The AALL Second Line Blog

Even policy dweebs love Mardi Gras!

2007-07-25T08:51:00.000-05:00

I am pictured here with AALL's fabulous Associate Washington Affairs Representative Mary Alice Baish and this year's winner of the AALL Public Access to Government Information Award Cathy Hartman. Mary Alice and Cathy deserved a respite after conducting heavy discussions regarding archiving of government information and Congressional funding for the Government Printing Office--and New Orleans is just the place to relax!

We passed a good time!

2007-07-25T08:31:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of me (center) throwing beads in the Mardi Gras parade that followed the Closing Banquet. As you can see, we had a wonderful time! Also in the photo: Denise Uzee and Fran Norton.

Swamped

2007-07-19T01:24:00.000-05:00

What to do before heading home from the conference? A swamp tour, of course. I wasn't the only one who had that idea. I ran into another AALL conference-goer coming off a tour as I started on my adventure. The swamp was - as promised - extremely hot but fascinating. I even got to hold a gator.

Sumo Brain

2007-07-18T20:35:00.000-05:00

Sumo Brain (my name for the Sumobrain.com freebie figure) seems to have been the hot item at the Conference this year. I just made a flickr.com group (aptly named Sumo Brain) to record his travels. If you got one of these freebies, please join the group and post your pictures of Sumo Brain doing his thing.

Beignets

2007-07-18T17:32:00.000-05:00

I don't care too much for do-nuts but when I heard about the Beignets I decided to try them. Wonderful! Served fresh and hot with loads of powered sugar. Usually you can find them in New Orleans for about $2 for 3.

AALL Opening Reception

2007-07-18T11:37:00.000-05:00

AALL opened with an after-dinner dessert extravaganza sponsored by LexisNexis. This was the place to be on the evening of July 14th to network and catch up with old friends, enjoy some sweets, and even dance the night away to a live band. Delicious indulgences tempted from every table - bread pudding, beignets, king cake, sweet potato and pecan pie, cobblers, chocolate dipped strawberries, and beautiful chocolate boxes almost too pretty to eat, were some of the treats that were offered. The ambiance was, of course, all New Orleans.

Music Tour Tuesday on Frenchmen Street

2007-07-17T13:46:00.000-05:00

For those of you interested in touring the Frenchmen Street music scene tonight, Tuesday evening, come to the Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro at 7pm. It's at 626 Frenchmen (504-949-0696). Several folks will be having dinner there at 7pm, and you're welcome to join us. Depending upon how folks feel, we'll stay for the music there, which starts at 8pm, or go to another club on Frenchmen. Snug Harbor has a $15 cover tonight, but the Apple Barrel Bar (609 Frenchmen; 504-949-9399) and d.b.a New Orleans (618 Frenchmen; 504-942-3731) don't have cover charges tonight. Apple Barrel music starts at 8pm, and d.b.a music starts at 10pm. There are other clubs too, so we'll just see where our mood takes us. Frenchmen street is at the east end of the Quarter, right around the corner from Esplanade and Decatur. Hope to see you there! Laura Ray

Bid early and often!

2007-07-16T18:49:00.000-05:00

When you're in the exhibit hall, don't forget to check out the Stitchers SIS silent auction hosted at the State, Court & County Law Library SIS table in the activities area. The picture at left is just a sample of the creativity on display.

The auction closes at 2pm on Tuesday. All proceeds will benefit the New Orleans Public Library Restoration Fund.

Bloggers' Get Together

2007-07-16T18:42:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Barbara Fullerton, who got us organized and found a spot (Gordon Biersch Brew Pub), around thirty of us got together for the second annual Bloggers' Get Together. With various beers, sodas, and other beverages before us, we had a chance to meet each other, share some experiences, and talk about this new medium we have either tried or would like to try.

A special guest was Ernie Svenson, the thoughtful and witty New Orleans lawyer who founded and writes Ernie the Attorney.

Blogs represented included:

Blogs @ Widener Law Library (sorry, I missed the names of the authors who were there, one from Harrisburg and one from Delaware -- let me know and I can fill in)
Law Professor Blogs (Joe Hodnicki and others)
Biblioblawg and Novalawcity (Meg Kribble,
Bloggy Notion (Julie Horst, UC Hastings)
Lex Scripta (the Dallas Ass'n of Law Libraries' blog, by Barbara Fullerton and others)
Library Boy (personal blog)(Michel-Adrien Sheppard, Supreme Court of Canada)
Trial Ad Notes and AALL Second Line Blog (Mary Whisner, University of Washington)
WisBlawg (Bonnie Shucha, University of Wisconsin)
ZiefBrief (Lee Ryan and Amy Wright, University of San Francisco Law Library)

This group was just a fraction of law librarians who blog. Bonnie Shucha maintains a list of Law Library Blogs and Blogs by Law Librarians or Law Library Associations, now up to 117.

A few notes:

Karen Schneiderman (Drexel University School of Law) analogized legal blogs to something she witnessed as a child. She sometimes tagged along when he and other lawyers and judges in Akron got together, as they did every week, to have lunch at a round table and talk about their cases. Blogging can be a way to share information and ideas -- a new round table.

A few people from different remarked that they began their libraries' blogs because they were tired of formatting their print newsletters.

Lee Ryan added that she thought nobody was reading the newsletter. One test was that they started inserting the word "panda" in the middle of articles and no one noticed. Ernie Svenson had had a similar experience -- he and others put a lot of work into the firm's newsletter. And then at some point they discovered that the staff person who was supposed to mail it out hadn't done so. For two years. And no one had noticed.

Many people had found their audiences were different than originally expected. For instance, Lee and Amy at USF were writing for their own law school community but got hits from all over. They have also responded to search patterns: they'd had a few posts about how to survive the first year of law school that got lots of hits, so they intentionally created more content so those searchers would get a lot more when they reached the site.

People in our communities have different preferences about how they get information. Some like blogs, some would rather still see a print newsletter, some want email announcements, some only want to get information when they go out to search for it.

Many bloggers have found that blogging changes the way we read or take in information. It can help us focus. Several people said they blog partly to help themselves keep track of interesting material they have come across but would otherwise forget.

For more about law librarians and blogging, see Bonnie Shucha, The State of the Law Library Blogosphere, LLRX, Nov. 3, 2006 (winner of the ALL-SIS Outstanding Article award for 2007, by the way).

Law Librarians at New Orleans Habitat for Humanity

2007-07-15T23:03:00.000-05:00

Wow... I just went by Friday afternoon and took pictures for an hour, and I was exhausted. But these guys had been there since the early morning working on a few of the new Habitat for Humanity houses in the Musicians' Village. This is a slide show of the pictures I took:

LL-H4H Slide Show

The pics are also on the Flickr group with the relevant tags. If you recognize youself and want a full-resolution version for prints, let me know.

Gadgethead Drama

2007-07-15T22:48:00.000-05:00

This meeting has a lot of technological firsts for me:

This is my first annual meeting with a cell phone (I got a prepaid phone in January and just last week upgraded to a regular plan).
It's my first annual meeting with a laptop (I bought one in May).
And it's my first annual meeting in a hotel with high-speed Internet -- at least, I think it is, but I wouldn't have noticed because I didn't have a laptop (see #2).
And it's the first time I've written blog posts during an annual meeting -- made possible by #2 and #3, as well as a visit to the Internet room in the Activities Area.
It's also the first annual meeting when I lost my PDA.

What? Lost my PDA?

Yep, that's right. When I saw Jocelyn before a program, I reached for it to check for when I was going to a reception so we could set up a time to meet for dinner. Uh-oh! It wasn't there!! I double-checked all my pockets -- jacket, bag, jacket, bag, pants. Not there, not there, not there.

OK, think, think, think ... where did I last see it? At lunch with James? Yes, I think so. OK, go back to the Riverside Internet Cafe in the Riverwalk. Too bad the staff person hadn't noticed it. I left her my name and cell number (see #1), just in case.

Now what? Maybe I didn't really have it at lunch -- maybe I last saw it when I was at the Legal Research Instruction Roundtable. OK, go back to the Hilton. The room was being set up for something else. The man arranging the tables said I should look for someone in Security. I did, and she got on her walkie-talkie to the office. No Palm had been turned in, but she took my name and number (see #1). You never know.

OK, back to the Convention Center. No one had turned it in to Hospitality or Registration. I left a pathetic sign on the message board, then went upstairs to catch the end of the program I'd started to go to. Finally, I went to the AALL staff office. Nope, no one had turned in a PDA. Someone there also took my name and number (see #1).

I really was doing a pretty good job keeping a grip on my emotions. This was just a physical object. I was fine, my loved ones were fine, no one was in danger. Everything was backed up on my laptop (#2), as well as my work PC and our home PC. It would be disappointing if I never found it, but life goes on.

And then Mary said I should check my bag one more time. I humored her and took out every scrap -- the bag of nuts (in case I get hungry), the napkins (in case I spill), the biography of Sandra Day O'Connor (because I so enjoyed Joan Biscupic's talk), the umbrella (wasn't that an amazing rain storm?), the baseball hat (in case it rains enough to want to keep the rain off my glasses but not enough to bother with the umbrella), the final program (to keep track of what's happening where and when), the squeezeball I'd picked up in the Exhibit Hall. Not there... Oh! Look! It was there! Right at the bottom of everything! Wow. Good news. And wasn't it great that I got in that nice brisk walk from the Convention Center to the Hilton and back? And I can share my dramatic adventure in blog post (see #4).

Gadgets help us (setting up my lunch date with James was much easier than in past years when we just exchanged notes on the message board!), but they also present new challenges -- like keeping track of them!

Fun Walk & Run

2007-07-15T17:15:00.000-05:00

There were quite a number of us that started the Sunday early by celebrating the rain and humidity as we took part in the 25th Annual Hein & Co.'s Fun Walk and Run along the river. Escorted by local police, the participants finished the 3.2 mile track for the runners and (I believe) 1.6 mile for the walkers before 7:30 a.m.

And, as in past years, costumes were adorned by some of the participants, and of course, the Master of Ceremonies (Richard Spinelli)!

I must admit the goal for me was this year's t-shirt: a funky, cool tie-dye shirt!

Thanks again to Hein for sponsoring this wonderful event!

Biskupic on O'Connor, Scalia

2007-07-15T11:45:00.000-05:00

Joan Biskupic, author of Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court Became Its Most Influential Justice, gave quite a wonderful keynote address this morning, discussing Justice O'Connor (of course), her research in writing the book, the latest Term of Court, and the book she's now working on, on Justice Scalia.

Indiana University Reception

2007-07-15T08:43:00.001-05:00

Alumni of Indiana University are invited to a reception on Monday, July 16,5:30-7:30 pm at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside in the Elmwood Room on thethird floor. If you attended the School of Library and InformationScience, or the Law School in Bloomington or Indianapolis, or ever workedat the Law School Library in Indianapolis or Bloomington, you aredefinitely invited! We will have IU people with us, including Vicky Martinfrom the IU Foundation and Sarah Burton from SLIS, as well as at least onemember of the SLIS Alumni Board. So come start your evening out bycatching up on Hoosier news and connecting with friends, old and new.

Indiana University Reception

2007-07-15T08:42:00.001-05:00

TS-SIS Education Committee planning for Portland, Oregon

2007-07-15T08:40:00.001-05:00

While it may seem way too early to think about AALL in 2008, we need to plan now due to the very short time-frame for submitting program ideas after the 2007 Annual meeting. We have lots of flexibility to propose learning opportunities that are important to us, but we need your ideas! If you would like TS-SIS to consider sponsoring your program, please join us at the TS-SIS Education Committee Meeting on Monday, July 16, 2007, 11:45AM-1:00PM at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 230.

The theme for the 2008 meeting in Portland is Energize, Explore, Evolve.” Just the theme conjures up all sorts of program possibilities. One little idea can be explored and can evolve into a learning opportunity that will energize program participants! If you can’t attend the meeting please contact one of our committee members, and they will be happy to bring your idea to the meeting. Committee members are: Alan Keely, Ajaye Bloomstone, DeDe Bradsher, Carmen Brigandi, Ed Hart, Carol Nicholson, Karen Nuckolls, Jean Pajerek, Janice Anderson, Pat Sayre McCoy, Karen Wahl, and Hollie White.

Legal Publishing in the 21st Century: A Conversation with the Publishers

2007-07-15T08:39:00.001-05:00

The transition from print to digital information began in the latter years of the 20th Century, and has moved forward at an ever-quickening pace in the new millennium. The digital revolution has created new challenges, pressures, and opportunities for both publishers and librarians. Join our librarian moderators and publisher executives for a conversation on the changing nature of law and law-related publishing. Like the weather in New Orleans in July, this topic is "HOT."
Bring your questions and concerns and get some answers!
Program H-3 will take place on Tuesday, July 17 at 10:45 am at the Convention Center, Rooms 211-213.
Coordinator: Jim Heller, College of William & Mary Moderators: Jim Heller, College of William & Mary
Sally Wiant, Washington & Lee University Speakers / PanelistsMary Katherine Callaway, Director, LSU Press Stacey Caywood, Vice President of the Legal Professional Group, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business
Scott Livingston, Vice President, Research Solutions, LexisNexis U.S. Legal Market Andrew Martens, Sr. Vice-President for New Product Development, Thomson-West

Dick Spinelli, Senior Vice President, William S. Hein & Co. Paul Wojcik, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, BNA

Thanks to CRIV for their co-sponsorship of this Hot Topic.

Policy Programs To Die For

2007-07-15T08:38:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth LeDoux Advocacy/Communications Assistant AALL Washington Affairs Office

The AALL policy committees – the Government Relations Committee (GRC), the Copyright Committee and Access to Electronic Legal Information Committee (AELIC) – have arranged a cavalcade of government dignitaries and straight-up VIPs to wow you with tantalizing, provocative programs discussing national and state information policy issues like you’ve never seen before.

We kick off the week at the GRC’s Annual Legislative and Regulatory Update ((A-5) Sunday, 1:30-2:45 p.m. EMCC-Room 217/218) by awarding the 2007 PAGI Award to Cathy Hartman for her work on the CyberCemetery and to John Joergensen for the Rutgers-Camden Law School Library Digital Project. We then welcome as our guest speaker Marybeth Peters, U.S. Register of Copyrights, to update us on the Copyright Office. Later in the week, Ms. Peters will join a panel of distinguished librarians and Peter Givler from the Association of American University Presses, to give a full report on the Section 108 Study Group (Copyright Exemptions for Libraries in the Digital Age: Report of the Section 108 Study Group (G-1) Tuesday, 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. EMCC-Room 206/207).

Later in the day on Sunday, the GRC has invited the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) - who manages PACER, the electronic docketing system for the federal judiciary - to discuss the system’s policies and procedures. Ted Willmann and Wendell Skidgel from the AO will reveal plans for PACER and allow users to ask lots of questions at Rising to the Challenge: Finding and Preserving Federal Judicial Information on PACER (B-5) Sunday, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EMCC-Room 220/221.

Famous for saying “the [digital information] train has left the [government documents] station”, the Access to Electronic Legal Information Committee (AELIC) is pleased to welcome Judge Herbert B. Dixon, Jr., Associate Justice, Superior Court of D.C, and Co-chair of the ABA Judicial Division’s Committee on Court Technology. Judge Dixon will discuss the impact of electronic records on the court and share his perspective on the impact of the AALL’s State-by-State Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources and the Authentication Summit hosted by AALL in April 2007. AELIC’s Survey on Authentication of Government Information: A Year Later and Still Challenging (E-1) Monday, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. EMCC-Room 215/216.
. At the Town Meeting on Monday, Dr. Kenneth Thibodeau, Director, and Daryll Prescott, Assistant Director, will update us on NARA's Electronic Records Archives Program. Michael L. Wash, GPO's Chief Technical Officer, and Acting Superintendent of Documents Richard G. Davis will discuss progress with the Future Digital System (FDsys) and GPO Access at Meeting the Challenges of E-life Cycle Management – A Town Meeting with NARA and the Government Printing Office (F-2) Monday, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m. EMCC-Room 208/209.

Last on our list but first in our hearts, 2007 PAGI Award winner Cathy Hartman, Assistant Dean of Libraries, Information Technology Services, at the University of North Texas Center for Digital Knowledge, and founder of the CyberCemetery, will talk about concrete steps law librarians can take to capture and preserve online government resources at Turning Challenges into Opportunities: How Law Libraries Can Capture and Preserve Government Web Resources (H-4) Tuesday, 10:45 – 11:45 a.m. EMCC-Room 217/218.

And here you were thinking information policy was all about hounding certain agency administrators to reopen closed EPA libraries – which it is, and Congress has now demanded they must. But it is a whole lot more, too. Join us while national policy is shaped right here in New Orleans, right now at AALL.

China-United States Conference on Legal Information and Law Libraries

2007-07-15T08:37:00.000-05:00

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.

Mentoring Program

2007-07-14T18:19:00.000-05:00

The Mentoring Program is working!

This afternoon, I had nice conversations with new law librarians (one is finishing up her MLIS in December; the other just graduated and starts work at the end of the summer), each walking with her mentor.

I wouldn't have met Jennifer outside the Hilton if she hadn't been with Blair, and I wouldn't have met Alison in the Riverwalk if she hadn't been with Simon. but clearly each newcomer to the profession was getting to know a more senior law librarian and, along the way, getting to meet whoever they ran into. We are such a networky lot that meeting people here and there, in hallways and food courts, is a wonderful introduction to the profession.

Thanks to everyone who is serving as a mentor. To all of you newer law librarians, welcome to the profession, and enjoy the annual meeting!

And now, I've got a reunion to go to, speaking of networking! I'm looking forward to it!

Forum on Teaching Legal Research

2007-07-14T17:25:00.000-05:00

I tagged along with a friend to the town hall forum on teaching legal research put together by West Librarian Relations. I'm glad I landed there -- and that there were still seats available -- because the presentations and discussion were really good.

People who had been looking forward to hearing Bob Berring were disappointed. Much as I respect and enjoy Bob, I hadn't even heard of the session, so avoided that disappointment (although of course I'm sorry he wasn't able to come to this year's meeting).

