ALLA (WA) News Blog

 Don't forget that RSVP's to the ALLA (WA) Autumn Breakfast are due on 21 April!

The ALLA (WA) Committee invites ALLA (WA) members, and those with and interest in law libraries to join us to catch up with your law librarian colleagues and friends over breakfast at Basilica.  Come enjoy a delicious breakfast, chat with friends, and talk to the ALLA (WA) Committee.  Members of the ALLA (WA) Committee will be there - feel free to let us know what you think about future professional development opportunities you would like to see in 2023.  You have the option of pre-ordering your meal and drinks to speed up service on the day.  The current menu can be seen on Basilica's website .  If you wish to pre-order, please include details in your RSVP.  What:           ALLA (WA) Autumn Breakfast Who:           ALLA (WA) Members and those with an interest in law libraries (invite your co-workers!) Where:         Basilica,           ...

Dear ALLA(WA) members, On the 30th November we had our ALLA(WA) AGM and welcomed our 2022-23 committee. An email with the AGM minutes and reports will be sent to members shortly.    Our new committee is as follows: President: David McDowell Secretary: Jane Beer Treasurer: Anne Young Committee members: Gilien Bevan, Alice Hewitt, Sky Atkins, Fiona Archibald I want to extend a warm welcome to Sky Atkins (Herbert Smith Freehills) and Fiona Archibald (Federal Court of Australia) for joining the committee and thank returning committee members for volunteering their time for another term. This will be my last term as President and Jane’s last term as Secretary so I encourage any interested members to attend our committee meetings throughout the year and learn about the activities of the Committee as well as these positions throughout the year as they will be vacant at the next AGM. Joining the committee has been a wonderful networking experience for myself and has helped me develo...

You read that right folks,  ALLA Librarians have taken over the Lawfluent Podcast this week! Our friends at Open Law, an innitiative of BarNet Jade, have been kind enough to let some ALLA members grace the airwaves during their season 2 episode: Law Librarians from ALLA! Phil Mullen (ALLA NSW & ALLA Ltd), Anastasia Stepanovic (ALLA Vic) and Alice Hewitt (ALLA (WA)) joined forces for a round table discussion on everything from how we got to law libraries, how law libraries are all different, the book worm from Toy Story, and some very strange research requests.  Hosted by the wonderful Isabella Elena Carrozzi, and playing on a podcast platform near you.  Check out the Lawfluent Podcast now: Lawfluent Website Lawfluent Instagram Open Law LinkedIn

The Australian Law Librarians' Association journal, the Australian Law Librarian is now available on Informit, with the December 2021 issue (Volume 29, Issue 4) now available on the platform. This edition is packed with articles stemming from the ALLA Virtual Conference 2021 #ALLA2021 - including some papers from the conference presenters including: Evolution of publishing commonwealth legislation / Meredith Leigh Human rights in a prison library - the legacy of Alexander Maconochie / Belinda Lawson The present moulds the future: what are we doing now to develop future ready law graduates? / Annette Goodwin Engaging the future with legal research skills / Paula Everett Reflections on AustLII's 25th anniversary - where we came from and where we are going / Richard Hunter Future progressive: ALLA survey of legal publishers and e-books / Monika Zygmuntowicz Empowering innovation in legal knowledge management, now and in the future / Virginia Ginnane A timely reminder to attendees ...

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our  events .  CATHERINE KAFENTZIS, ALLA (WA) COMMITTEE MEMBER 2017-2018 1. Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career? It is hard for me to attribute one person who has inspired me in my career. In the words of the well-known proverb “ It takes a village to raise a child ”, I can say that many people have inspired me throughout my career thus far: my family and friends, lecturers, practicum supervisor and peers and colleagues – just to name a few! 2. What is the proudest moment in your professional life? It is difficult to pinpoint one proudest moment in my professional life so far. A couple come to mind: Last year I attended the inaugural WATOL event and...

