. OSBA also arrangedfor the committee to meet with the Access andQuality Task Force of the Ohio Supreme Court'sFutures Commission. Before the meeting an e-maildiscussion was held on the listserv, along with adiscussion at the spring retreat, contributing to astatement on the future of law library service in Ohio. A model based on OPLIN and OhioLink wasenvisioned. The Access and Quality Task forceinvited them to submit a legislative proposal for such anetwork, which they did. All of these issues are stillpending at this date.

Old Business : None to be discussed.

New Business :1999 Spring Retreat : The spring retreat will

be at Hueston Woods State Park on March 5th. Hueston Woods is in the southwest part of Ohio. It isa one day opportunity for the membership to cometogether in an informal setting for discussion andprogramming. It is scheduled for the "slow period." Ifyou have program ideas, please see Kathy Carrick,George Baker, and Beth Langton. In conjunction withthe retreat, Andrea Muto has suggested a LEXIS toursince it is so close. It would be noon to 5 p.m. onMarch 4th, with a tour of the data center and a meetingwith the product managers.

Annual meeting in Lexington, Kentucky : The University of Kentucky has generously offered tohost ORALL's annual conference in 2000 inLexington. The invitation has been accepted by theExecutive Board. We are already starting to work onthe conference. We will have to help the Universityof Kentucky members with some of the localarrangements details, as many firms have absorbedsome of these costs at past conferences. Thanks go toall of the members at the University of Kentucky LawSchool and at Northern Kentucky University's SalmonP. Chase College of Law. Think of it--horse farms,racing, bourbon distilleries!

AALL Strategic Challenge 2000 : Kathyasked all the members to examine the StrategicChallenge. Perhaps a strategic plan should beformulated for ORALL, but not before the 50th

Anniversary conference. The VIP program gives ustwo free registrations and meals for the annual AALLconference for guests of our chapter's choosing. Thinkof people who you wish to inspire and to think morehighly of ORALL and of law librarianship as aprofession. Let Keith Blough know, as nominations aredue in January. This is an ongoing activity of AALL,it is not just in place for one conference.Comments from AALL President Jim Heller: He hadbeen told he would be entering the lion's den when hecame to speak at ORALL, but

Introduction of the 1989-99 Officers :Keith Blough, President

Richard Humphrey, VicePresident/President-ElectNancy Clark, SecretaryTom Hanley, Treasurer 1989-1999Claudia Zaher, Executive Board, 1997-1999Deborah Bobinets, Executive Board, 1998-2000Kathy Carrick, Immediate Past President

Keith Blough thanked Kathy Carrick for hertremendous effort on behalf of the Executive Boardand the general membership.

President Keith Blough moved the meetingbe adjourned, with Beth Langton seconding hismotion. The meeting was adjourned at 1:17 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Jane Underwood, SecretaryNovember 20, 1998


Ohio Regional Association of Law LibrariesExecutive Board Meetingheld at Thompson Hine & FloryCleveland, OhioOctober 30, 1998

The meeting was called to order at 1:35p.m by President Keith Blough. Inattendance were Keith Blough(President), Richard Humphrey (VicePresident/President-Elect), Shaun Esposito(Newsletter Editor/Webmaster), KathyCarrick (Immediate Past President), TomHanley (Treasurer), Claudia Zaher,Deborah Bobinets, Nancy S. Clark(Secretary). Also present was PaulMitchell (Chair, 50th Anniversary Meeting).

Keith highlighted the agenda items hewanted the board to review.

AALL VIDEO CONFERENCE He reported receiving a letter 10/21/98from AALL Education ProgramCoordinator about the Chaptersponsoring another Satellite VideoConference, this time on "CustomerService." No date was mentioned. Kathy said individual cities usually hold it.