The speakers from West (Anne Ellis, Michael Dahn, and Lezlie Bartz) shared interesting information the company has gathered from roundtable discussions with librarians, from surveys of lawyers, and from observational research of lawyers. For example:

Associates in their first year typically spend 90% of their time researching and writing. That portion goes down in the following few years as they become more efficient at those tasks and gain other responsibilities (client development, administration, etc.). New associates spend a lot more time on any given research task, often gathering more cases than they need. More experienced associates have developed more judgment and knowledge of their practice area, so focus better. Firms often end up writing off a lot of the first year associates' research time.
Many attorneys find research tasks frustrating and time consuming -- and at the end, they don't have much confidence that they have found what they need. (Librarians surveyed often felt better on all three counts.)
Print is still an important medium. Some 90% of West subscribers (ALL West subscribers, from solo practitioners to gigantor firms) have active print subscriptions, not just Westlaw. Among bigger organizations (law schools, courts, big firms) (i.e., organizations likely to have librarians), the number is close to 100%. Lawyers tend to choose print for quick look-ups (e.g., desktop manuals) and material that is highly structured (e.g., statutes). (Lezlie Bartz, senior editor for print and CD-ROM told us about some new print products West is bringing out to fit with those uses: rules pamphlets that brings together key statutes, court rules, and practice tips and expert witness handbooks.
A big deficit noted by lawyers and librarians is young attorneys' lack of ability in using print tools and in using them efficiently with online research.

Michael Dahn ably filled the Berring slot by reading remarks that Bob sent, adding his own, and moderating the discussion. (Michael Dahn is responsible for some Westlaw enhancements, including Results Plus.)

Three speakers reported on their experiences in their settings:

Monice Kaczorowski (Director of Library Services, Neal Gerber & Eisenberg, Chicago) described the training programs at her firms -- spearheaded and supported by top partners who believe it is crucial for their associates to improve their research skills. (The firm has also hired a legal writing professor to be an in-house resource for young attorneys.)
Patrick Meyer (Associate Library Director and Adjunct Professor, Thomas Jefferson School of Law) discussed his advanced legal research class. His teaching is informed by surveys he has conducted of law firm librarians, and he shared results of those surveys.
Connie B. Smith (Firm Director of Library Services, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius) talked about her firm -- its summer associate classes are as large as many law school's entering classes! -- and about roundtables she helped organize in Philadelphia (through GPLLA).

In the discussion session, audience members had a lot to say, including some ideas for ways that West could make it easier to teach students. How about giving students a report of what their "free" law school searches would cost in a typical firm? How about putting the Descriptive Word Index online? How about creating a video or other testimonial with comments from some of those attorneys surveyed who talk about how vital research is and how it makes a difference to a young lawyer's career?

At the end, West gave audience members a copy of White Paper: Research Skills for Lawyers and Law Students, a 9-page report with some comments from the panelists (including the panelists who couldn't make it) and some of the results of West's roundtables and market research. Anne Ellis says that this white paper will also be on the Librarian Relations web page (I couldn't find it on the website yet). Today's forum was also videotaped and will be available on the website as well. Watch for it!

Technical Services SIS

2007-07-14T11:51:00.000-05:00

TS-SIS Program: Indigenous Government and Law in the Americas. Library of Congress Online Classification: A Gateway to Web Resources?

Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Time: 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Place: EMCC Room 224

Description of program: The information needs on indigenous government in the Americas challenges libraries and special repositories to develop, or make accessible, the records of indigenous American law. New inter-institutional collection development and digitization projects aimed at higher visibility of tribal law will be discussed. Also LC Classification Web was explored as an innovative simultaneous access tool for local and remote resources on tribal law and constitutional developments, while retaining its traditional functionality for cataloging.

The second part of the program is a live demonstration of LC Classweb and a pioneered Html version which will be upon completion posted on the LC CPSO web site.

Speakers:
David Selden, National Indian Law Library
Richard Amelung, St. Louis University Law School
Jolande E. Goldberg, LC Cataloging Policy & Support Office
Cheryl C. Cook, LC Automation Planning & Liaison Office

For more information go to the program at http://www.aallnet.org/sis/tssis/annualmeeting/2007/programdescriptions.htm#indigenous

For handouts of the panel speakers go to
Http://www.aallnet.org/sis/tssis/annualmeeting/2007/handouts/

Hot Music Scene on Frenchmen Street

2007-07-14T11:29:00.000-05:00

New Orleans, right, everyone thinks Bourbon Street. Sure, lots of clubs, lots of fun. But where’s the happening scene lately? Frenchmen Street baby. If you’d like to join Micrographics/AV SIS folks, carve out a little time Saturday and/or Tuesday evening for a musical journey. The Frenchmen Street area is a real short cab ride to the east end of the Quarter, so no worries getting there.

Saturday, July 14th, anytime between 7pm and 10pm, we’ll start by meeting at Checkpoint Charlie’s (501 Esplanade Avenue; 504-281-4847). In addition to great music without a cover charge, here you’ll find good bar food, pool tables, and, just in case your luggage got a bit trashed on the way to New Orleans, a laundromat. Remember when Julia Roberts sat on the washing machine in a bar in Pelican Brief? That’s Checkpoint Charlie’s. Also, my good friend Joshua T-Bone Stone and the Lazy Boys will be playing for your listening pleasure Saturday, 7pm-10pm. So cut out of the Opening Reception a little early and head on over to Checkpoint Charlie’s to really start off a great evening. Then, it’s a must trip to the Apple Barrel Bar (609 Frenchmen Street; 504- 949-9399). Coco Robicheaux plays his legendary mojo soul there every Saturday night,11pm-3am. For more information, check out http://www.spiritland.com/.

Look for details in a future blog post as to where we'll meet to start Tuesday evening. There are several great clubs clustered behind Checkpoint Charlie’s and near the Apple Barrel. Snug Harbor (626 Frenchmen Street; 504-949-0696) includes a bistro restaurant, bar, and music club. Its scene usually starts a little earlier, and showcases excellent local and national jazz. For more information, see http://www.snugjazz.com/. Café Brasil (2100 Chartres Street; 504-949-0851) features superb Afro-Cuban, Latin, and world music. Things get started a little early here too, and it can get crowded in the later hours. Sorry, no website for Cafe Brasil. Another great club is d.b.a. (616 Frenchmen Street; 504-942 3731). This is a spin off of the New York club by the same name, and has a renowned beer list. The bar’s motto is “drink good stuff.” Great wines as well as jazz, funk, and blues abound. For more information, see http://www.drinkgoodstuff.com/no/default.asp.

Hope to see you Saturday evening at Checkpoint Charlie’s to kick-start the Annual Meeting. Let the good times roll! Laura Ray

M/AV SIS Programs Feature Breaking Technology News and Roman Law

2007-07-14T11:28:00.000-05:00

The Micrographics/Audiovisual SIS is pleased to continue its excellent tradition of programming at the 2007 AALL Annual Meeting. In addition, on Sunday, July 15th, 12:00noon-1:15pm, in the Hilton Grand Salon 4, current members and those interesting in becoming members should plan to attend the M/AV SIS Business Meeting. Here we will review M/AV SIS projects and programs, as well as discuss educational programming for the 2008 AALL Annual Meeting.

On Sunday, July 15th, 5:30pm-6:30pm, in the Hilton Grand Salon 3, the M/AV SIS Roundtable will present Mandatory Digital TV: Technological Triumph or Information-Access Tragedy? Laura Ray, Educational Programming Librarian at the Cleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, and Terrence McCormack, Head, M. Robert Koren AV Center and AV Librarian at the State University of New York at Buffalo, will present a comprehensive history of the events surrounding the mandatory digital television policy and moderate discussion of the legal and ethical issues surrounding this policy. The M/AV SIS Roundtable will not conflict with formal programs, as well as provide Annual Meeting attendees a final educational session before their Sunday receptions and dinners.

You will have to decide between two M/AV SIS programs on Monday, July 16th, 8:45am-10:15am. One option, in Convention Center Room 211-213, will be D-3. Electronic Preservation: Does Losing the Past Challenge the Future? This program will present a debate between two authorities who advocate conflicting theories about electronic preservation, a purely digital approach that places its reliance upon open systems and mass storage devices, and a hybrid approach including analog systems as archival insurance. This program is being co-sponsored by the State, Court & County Law Libraries SIS. It will be coordinated by John Pedini, Director of Media Services at the Social Law Library, moderated by Jonathan Stock, Supervising Law Librarian at the Connecticut Judicial Branch - Law Library at Stamford, and the speakers will include Victoria Reich, Director of the LOCKSS Program at Stanford University Libraries, and Jerry Dupont, Executive Director of the Law Library Microform Consortium. The other option, in Convention Center Room 215/216, will be D-6. Rome: the Power of Film to Teach Foundations of Roman and Civil Law. This program will demonstrate the educational opportunities afforded by audiovisual materials, as it draws upon the powerful images of the HBO series “Rome,” to explain key elements of Roman Law. This program is being co-sponsored by the Legal History and Rare Books SIS and the Foreign, Comparative & International Law SIS. It will be coordinated and moderated by Laura Ray, and the speakers will include Bernard Keith Vetter, the Ted and Louana Frois Distinguished Professor of International Law Studies at the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.

LHRB SIS Programs Feature Louisiana and Roman Law

2007-07-14T11:26:00.000-05:00

The Legal History and Rare Books SIS is pleased to be sponsoring two formal programs, co-sponsoring one formal program, and presenting our annual Roundtable, at the 2007 AALL Annual Meeting. In addition, current members and those interesting in becoming members, should plan to attend the LHRB SIS Business Meeting on Tuesday, July 17th, 4:15pm-5:15pm, in Convention Center Room 230. Here we will review LHRB SIS projects and programs as well as discuss educational programming for the 2008 AALL Annual Meeting.

On Sunday, July 15th, 1:30pm-2:45pm, in Convention Center Room 215/216, A-6. Taking Up the Gauntlet: the Duel in Southern Legal History will feature Bertram Wyatt-Brown, the Richard J. Milbauer Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Florida and a leading historian of the American South. Dr. Wyatt-Brown will discuss the history of the duel, how the duel of honor became entrenched in Southern culture, why it flourished, and how it died. This program will be coordinated and moderated by Jennie Meade, Rare Books Librarian at the George Washington University Jacob Burns Law Library.

The bulk of LHRB SIS programming will be on Monday, July 16th. 8:45am-10:15am, in Convention Center Room 215/216, D-6. Rome: the Power of Film to Teach Foundations of Roman and Civil Law will demonstrate the educational opportunities afforded by audiovisual materials, as it draws upon the powerful images of the HBO series “Rome,” to explain key elements of Roman Law. This program is being co-sponsored by the Micrographics/Audiovisual SIS and Foreign, Comparative & International Law SIS. It will be coordinated and moderated by Laura Ray, Educational Programming Librarian at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, and the speakers will include Bernard Keith Vetter, the Ted and Louana Frois Distinguished Professor of International Law Studies at the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Next, 11:45am-1:00pm, in the Hilton Grand Salon 6, the LHRB SIS Roundtable will present Celebrating the 400th Anniversary of Cowell’s Interpreter. Joel Fishman, Assistant Director for Lawyer Services at the Duquesne University Center for Legal Information / Allegheny County Law Library, will coordinate this examination of the history of legal dictionaries in Anglo-American law and their use in legal literature, and the speakers will include Warren Billings, Professor of History, Emeritus, at the University of New Orleans. The LHRB SIS Roundtable will not conflict with formal programs, and we plan to offer light refreshments. 2:00pm-3:15pm, after our Roundtable, in Convention Center Room 217/218, F-3. Huey Long, the Press, and the Fourteenth Amendment: Louisiana’s Contribution to Modern Constitutional Law will examine the unique situations and personalities that led to Louisiana legislation on the taxation of advertising in newspapers, as well as the Grosjean v. American Press Co. U.S. Supreme Court decision in reference to the modern development of freedom of the press in the United States. This program will be coordinated by Etheldra Scoggin, Reference Librarian and Associate Professor at the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, moderated by Stacy Etheredge, Reference Librarian at the University of South Carolina School of Law, and the speakers will be James E. Viator, Associate Professor of Law at the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Michael L. Kurtz, Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of History at Southeastern Louisiana University, and Richard D. White, Professor of Public Administration at Louisiana State University.

Eating Out

2007-07-13T21:41:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Katherine Nachod for the great restaurant guide in our registration bags. (And thanks to the team that stuffed the bags ... and to BNA for giving us such versatile bags!)

This evening Mary Hotchkiss and I tried out one of Katherine's recommendations, the Sun Ray Grill, described in the guide as a "delightful place" with an eclectic menu. We chose it because the range of cuisine sounded great -- and it was an easy walk from our hotel and moderately priced.

As Katherine suggested, we had the tableside guacamole, made by our waiter before our eyes. Fresh? You bet! Yummy, too! We also shared a portabella quesadilla -- also very good. The portions were generous and, with (non-alcoholic) drinks, the whole dinner was under 25 bucks.

Mary went to lunch with other bag stuffers at the Ugly Dog Cafe, also in the Warehouse District (on Tchoupitoulas). Huge portions, very reasonably priced. So add that to your list.

Having a bit of a coffee habit (even decaf), I was happy to go to the Starbucks across from the Convention Center early this morning before going to the Habitat work site. I was only disappointed at the end of the day that I couldn't get an iced drink there because it closed. I'm not used to Starbucks closing at 2:30 in the afternoon. I guess it's all a question of traffic. There's just not enough tourist business to justify staying open for whenever I yearn for a coffee drink. I hope our meeting is just another step in the recovery for New Orleans eateries (and drinkeries).

My Day as a Laborer

2007-07-13T16:57:00.000-05:00

About 70 of us boarded buses in front of the Convention Center at 6:45 this morning to go spend the day volunteering with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity.

All Habitat projects are wonderful, but I especially liked that we were in the Musicians' Village:

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced many musicians to flee New Orleans. Jazz, blues, and other genres that are the city's musical score, cannot return until the musicians return, and many have lost their homes. Habitat for Humanity International and New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, working with Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, honorary chairs of Operation Home Delivery, seek to change this. Plans were announced Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005 for a "Musicians' Village."

The Musicians' Village, conceived by Connick and Marsalis, will consist of 70 single-family, Habitat-constructed homes for displaced New Orleans musicians and other qualifying Habitat partner families. Its centerpiece will be the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, dedicated to the education and development of homeowners and others who will live nearby. On January 9, 2006 NOAHH acquired eight acres of land in the Upper 9th Ward where the core area of the Musicians' Village will be located. In addition to the homes in this tract, plans call for building at least 150 other homes in the surrounding Upper 9th Ward neighborhood. Construction began in March 2006 and the first ten homeowners moved into thier new homes in August 2006.

The completed houses look great -- tidy three-bedroom homes painted in bright colors. We were working near some occupied homes and got to watch a boy playing with a puppy in a backyard -- a sight that shouldn't be so remarkable, but this was in a neighborhood that is still largely in ruins. Dogs and children are always a pick-me-up, but what a welcome sight here!

Most of us had darn little experience with construction. (I can't remember the last time I used a hammer to do more than hang a picture!) But the Habitat staff people explained what to do and we were able to make progress. One group was painting interiors in nearly complete houses. Most of us worked on the floor joists for a house that's just getting started. Even people with few skills can carry planks from here to there and then, with guidance, hammer them into place.

We all got hot, dirty, and tired, but had a good time together, and it was great to be able to do a little for these families that have lost so much.

Our bus driver enjoyed using his PA system to tell us about the neighborhoods we passed through. He took us a few blocks out of the way on the way home to show us one of the places where a levee was broken (the one that a barge barged into). In a two-block band near the Industrial Canal, there was just scrub, grass, and the remnants of foundations where once there was a neighborhood. The bus driver used to drive a city bus there, picking up children going to school and adults going to work. His connection made the loss more personal.

I'm really thankful to the people (the SR-SIS, SIS Council, and AALL Headquarters) who arranged for community service opportunities. What a great idea!

GenX/GenY Caucus Social: Mark Your AALL Calendar!

2007-07-13T16:35:00.000-05:00

Sunday night doesn't have to be a lonely night at AALL! Come join your GenX/GenY friends for a drink at Lucy's!

WHEN:
Sunday, July 15th, 7-9pm (right after the Caucus meeting)

WHERE:
Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar
701 Tchoupitoulas St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 523-8995
http://www.lucysretiredsurfers.com/

Meg Kribble made us a little map from the Convention Center to Lucy's available at:
http://tinyurl.com/2ecah3

Our group is meeting in a downstairs area.

WHAT:
Good conversation with colleagues and reasonably-priced alcoholic beverages in a respected New Orleans establishment.

QUESTIONS about the Social Event?
Contact the GenX/GenY Social Group!

Meg Kribble (kribblem@nsu.law.nova.edu)
Holly Lakatos (hlakatos@kentlaw.edu)
Miriam Childs (mchilds@lasc.org)

REMINDER:
The GenX/GenY Caucus Meeting will be on July 15th from 5:30-6:30 in Convention Center Room 219.

(Please check the final convention center program for possible changes!)

Monday and Tuesday night music picks

2007-07-13T14:15:00.000-05:00

Below find a few of my picks for live local music shows on Monday and Tuesday, July 16 and 17.
Also, check out the Gambit Weekly (a free weekly newspaper) and the Times-Picayune’s (New Orleans’ daily newspaper) Living and Lagniappe sections for other ideas.
Please feel free to add other ideas for good musical outings as you come across them.
A couple of quick notes: 1) Check a map to make sure you know where you are going even if the venue you choose to go to is in the CBD or French Quarter. You may want to take a cab even if I haven’t noted it as necessary here depending on the temperature outside and walking distance. 2) The numbers for United Cab are 504-522-9771 and 504-524-9606.
Here are some of my suggestions for good music venues and shows:

Monday July 16, 2007
Circle Bar: 1032 St. Charles Ave., 504-588-2616
VaVaVoom, 10 pm.
This small bar on Lee Circle is a unique venue for live music. VaVaVoom is a fun band that plays a synthesis of New Orleans jazz and French Gypsy music. Check out their website for more: http://www.vavavoomband.com/

d.b.a.: 618 Frenchmen St., 504-942-3731
Bob French & Friends, 9 pm.
Bob French is a jazz drummer not well known outside of New Orleans. However, his shows are usually well worth a listen.

Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar: 5535 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-891-8500
John Fohl, 9:30 pm.
This uptown cigar bar is a great place to go, especially if you enjoy a nice cigar. John Fohl is well known in New Orleans as a singer/songwriter and performer.
**Not within walking distance of the CBD or French Quarter. A cab or other transportation will be necessary.

Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub: 733 Bourbon St. 504-561-0432
Ryan Burrage and his Rhythmakers, 9 pm
Fritzel’s is one of my favorite spots for traditional jazz in New Orleans. Ryan Burrage leads the house band for 9 o’clock shows Wed.-Sat. This is a repeat listing from the first post, so you know where my allegiance lies J

Snug Harbor: 626 Frenchmen St. 504-949-0696; www.snugjazz.com
Charmaine Neville, 8 and 10 pm.
Ms. Neville always performs a wonderful, soulful show. This would be a great find in a fun venue.

Mulate's: 201 Julia St., 522-1492. http://www.mulates.com/
Latouche Cajun Band, 7 pm.
Mulate’s is located close to the Convention Center and is a great spot for some Cajun food and music. Check out their website for more.

Tuesday July 17, 2007
Maple Leaf Bar: 8316 Oak St. 504-866-9359
Rebirth Brass Band, 10:30 pm.
If you’re looking for something to do after the Closing Banquet this would be my recommendation. You haven’t heard New Orleans music like Rebirth at the Maple Leaf. Be ready for a late night, but one that you’ll hopefully remember for the great music and unique venue.
**Not within walking distance of the CBD or French Quarter. A cab or other transportation will be necessary.

Mid-City Lanes Rock 'N' Bowl: 4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-482-3133
Country Night with Country Fried, 8:30 pm.
If you aren’t going to make the Closing Banquet the Rock N’ Bowl might be something fun to do. As the name suggests, you can bowl while listening to local band Country Fried. Here’s a link to the band’s Myspace page: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=47193778
**Not within walking distance of the CBD or French Quarter. A cab or other transportation will be necessary.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable and safe conference in the Crescent City.

Brent Hightower

Social Responsibilities SIS: open to all AALL members

2007-07-13T08:47:00.000-05:00

If you followed the discussion on law-lib between June 27 and July 1, 2007 regarding the British academic union's boycott call against Israeli academics, and even if you didn't, this is a reminder that the Social Responsibilities Special Interest Section business meeting on Sunday, July 15 will be open to all (check your schedule or the web for time and place) - you may give your input to the voting membership of the SIS on whether AALL should take a stand on the issue, both or either on issues of academic freedom/access to scholarship and to stand up against the recrudescence of antisemitism.

On July 11, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives did so, on a vote of 414-0 as follows:

H. Res. 467
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
July 11, 2007.

Whereas, on May 30, 2007, the leadership of the University and College Union (UCU) of the United Kingdom voted in favor of a motion to consider at the branch level a boycott of Israeli faculty and academic institutions;

Whereas the UCU was created in 2006 out of a merger of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) and the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE);

Whereas both AUT (in 2005) and NATFHE (in 2006) have passed resolutions supporting a boycott of Israeli academics and academic institutions;

Whereas, however, the AUT boycott resolution was overturned after one month in a revote, and the NATFHE boycott resolution was voided when the two organizations merged into the UCU;
Whereas Britain's National Union of Journalists called for a boycott of Israeli goods in April 2007;

Whereas the UCU boycott motion appears to have spawned similar movements in Britain to boycott Israel economically and culturally, and the country's largest labor union, UNISON, said it would follow the union of university instructors in weighing punitive measures against Israel;
Whereas these unions have a hypocritical double standard in condemning Israel, a free and democratic state, while completely ignoring gross human rights abuses occurring throughout the Middle East and around the world;

Whereas Article 19, section 2, of the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that, `Everyone shall have the right to . . . receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice';

Whereas these and other attempts to stifle intellectual freedom through the imposition of an academic boycott are morally offensive and contrary to the values of freedom of speech and freedom of inquiry;

Whereas American Nobel laureate Prof. Steven Weinberg refused to participate in a British academic conference due to the National Union of Journalist's boycott and stated that he perceived `a widespread anti-Israel and anti-Semitic current in British opinion'; and
Whereas the senseless boycotting of Israeli academics contributes to the demonization and attempted delegitimization of the State of Israel: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) condemns the vote by the leadership of the University and College Union of May 30, 2007, to consider at the branch level a boycott of Israeli academics and academic institutions;
(2) urges the international scholarly community, the European Union, and individual governments, to reject, or continue to oppose vigorously, calls for an academic boycott of Israel;
(3) urges educators and governments throughout the world, especially democratically-elected governments, to reaffirm the importance of academic freedom;
(4) urges other unions and organizations to reject the troubling and disturbing actions of the UCU leadership; and
(5) urges the general members of the UCU to reject the call of the union's leadership to boycott Israel.
http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.res.00467:

SCCLL direct-sponsored programs

2007-07-12T16:08:00.000-05:00

Two noteworthy programs you won't find in the "regular" A thru J listings in your conference booklet:

* Monday, 2:00-3:15 p.m., Hilton-Eglinton Winton: "Stepping Into Big Shoes: Strategies to Ensure Smooth Transitions for First Time Directors and Managers and the Libraries They Serve"

* Tuesday, 9:00-10:30 a.m., Hilton-Grand Salon 9: "Marketing Your Public [Law] Library: Rising to the Challenge of Reaching the Public and Local Attorneys"

Complete descriptions and handouts are available on the SCCLL-SIS direct-sponsored programs webpage.

See you there!

-- Connie Von Der Heide, Wis. State Law Library
chair, SCCLL-SIS Education Committee

Top Ten Restaurants in New Orleans

2007-07-12T15:12:00.001-05:00

Katie Nachod and Georgia Chadwick forwarded this link with an article on the best restaurants in New Orleans. They are all well worth checking out!
http://cityguides.msn.com/citylife/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4973140

Indiana University Reception Monday

2007-07-12T09:05:00.000-05:00

It's a new tradition! Indiana University is holding a reception again this year for alumni of the School of Library and Information Science, of the Law School, and of the Law Library. Be our guest (and bring someone with you, if you wish) at the SLIS Alumni Reception at the American Association of Law Libraries, in New Orleans, on Monday evening, July 16. Food and drinks will be provided.

Plan to stop by to meet, greet and reconnect with former classmates and friends. We had a nice turn-out last year in St. Louis. We hope those who attended last year, and many more, will be able to join in the fun this year.

Monday, July 16, 5:30-7:30 pm -- Hilton New Orleans Riverside, Elmwood Room, 3rd floor

See you there!

Reminder: Bloggers' Get Together

2007-07-11T17:25:00.000-05:00

2nd Annual Bloggers’ Get Together
Time: 5-6 p.m.
Date: Monday, July 16th
Place: Gordon Biersch
(200 Poydras across from the Hilton and Harrah’s Casino)

Potential Special Guest: Ernie the Attorney
http://www.ernietheattorney.net/

Bloggers and non-bloggers are invited to meet and share ideas!

For more information contact:
Barbara Fullerton
214-557-2279
bfullerton@10kwizard.com

Article on Librarians

2007-07-11T17:15:00.000-05:00

There is a very good article about choosing librarianship as a career that was published in Sunday's New York Times.

It's Hip to be a Librarian!

http://tinyurl.com/2sk6oa

Ideas for live local music

2007-07-11T09:51:00.000-05:00

Below find a few of my picks for live local music shows in the first few days of this year’s conference. I’ll post some picks for next week over the weekend.
Also, check out the Gambit Weekly (a free weekly newspaper) and the Times-Picayune’s (New Orleans’ daily newspaper) Living and Lagniappe sections for other ideas.
Please feel free to add other ideas for good musical outings as you come across them.
A couple of quick notes: 1) Check a map to make sure you know where you are going even if the venue you choose to go to is in the CBD or French Quarter. You may want to take a cab even if I haven’t noted it as necessary here depending on the temperature outside and walking distance...
2) The numbers for United Cab are 504-522-9771 and 504-524-9606.
Here are some of my suggestions for good music venues and shows:

Friday July 13, 2007
Le Bon Temps Roule: 4801 Magazine St. 504-895-8117
Joe Krown, 7pm.
Joe Krown is a great local piano/keyboard player who plays this weekly set at Le Bon Temps. You’ll find an eclectic after work crowd at this uptown bar. Most Friday’s free oysters on the half shell are served to accompany Joe Krown’s acoustic set.
**Not within walking distance of the CBD or French Quarter. A cab or other transportation will be necessary.

Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub: 733 Bourbon St. 504-561-0432
Ryan Burrage and his Rhythmakers, 9 pm
Fritzel’s is one of my favorite spots for traditional jazz in New Orleans. Ryan Burrage leads the house band for 9 o’clock shows Wed.-Sat.

Tipitina’s Uptown: 501 Napoleon Ave. 504-895-TIPS (8477); www.tipitinas.com
Tab Benoit w/ Monk Boudreaux & Jumpin’ Johnny Sanson, Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys, 10 pm; FREE
This show is part of the “Free Foundation Series.” Tab Benoit is a great live performer and Amanda Shaw is a talented young fiddle player and singer.
Make sure to get there early as the show has no cover charge.
**Not within walking distance of the CBD or French Quarter. A cab or other transportation will be necessary.

Snug Harbor: 626 Frenchmen St. 504-949-0696; www.snugjazz.com
Ellis Marsalis Quartet, 8 and 10.
Ellis Marsalis is one of the legends of modern New Orleans jazz and the patriarch of one of New Orleans’ great jazz families. Mr. Marsalis is the father of Branford, Wynton, Jason and other famous jazz musicians in the international spotlight. This weekly gig at Snug Harbor is always a treat.

Saturday July 14, 2007
House of Blues: 225 Decatur St. 504-310-4999; www.hob.com
Steel Pulse w/ Joseph Israel, 8 pm
Catch a night of reggae music with Steel Pulse after the Opening Event.

Spotted Cat: 623 Frenchmen St. 504-943-3887
Washboard Chaz, 6:30 pm
As his name suggests, Chaz is one of New Orleans foremost washboard musicians. Always an entertaining show.

Maple Leaf Bar: 8316 Oak St. 504-866-9359
Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, 10 pm
Both this band and venue will prove to be memorable. The Maple Leaf is a tiny club that is usually packed with sweaty, dancing music lovers all year round. The shows usually do not start on time so be prepared to a full evening of fun and good music.
**Not within walking distance of the CBD or French Quarter. A cab or other transportation will be necessary.

Sunday July 15, 2007
Snug Harbor: 626 Frenchmen St. 504-949-0696; www.snugjazz.com
Lionel Ferbos, 8 and 10 pm.
Join jazz trumpeter Lionel Ferbos for an evening of music at a great New Orleans jazz club.

Tipitina’s Uptown: 501 Napoleon Ave. 504-895-TIPS (8477); www.tipitinas.com
Cajun Fais Do Do w/ Bruce Daigrepont, 5:30 pm.
This weekly Cajun dance party is always a great time. The mix of traditional Louisiana French music with Cajun and Zydeco sounds will keep you on your feet. Staying on your feet is also helped by the fact that there are almost no chairs or barstools in Tipitina’s J
**Not within walking distance of the CBD or French Quarter. A cab or other transportation will be necessary.

Preservation Hall: 726 St. Peter St. 504-522-2841
Glen David Andrews & the Lazy 6, 8 pm.
Preservation Hall is a famous music venue in the French Quarter just off of Bourbon Street. This band, led by Glen Andrews, should bring a smile to any traditional jazz lover’s face.

CONELL Announcement

2007-07-11T09:29:00.000-05:00

Is this your first AALL meeting? One of the smartest things you can do is go to the Conference of Newer Law Librarians (CONELL).
http://www.aallnet.org/events/07_workshops-conell.asp.

It will introduce you to key people and give you a chance to get oriented to the whole AALL experience. Additionally, there are some labor and time-saving tips and tricks you might want to see on the LAC webpage:
http://www.lb5.uscourts.gov/AALL/newtoAALL.html

Amy Hale-Janeke, JD MLS
Head of Reference Services
5th Circuit Court of Appeals Library
New Orleans Headquarters
600 Camp Street, Room 106
New Orleans, LA 70130

Tips on What to Wear

2007-07-10T11:40:00.000-05:00

As far as surviving- here's a tip- bring light clothes (i.e. cotton or linen). If you wear polyester or other non-natural fabrics, you will melt.
Bring comfortable shoes to walk around in. Bring some Crocs if you have them or get some here if you don't. They are the BEST shoes to be wearing when it rains, which is just about every day lately.
http://www.crocs.com/home.jsp You can usually find knockoffs at Kmart or Target, but the originals are really comfortable.
Bring an umbrella or plan to get one here. Carry it with you if you think you might be outside at all. Storms come up in the afternoon, rain intensively for an hour, and then disappear. But if you are outside during that hour- woe unto you!
***********************
Amy Hale-Janeke, JD MLS
Head of Reference Services
5th Circuit Court of Appeals Library
New Orleans Headquarters
600 Camp Street, Room 106
New Orleans, LA 70130
ph: (504) 310-7755
fax: (504) 310-7578

Creole Tomatoes Are Here!

2007-07-10T11:34:00.000-05:00

Creole tomatoes are in season and are available for sale at various supermarkets like Dorignac's in Metairie. However, I like to buy mine at the Crescent City Farmers' Market which is held twice a week. Please check out the website for information on the two locations and especially for recipes using fresh local items. http://www.crescentcityfarmersmarket.org/ The Saturday market (from 8 am-12 noon) is not too far from the convention center: http://www.crescentcityfarmersmarket.org/markets/saturday.php

The French Market http://www.frenchmarket.org/ in the French Quarter does not have fresh produce at this time. It has been under renovation and the website says fresh fruit and vegetables will return soon but not until after AALL. The annual Creole Tomato festival is held at the market each year. At present the French Market has a variety of shops, the world famous Cafe du Monde, and at the very end a flea market area. If you want to see what the French Market looked like when they did have fresh produce stands and butcher shops go to the LOUISiana Digital Library: http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/

Georgia Chadwick

Joan Biskupic book signing

2007-07-09T13:28:00.000-05:00

Keynote speaker Joan Biskupic will be signing copies of Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court Became Its Most Influential Justice immediately following her address on Sunday morning, July 15, 10:15-11:45. Look for Ms. Biskupic in the exhibit hall.

This biography of Sandra Day O'Connor is an interesting and engaging read. It reveals some of the inner workings of the Supreme Court and relationships among the justices. It is particularly timely considering the recent changes on the Court.

Copies of the book will be sold at the Conference by Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania at Washington Ave. It's probably the closest large local bookstore to the Conference. If you're eating at Commander's Palace or visiting Uptown or the Garden District, you might want to stop in. Be sure to browse their extensive collection of local authors.

ReCovering New Orleans: One Book at a Time

2007-07-09T11:33:00.000-05:00

The Annual Meeting is upon us but there is still time to purchase a donation to this year's book drive - ReCovering New Orleans: One Book at a Time.
The Social Responsibilities SIS has chosen the Recovery District Schools in New Orleans as the recipient of this years book drive proceeds. Since there is such a dire need at so many New Orleans public schools, whose libraries were badly damaged, we thought that we would have the most impact by donating to the Recovery School District ("RSD"). Because of the shortage of both staff and resources, the RSD can not provide us with a list of titles but instead would like to encourage us to use our own judgment when purchasing books for the District. More information about the Recovery School District can be found at:

http://www.nolapublicschools.net/
http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/uploads/8947.pdf While the donation of books will be gladly accepted, and we will have bins on both the SR-SIS table in the Exhibit Hall and near the Hospitality booth to accept them, the RSD let us know that cash and gift cards, particularly from Barnes & Noble, would be welcome as well. We mention Barnes & Noble specifically because the RSD is receiving a very heavy discount from them so that the gift cards and cash can be stretched much further. Books, checks (payable to AALL) and gift cards can be sent directly to Carol Billings, SR Book Drive, Law Library of Louisiana, 400 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130-2104 or left in the bins on the SR-SIS Exhibit Hall table or near the Hospitality booth. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Carol Billings (cbillings@lasc.org) or Alison Alifano (alifanoa@sullcrom.com).

Posted for Alison Alifano

Louisiana Dogs

2007-07-08T16:22:00.000-05:00

Being a dog lover (and knowing I'm not alone in that among AALL members), I thought I'd share some dog-related information about our host state.

First, there's the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard dog (also known as the Catahoula Cur). You might not have encountered this breed before (and it's not recognized by the American Kennel Club), but it's a common working dog (herding cattle and hunting) in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. It's also a good companion dog: I see a few at my local dog park in Seattle even.

Named for Catahoula Parish, it's been Louisiana's state dog since 1979 (R.S. 49:165). A statute authorizes prestige license plates honoring the dog (R.S. 47:463.66), but I couldn't find the plate in the impressive list of prestige plates available from the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles.

Photos: Three of the champions from Abney Catahoulas, a breeder in Abita Springs, LA (about 60 miles northeast of New Orleans). You can read more about the breed at Abney Catahoulas' website or in Wikipedia.

Now, just because the Catahoula is the state dog doesn't mean that's the only dog you'll see when you're visiting. Around the French Quarter and the Convention Center, you're likely to see a range of breeds suitable to city life. The dog I got in New Orleans, who went to library school with me at LSU, was a beagle (the late Bradwell).

* * *

Dogs and other pets were part of the tragedy wrought by Katrina.

