Broadening AALL Membership - Some Concerns
While law-lib is not the absolutely best place to discuss this issue, I would find it helpful to hear from others while there is still plenty of time to ponder the points raised, and then to continue the discussion in July, maybe better informed than I would be otherwise.
I finally got around to reading the article on opening up AALL membership options and the resolution printed in the February *Spectrum*, pp. 20-21. I attended most of last year*s Town Meeting discussion on this issue and was one of many in favor of expanding membership. I cannot, however, see myself approving of the resolution as it is printed in the Spectrum. This is distressing because much good could come from AALL opening itself up to more of the legal information community.
The following comments may be based on my MIS-reading the bylaws, so please don*t hesitate to correct me!
1. Under our current bylaws, practically anyone CAN join AALL, as Associate Members (AM*s). All you need is an interest in law libraries and a check made out to AALL for annual dues (see Article IV, sections 1 and 4). If we want to grant AM*s the right to vote, can*t we just add that to that section*s Rights and Privileges?
2. If it is our MISSION we want to change, from its focus on Law Libraries to something broader, shouldn*t we change Article II to reflect that?
3. The Resolution in the Spectrum is so broad that no one will be excluded and everyone would have the right to voting and to office. While the resolution does reflect our desire to open up membership it does absolutely nothing to alleviate present AALL law librarian member concerns that non-law librarians could exert undue influence in the Association, through those voting and office privileges.
4. A comment on ABA membership: Law librarians CANNOT become members (unless they fulfil the Member status requirements, ie the are a member of a bar). They CAN become Associates, who do not have Member privileges of voting and office (unless this has changed since the most recent ABA bylaws and constitution I looked at (1994-95).
5. SLA is a little more confusing to me. Any member of SLA may certainly pipe in here. To be a member, with voting and Association elective office eligibility, you must fit one of their listed requirements, but only one of the requirements seems to require active, current library employment. Maybe I misread the bylaws (on their Web page), and I will look at them again. They do have an Associate Member category, but this doesn*t really give you Member status and it tells how an Associate Member can become a Member. Associate Members have voting rights but no right to Association elective office.
Laura
Laura J. Orr
Reference Librarian
Lillian Goldman Library
Yale Law School
127 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8215
Email: laura.orr@yale.edu
Phone: 203-432-7535
Fax: 203-432-9692
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