VIP PROGRAMKathy brought up the question about theVIP Program. A call to solicit VIP nameswas announced at the Business Meeting. Shaun had the name of StateRepresentative Danny Ford from Kentuckythat helped with legislative matters. Paul gave a brief history of the VIPProgram. Richard suggested IndianaSupreme Court Chief Justice, Randall T.Shepard and Ohio Judge, RobertGorman since they are both very pro-library. Paul reiterated the benefits ofchoosing someone with influence onlibrarianship. He stated the need for alonger list of potential candidates tonarrow down to one or two names.Kathy said the VIP selection would bemade in January. Tom suggested theneed to prioritize the list of names.Richard thought when a specific personcould not go, he/she could suggestsomeone that could. Keith said he wouldask someone at the Ohio Supreme Court.Paul thought State Representatives that

deal with copyright bills in their respectivelegislatures would be possible candidates.Richard suggested Bar AssociationPresidents that have library interests. Kathy announced whoever we suggestmaybe people we would want on futureORALL programs. Richard commentedthat Chief Justice Shepard was anexcellent legal historian, therefore, goodfor future programs. Keith will invitesomeone from the Ohio Supreme Court.Kathy stated there was a legislativehistorian at Lexington. Tom questioned ifthe VIP Person should have influence atthe local or national level. Kathy cameback with a question of who could do themost for our membership. Someonelocal, yet powerful. Keith was skepticalabout who would come. Debbiesuggested we shoot high, include Deans fLaw Schools, Senior Partners, etc. Claudiasuggested we put the VIP name requeston the ORALL LISTSERV. Nancyrecommended once we gather this listthat we keep and continually update it. Future names could be pulled from thiscompiled list. Shaun and Richard willwork on putting an explanation of the VIPProgram and solicitation of names on theORALL LISTSERV and Newsletter. ADecember 1st deadline would berequested. Paul stated a Nov. 30th

deadline is better for various reasons.Debbie wondered if a committee shouldwork the VIP Program? Tom thought thisfirst year would best be handled by theExecutive Board, then given to acommittee after that. Richard wonderedaloud that the future ORALL PRCommittee would be the right place tohandle this assignment.

50th ANNIVERSARY MEETINGPaul began the discussions of the 50th

Anniversary Meeting in Columbus. Heasked who sets the dollar amount for thebudget, the Executive Board or theCommittee Chair. Keith said a budgetwas already set for the Washington DCreception. Paul reminded the board thatthe food & hotel were $1500. It did notinclude the invitations, response cards, orpostage. The postage was approximatedat $150. Invitations would includeChapter Presidents, AALL Executive Board,


etc. Debbie inquired about past ORALLpeople. She favored the inclusion of pastmembers. Keith said Past ORALL Officerswould be invited. Paul mentioned theAALL program will list the reception as an"Invitation Only" function. Claudiasuggested we put the Invitation on theORALL LISTSERV. Paul mentioned anannouncement would be in the AALLSPECTRUM for people to self-identify aspast or present ORALL members. Nancyinquired on the deadline for theWashington Reception. Paul said May1st. Keith suggested the budget for theReception be $2000. Claudia thoughtthat was low. Paul suggested $2500 -$3000. Keith suggested the final budgetbe available in March at the Retreat. Paul talked about possible favors for themembers in Washington (7/99) such as agold star paper weight and in Columbus(10/99) leather binders, desk clocks, ordesk business card holders.

Paul asked the board if there was amaximum on the Speaker fees? Richardtossed around possible speaker names:Bob Berring was willing to come backnext year, OCLC President Jay Jordans,Andrea Muto had passed on thesuggestion of Dr. Rick Ruben, a dynamicspeaker from The Kent State Program. Richard concluded that Mr. Berring wouldbe a positive parring with Jody Beal andKathy Carrick on the ORALL HistorySegment of the Program.

The 50th Anniversary EducationCommittee needs a new member sinceTed Potter is moving to Milwaukee. Paulwill take his place on that committee. Richard listed the Committee members ashimself, Carolyn Vinyard, Suzanne Young,Andrea Muto, and Paul Mitchell, asLiaison. Ideas were tossed around for atheme for the 50th Anniversary. Richardquoted from a line from the movie, ToyStory, "From Infinity and Beyond." Kathyexpanded it "To The Millennium andBeyond!" with favorable review by manyboard members.

Kathy began the discussion about theSpring Retreat at Houston Woods. Shesuggested the PLL and County SIG

combine programs. There could be aspeaker in the evening. The ExecutiveBoard meets on Saturday. Paulmentioned the PLL SIG met in Clevelandand ideas of Training the Trainer andPower Point Presentations were discussed. Kathy gave the results of the Lexis-NexisSurvey: 38 people wanted to come earlyand tour the Headquarters near Dayton,while 28 said they would attend theretreat. Richard thought Indiana peoplewould want to come to tour Lexis.Shaun stated that the University ofKentucky did a humorous presentation onteam work. These people might be willingto do a repeat performance at the FridayDinner during the Retreat. Claudiainquired if Anderson was giving a tour,being nearby in Cincinnati.Tom offered people a tour of his library inDayton.