Some people chose to stay and wait out the storm because they didn't want to leave their pets behind and they weren't allowed to take them along to shelters. Others left their pets, thinking that they could return for them in a few days, but the areas affected by the floods were inaccessible for much longer and many people were evacuated to other states. Pets left behind endured starvation and physical danger (floodwaters were polluted, buildings were badly damaged). See Pets Homeless, Too, After Katrina, CBS News, Sept. 6, 2005, Lost Katrina Pets.

The vet school at Louisiana State University provided lots of medical support. Over a year after the hurricane, vets there saved a pony from an injury indirectly related to Katrina: the pony lives on a farm that took in a lot of homeless animals after Katrina, and one of the dogs later bit the pony. The pony's leg had to be amputated, but she's doing well with a prosthetic. Her owner remarked:

To me, she is a symbol of New Orleans. You know, if you ask me, New Orleans had its leg chopped off, but it can survive. Maybe we’ll need a prosthetic for New Orleans for a while but you know what, we can survive. That is the spirit of New Orleans, and this city can come back. Molly has come back, and she’s going on to bigger and better things. She’s not back to normal; she’s gonna be better.

LSU Highlights, Oct. 2006.

Many organizations from around the country responded. For instance, a friend of mine in Seattle decided to take a week off work to go and do what she could. Various friends gave her a little money to help out (it's a long drive from Seattle!), and she had several days of hard work with the team from Pasado's Safe Haven. (Read more about Pasado's Katrina work here.)

Months after the hurricane, some Louisianans were still trying to reunite with their pets, many placed with new families around the country. Lost Katrina Pets tries to help.

Congress responded to the the experience of animals in and after Katrina by amending the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) in the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006 (PETS), Pub. L. 109-308, 120 Stat. 1725 (Oct. 6, 2006). Now the standards for state and local preparedness plans require governments to plan for the needs of people with pets, and service to pets is included within the "essential assistance" that federal agencies may provide during disasters (42 U.S.C. 5170b).

If you live in a hurricane area, check out these tips for hurricane season from the Humane Society of Louisiana.

Posting to the Blog

2007-07-06T11:25:00.000-05:00

If you want to post to the blog during the conference, please email me (vicenc.feliu@law.lsu.edu) by COB on Thursday, 12 July, and I will send you an invite.

Thanks;

Vicenç

Preservation Hall Schedule

2007-07-05T09:20:00.000-05:00

Schedule for Traditional Jazz Concerts at 726 St. Peter, July 2007

Night Shows from Thursday through Sunday. Gates open at 8:00 p.m. Showtimes from 8:15 to 11:00 p.m. Admission $8.00.

Sunday, 01 July - Glen David Andrews & The Lazy Six
Thursday, 05 July - Paulin Brothers Jazz Band
Friday, 06 July - Trombone Summit
Saturday, 07 July - Tenor Summit
Sunday, 08 July - Glen David Andrews & The Lazy Six
Thursday, 12 July - Paulin Brothers Jazz Band
Friday, 13 July - Joe Lastie's Lil' Jazzmen
Saturday, 14 July (Bastille Day)- New Orleans Jazz Summit
Sunday, 15 July - Glen David Andrews & The Lazy Six
Thursday, 19 July - John Royen
Friday, 20 July - Trombone Summit
Saturday, 21 July - Tenor Summit
Sunday, 22 July - Gregg Stafford
Thursday, 26 July - New Birth Brass Band
Friday, 27 July - Joe Lastie's Lil' Jazzmen
Saturday, 28 July - New Orleans Jazz Summit
Sunday, 22 July - Gregg Stafford

Diversity Symposium

2007-07-04T09:44:00.000-05:00

Getting a Rise Out of Diversity: Celebrating the Challenge
Saturday, July 14 • 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.; Reception 5:00 – 6:00pm

If you have signed up, you are in for a real treat!!
You will find out how the New Orleans legal community is positively incorporating diversity into the workplace.

The speakers at the symposium will be:

Dr. Leonard A. Williams, Director of the Office of Career Development at the University of New Orleans, will lead us in a discussion of what diversity really means within the workplace.

Associate Dean Susan L. Krinsky of Tulane Law School will tell us how the law school developed its Diversity Initiatives program and what diversity means in the life of Tulane law students.

K. Todd Wallace, Minority Recruiting and Retention Partner at the law firm of Liskow & Lewis, will describe the focus on diversity at this leading energy law firm of nearly 100 lawyers in New Orleans, Lafayette, and Houston.

If you haven’t signed up, please come anyway!
Join us for a fun, interactive, and educational program! Participants will also have the opportunity to experience some of Louisiana’s tasty and exquisite dishes, to meet this year’s Minority Leadership Development Award, Dennis Kim-Prieto of Rutgers law school, and enjoy live local entertainment from the jazz quartet of Elliott “Stackman” Callier.
Refreshments available throughout the event, followed by a reception to thank our distinguished speakers and attendees
The Association gratefully acknowledges LexisNexis® for its support of this program.

Posted for: Ruth Levor, Associate Director University of San Diego Legal Research Center

Preservation Hall

2007-07-03T10:04:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have never been to Preservation Hall at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter, let me give you a quick description. Preservation Hall is not really a hall but more of a room in the front of the building. The building itself dates from 1750, and before Allan and Sandra Jaffe founded the club in 1961, it was used for a variety of other purposes. The limited seating is not comfortable, consisting of some benches and a few chairs, and many will need to sit on the floor. There is no air conditioning; no refreshments other than bottled water are sold (although you may bring in a drink); and there are no rest rooms. The reason people form a line down the street waiting to get in is the music, pure and simple. The Jaffes wanted a place where New Orleans musicians could play New Orleans jazz, and many of the first musicians who performed at Preservation Hall had played with some of the early jazz greats.

Please take a look at the cover story of the July 2007 issue of OffBEAT Magazine by associate editor Alex Rawls. The article looks at how the second generation of the Jaffe family, Ben Jaffe, is guiding Preservation Hall to stay true to his parents' desire to save the heritage of New Orleans jazz, while incorporating new ideas. http://offbeat.com/artman/publish/article_2335.shtml
Mr. Rawls is going to see that we have some copies of the July issue to give out at the AALL Hospitality Booth.

And take a look at the Preservation Hall website as well: http://www.preservationhall.com/

The two photos of Preservation Hall performances from the 1970's come from the collection of the State Library of Louisiana, and I thank them for making them available. You may wish to search for a number of interesting Preservation Hall photos at the LOUISiana Digital Library: http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/

I will post the July schedule on the blog as well.

So, I guess food is not always the most important thing in life to New Orleanians.

Georgia Chadwick
AALL Hospitality Committee

Way too early in the morning--but worth it!

2007-07-02T17:16:00.000-05:00

For all you SCCLL techies out there, here’s a great opportunity to experience a hearty New Orleans breakfast in the company of like-minded colleagues (and a not-so-subtle attempt at attracting new committee members). Join the SCCLL Technology Committee at Mother’s on Monday, July 16, 2007 at 7AM.

Info from the LAC Dining Guide (http://www.lb5.uscourts.gov/AALL/conventionctrdining.pdf) about Mother’s:

**Mother's
401 Poydras
504-523-9656
Hours: 7 days a week: 7am-10pm
www.mothersrestaurant.net
Cost: $

After more than a half century, the daily queue that forms at Mother's sandwich counter is no doubt as long as ever. To many tourists and convention-goers, Mother's is the quintessential source of po' boy sandwiches, jambalaya, gumbo and hefty breakfasts with a side of home-style biscuits. You'll find considerable disagreement among locals, especially those who remember Mother's in its true glory days two or three decades ago, when the eggs and grits were never cold, as they sometimes are these days. Still, few would challenge the goodness of today's po' boys, made with beef and ham cooked on the premises and laden with shredded cabbage and, in the case of the roast beef, the meat shreds and pan drippings known as debris. The chicken gumbo is a winner, as well. As for the methodology of getting served, order somehow triumphs over chaos, and everyone apparently finds a seat, although it may be a stool at the shallow counter along the wall.

So, if you want a great breakfast, and are willing to meet at the unearthly hour of 7AM on Monday, July 16, add this to your busy, busy AALL schedule!

Contact Katie Jones for more info: kjones@courts.state.wy.us, cell 307-421-1374

Catch This Program on Online Catalog Applications Beyond Traditional Uses

2007-07-02T13:45:00.000-05:00

Need A Short But Informative Program to Wind Down The AALL Conference?

Consider “Casting A Wider Net.” This program will explore online catalog applications beyond traditional library uses.

Tuesday, July 17, 2:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m., EMCC- Room 224

by David M. Turkalo, Assistant Director For Technical Services, Suffolk University Law Library, Boston, and Program Coordinator

The Technical Services SIS-sponsored program, “Casting A Wider Net: The Challenges And Rewards Of Making Your Online Catalog A Useful Tool Beyond The Law Library” will offer an informative look at the processes and procedures that the Suffolk University Law School’s Moakley Law Library used in making the School’s Career Development Office’s separately housed and maintained collection of materials part of the University catalog. And, going that “one step beyond” where many librarians have great trepidation about going, allowing the personnel of that office to circulate the materials themselves. Two featured speakers from the frontlines of the project, Suffolk Systems Services Librarian (and incoming Chair of the Innovative Law Users Group (ILUG)), Sarah Boling, will speak on the technical services aspects of the project, while Circulation Services Librarian Sabrina Holley-Williams will provide the public services perspective, followed by a Q & A and Discussion period as time allows.

OBS-SIS OCLC/RLIN Committee’s Informational Lagniappe

2007-07-02T10:02:00.000-05:00

The name of the Online Bibliographic Services-Special Interest Section’s OCLC/RLIN Committee may be a little misleading. As the merger of the OBS-SIS OCLC Committee and the OBS-SIS RLIN Committee, it is not only concerned with the merger of RLG with OCLC, but with all that is happening with OCLC. Thus, the OCLC/RLIN Committee has two time slots on Monday, July 16, not only for updates and discussion on the progress in the ongoing merger of RLG with OCLC, but also on OCLC’s current other projects and new services, such as WorldCat Local.

During the first session from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Glenn Patton, OCLC, Director of WorldCat Quality Management Division, will provide that information on enhancements to current OCLC goods, services, and databases, and reveal new products. Attendees should be able to evaluate, choose, and use OCLC old and new products with more confidence.

This session will be followed from 11:45 a.m.-1:00 p.m., by the OBS-SIS OCLC/RLIN Committee’s Roundtable. Attendees will have more time with Mr. Patton to discuss the information given at the update session and to comment and ask questions relating to their libraries' use of OCLC in general. They will also be able to share information and suggestions with each other.

Coordinators: Ming Lu, Los Angeles County Law Library and Pam Deemer, Emory University

New Orleans Nostalgia

2007-06-28T17:22:00.000-05:00

New Orleans historian, Ned Hemard, publishes a weekly column on the New Orleans Bar Association's website. New Orleans Nostalgia covers New Orleans History, Culture and Traditions.

If you're wondering about New Orleans trivia, take a look at some of the entries. The titles of the articles are intriguing. I found information about the Dating Game and saddle oxfords, Elvis in King Creole, creole tomatoes, the stores with K that have gone away (K&B, Kreeger's, Krauss, Krower's and most recently Kirschman's), and much more.

Thanks to Helena Henderson, Executive Director of the New Orleans Bar Association for granting us permission to link to these interesting columns.

Come to program D-5, A Win-win Partnership: Legal Editors and
Law Librarians to hear about the New Orleans Bar Association's newsletter.

Walk on the Wild Side on TCM - Thurs. 6/27

2007-06-27T15:34:00.000-05:00

If you get Turner Classic Movies on cable, tonight they are showing a great old New Orleans movie, Walk on the Wild Side, from 1962. Starring Lawrence Harvey and a young Jane Fonda in one of her first screen roles, it is the story of two Texas drifters who make their way to New Orleans during the depression. A great noirish drama based on a Nelson Algren novel and also famous for the opening credit sequence by Saul Bass, one of few people to make a career on this sometimes under-rated component of movies. You can watch a grainy copy of the title sequence here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHLgUyE9pfI

Those were either some well-trained cats or this required a LOT of takes!

(Oh, and there is NOTHING "more" to read - can't we get rid of that "Read More" link below for these short posts?)

There is a house in New Orleans

2007-06-27T14:01:00.000-05:00

Today The Historic New Orleans Collection opens a brand new building whose design is based on architectural renderings of a hotel that stood on the exact spot in the 1850s--a building that many believe to be the inspiration for the Animals 1964 hit song The House of the Rising Sun.

Ironically, it is the first new construction in the Quarter since the storm. Here, everything old is new again.

When you are in town for the annual meeting, have a good time, but don't do what I have done/ you shun that house in New Orleans/ they call the Rising Sun.

Francis Norton
AALL Local Arrangements Committee

See The Cemeteries

2007-06-27T08:55:00.000-05:00

Some of the unusual tombs at Metairie Cemetery.

One of the modern, more ordinary headstones in Metairie Cemetery.
Mel Ott's tomb in Metairie Cemetery.

Closeup of the tomb of Mel Ott, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

I hope you will have time before or after the convention to take a tour of some of the Crescent City's many interesting cemeteries, but anyone coming to the city in a cab from the airport will get a view of two of the very largest ones. Approaching the city by car on the Pontchartrain Expressway (I-10) at exit 231, you will see Metairie Cemetery on your right, founded in 1872 at a time when the city was in need of more room for their "cities of the dead." Unlike older cemeteries which developed piece by piece, the Metairie Cemetery developers had a master plan to provide a spacious setting for the grandiose tombs which had grown popular in nineteenth century New Orleans. Metairie Cemetery's tombs, monuments and vaults are the most imposing in the city, so a quick glance from your car window won't do them justice. One could spend a day driving through the beautifully landscaped grounds, or walking from tomb to tomb reading inscriptions.

At the same place but on your left, you will see Greenwood Cemetery, founded in 1852 by the Fireman's Charitable and Benevolent Association. Although Metairie Cemetery is larger, much of it is concealed by trees, and Greenwood Cemetery makes a visually arresting image to Expressway travelers with its row after row of finely constructed tombs.

The Cheap Easy Guide on the Local Advisory Committee Page has some great tips about seeing some of the cemeteries: http://www.lb5.uscourts.gov/AALL/cheap.html#tourism

The New Orleans Police Department has a few tips as well: http://www.nopdonline.com/cem.htm

The AALL Hospitality Booth will have some brochures from Historic New Orleans Tours (http://www.tourneworleans.com/) who offer tours of St. Louis #1 Cemetery downtown and Lafayette #1 in the Garden District. I have taken this tour of St. Louis #1 and it was very good . You will learn a lot about the history of the city. Historic New Orleans Tours was founded by Robert Florence who has written two excellent books on the cemeteries:

City of the Dead: A Journey Through St. Louis Cemetery #1, New Orleans, Louisiana, published in 1996 by the Center for Louisiana Studies

New Orleans Cemeteries: Life in the Cities of the Dead with photographs by Mason Florence, published in 1997 by Batture Press.

Also, the first five people who come to the AALL Hospitality Booth and ask about Judge Joachim Bermudez (see a picture of Judge Bermudez with our LAC, he is the guy in the back wearing the bowtie), who is buried at St. Louis #1, will receive a copy of City of the Dead: A Journey Through St. Louis Cemetery #1. There is an article about Judge Bermudez in the Spring/Summer 2007 issue of SCCLL News found at: http://www.aallnet.org/sis/sccll/membership/newsletter.htm

Georgia Chadwick
Hospitality Committee
AALL Local Arrangements Committee

Meet the New AALL Editors

2007-06-26T13:50:00.000-05:00

Meet new Law Library Journal Editor Janet Sinder and AALL Spectrum Editorial Director Mark Estes at the AALL Publications Booth (#914).

Janet is associate director for research services at the University of Maryland At Baltimore Thurgood Marshall Law Library. She will take over as editor of LLJ this fall. Stop by and meet Janet Sunday, 2-4 p.m.; Monday, 1-3 p.m.; or Tuesday, 9-11 a.m.

Mark is director of library services at Holme Roberts & Owen LLP. He takes over Spectrum’s editorial direction in July. Mark is available Sunday, 9-10 a.m.; Monday, 1-2 p.m.; and Tuesday, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Julia O'Donnell
Director of Publications
American Association of Law Libraries
53 W. Jackson Boulevard, Suite 940
Chicago, IL 60604
p: 312/939-4764, ext. 19
f: 312/431-1097
e: jodonnell@aall.org
www.aallnet.org

Bloggers' Get Together at AALL

2007-06-25T17:45:00.000-05:00

It's time to mark your calendars for the AALL's Second Annual Bloggers Get Together!

Time: 5-6 p.m.
Date: Monday, July 16th
Place: Gordon Biersch. 200 Poydras. 504-552-2739. Brewpub. Platters. - at the foot of Poydras - across from Harrah's casino and also across from the Hilton. http://www.gordonbiersch.com (Dutch Treat).

Come share your ideas and meet the other law librarian bloggers! Open to all bloggers and potential bloggers.

RSVP: Last year we had over 30 participants so we are anticipating a good crowd this year. For a headcount, please RSVP Barbara Fullerton by Friday, July 6th to bfullerton@10kwizard.com.

Barbara Fullerton
DALL Blogger

It's a Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood

2007-06-25T15:57:00.000-05:00

You all know that New Orleans has streetcars. But now we also have a trolley that takes you to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

Yes friends, Mr. Rogers (or at least his TV home) has come to the Crescent City. Mr. McFeely, of the Speedy Delivery Messenger Service, was on hand last week to open the new exhibit at the Louisiana Children's Museum.

Bring your children, or even your own inner-child, to this wonderful exhibit. The museum is located at 420 Julia Street, just five short blocks from the convention center.

