A Message From the President James E. Duggan Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor of Law Tulane University Law Library 320-C John Giffen Weinmann Hall 6329 Freret Street New Orleans, LA 70118-6231 Tel: 504/865-5950 Fax: 504/865-5917 Email: duggan@tulane.edu

Hello and welcome to AALLNET, the official Web site of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). For more than 100 years, AALL has been dedicated to supporting the law library community and serving as a visible advocate for users of legal information. With over 5,000 members, AALL is a vibrant association representing law librarians and related professionals affiliated with a wide range of institutions: law firms; law schools; corporate legal departments; courts; and local, state and federal government agencies.

As the national professional organization for law librarians and all those who support the field of law librarianship, AALL serves as the leader of the profession and the voice of permanent public access to legal information. AALL’s activities focus on our three strategic directions:

• Leadership: law librarians will be recognized and valued as the foremost leaders and experts in legal information, research, and technology



• Education: law librarians will have the knowledge and training they need to meet and leverage the challenges of the changing information environment



• Advocacy: law librarians will influence and shape the outcome of legal information, technology policy, and librarianship issues of concern to AALL members.

Whether you are an AALL member or a visitor, I encourage you to explore the content on AALLNET. Here you will find information about the work that law librarians do; the programs, services, and leadership of AALL; and the opportunities offered by AALL’s committees, special interest sections, chapters, and caucuses. Some of our Association entities focus on issues that are relevant to the day-to-day work of law librarians; others deal with broader concerns facing our profession, including our vested interest in public information policy at the state, federal, and international levels.

Facing rapid, constant changes in technology and in our workplaces, AALL’s members gather annually to refresh our knowledge and network with our colleagues. Our 102nd Annual Meeting will be held July 25-28, 2009, in Washington, D.C., where the theme will be Innovate! The D.C. meeting will celebrate and sustain the innovative spirit of law librarianship and our members. As we work in a continually changing profession, we must constantly innovate to stay current while coping with flat budgets, increased workloads, and other challenges. Every new computer database, cataloging rule, or Web site provides the opportunity for innovation, allowing us to take the full advantage of changes in our profession and incorporate them in our work. New obstacles and opportunities appear on a daily basis, requiring us to regularly innovate, create, inspire, and build.

Washington, D.C., is the perfect city for the 2009 Annual Meeting and its theme. The city itself was an innovation, designed as a completely new city for the capital of a new, innovative country. Washington’s vitality is a perfect complement to the innovative energy of AALL and its members, and its monuments and museums can excite us and inspire our creative ideals.

AALL’s success as a professional organization is the direct product of the enthusiastic, inventive efforts of our many dedicated members. It is a great honor to serve as your AALL president, and I look forward to working with all of you in 2008-2009.