Keith moved the meeting be adjourned. Nancy seconded the motion. Themeeting was adjourned at 2:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Nancy S. Clark, Secretary.


CAROL’SCAROL’S CORNERCORNERby Carol Parris,

University of Kentucky Law Library

This is a regular column of light-heated, tongue-in cheekmusings by Carol Parris, Reference/Research ServicesLibrarian at the University of Kentucky College of LawLibrary.--editor

Have you ever done something really stupid and thenlooked over your shoulder to see who was looking? Can you imagine the chagrin you would feel if yourstupidity were publicized in the newspaper? Thefollowing news stories, taken from various internet e-mail lists, should make us all feel better and puteverything back into perspective when we see howREALLY stupid some people are. How would you liketo be in their shoes?

In Crown Point, Indiana, police have re-opened thecase of a man who died from 32 hammer blows to hishead. The cause of death had been ruled a suicide, inspite of the County coroner's opinion that a mansimply could not remain conscious long enough to hithimself in the head 32 times...

After robbing restaurant manager Janice Head at knifepoint and taking her purse, her assailant was so smittenthat he called to ask her out. Police arrested the manwhen he arrived for their date...

The London Times has reported some serious breachesof health regulations in British hospitals, including thefinding of dead cockroaches in the food served at theRoyal Free Hospital in Lancashire. The cateringmanager of the hospital apologized for the problem butexplained that the insects posed no health risks, aslong as they were cooked to the correct temperature...

When a British schoolboy was unable to remove a vasethat was stuck on his head, he was rushed to thehospital on a city bus. According to reports, in anattempt to make the boy look more normal to theother passengers, his mother placed his school cap ontop of the vase....

Albert Collins, a 66-year-old apartment manager in Kansas City, went to the apartment of a tenant tocomplain about the noise being made. Collins reportedto police that he told the tenant he had "an earful" ofthe excess noise. Replying that he would "fix that,"the angry tenantseized Collins by the hair and bit off part of his ear....

Police in San Mateo, California, arrested a man forstealing a 400 lb. safe from a restaurant less than ablock from his home. Alert officers simply followedthe gouge-marks the safe left in the concrete as hedragged it home...

A Toronto gas station attendant had no troubleidentifying a robber for police, even though the manhad worn a pair of women's panties over his head as adisguise. The thief, who later admitted that his mindwas clouded by intoxicants, had stuck his face throughone of the legholes so he could see...

And after the same man had held up a Michigan bankfor the third time, the Detroit Free Press reports thatthe teller told police, "Each time he's better dressed."

In Ottawa, Canada, a woman calling herself LadyRhoda claims to have X-ray vision. She was recentlyarrested and charged with reckless driving when shestruck a pedestrian during a demonstration of drivingwhile blindfolded...

A teenager who deposited a candy wrapper in anautomatic teller machine found his account creditedwith 500 thousand dollars, according to a report fromAuckland, New Zealand. The boy withdrew about$750 before confessing to a school teacher.

Law enforcement officers in Oldham, England, had notrouble identifying Roy Phillips as the shoplifter theywere looking for. The suspect was wearing a yellowshirt, yellow pants, and a yellow tie. Additionally,every item he had taken from the store was also yellow,including Scotch eggs, jellies, mustard, cheese, socks,and 3 pair of yellow underpants....

Francis Karnes, a 39-year-old man in Sacramento,California, was charged with reckless endangermentafter he pulled a gun and shot his lawnmower when itwouldn't start...

A waitress in Long Island has run over herself with hercar. The woman was on her way home when shesomehow fell out of the car, which was thrown intoreverse and circled backward over the woman threetimes...