Francis Norton
AALL Local Arrangements Committee

What's Cooking in New Orleans

2007-06-25T10:51:00.000-05:00

Michelle Gaynor (center) Manager of the Shop at the Collection is offering anyone who shows their AALL conference badge at 10% discount on almost all items in the shop.
The Shop at the Collection, Historic New Orleans Collection 533 Royal Street, NOLA. Photo credit: Georgia Chadwick

Here are items made of salvaged wood and on the lower shelf are tombs. Photo Credit: Georgia Chadwick

Here is another "Hot Tip" to consider before coming to AALL in New Orleans--

The Historic New Orleans Collection in the French Quarter is a housed in a complex of several buildings of varying ages. The HNOC is a museum and research center for state and local history. Their exhibit "What's Cooking in New Orleans?" has been so popular it is being held over to run through November, so it will be possible for our members to see it. The exhibit examines culinary traditions of the Crescent City. The curators say: "The cuisine that defines New Orleans today has been nearly three centuries in the making. Consider What's Cooking in New Orleans? an appetizer, an introduction to the complex cultural, economic, and social factors that have shaped the Crescent City's culinary traditions. The materials gathered here--cookbooks, menus, photographs, and other memorabilia--span the mid-20th centuries, with an array of kitchen gadgets carrying the storyline right up to the present day."

The exhibit is at the HNOC's Williams Gallery at 533 Royal Street in the French Quarter. Entrance is free and the hours are: Tuesday-Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The telephone number is 504-523-4662 and their website is http://www.hnoc.org/

The manager of the Shop at the Collection which has history-related books and gifts is offering a 10% discount on almost all items to AALL members who show their convention name tag.

A limited number of What's Cooking in New Orleans? exhibition guides will be available at the AALL Hospitality Desk.

Georgia Chadwick
Hospitality Committee
AALL Local Arrangements Committee

Speaking of the language of New Orleans

2007-06-25T10:06:00.000-05:00

With a tip of he old chapeau to Cathleen Buzzetta, who sent this to me years ago:

"THE NEW ORLEANS DICTIONARY"

ALLIGATOR PEAR - Avocado.

ANYWAYS - And, then; and, so.

AWRITE - While "Where Y'at" is usually thought of as the common
greeting in New Orleans, "awrite" is much more universal.
A man may say "Where Y'at" to a friend he passes by on the street, but
he'll say "awrite" to a stranger. This is the South, after all; one
doesn't
merely brush past someone else when walking down Carondelet St. without
saying hello. We don't want to be impolite, yet we don't usually waste
time on strangers, so "awrite" is a fair compromise. Usage: One man walking
down the street comes upon another man going the other way. The first man
says "awrite; the second responds "awrite." ...

AWRITE, HAWT - A variation on the standard greeting, but using an
endearment usually reserved for a friend, usually female.

AX - Ask. Usage: "Dey axed for you down by da VFW Hall last night ad
Madeline's cousin's daughta's weddin'."

BANQUETTE - The sidewalk. Pronounced "BANK it". Usage fairly rare
nowadays.

BERL - To cook by surrounding something in hot, bubbling liquid; the
preferred method for cooking shellfish. For example, many a New Orleans
student learned in World History that a great defense of a castle under
attack in the middle ages was to dump "berlin' erl" on the attackers.

BOO - A term of endearment, frequently used by parents and
grandparents for small children, even small children who happen to be 40
years old. Believed to be Cajun in origin.

BRA - A universal name for a male, usually one with whom you are not
acquainted. Usually used in this manner: "Awrite, bra"

BY MY HOUSE, BY YOUR HOUSE, etc. - Analogous to the French terms
"chez moi"; "chez toi"; etc. Usage: "He slept by my house last night."
"At" is never used in this sense.

CAP - A universal name for a male, usually one with whom you are not
acquainted. Women generally do not use this term. See also PODNA and
BRA.

CATLICK - As in Roman Catholic, the predominant religion in New
Orleans.

CEMENT - A standard English word, but with a special pronunciation.
Yats say "SEE ment"

CHARMER - The quintessential female Yat. Pronounced "CHAW muh"

DA - The.

DAT - That.

DAWLIN' - A universal form of address. Women use it universally to
both sexes, men use it toward women. See also HAWT.

DEM - Them.

DESE, DOSE - These, those.

DIS - This.

DRESSED - When ordering a po boy, "dressed" indicates lettuce,
tomatoes, pickles and MYNEZ on it. (See NUTTINONIT)

EARL - 1. A vegetable product used for cooking, sauteing, making roux,
etc. 2. A petroleum product used to lubricate the engine of your car.
3. Your Uncle Earl. (Most New Orleanians have an Uncle Earl.)

ELLESHYEW - Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Occasionally
preceded by the term, "Go ta hell..."

ERSTERS - Oysters.

ESPLANADE - Walkway (archaic usage).

FAUBOURG - A suburb or outlying neighborhood, as in Faubourg Marigny.
A neighborhood is considered outlying in relation to the original
neighborhood, the French Quarter. Metairie would never be a Faubourg,
because it wasn't part of the city in the first place.

FLYIN' HORSES - Accented on the first syllable. A merry go round,
sometimes specifically describing the merry go round in City Park, but
also used in general.

FOR - a preposition used by New Orleanians instead of "at" or "by"
when referring to time. E.g., "Da parade's for 7:00, but we betta get
dere for 6 if we wanna find pawkin'." This one tends to be particularly
confusing to non-natives.

F'SURE! - 1. A statement of agreement. 2. An excellent (but out of
print) book by Yat artist Bunny Matthews, featuring cartoons with
actual dialogue heard on the streets of our metropolis.

F'TRUE - When phrased as a question, it means "Is that so?" or "Ya
kiddin'!!" When phrased as a statement, it's an affirmation, a shortened
version of "Nuh uh, I ain't lyin' ta ya ..."

GAWD - A supernatural deity, worshipped by most New Orleanians.

GRIPPE - The flu.

GRIS GRIS - Pronounced GREE GREE;. Noun, A (voodoo) spell. Can be
applied for nefarious purposes ("to put a gris gris on someone"), or as
a force to ward off evil, like wearing a gris gris bag (the folks at the
Voodoo
Shop on Dumaine will make one to order for about $20).

HAWT - A term of endearment.

HOUSE COAT 'N CURLAS - The preferred dress for charmers while
shopping at Schwegmann's.

I'LL TAKE ME A... - May I have a...

KAY BEE - The drugstore, as in (K&B, Katz and Besthoff). The
ampersand is always silent.

LAGNIAPPE - Pronounced LAN yap. A little something extra. Also, the
name of the entertainment pull out section of the Friday edition of The
New Orleans Times Picayune.

LOCKA - Where you hang your clothes, analogous to the English word
"closet". Example: "Mom MAH! Where my shoes at?" "Looka in ya locka!"
See LOOKA.

LOOKA - The imperative case of the verb "to look". Usually accompanied
by a pointing gesture. Often used as a single exclamation: "Looka!"

LOOKIT DA T.V. - To watch T.V.

MAKE GROCERIES, MAKIN' GROCERIES - To do grocery shopping.

MARRAINE - Your godmother.

MIRLITON - A vegetable pear or chayote squash, which grows wild in
Louisiana and in backyards throughout New Orleans. Pronounced MEL lee
tawn, and wonderful when stuffed with shrimp and ham dressing.

MISTA - As in "Throw me somethin' mista". Never used in any other
context; "bra" or "cap" is used regularly.

MYNEZ - Mayonnaise.

NEUTRAL GROUND - The grassy or cement strip in the middle of the
road. The terms "median" and/or "island" are NEVER used in New Orleans. Use
of one of those foreign terms instead of "neutral ground ' is a dead
giveaway that you ain't from around here, or anywhere close. If you're
lucky,
you live on a street with a neutral ground big enough to play football on.

NEW ORLEENS - The way silly tourists pronounce "New Orleans". natives
do not do this. Exception song lyrics, as in "Do You Know What It Means
to Miss New Orleans", for example, and when omitting the "New", as in
"Orleans Parish", which is always pronounced or LEENS. Confusing, isn't
it? More n this below.

NUTTINONIT - A po-boy that is not dressed, which only contains the
main ingredient.

OR WHAT - Pronounced "r WUT," and placed at the end of a question:
"You gonna finish eatin' dat, 'r what?"

OVA DA RIVER - Across the river.

OVA BY - A general replacement for the prepositions "at" and "to",
particularly when referring to someone's home, or a destination in
general. "Where ya goin'?" "Ova by ma mamma's."

PARISH - A Louisiana state administrative district, analogous to the
American "county". When used by Yats in the phrase "da parish", it
generally means St. Bernard Parish specifically, which is suburban to
New Orleans.

PARRAINE - Your godfather.

PASS BY - To stop at a place, for a visit or to accomplish something.
"Ya gonna be home later? I'll pass by ya house." It doesn't mean just
to drive by in our car and keep going ...

PO BOY - The quintessential New Orleans lunch, a sandwich on good,
crispy New Orleans French bread. This definition doesn't begin to
describe what a po boy is all about, so if you really don't know you need
to get one soon.

PODNA - A universal form of address for a male. Frequently used in
the emphatic statement, "I tell you what, podna ..."

'SCUSE ME PAWDON ME - Polite expression when trying to get by
somebody or moving through a crowd, spoken as one word.

SHOOT DA CHUTE - 1. A playground slide. 2. A firecracker that did not
explode.

STOOP - Usually expressed as "da stoop". The front steps to your
house, particularly if it's a shotgun duplex. What ya go out and sit on
to chat wit'ya neighbas (an' ta keep an eye on 'em).

SUCK DA HEAD, SQUEEZE DA TALE - 1. The technique for eating crawfish. If
you've never done this, have someone demonstrate. 2. A song by the
Radiators.

SUG - A term of endearment used primariliy by Yat females. Pronounced
SHOOG; with a soft "oo"; as in "book".

TURLET - A device for the sanitary disposal of human waste and for
nasty food ya snuck away from da table as a child (like ma mamma's
roast beef...yuck).

UPTOWN SIDE, DOWNTOWN SIDE, LAKESIDE, RIVERSIDE - The four cardinal points
of the New Orleanian compass. "North, south, east, west" do not work in New
Orleans.

VALISE - Suitcase.

VEDGE A TIBBLE - Neither animal nor mineral. What ya mamma used to
make ya eat before ya could leave the table when ya were a kid. The
word has four syllables.

WHERE YA STAY (AT)? - Where do you live?

WHERE Y'AT? - The greeting. The proper response is, "Awrite."

WRENCH - To clean something under running water. "Aw baby, ya hands
'r filthy! Go wrench 'em off in da zink." See ZINK.

YA - You, your.

YA MAMMA - Your mother. Used in a variety of ways, usually endearing.
Also usable as an insult, specifically as a simple retort when one is
insulted first; simply say, "Ya mamma." Be prepared to defend yourself
physically at this point.

YAMAMMA'N'DEM - A collective term for your immediate family, as in
"Hey dawlin', how's yamamma'n'dem?" Spoken as one word.

YEAH YOU RITE - A sign of definite agreement. The accent is on the
first word, and it's spoken as one word.

ZATARAIN'S - A local manufacturer of spices, seasonings, pickled
products and condiments. In context, it's used by some as a generic
term for either crab boil or Creole mustard.

ZINK - A receptacle for water with a drain and faucets. Where ya
wrench off ya dishes.

New and Improved LAC!!!

2007-06-22T11:05:00.000-05:00

We finally have a picture with everyone in it, well almost...

Isn't Photoshop the greatest???

Front row: Michael Whipple, Charlene Cain, Miriam Childs, Etheldra Scoggin, Carol Billings

Middle row: Francis Xavier Norton, Mary Johns, Georgia Chadwick, Jennifer Dabbs, Cathy Wagar, Cynthia Hill-Jones, Ajaye Bloomstone

Back row: Brian Huddleston, Vicenç Feliú, Joachim Bermudez, Amy Hale-Janeke, Blythe McCoy, Liz Schafer

The Joy of Tortue

2007-06-22T09:09:00.000-05:00

Decadence, thy name is tortue. Decadence in the form of chocolate, caramel and pecans...tortues from Southern Candymakers in New Orleans.

If you have a sweet tooth, you have not lived until you've tried the tortues (turtles) from Southern Candymakers in the French Quarter. Yes, you can order them online (http://www.southerncandymakers.com/StoreFront.bok), but when you drop into the shop (one is conveniently located three blocks off of Canal Street on Decatur, the other also on Decatur near the French Market), you get wonderfully fresh tortues.

Best of all, like a kid in a... well...in a candy shop, you can also press your nose against the glass and see the enormous trays of naked tortues, ready to be blanketed in milk, dark, or white chocolate, waiting to fulfill their gustatory destiny.

And, oh yes, the pralines are wonderful, too.

PIC Is Looking for a Few Good Authors

2007-06-22T08:55:00.000-05:00

Ever thought about writing an article for a legal publication? Or are you already a published author? Either way, come join the Publishing Initiatives Caucus at the AALL Annual Meeting for some inspiration and camaraderie at 7 AM on Monday, July 16 in the Hilton Grand Salon 4.

PIC believes that writing articles for legal journals and publications helps law librarians build a higher profile among the legal community, both as individual authors and as a profession. We want to help inspire and motivate law librarians to write articles for legal publications that are read by the people who employ us or work with us as attorneys, legal administrators, law professors, judges, marketing directors and others.

And after the meeting, head over to the Convention Center for the PIC sponsored program, A Win-Win Partnership: Legal Editors and Law Librarians on Monday July 16 at 8:45 in EMCC-Room 217/218. This roundtable question-and-answer program will feature pairs of editors and law librarians who have collaborated with each other to publish articles written by law librarians in state bar journals, local and national bar association publications, and law firm management publications.

Hear firsthand from editors about the details of their publishing decisions, what they expect from aspiring authors and the constraints under which editors may work. Also hear from librarians who have worked with the editors to build and sustain successful campaigns that reach audiences outside traditional librarians’ circles, such as the judiciary, practitioners, administrators, law professors and deans.

Can't make it? Then stop by our table in the Exhibit Hall or check out our website. Here you can find information on how to subscribe to our email discussion forum, as well as, notification of recently published articles via RSS or email. The PIC website also includes articles on how to get published and contact information for dozens of legal publishers.

Come and be part of the campaign to increase our visibility as a profession - and your own as an information professional. You owe it to yourself.

Hot Music Scene in Frenchmen Street – Check It Out At The 2007 AALL Annual Meeting

2007-06-21T15:11:00.000-05:00

New Orleans, right, everyone thinks Bourbon Street. Sure, lots of clubs, lots of fun. But where’s the happening scene lately? Frenchmen Street baby. If you’d like to join Micrographics/AV SIS folks, carve out a little time Saturday and/or Tuesday evening for a musical journey.
Saturday, July 14th, we’ll start at Checkpoint Charlie’s (501 Esplanade Avenue; 504-281-4847)...
In addition to great music without a cover charge, here you’ll find good bar food, pool tables, and, just in case your luggage got a bit trashed on the way to New Orleans, a laundromat. Remember when Julia Roberts sat on the washing machine in a bar in Pelican Brief? That’s Checkpoint Charlie’s. Also, my good friend Joshua T-Bone Stone and the Lazy Boys will be playing for your listening pleasure that Saturday, 7pm-10pm. So cut out of the Opening Reception a little early and head on over to Checkpoint Charlie’s to really start off a great evening. Then, it’s a must trip to the Apple Barrel Bar (609 Frenchmen Street; 504- 949-9399). Coco Robicheaux plays his legendary mojo soul there every Saturday night.11pm-3am. For more information, check out http://www.spiritland.com/.
Tuesday evening, there are several great clubs clustered behind Checkpoint Charlie’s and near the Apple Barrel. Snug Harbor (626 Frenchmen Street; 504-949-0696) includes a bistro restaurant, bar, and music club. Its scene usually starts a little earlier, and showcases excellent local and national jazz. For more information, see http://www.snugjazz.com/. Café Brasil (2100 Chartres Street; 504-949-0851) features superb Afro-Cuban, Latin, and world music. Things get started a little early here too, and it can get crowded in the later hours. Sorry, no website, so give them a call when you get into New Orleans for details on who’s playing. d.b.a. (616 Frenchmen Street; 504-942 3731) is a spin off of the New York club by the same name, and has a renowned beer list. The bar’s motto is “drink good stuff.” Great wines as well as jazz, funk, and blues abound. For more information, see http://www.drinkgoodstuff.com/no/default.asp.
Hope to see you Saturday evening at Checkpoint Charlie’s to kick-start the Annual Meeting. Let the good times roll!

Laura E. Ray, MA, MLS
Education Coordinator, AALL Micrographics/Audiovisual
Special Interest Section

25 reasons for a Big Easy family vacation

2007-06-20T15:05:00.000-05:00

Georgia found this great article on MSNBC of things to do in New Orleans. Even if you don't have children, there are some good ideas.

Tip: don't wear dark clothes when eating beignets!

Dennis Quaid and The Big Easy, June 21st!!!

2007-06-14T20:41:00.001-05:00

Oh Joy, Oh Joy. Netflix is sponsoring a series of "Live On Location" films and concerts. The concept is "watch a movie star who may or may not also possess musical talent perform live and then watch an old movie with that star in it". So on June 21st (sorry, unless the out of town folks reading this are coming to the AALL Annual Meeting and Conference REALLY early, this is just for us local folks), we can see Dennis Quaid and his band The Sharks perform live and then watch a screen of "The Big Easy", ALL FOR FREE!!!! More information is here:

Dennis Quaid and The Sharks/The Big Easy, June 21st

Wow. I'm just, just speechless. His singing in the movie was passable, and now he's performing live before an outdoor screening of what may be one of the dumbest movies ever about New Orleans (well, dumbest mainstream movie about New Orleans - hands up if you've seen "Hot Thrills and Warm Chills", "Monster and the Stripper" or "Mardi Gras for the Devil"). Maybe part of his contract to agree to do this was that it had to be in late June where even at 7:00pm it can be pretty stiffling outside.

Maybe we can turn the movie viewing into a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" - type experience, with the audience talking back to the characters and throwing things at the screen. Or - and THIS is what I'm REALLY hoping for - maybe Dennis Quaid will come back on stage DURING the scene in the movie where his character is singing and he can do a duet with his twenty-years younger cinematic doppleganger. Then the next morning we can hope to see this story in the Times-Picayune: "Last night on the banks of the Missisippi, Dennis Quaid played with himself in front of a crowd of adoring fans."

