China-United States Conference on Legal Information and Law Libraries

Robert H. Hu
St. Mary's University Law Library

China plays an increasingly important role in the world economy and international relations. The impact of China is felt in our daily life in this country. As the Chinese economy continues to grow, its legal system will evolve to meet the needs of a modern economy and society. So will its legal information infrastructure and institutions. There is a lot we can learn from each other and cooperate in the area of legal information and law libraries. With this development in mind, a group of interested law library directors and law librarians from the United States have started working with the Chinese government and institutions to plan for a conference on legal information and law libraries to be held in Beijing in late May 2009. This conference will present an unprecedented opportunity for law librarians and legal information professionals from both the U.S. and China to share experiences and exchange views in regard to legal information development and law library management. The goals of the conference are to promote communication and cooperation in the area of legal information and law libraries between both countries. More information and updates about the conference will be posted on the newly created conference Website at: http://www.law.du.edu/library/ChinaConference/

The official Chinese sponsor for the conference will be the State Guidance Commission on Legal Education of the Ministry of Education. Two Chinese institutions will host the conference - the Chinese Legal Information Center at China University of Political Science and Law, and the Management Committee of Zhong Guancun Science and Technology Parks. The U.S. sponsor(s) will be identified in the near future. Possible sponsors include the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), the American Bar Association (ABA), and the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), among others.

Upon consultations, we have formed a U.S. Steering Committee to be in charge of planning for the conference. The Steering Committee will work with the Chinese side in forming a joint planning group for the conference. The Steering Committee consists of nine members: Frank Liu, Co-Chair (Duquesne University), Janis Johnston, Co-Chair (University of Illinois), Wei Luo, Treasurer (Washington University in St. Louis), Robert Hu, Secretary (St. Mary's University), Joan Liu (New York University), Betsy McKenzie (Suffolk University), Kara Phillips (Seattle University), Lei Seeger (University of Hawaii), and Sergio Stone (University of Denver). We’ve also set up an Advisory Board, which will advise the Steering Committee in the planning and organizing of the conference. The Advisory Board will be chaired by Terry Martin (Harvard University), joined by members including Roy Mersky (University of Texas), Kathie Price (University of Florida), Dick Danner (Duke University), and Phil Berwick (Washington University in St. Louis). More Advisory Board members will be selected in the near future.

The initial joint meeting of the Steering Committee and the Advisory Board will take place on Monday, July 16, from 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM at the Hilton – Jasperwood Room. The agenda is to discuss the proposal outline for the conference. The Steering Committee and the Advisory Board will meet from 9am to 10:30am. The meeting will be open to all at 10:30am. Some special guests from China will join us at the meeting. Please come to share your thoughts and/or show your support.