ORALL Officers and Contact Information

Keith Blough PresidentLibrary DirectorColumbus Law Library Association369 South High Street, 10th FloorColumbus, OH 43215-4518614-221-4181FAX 614-221-2115E-Mail [email protected]

Richard HumphreyVice President/President ElectReference/Collection Management LibrarianIndiana University School of LawLaw Library735 West New York StreetIndianapolis, IN 46202-5194317-278-1793FAX 317-274-8825E-Mail [email protected]

Thomas L. HanleyTreasurerDirectorUniversity of DaytonZimmerman Law Library300 College ParkDayton, OH 45469-2780937-229-2444FAX 937-229-2555E-Mail [email protected]

Nancy S. ClarkSecretaryLibrary ManagerJones, Day, Reavis & Pogue41 S. High St., 19th FloorColumbus, OH 43215614-469-3966FAX 614-469-4198E-Mail [email protected]

Kathleen M. CarrickImmediate Past PresidentDirectorCase Western Reserve University Law Library11075 East Blvd.Cleveland, OH 44106-7148216-368-6357FAX 216-368-6144E-Mail [email protected]

Deborah L. BobinetsExecutive Board MemberAssistant Law Librarian for Technical ServicesUniversity of Akron School of Law Library150 University AvenueAkron, OH 44325-2902330-972-5189FAX 330-972-4948E-Mail [email protected]

Claudia ZaherExecutive Board MemberAssistant Director - Collection Development,Acquisitions/SerialsChase College of Law LibraryNorthern Kentucky UniversityNunn DriveHighland Heights, KY 41099-6110606-572-5712FAX 606-572-6529E-Mail [email protected]

Shaun EspositoNewsletter and Web EditorReference & Electronic Information ServicesLibrarianUniversity of Kentucky College of Law Library620 S. Limestone St.Lexington, KY 40506-0048606-257-8347FAX 606-323-4906E-Mail [email protected]

ORALL Web Pagehttp://www.uky.edu/Law/orall


Calendar 1999

1999

January 6-10 Association of American LawSchools Annual Meeting, New Orleans,Louisiana

February 26-27 ORALL Spring Retreat, Hueston Woods State Resort Park

July 17-22 American Association of LawLibraries Annual Meeting, Washington, DC

Newsletter DeadlinesFebruary 15, May 15, August 15, and November15

OHIO REGIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES

ProfileORALL is a 4-state chapter of the American Association of Law

Libraries [Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan]. It was formed in 1949 "to furtherthe development and usefulness of law libraries and to stimulate a spirit of mutualhelpfulness among law libraries of this region."

An annual conference is held in the Fall of each year. ORALL publishesor sponsors the following publications: Core Legal Collection [bibliographies forOhio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan], ORALL Membership Directory, ORALLNewsletter, ORALL Union List of Serials, Ohio Legal Resources AnnotatedBibliography & Guide 3rd.

PlacementFor Job Listings and further information, contact Katherine Malmquist,

ORALL Placement Committee Chair, Cleveland State University Law Library,(216) 687-6873 (phone), (216) 687-5284, e-mail: [email protected]

MembershipMembership: 303Dues: $15.00 per yearNon-membership subscriptions:$10.00 per yearContact: Tom Hanley, U. of Dayton Zimmerman Law Library, Dayton,

Ohio 45469-2780, or call 937/229-2444 or e-mail [email protected].

Newsletter InformationThe ORALL Newsletter is the official publication of the Ohio Regional

Association of Law Libraries [ORALL]. Published quarterly [March, June,September, December][ISSN: 1048-2199]

Edited by: Shaun Esposito, University of Kentucky Law Library, 620 S.Limestone St., Lexington, KY 40506; 606/257-8347, FAX 606/323-4906. PrintedBy: Roberta K. Robertson, U. of Akron School of Law Library. Unsolicitedcontributions are encouraged; contributions submitted for publication are subject toeditorial review. For extra copies contact the editor. Please direct address changesto mailing list coordinator Tom Hanley, U. of Dayton Zimmerman Law Library,Dayton, Ohio 45469-2780, or call 937/229-2444 or e-mail [email protected].

Advertising RatesThe following rates and sizes apply, per issue:

full page: $130/issue½ page--2 formats:

7 ½ "wide x 4 ½" high $80.00/issue3 1/4" wide x 9" high $80.00/issue

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ORALL NewsletterReturn to:University of AkronSchool of Law LibraryMcDowell Law CenterAkron , Ohio 44325-2902

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