Quaid's movie career led him back to New Orleans six years later in "Undercover Blues" which, while a pretty silly movie about a pair of government agents on maternity leve here in the city (co-starring Kathleen Turner as his wife and fellow undercover super-agent), it at least knew that that was all it was going to be and just camped it up for fun. "The Big Easy" tries too hard to be both a serious corrupt-cops police drama with every cliche of that genre thrown in for good measure AND an exotic New Orleans travelogue, with every cliche of THAT genre also included.

My pick for a New Orleans movie and music night, with a star who at least has a modicum of musical talent, would be "A Love Song for Bobby Long" and a concert by John Travolta singing hits from throughout his career, starting with a medly of songs from "Grease" up through his drag-queen performance in "Hairspray". But then Travolta has been getting great reviews for that movie-turned-musical-turned-movie/musical, and two of Dennis Quaids most recent films - "Flight of the Phoenix" and "Yours, Mine, and Ours" have been remakes of great old movies that should never have been touched by modern cinematic money-grubbers. (But he was great in "In Good Company".)

Oh, and the concert/movie with Dennis Quaid's band and the screening of "The Big Easy" is completely free! And if you live in either Baltimore or near - huh? - the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, you can catch the other two Netflix "Live on Location" concerts: The Bacon Brothers (Kevin and .... uh, the other Bacon brother) followed by a screening of "Diner" or The Bruce Willis Blues Band following by Armageddon (the movie, not the prophesized end of the world, as much as you might wish for that after seeing Bruce Willis perform live.) More information on those concerts here:

Netflix Live on Location

South Park LAC

2007-06-14T13:59:00.000-05:00

I casually mentioned this to Amy and Fran and, next thing I know, there they are. You got Georgia down to a "T" and I do have a Librarian Gun Club tshirt. Awesome!!!

CHINA RISING

2007-06-04T09:27:00.000-05:00

Whether you work in a firm, a law school, or a government library, China lurks on your horizon. Here’s a chance to find out about the legal information landscape in the world’s next superpower.

On Sunday (5:15 - 6:15 p.m.), the FCIL-SIS presents a panel discussion featuring FCIL Schaffer Grant recipient Cheng Zhen, Director of the Reference Department at the National Library of China (Beijing); and Wei Luo. The panel will be moderated by Sergio Stone.

Panelists will discuss government publications, freedom of government information, and legal research sources.

Cheng Zhen is Director of the Reference Department at the National Library of China in Beijing. Wei Luo, Director of Technical Services and Lecturer in Law at Washington University School of Law, has published numerous books and articles focusing on Chinese law. Sergio Stone is the Foreign, International & Comparative Law Librarian at Denver University, and the current chair of the Asian Law Interest Group within FCIL-SIS.

PLL Dine-Arounds at AALL

2007-06-04T09:03:00.000-05:00

PLL Dine-Arounds are being formed now for Saturday, July 14, 2007 in New Orleans. Generally, the time is from 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm., depending on whether you want to attend the opening reception...

For those of you who would like to connect with people outside of PLL, the site to sign up is http://www.lb5.uscourts.gov/AALL/dinearounddescriptions.html
For those who would like to join a PLL dine-around, we have one that will be going to Mr. B's, a contemporary Creole place. Cynthia Jones, the librarian at Phelps Dunbar will be the guide to Mr. B's. We can also have PLL dine-arounds that can choose to go to different restaurants. I can place people in groups of 3-6, and those groups can e-mail among each other and decide which restaurant they would like to attend. You can go to http://www.lb5.uscourts.gov/AALL/eat.html to see a list of restaurants from which your group can choose a restaurant.
The group that would like to go to Mr. B's is the only one that will have a guide going with them. That particular dine-around will only be for PLL members. Any other restaurant that you would like to attend, with other PLL members, I can group people together, but those smaller groups will make plans among each other to decide where to go, where to meet, whether to be back in time for the opening reception, et al.
Please e-mail me at tfabugais@gardere.com, and let me know if you would like to go to the PLL dine-around at Mr. B's, or be put in smaller groups, so you can confer among each other to make plans to go out to dinner.
Thanks!
Trisha Fabugais
Law Librarian
Gardere Wynne Sewell, L.L.P.
tfabugais@gardere.com

Last Chance to RSVP for the Advocacy Training Program

2007-06-04T08:51:00.000-05:00

Space is limited! Please register soon.

Legislative Advocacy Training

Please join the Washington Affairs Office and the Government Relations Committee on Saturday, July 14, 2007 in New Orleans to learn how to become an effective advocate for libraries and librarianship. Advocacy is one of the three pillars of the AALL Strategic Directions, and this is the year to learn how to become an effective advocate. There are so many great things about this training we can’t list them all!

*Learn excellent communications skills
*Get energized by the Washington Affairs Office contagious enthusiasm for information policy
*Meet smart and interesting colleagues
*Create a better world
*Use these skills on your stake holders, your boss and your colleagues to ask for what you really want!

There is no cost for this important training session, but please register by June 15 by contacting Elizabeth LeDoux, ebl22@law.georgetown.edu or call 202-662-4058. Space is limited, so register today!

All politics are local, and this is a great opportunity to learn more about AALL’s legislative agenda and how YOU can help us promote our positions in crucial policy and legislative matters. It is also a great opportunity to network with other librarians, learn effective advocacy skills and make a real impact on the future of our profession.

Join us in July for a day that will change your life!

Keith Ann Stiverson, Chair Mary Alice Baish
Government Relations Committee Associate Washington Affairs Representative

A Confederacy of Dunces

2007-05-31T17:28:00.001-05:00

Over twenty years ago, when I was about to move to New Orleans, a coworker said I just had to read A Confederacy of Dunces because it was just great and really, really funny.

I didn't read it then. I'd hear about it from time to time, chiefly as a sad anecdote, since the author (John Kennedy Toole) committed suicide before his manuscript ever saw print and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize posthumously. His mother kept asking Walker Percy to read her son's manuscript until he relented, liked the book, and sent it along to his publisher. Toole died in 1969; the book was first published in 1980.

So here I am about to go to New Orleans for a meeting, and I thought: why not? So I picked up a copy. (Mine came from a used book store so it looked like the one on the upper right, but you can also get a newer edition, like the picture on the lower left.)

Well, I tell you, it's not necessarily the sort of book that will charm every reader. (What is?) Its humor reminds me of some of the other great comic/social/political novels of around that time -- say, Vonnegut and Catch-22.

The central character is Ignatius J. Reilly, a lazy, self-righteous, prudish, gluttonous young man who is dependent on his mother and doesn't treat her well. He fancies himself a great intellectual -- he did, after all, get a master's degree in just four years -- and spends long hours in his bedroom writing screeds in Big Chief tablets that are scattered on the floor. He has only left New Orleans once, for a job interview at LSU that turned out to be quite traumatic. Through a series of unfortunate events, he is forced to find employment.

The book has lots of clever plot twists, bringing together a large cast of eccentric characters against the backdrop of New Orleans. At the time when it was written, it must have seemed much bolder and more risque than it does now. Ignatius J. Reilly's great political inspiration is a political party of homosexuals, who (he believes) would be too concerned with other things to bother going to war. The gay men and lesbians in the book are not portrayed in a flattering light -- but, by golly, they're treated as respectfully as everyone else and seem better than many of the other characters.

One piece of New Orleans color that I enjoyed was Toole's ear for dialect -- as I was reading, I could almost hear Ignatius's mother talking to her friend. (I'm a sucker for New Orleans accents -- and I do mean accents, plural: there are several!)

One fan of the book has developed Confederacy of Dunces: A Virtual Tour. Take a look: it's a nice sampling of New Orleans sights.

PS I saw a comment on Democratic Underground signed by "Myrna Minx" and smiled at the homage to a character in the book, Myrna Minsk (whom Ignatious calls Minx) who is, for most of the novel, off in New York, wearing black, smoking cigarettes, going to group therapy, and writing Ignatious letters about sexual fulfillment.

PPS I'm sorry for the trial practice posts that sometimes show up here. I have a couple of blogs; "AALL Second Line Blog" comes before "Trial Ad Notes" alphabetically and if I'm not paying attention my posts get misdirected.

Stitching SIS Call for Donations

2007-05-31T14:42:00.000-05:00

The "Stitching SIS" needs your help with donations of handmade items. With the sponsorship of SCCLL-SIS, there will be a silent auction set up in the SCCLL Activities area. The auction will run on Monday July 16 and close during the Refreshment break on Tuesday July 17. The proceeds from the auction will go to "Friends of the New Orleans Public Library Restoration Fund". Even if you are not attending the conference, and/or know someone that can donate an item, we will be glad to accept them on your behalf. For further information...
please email either Joanne Dugan or Carolyn Tanen.

Joanne Dugan
Assistant Director for Public Services
University of Baltimore Law Library
1415 Maryland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-837-4373
jdugan@ubalt.edu

Carolyn Tanen
Serials Librarian
United States Court Library, Second Circuit
40 Centre Street
New York, N.Y. 10007
212-857-8990
carolyn_m_tanen@ca2.uscourts.gov

Final Call for Volunteers

2007-05-31T09:55:00.000-05:00

This is the last call for volunteers! The deadline is June 8, next Friday. The Annual Meeting needs volunteers to help everything run smoothly, so please consider donating your time if you can. You may access the volunteer form on the AALL website at http://www.aallnet.org/events/07_volunteers.asp or on the Local Advisory Committee website at http://www.lb5.uscourts.gov/AALL/volunteerform.html. All forms must be sent by email, fax, or U.S. Mail to:

Miriam Childs,Volunteer Chair
Law Library of Louisiana
Louisiana Supreme Court
400 Royal St.
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 504-310-2403
Fax: 504-310-2419
email: mchilds@lasc.org

Thank you to those who have volunteered!

Bloggers Get Together

2007-05-29T16:47:00.000-05:00

It's time to mark your calendars for the AALL's Second Annual Bloggers Get Together!

Time: 5-6 p.m.
Date: Monday, July 16th
Place: TBA (We are looking for a place near the convention center. Suggestions needed.)

Drinks and appetizers (Dutch Treat)

Come share your ideas and meet the other law librarian bloggers! Open to all bloggers and potential bloggers.

NOTE: Last year we had over 30 participants so we are anticipating a good crowd this year. For a headcount, please RSVP to me by Monday, June 18th to bfullerton@10kwizard.com.

Thank you!
Regards,
Barbara

Barbara Fullerton
DALL's Lex Scripta
http://dallnet.blogspot.com/

AIM: gadgetarian
bfullerton@10kwizard.com

AALL MEMBERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO COME TO NEW ORLEANS AND HAVE A GOOD TIME!

2007-05-24T10:35:00.000-05:00

Carol Billings, Director, Law Library of Louisiana and Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Pascal F. Calogero, Jr. second-line down Royal Street in the historic French Quarter during the 2007 Conference of Chief Justices Mid-Year Meeting. The Law Library of Louisiana is located in the Supreme Court Building at 400 Royal Street. AALL members be sure to come by!

Posted for Georgia Chadwick.

Dine arounds/no-host dinners

2007-05-23T17:03:00.000-05:00

Join your AALL colleagues for a relaxing dinner Saturday, July 14 at 6 p.m. Ten AALL members have chosen a favorite restaurant and invite you to join them for a no-host dinner. Restaurants include Parkway Bakery and Tavern, Theo's Neighborhood Pizza, Marigny Brasserie, Feelings, Wolfe's in the Warehouse, the Pelican Club, Muriel's, Cochon, Herbsaint, and Commander's Palace. Donald Link, chef at Cochon and Herbsaint, won the 2007 James Beard award for Best Chef: South. Each group will meet at an assigned spot and travel together to the restaurant, generally by cab. Diners will need to bring cash and be willing to split the bill evenly. Everyone should be able to return on time for the Opening Event at 8:30. Details and sign up.

Hubig's pies

2007-05-23T17:02:00.000-05:00

How can you wrong for $.89?

The New Yorker
April 16, 2007
New Orleans Journal: The Pie Men
Dan Baum

Hubig's pies cost eighty-nine cents apiece, and can be found at almost every cash register in southeast Louisiana. New Orleanians adore these packaged, deep-fried pies, endlessly debating the merits of the lemon filling versus the apple, or whether the pies should be eaten microwaved or cold. Some locals even dress up as Hubig's pies for Mardi Gras.

During our first two months here, Margaret and I ignored the Hubig's pie. We wrote off its popularity as the irrationality of hometown allegiance; we never understood Atlantans' affection for the Varsity hot-dog stand, or Cincinnati's love of Skyline chili, either. We assumed that Hubig's pies were made in some vast, soulless
factory from the cheapest imaginable ingredients. The building on Dauphine Street that we rode our bikes past every day, the one with a big neon sign, was, we figured, a distribution point, a downtown office, or a cute condo complex that retained the old insignia...

Gradually, it dawned on us that this was the actual factory, and we grew intrigued. Commerce has been largely banished from American residential areas, and industry almost completely. It's the rare American factory worker who can walk to work.

Otto Ramsey, one of the owners, gave us a tour of the cement-block bakery, which Simon Hubig opened in 1927. (The company is owned by the son and the nephew of the men who bought into the company in the nineteen-forties and fifties.) Hubig's cooks all its fillings, mostly from actual produce evaporated apples, fresh-frozen strawberries and cherries, whole raw sweet potatoes in the fall and buys locally as much as it can. (Much to Ramsey's regret, Hubig's makes do with canned peaches and pineapples.) The company now uses liquid corn sugar in addition to cane, but otherwise its recipes haven't changed. Hubig's dough is made with ninety-nine-per-cent animal fat. "We've got the trans fats down to 0.65 per cent," Ramsey said proudly.

A single, clankety machine turns out all the pies between seventy-five and seventy-eight a minute. A wizened man hand-loaded balls of dough into a hopper. A long sheet emerged onto a conveyor underneath, and the machine folded these around dollops of filling and then cut and pressed them into pies. Lined up in echelons of ten, the pies entered a fryer for four minutes before passing under a curtain of icing.

After cooling on a towering multi-level carrousel, they slid down a ramp, and a worker fed them onto a belt. "Time from fill to bag, two hours," Ramsey said. The wrappers are stamped with a date one week hence, at which point they are retrieved from stores and destroyed.

Ramsey has invested more than the family fortune in these high-calorie snacks. He started telling us about the cold-storage company that had warehoused the ingredients before Katrina, and had done so for generations; overwhelmed with sadness, he had to stop. "I'm sorry," he muttered, as he struggled to collect himself. When we asked later how his employees had gotten back to work after the storm, his voice caught again and tears ran down from under his glasses. "I don't know how they did it," he said quietly. "Some of them had lost everything. Yet when we needed them they were here." Ramsey lightened the mood by giving us a Hubig's lemon pie from the carrousel; it was still warm. We told several locals about this, and their eyes grew wide with envy.

After the tour, Ramsey's son Andrew came down from the upstairs office to meet us. Andrew is a burly young man who attended the New Orleans Police Academy so he could volunteer as a reserve cop. (The night before, he said, he'd arrested a man wanted for beating his wife.)

Seven Hubig's vans, nearly half the fleet, were lost in the flood, Andrew said. One van, which had arrived a week before Katrina and hadn't been paid for yet, ended up five miles away in St. Bernard Parish, overturned and caked in mud. Hubig's has been buying vans from the same dealer for the past twenty-five years, Andrew explained. "I called him up when we were getting ready to reopen and had to say, 'Not only can't we pay you for the brand-new van you just delivered to us but we need two more and can't pay for those, either.'" He stopped, an odd smile frozen on his face, trying not to burst into tears. "And you know what he said?" He paused again, lip quivering. "He said, 'What color?'"

Reminder for Volunteers

2007-05-15T10:14:00.000-05:00

There's still time to send in a volunteer form for the AALL Annual Meeting in New Orleans if you haven't yet done so. The Annual Meeting needs volunteers to help everything run smoothly, so please consider donating your time if you can. You may access the volunteer form on the AALL website at http://www.aallnet.org/events/07_volunteers.asp or on the Local Advisory Committee website at http://www.lb5.uscourts.gov/AALL/volunteerform.html. All forms must be sent by email, fax, or U.S. Mail by June 8 to:

Miriam Childs,Volunteer Chair
Law Library of Louisiana
Louisiana Supreme Court
400 Royal St.
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 504-310-2403
Fax: 504-310-2419
email: mchilds@lasc.org

Many, many thanks for your help!

New Orleans Festivals

2007-05-11T17:32:00.000-05:00

Throughout the year a number of literary festivals are held in New Orleans. May 10-13 the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival is being held. The weather is going to be nice which is always a plus. Of course it makes more difference if it rains during a Jazz Fest weekend. Here is the link to the festival: http://www.sasfest.org/

New Orleans AALL Convention Newspaper, The Second Line, Deadlines

2007-05-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

The Second Line, the AALL Convention Newspaper, will be published this year on Saturday through Tuesday (July 14-17) during the conference. Deadlines for submitting an article for consideration for publication in a particular issue are:

Saturday, July 14th issue deadline: Thursday, June 15 (that's right, June 15)
Sunday, July 15th issue deadline: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, July 14
Monday, July 16th issue deadline: 1:30 p.m. Sunday, July 15
Tuesday, July 17th issue deadline: 1:30 p.m. Monday, July 16

How do you submit an article, news, program/event review, photograph, etc.? A number of ways, including:

1. Send an electronic copy (Word or WordPerfect preferred for text; jpg preferred for photographs) through e-mail to the editor: mary.johns@law.lsu.edu

2. Bring your electronic copy to The Second Line newspaper office in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (room location details coming soon)

Note: You can also post your articles here on the AALL Second Line Blog.

To post on the blog, request a blogger invitation by e-mail from: Vicenç Feliú at vicenc.feliu@law.lsu.edu and agree to the blogger guidelines, which will be sent to you in a separate e-mail.