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our  events .  Alice Hewitt, ALLA (WA) Secretary 2017-2018  Alice Hewitt, on set. Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career?  Oh this one is always hard, my career has been a bit varied so far and at the moment I'm doing some very interesting Project Coordinator stuff that even includes video production! (Who saw that coming when I became a Librarian?).  I'm moving back into law libraries in the new year, and part of that decision was inspired by all the great law librarians in WA (and even those I've met all over Australia and across the globe!).  I guess I'm easily inspired as every day I'm inspired by something to try something new, make a plan, learn so...

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our  events .  Anne Young, ALLA (WA) Treasurer 2017-2018 Anne Young Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career?  I've mentioned my initial mentor, Margaret Quill,  in a previous post , so I'd like here to praise the team at Murdoch University back in 2002-3 - Anne Greenshields, Soun Wong and Helen Bromleigh.  They were a very welcoming bunch and I particularly enjoyed the lunch simulating discussions at lunch times there!  I learnt a lot from helping Anne run information literacy to the students, which at that point included looking up legal encyclopedias  in print. What is the proudest moment in your professional life?  While proud isn't quite the wo...

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our  events .  Natalie McDonald, ALLA (WA) President 2017-2018 Natalie McDonald Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career? My Father.  What ever I did through life (ie sport, education) he would support me and say ‘whatever you start you have to finish’ (because I’m paying!) Especially in sport .  This was ingrained in me through my career and life that you need to keep perservering to achieve your goals. What is the proudest moment in your professional life? Receiving my Degree Career advice – what’s your top tip? Don’t sweat the small stuff!  What’s your favourite legal research tool? JADE Professional.  So easy to use and the function of uploading docu...

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our  events .  Stephen Griffiths, ALLA (WA) Vice President 2017-2018 Jonesy, Stephen's cat, with a fidget spinner Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career? I’m a big fan of the public service librarians mentioned in the NSW library pay equity case ( [2002] NSWIRComm 55 ) – their actions set a precedent that improved the lot of librarians across the country. And also James Procell, the library director of the Dwight Anderson Memorial Music Library in Rupa Marya v. Warner Chappell Music Inc who unearthed the Mildred and Patty Hill manuscript for “Good morning to all” (aka “Happy Birthday to You”) which helped the court determine that the iconic song was out of copyright and kicked...

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our  events .  Judy Allan, ALLA (WA) Committee Member 2017-2018 Judy Allan Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career? There are three people who have influenced me greatly and to whom I am grateful for their help and support: Judy Clayden, my lecturer in cataloguing at ECU who made a particularly challenging subject interesting; Megan Evans who gave me my current job and who gently introduced me to law and mentored me to the point where I was competent; and last, but not least, Deb Harvey, my current boss, who is a very warm and incredibly generous person who is helpful and supportive of such aims and ambitions as I have. What is the proudest moment in your professional life...

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our events .  David McDowell, ALLA (WA) Committee Member 2017-2018 David McDowell Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Victoria Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career? My family always encouraged me with my career choices despite them not always being the most lucrative or having the best job prospects. I worked a few different jobs before settling on a career working in libraries. I can't identify one person alone who influenced that decision but the people I have worked with along the way have made me feel that this was the direction I was meant to take.  What is the proudest moment in your professional life? Does staying consistently employed in the library field count...

Meet ALLA(WA) members through our "this is how I work" series. If you would like to be profiled, please contact us at allawablog@gmail.com I'M JAYA RALPH AND THIS IS HOW I WORK Current gig : Faculty Librarian - Law, Curtin University Library. One word that best describes how you work : Organised. I work 3 days a week so have to be extremely organised to get maximum efficiency out of these 3 days and to make every moment count! What's your workplace setup like? My office is within the Curtin Business School (CBS) and I sit with the Faculty Librarian for Business, Kitty Delaney as well the staff from the CBS Communication Skills Centre. This unison ensures there is plenty of brainstorming and flowing of ideas between us which leads to new workshops and the creation of new learning objects. Things are never stagnant in this office! My desk is covered with post-it notes and deadline lists. I use 2 screens and have my iPhone and iPad within arms reach at all times. ...