If you want your blog submission considered for publication in the newspaper, please send it to Mary Johns at mary.johns@law.lsu.edu as well, by the posted deadlines above. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you very much!

New Orleans for Vegetarians - A request for suggestions

2007-05-07T17:41:00.000-05:00

I visited the AALL website today only to see in bold blue type that the annual meeting is in only 68 days! I have never been to New Orleans and am very interested to see what it's like. I can't wait to see new places, meet new people and see old friends. However, what I am not looking forward to is the food situation.

As you can probably guess from the title of this posting, I am a vegetarian. And contrary to what it appears most people believe (even here in Seattle), I do NOT eat seafood. Yes, this means I do not eat fish, oysters, crawfish, etc. Though I'm an ovo lacto vegetarian, so I do eat eggs and dairy (which expands my options but I'm not so sure how much in this case). While I can appreciate people's anticipation for the feasts that await them in a couple months, I am currently having flashbacks to my week of quesadillas in San Antonio.

I decided to see if I could find a few restaurant options. I searched Yahoo! travel, Citysearch, and went through a couple of veg-friendly lists and the handful of options I found seem to be too far to walk to. Looks like it might be a week of cliff bars and iceberg lettuce "salad."

So I'd love to hear about any places you'd like to suggest with good vegi options that are within walking distance of the convention center. Please feel free to make a comment and share. The entire AALL vegetarian constituency will thank you for it.

What season is it in New Orleans?

2007-04-26T13:39:00.000-05:00

Well it is spring but New Orleans really has many more seasons than the usual four. In fact, when my son was being tested for first grade another mother mentioned her son had a hard time when asked "What are the four seasons?" He responded: deer season, duck season, Mardi Gras and I forgot what he said for the fourth season. I can think of a season no one wants to mention, so I won't. However, right now it is crawfish season, the end of strawberry season and Jazz Fest is coming up.
I don't make crawfish ettouffee very often because it is so rich but I made some last weekend... There are many variations on the recipe for this dish but mine is adapted from a book by Holly Berkowitz Clegg called From a Louisiana Kitchen which was reprinted in 1983. (Click on the picture of the recipe to see a close up of it.) Ms. Clegg has written a number of cookbooks and writes about Louisiana cooking for a variety of publications.
Here are my personal notes on her recipe. She mentions 1 pound peeled crawfish tails with fat - what most people use comes from local vendors in one pound plastic bags. The crawfish are peeled packaged surrounded in their fat. I rinse the crawfish before using them. I don't want that extra fat!
And I like a lighter tasting dish.
Instead of using 1/2 cup water, I use 1/2 cup canned chicken broth.
She simply lists juice of lemon and I specifically use one to two teaspoons.

I also add a few tablespoons of finely chopped celery to the mixture of green pepper, onions and garlic which are sauteed in butter.

That is what I do, the second photo is a picture of the finished product.

Georgia Chadwick
Law Library of Louisiana

Legislative Advocacy Training in New Orleans

2007-04-24T14:28:00.000-05:00

Please join the Washington Affairs Office and the Government Relations Committee on Saturday, July 14, 2007 in New Orleans to learn how to become an effective advocate for libraries and librarianship. Advocacy is one of the three pillars of the AALL Strategic Directions, and this is the year to learn how to become an effective advocate. There are so many great things about this training we can’t list them all!

*Learn excellent communications skills...
*Get energized by the Washington Affairs Office contagious enthusiasm for information policy
*Meet smart and interesting colleagues
*Create a better world
*Use these skills on your stake holders, your boss and your colleagues to ask for what you really want!

There is no cost for this important training session, but please register by June 15 by contacting Elizabeth LeDoux, ebl22@law.georgetown.com. Space is limited, so register today! We have two exciting sessions, a morning session, from 8:30 to Noon, and an afternoon session for NEWER LAW LIBRARIANS (5 years or less in law librarianship), from 2:00 – 4:30.

All politics are local, and this is a great opportunity to learn more about AALL’s legislative agenda and how YOU can help us promote our positions in crucial policy and legislative matters. It is also a great opportunity to network with other librarians, learn effective advocacy skills and make a real impact on the future of our profession.

Join us in July for a day that will change your life!

“AALL Afternoon at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas”

2007-04-19T09:46:00.000-05:00

Please join us on Saturday, 14 July, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm for the “AALL Afternoon at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas”. AALL members and their children will be hosted on a self-guided tour of the amazing creatures at this facility. Come see the new animal collection, along with old favorites like the sea otters - Buck and Emma. The penguin colony at the Aquarium features African black-footed penguins and Rockhopper penguins. They are looking forward to seeing YOU!

Due to staffing and operation limitation at the Aquarium following Hurricane Katrina, the time for our family adventure...
will go from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Please walk with your families over to the front of the Aquarium. So that we may start our adventure on time, please plan to arrive no later than 1:45 p.m. The Aquarium is located at 1 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130. Look for AALL members carrying posters saying “AALL Families”.

Should you want further information on the location or details about the Aquarium and its exhibits, please go to their website.

http://www.auduboninstitute.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Facility_Aquarium

To join us for this event, just complete the attached form and return no later than June 1, 2007. We look forward to hosting everyone for a fun and educational “AALL Afternoon at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas”!

Volunteer Forms

2007-04-17T10:48:00.000-05:00

Get your volunteer forms here! AALL needs YOU to volunteer for the annual meeting. You may access the volunteer form on the AALL website at http://www.aallnet.org/events/07_volunteers.asp or on the Local Advisory Committee website at http://www.lb5.uscourts.gov/AALL/volunteerform.html. All forms must be sent by email, fax, or U.S. Mail by June 8 to:

Miriam Childs,Volunteer Chair
Law Library of Louisiana
Louisiana Supreme Court
400 Royal St.
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 504-310-2403
Fax: 504-310-2419
email: mchilds@lasc.org

Thanks in advance for your help!

A cool day in New Orleans

2007-04-05T09:59:00.000-05:00

An unseasonably chilly day this morning in New Orleans. Here's a shot out of one of our windows of Napoleon House, on the corner of Conti and Chartres, on this overcast day.

Google Shows NOLA Like It Was

2007-03-30T09:24:00.000-06:00

Living at some distance from New Orleans, I can't offer current word-on-the-street news about our meeting's host city. But this morning's Seattle Times had an AP story that y'all will want to see, because it joins our geographical interest (New Orleans) with our professional interest (information technology): New Orleans locals perplexed by pre-Katrina maps on Google, Seattle Times, March 30, 2007.

Google's popular map portal has replaced post-Hurricane Katrina satellite imagery with pictures taken before the storm, leaving locals feeling like they're in a time loop and even fueling suspicions of a conspiracy.

Scroll across the city and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and everything is back to normal: Marinas are filled with boats, bridges are intact and parks are filled with healthy, full-bodied trees.

* * *

Chikai Ohazama, a Google product manager for satellite imagery, said the maps now available are the best the company can offer. Numerous factors decide what goes into the databases, "everything from resolution, to quality, to when the actual imagery was acquired."

Yet another good example to remind us that not everything on the Internet is absolutely accurate...

Movies About New Orleans

2007-03-15T21:16:00.000-06:00

As part of my work on the publicity for this year's annual meeting, I wrote an article about depictions of New Orleans on the silver screen that has appeared in several AALL chapter newsletters. Its long-winded title is "From Brando and Leigh to Abbott and Costello: Get Ready for the AALL 2007 Annual Meeting and Conference with some of the Best (and Worst) Movies About New Orleans". I have put a copy it online so everyone can read it here. I also have my on-going master list of New Orleans movies online so everyone can peruse the fruits of my "research".

The Local Arrangements Committee

2007-03-06T13:34:00.000-06:00

Here's a picture of the usual suspects.

Front row: Michael Whipple, Charlene Cain, Miriam Childs, Etheldra Scoggin, Carol Billings
Middle row: Francis Xavier Norton, Mary Johns, Georgia Chadwick, Jennifer Dabbs, Cathy Wagar, Cynthia Hill-Jones
Back row: Brian Huddleston, Vicenç Feliú, Joachim Bermudez, Amy Hale-Janeke
Not pictured: Ajaye Bloomstone, Blythe McCoy

Marie on Mardi Gras Day

2007-03-06T13:13:00.000-06:00

A photo of Marie Erickson of the Law Library of Louisiana on Mardi Gras Day. Submitted by her husband George Cholewczynski.

New Orleans Community Service Project - 13 July 07

2007-02-28T13:21:00.000-06:00

With thanks to Ann Hemmens!

The SR-SIS, SIS Council, and AALL Headquarters (Pam Reisinger and others) have been coordinating a Volunteer Day before the 2007 AALL annual meeting (Friday July 13, 2007).
There is a well-publicized need for rebuilding, clean up, and other types of volunteer assistance in New Orleans...Three organizations have been selected for our community service project: Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest Food Bank, and the Louisiana State Museum. These organizations were selected because they give our members a wide array of volunteer options; indoor work and outdoor work, a long day and a short day, morning work and afternoon, etc.

Second Harvest Food Bank is taking two groups of 25 volunteers; one group in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Habitat for Humanity is taking a large group of 50 or 60 for an all day shift from 7:15 to 2:30. The Louisiana State Museum is taking only 10 volunteers for the day.
Web-based registration for these projects is now available at http://www.aallnet.org/events/communityproject.asp. AALL has volunteered to coordinate transportation and provide boxes lunches and water for volunteers. And AALL has arranged for additional hotel rooms (because people will probably arrive Thursday July 12th).
Captains have been chosen for each volunteer opportunity. Ron Wheeler of the Georgia State University College of Law Library and Leslie Campbell of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts are serving as co-captains of the Habitat group, Ann Hemmens of the University of Washington Gallagher Law Library is serving as the captain of the Second Harvest group, and Amy Hale-Janeke of the U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit Library is serving as captain of the Louisiana State Museum group.

Pam Reisinger and AALL Headquarters are coordinating publicity, registration for each volunteer project, transportation to projects, water, lunches, and the like. Pam is also coordinating and seeking vendor contributions and vendor participation.
We are looking forward to being part of the rebuilding of New Orleans!
Visit the website at http://www.aallnet.org/events/communityproject.asp
for more information.

Participate in the Rebuilding of New Orleans!

King Cakes for Tarlton

2007-02-26T16:01:00.000-06:00

Each year I send several king cakes to the Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas at Austin for them to have a party on Mardi Gras. Here is a cake from Randazzo's Bakery. Each person who gets the baby gets a prize and must bring a cake in for a party at a later date. Thanks to Scott Webel of the Tarlton Law Library for this yummy photo.

Georgia Chadwick, Law Library of Louisiana

The Ash Wednesday Blues

2007-02-21T21:04:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday, the last day of the Carnival season. Each year, after almost two weeks of parades, New Orleans basically shuts down for the day and we throw a big, city-wide block party for ourselves. The attraction of our celebration for frat boys who go to Bourbon Street is only incidental to what the locals do and its this part of Mardi Gras that doesn’t usually trickle up to the thirty-second stories on CNN and the rest of the national media.

Whole families, from newborn babies to grandparents, costume up and go out to the parades to see and be seen, neighbors set up grills and tents along the routes, and many of us congregate in parts of the city where we know the costumed revelry will be the most fun and the tourists will be the most scarce. If you get enough friends together, you can march downtown in semi-organized groups, like in the “Julu Parade” in this video clip (click the control once to activate it, and again to play the clip):

[Direct Link: http://www.vimeo.com/clip:143647]

As New Orleans continues to recover from Hurricane Katrina, it may seem that the huge, city-wide party that is Mardi Gras is a luxury we can’t afford. But an important part of the culture here teaches us that suffering and loss are part of life, and just as the jazz funeral parades conclude with jubilant music and dancing, in the face of adversity, you still need to take time to celebrate life.

Each year when its over, I can’t help but be a little sad. Anders Osbourne has a song that captures perfectly what it feels like today:

Hold on, move on
Set it straight, aww, its too late
This is one hell of a place
We all seem so nervous
Let's do ourselves a service
Stop trying to keep up this pace

And I keep swimming in this big pond
A little boy who lost his shoes
I feel this dead calm
Inside the big storm
Living with the Ash Wednesday Blues

Yesterday we felt like we were getting away with something, and part of what is so amazing about living here is that each year it is still hard to believe that as adults you can get dressed up in a costume and there’s no work or school and you can just go out and dance in the street. And all day we laughed as we reminded ourselves that everywhere else it was just Tuesday.

Antiques May Pave the Way to a Better Future

2007-02-21T17:32:00.000-06:00

From the Times-Picayune
Saturday, February 17, 2007
By Renée Peck
InsideOut editor
With thanks to Georgia Chadwick

New Orleans, Jeffrey Simpson writes in the March issue of Architectural Digest, is "like someone who has been shot in a barroom brawl and is still dancing."

That was a first and lasting impression for the nationally known author and antiques authority, a man who, until a year ago, had always maintained a distant love affair with the city...
"I had always wanted to visit New Orleans, ever since I was a child in the 1950s," Simpson said by phone recently. "At 13, when I learned that a girl in my class would be visiting the city, I gave her $5 to buy books about it for me."

Simpson made it here last year to research a story on the state of our antiques market for Architectural Digest. The magazine's editor, Paige Rense, plans an annual update on local affairs.

"She wants to do things for New Orleans," Simpson said.

During a series of visits between January and November, Simpson said he noticed little rebuilding progress -- "there was perhaps a little more urban energy in November" -- but saw signs of rebirth in the commercial arena, particularly along Magazine Street. "It's surviving pretty well."

That was good news for Simpson, who says he has loved the Magazine Street area since writing an article about it a decade ago. "Back then it was the upstart, an exciting alternative" for buyers seeking fun and funky furnishings.

Recent trade along the grander, more regal Royal Street, Simpson acknowledges, has not been as encouraging. But overall he sees a continuing appreciation here for the finer things in life, even after disaster.

"It's simply amazing the number of shops in New Orleans, particularly for a small city," Simpson said. "From edgy to grand, the choice is superb."

Even the new contemporary furnishing stores here, he notes, run more toward Design Within Reach than Crate and Barrel.

"It shows the quality of life that people want in New Orleans. Charleston (S.C.) is lovely, but there they perform for the tourists. In New Orleans, you perform for yourselves, and antiques play into that.

"It's part of your strong sense of community. People are living up to who they are, and doing their best. The vitality of the city is amazing."

Simpson's meanderings through the city's antiques stalls -- orchestrated by a number of friends here -- reinforced his assessment of a populace making the best of things.

"The locals have totally rallied," U-Dwell's Mary Satterlee told him.

"Before -- there is only one 'before' in New Orleans these days -- my business was half in town and half out of town; now it's mostly in town," Allain Bush added.

Overall, Simpson paints a picture of determined, passionate local sellers who will stay the course and help the city rebuild.

Simpson plans to return in the coming year, to track progress. I explained to him that not all of us can afford, emotionally or materially, to upgrade as we rebuild: You either splurge on fewer, finer things, or buy only items you can envision sitting on the curb.

"People should buy what they like," Simpson replied with a laugh. "Of course, my feeling is that you should choose the best you can afford. Who knows what will happen to any of us? New Orleans, in a good way, lives in the moment."

WHAT'S NEW IN BUYING OLD

Antiques expert Jeffrey Simpson has an unlikely love of fountain pens and a likely appreciation for 19th-century French Louisiana furniture. A few of his observations on antiques buying:

-- "Antique" no longer refers strictly to 100-year-old-plus objets d'art. Look to the generation before you for things that already stand out as classics.

-- Eclectic collecting gets a nod these days. Buy what you like, and mix it up.

-- European or made-in-America? "Europeans have a whole different attitude about polish," Simpson replies. European furniture tends to be glossy, while Americans are more into patina.

Simpson's article in Architectural Digest takes the measure of the antiques community via interviews with owners of these stores:

U-Dwell, 2101 Magazine St.

Passages Antiques, 3939 Magazine St.

Ann Koerner Antiques, 4021 Magazine St.

Piranesi, 2104 Magazine St.

Bush Antiques, 2109 Magazine St.

Mac Maison Ltd., 3963 Magazine St.

Keil's Antiques, 325 Royal St.

Moss Antiques, 411 Royal St.

M.S. Rau Antiques, 60 Royal St.

The Dish on a New Orleans Renaissance

2007-02-19T08:36:00.000-06:00

Kevin Allman, a former resident of New Orleans, living in Portland, Oregon, has writen an excellent article on the restaurants of New Orleans for the Washington Post. Georgia Chadwick of the Law Library of Louisiana forwarded me the link to post here.

Read Kevin Allman's article at the Washington Post and check this link for details on New Orleans!

World's Longest Oyster Po-Boy

2007-02-16T10:40:00.000-06:00

Oh, sweet delicious! As the publicity guy for the annual meeting here in New Orleans, I was busy Thursday doing "research" down in the French Quarter, when I came across the World's Longest Oyster Po-Boy. It was a joint promotion between a seafood industry group and the "Louisiana Oyster Task Force" - if I needed another reason to love living here the fact that we have our own Oyster task Force is a good one. It was chilly outside, so the Po-Boy was cold when they started serving it but it was delectable!

Louisiana Supreme Court

2007-02-15T14:16:00.000-06:00

Just a test and a hello from the Louisiana Supreme Court in New Orleans. I'll post more pictures soon.

Jason

Unmasking Our Pain in New Orleans

2007-02-15T10:28:00.000-06:00

Article from the Washington Post
By Lolis Eric Elie
Times-Picayune Columnist
Sunday, February 11, 2007; B01
With thanks to Catherine Lemann.

The rush begins approximately right now. Even as I write this, thousands of Americans are packing away their inhibitions and preparing to come to my city and go native. They will arrive in the French Quarter uninhibited, as they imagine we are. They will remove their clothes. They will empty their beer-filled guts onto each other's shoes. They will clown for hungry cameras and for journalists eager to capture New Orleans as some distant editor has imagined it. Invariably, the networks will set up their shots in the French Quarter, though none of the major parades and few of the emblematic Carnival activities take place there. Neither the journalists nor the revelers seem to care that our lives, local lives, are elsewhere...

For us, Mardi Gras is family time. We gather on our favorite corners to watch parades with parents and cousins and picnic lunches prepared by grandmothers (then) or bought from fast-food dispensaries (now). We don masks. We drink. We dance. We drink. We yell loudly. We drink. This we do, ever aware that the people on our right and on our left are the same people we will see during more sober times at work, school and church.

America would recognize us in family mode, but we may never be seen that way. Hurricane Katrina confirmed for now, and perhaps forever, the sense that New Orleans is a foreign place attached to the United States by geography, but distant from it in every meaningful way. We are more European, more African, less serious. And we lack the good sense God gave a goose. Why else would we raise our kids among girls gone wild in a hurricane magnet of a city that lies largely below sea level?

When Hurricane Katrina hit, our nation offered us sympathy. Millions of Americans accepted us into their cities. They sent 18-wheelers heavy with goodwill and provisions. Others came here, donned hazard suits and helped us. But I fear this compassion is wearing thin. It has been nearly 18 months. By now, the thinking goes, real Americans, self-reliant Americans, would have picked themselves up by their stiff upper lips and gotten on with life. They wouldn't be waiting for a government check. They would rebuild their homes and their lives with money and fortitude held in reserve.

My mother is a real American. Her difficulties have been minor compared with the setbacks suffered by others in our city. She's 72 years old. A decade ago, she moved into a new house she chose specifically because she thought it was on high, safe ground. She put her all into renovating and decorating it. On Aug. 29, 2005, it was inundated by four feet of water. Her blood pressure began to rise. Her borderline diabetes crept across the border. A pain developed in her left leg. Like many ailments these days, hers seemed stress induced.

From her sister's home in Dallas, she rebuilt. The first contractor she hired disappeared with the down payment. The first doctor said the back pain would go away. The first call to an insurance office put her in touch with a Ms. Bear. From her office somewhere in America, Ms. Bear insisted that my mother could just knock the insulation and roofing materials to the side and sleep in the filth of her waterlogged bed. That's what a Bear would do.

The second contractor was moving quickly among his various jobs, but slowly on my mother's house. Then he developed cancer and stopped moving much at all. (Was it his men who stole the ladder and the toilet and broke that glass table we'd carefully salvaged?) The second doctor recommended back surgery. The insurance company asked for more photos. Several doctors, two chiropractors, one surgery, a dozen letters and scores of phone calls later, my mother is back in her house. About a quarter of her neighbors have returned.

It's lonely there. My mother speaks to her friends long-distance.

Somehow, when people look at us and our city, they don't see my mother. They see the desperate brown faces at the Superdome or hear the otherly accented voices from St. Bernard Parish. They don't see the old man in the Lower Ninth Ward, gutting his house by day and sleeping in it by night because he has nowhere else to stay. They don't see the families cramped in trailers because they have nowhere else to live. They don't see the fishermen in Plaquemines Parish begging to get back to work. Those men need government help to move their boats from the land, where the floodwaters left them, back to the bayous, where they can again ply their trade. That's not the kind of work the Federal Emergency Management Agency is allowed to do.

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the federal government did a terrible job. No doubt about that. Americans stranded on roofs. Americans without food and water. People in war-ravaged, dysfunctional nations looking at us on television saw that our country could be just as dysfunctional as their own. Domestic politics demanded that our misery be seen as the result either of Democratic Great Society programs or Republican social Darwinism. In fact, neither was apt.

Make no mistake -- the devastation in New Orleans and southern Louisiana was a government-enabled disaster. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed and built the levees and floodwalls that were supposed to protect us. The failure of these structures resulted in the devastation of our city. This is not the crank conspiracy theory of angry New Orleanians. This is the conclusion that the Corps reached in a 6,600-page report, released June 1.

Hurricane Katrina was no more than a Category 2 storm when it hit New Orleans. The levees and floodwalls were supposed to be able to withstand a Category 3 storm. The Corps acknowledged that the flood-control system was badly designed and badly built. "For the first time the corps has had to stand up and say we had a catastrophic failure with one of our projects," said Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, the commander of the Corps.

You may expect that an admission by a government agency that its poor work was responsible for the destruction of an American city would have been big news. But the story of the Corps' admission, released on a Thursday, didn't live long enough to make the Sunday talk shows. The confession was irrelevant. The nation had already concluded that the death of New Orleans was a suicide caused by our irrational desire to live in harm's way.

This blame-New-Orleans attitude has been devastating for us. Though Louisiana suffered far more damage per capita than did Mississippi, our neighbor to the east has received a disproportionate share of federal funding. But neither of us was treated fairly. Six weeks after the storm, Congress passed legislation allowing low-interest loans for Gulf Coast communities to use to pay public employees. But the White House and the Republican leadership in Congress specifically required that the money be paid back, even though such federal disaster loans have generally been forgiven for the past three decades. "Notwithstanding section 417 of the Stafford Act, such loans may not be canceled," the offending passage reads.

In its zeal to punish Louisiana for sins that are largely not of our own making, the federal government has twisted our national priorities so radically as to render them unrecognizable. In this era when homeland security is the nation's paramount concern, there is no enthusiasm for protecting American land along the coast of Louisiana. For the past several decades, we've lost an average of 24 square miles of territory every year. About 40 percent of U.S. wetlands are in Louisiana, but my state experiences 80 percent of the nation's coastal wetlands loss. This loss is crucial to us because hurricanes lose strength when traveling over this land and are thus less powerful when they reach populated areas. Fewer wetlands means more hurricane damage.

Two years ago, before Katrina, the Corps of Engineers and the state of Louisiana estimated that it would take $14 billion to stem the tide of coastal erosion. In December, the lame-duck Congress allocated 34 percent of the federal oil royalties collected off our shores to Louisiana to combat coastal erosion. But we won't get the full amount for 17 years. For the next decade, we will receive about $20 million a year to combat a $14 billion problem.

The latest forecast by coastal experts gives us about 10 years to restore the territory that has been lost south of New Orleans. If we fail to do that, those communities will have to be written off in a couple of decades.

If, say, Cuba or Venezuela had seized 24 square miles of American territory, the call to arms would have been immediate and decisive. But because coastal erosion is an enemy neither foreign nor domestic, we seem willing to surrender to it. We've retreated behind the excuse that New Orleans can't be saved. We've abandoned our can-do pride. In the Netherlands, the Dutch have managed to craft a flood-control system that protects the huge percentage of that nation's land that lies below sea level. These days Americans lack the money, the ingenuity, the patriotism, the humanity of the Dutch.

Much of the wealth of Louisiana lies in our culture. This is the state that gave the nation jazz and Louis Armstrong, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino. We created two of the nation's signature regional cuisines, Creole and Cajun. Our architecture is some of the oldest and most distinguished in the nation. But it seems that our country views our culture not as a national treasure worth saving, but as further evidence that we are not real Americans at all. But this view could change.

Earlier this month the Corps released the locations of 122 levees that are at risk of failing. They are located in 27 states and the District of Columbia. We New Orleanians have suffered much in the past 18 months. We wouldn't wish such devastation on anyone. But I would like to remind my nation that according to this list, the problems of my home town are not so foreign after all.

I may seem like a foreigner to you when I scream for an independent commission to study government failures in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, or when I decry the plodding incompetence of FEMA. I may seem like the stereotypical welfare cheat when I argue that the federal government has not invested nearly enough in protecting my state from an even greater future disaster. Indeed, mine may seem like a voice emanating from a distant Southern wilderness. But in truth, the problems of Louisiana are the problems of the United States.

Or, as Ralph Ellison wrote, "Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?"

lelie@tpmail.com

New Orleans on American Experience

2007-02-12T15:29:00.000-06:00

This two-hour documentary is a post-Katrina historical overview of the city of New Orleans and will be available online, after its airing date on 12 February 2007, at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/neworleans/... The New Orleans Times-Picayune T.V. columnist Dave Walker wrote "the film captures our committed otherness-- as home to Mardi Gras, as the incubator of jazz, as a population dedicated to sensual self-indulgence-- but it also stares down history you'd hardly celebrate."

Whether your trip to attend AALL in July will be your first visit, or you have visited in the past, or you are coping with living in post-Katrina New Orleans, the program will be of interest to all. It will present a more realistic perspective to contrast with the stereotypes and misconceptions which were the focus of the news reports right after Katrina.

Thanks to Georgia Chadwick, Law Library of Louisiana, for the heads-up.

New Orleans and the Legal, Mixological, and Etymological History of the Cocktail

2007-02-02T16:59:00.000-06:00

A trademark case before the Louisiana Supreme Court in the late nineteenth century involved a New Orleans company that manufactured bitters and is, tangentially, related to several of the city’s contributions to the history of alcoholic beverages. Bitters are mixtures of alcohol infused with herbs or other ingredients that are now key components in many mixed drinks but which were originally consumed as health tonics. A dose of bitters was once considered a bracing elixir that helped to stimulate vitality, and so as preventative medicine it was completely different than just slugging back a few shots of whiskey. Bitters, aperitifs, and digestives - all similar products - were also conveniently not categorized as liquor for tax purposes.

In the case of Handy v. Commander, 22 So. 230 (La. 1897), plaintiff Thomas H. Handy & Co. of New Orleans was the maker of “Handy’s Aromatic Cocktail Bitters.” Handy’s Bitters were represented to be “the most palatable and flavorous ever” and were guaranteed to “stimulate the appetite and invigorate the functions of the stomach, thereby preventing dyspepsia.” Defendant Anthony Commander was an employee of Handy’s who, after learning the recipe for Handy’s Bitters, quit and set up his own company to sell the same formulation under the name “Commander’s Aromatic Cocktail Bitters.” At issue in Handy v. Commander was the trademark that Handy held for the labeling of his bitters and Commander’s unauthorized use of a nearly-identical trademark. (The formula of the bitters itself was not patented or protected as a trade secret.) The court noted that “in size, in style and color, in lettering and execution, word for word, there is not a point of difference between the trademark of Handy and the trademark put forth by the defendant, except that the latter is styled ‘Commander’s Bitters’ while the former was styled ‘Handy’s Bitters’”. Because of the similar and confusing labels, the court upheld the judgment of trademark infringement and the $450 damage award, which was based on the 88% decline in sales that Handy suffered from Commander’s illegally competing product.

The bitters central to the dispute in Handy v. Commander were from a recipe developed and finessed decades earlier by a New Orleans pharmacist named Antoine Amadée Peychaud, a French Creole immigrant from Haiti. Peychaud had worked on many different types of recipes for bitters and other herbal medicinal aids since arriving in New Orleans in 1793. (His eponymous brand, Peychaud’s Bitters, is still manufactured in New Orleans.) In the scholarship of alcohol, the addition of bitters to mixtures of liquor and water or other mixers is seen as both a historic turning point as well as a categorical delineation between cocktails and, in what at one time was a strict distinction, other mixed drinks such as toddies and slings.

In the late 1830s, Peychaud created a pleasing combination of his bitters mixed with brandy and absinthe, and the recipe for this drink spread beyond his friends and customers and became popular throughout the city. One establishment decided to make it only with a particular type of brandy, which also soon became the concoction’s name, the Sazerac. Now a signature New Orleans drink, the Sazerac is widely acknowledged to be one of the first true cocktails, if not the first. (Modern Sazeracs use Herbsaint or Pernod in place of the absinthe; thank you very much, F.D.A.)

But what about that word, cocktail? No definitive derivation of the term has been established, and some of the more colorful stories are considered apocryphal, such as the one about the revolutionary war-era barmaid who decorated the mixed drinks she served with a rooster’s tailfeather. History often shows that the more mundane explanation for something is most often correct, and that is likely the case here. Besides creating the first cocktail, Peychaud also deserves some credit in this matter. He served his early mixed drinks in a double ended egg cup, called a coquetier and pronounced kah-kuh-TYAY; to the non-French speaking residents of New Orleans, the word was mis-heard, mis-understood, and/or mis-pronounced as “cocktail.” This is less colorful and not really that much more likely than other claimed derivations, but one writer on the subject noted that the esteemed lexicographer Dr. Frank H. Vizetelly (go ahead, Google him) has declared that the coquetier origin story is “the oldest and most positive basis for the word cocktail.”

So now that you’ve learned more about New Orleans and the cocktail than you ever wanted to know, if you’re coming to the 2007 AALL Annual Meeting here are some of the best places in the Crescent City to have a cocktail, a beer, or a glass of wine.

Napoleon House
500 Chartres Street
The perfect place to have a refreshing Pimm’s Cup after walking around the Quarter on a hot summer day. The café menu has an excellent cheese plate and their muffaletta - a classic New Orleans sandwich of salami, ham, and Provolone topped with olive salad - is one of the best in the city.

Pirate’s Alley Café
622 Pirate's Alley
Located near Jackson Square adjacent to the St. Louis Cathedral and behind the Cabildo. When you sit on a sidewalk table at this hole in the wall bar and café, you can get a sense of what the quarter was like back in the nineteenth century. They sometimes have live music on the unbelievably tiny stage next to - and smaller than - the rest room.

Peristyle
1041 Dumaine Street
A little too far to walk to, but this is one of the city’s best restaurants, so if you make a reservation for dinner and take a cab, get there early and sit at their gorgeous and very well-stocked bar for a pre-dinner drink or two. The two large murals of New Orleans’ City Park are the inspiration for the restaurant’s name.

Carousel Bar
214 Royal Street
Just off the lobby of the Monteleone Hotel is the Carousel Bar, the centerpiece of which is the circular main bar decorated like a carousel and which revolves in a full circle every fifteen minutes. The Monteleone is one of only three hotels in the country to be designated as a literary landmark, and the Carousel was a New Orleans favorite for writers such as William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and Truman Capote.

Johnny White’s Sports Bar
720 Bourbon Street
Many bars in New Orleans are open twenty-four hours a day, but this tiny establishment is worth a stop, if for no other reason than to be able to say you’ve had a drink at the only place in New Orleans that didn’t even close for Katrina. They managed to stay open during the hurricane itself, the subsequent chaos, the extended power outage, and the subsequent weeks of evacuation and curfew and even somehow found a supply of ice to keep the beer cold (those National Guardsmen and state troopers can be very helpful in a scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours sort of way). Of course, they sell t-shirts and other memorabilia to commemorate that accomplishment.

Molly’s at the Market
1107 Decatur Street
The best Irish pub in the Quarter. The decorative wooden urn behind the bar contains the ashes of the bar’s late owner and founder.

Pat O’Brien’s
718 St. Peter Street
Famous since the 1940s for one of New Orleans’ signature drinks, The Hurricane, which is just rum added to an overly sweet fruit juice mix that tastes like Hawaiian Punch (which may help explain why Pat O’s is the #1 bar in the world for customers who only order one drink, though for various reasons). It’s definitely a great looking place, with a huge courtyard and four separate bars, so if you order something besides the Hurricane it can be worth a visit.

Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop
941 Bourbon Street
Occupying one of the oldest buildings in the city, dating back at least to 1772 and featuring very little in the decor that seems to have been updated since then, Lafitte’s is always included on lists of must-visit bars in the French Quarter, and is one of the few that is definitely deserving of that suggestion.

Originally published in the AALL Spring 2007 ALL-SIS Newsletter (and elsehwere...eventually).

Oh, the Music!

2007-01-30T21:17:00.000-06:00

I just spent a couple of hours at my home desk, sorting through bank statements and looking for some tax information. A highlight of this time was listening to an album called "Our New Orleans" -- twice! And that inspired me to write my first Second Line post.

"Our New Orleans 2005" was recorded not long after Katrina and its aftermath wreaked havoc on the city. It's a benefit CD, with net proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity to aid those affected by the hurricane. So with that context, the album has a particular poignancy. "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" sung by someone who might have lost his home -- "What a Wonderful World" performed despite the devastation -- Randy Newman singing "Louisiana 1927," about a devastating hurricane from the last century.

Blues, Zydeco, Cajun, Dixieland, and more -- and each cut is great! When you go to New Orleans, you'll be treated to some great music, whether you go out to a club, walk around Jackson Square, or simply attend official AALL events (where I'm sure they'll have wonderful bands).

The liner notes are by Nick Spitzer, a professor of folklore at the University of New Orleans and the host of Public Radio International's American Routes. One anecdote I like:

Pianist, songmaker, and producer Allen Toussaint spoke with remarkable calm after the storm: "My Steinway, my records, my arrangements, my studio -- it's all gone. I had eight feet of water in my house near Bayou St. John." He escaped from his drowning city with little more than the clothes he had on, and a few family keepsakes. Dressed in a new suit with matching silk tie and pocket-handkerchief, Toussaint added, "But the spirit didn't drown. I still have my music. Give me a hammer. I'm ready to do my part."

With a funky new rendition of his classic call to action -- "Yes We Can Can," Toussaint strikes a blow for the collaborative labor, good will and essential soul it will take to rebuild New Orleans -- not so much materially as spiritually.

Check out Nick Spitzer's multimedia presentation, Rebuilding the "Land of Dreams": Expressive Culture and New Orleans' Authentic Future, on Southern Spaces (Aug. 29, 2006). It includes some of the same musicians and music as the CD.

Instructions for Posting Photos

2007-01-20T13:40:00.000-06:00

There are two ways you can post photos to appear on the blog.

The first way is easiest if you don't have a lot of photos to post. You can post your photos directly to the blog by creating a new post and clicking on the add image icon then follow the simple wizard. Just like I did with my photo of the pelican at the LSU lakes...

If you have a lot of photos then you can set up a Flickr account, join the AALL Second Line Group, post the photos there, and they will automatically link to this blog. Flickr is free and if you have a Yahoo account, you already have access to Flickr. To join the AALL Second Line Group, email me at vicenc.feliu@law.lsu.edu and I will send you and invitation. After you upload your photos to Flickr, add your photos to the Group and then they will automatically appear in the Flickr badge on the right of the page.

I hope to see all your annual meeting pictures posted here!