v.1, no.4, Spr 1996

This year, I watched the American Library Association's election of officers with a particular interest. For the first time in its 120 years' history, an Asian, Ching-chih Chen, has been nominated a candidate for the ALA President's office.

Dr. Chen is Professor and Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College, Boston, and also serves as the director of over sixty continuing education institutes relating to information technology, management and policy. Author/editor of twenty-six books and over 100 journal articles/reports, Dr. Chen has spent over thirty-five years serving the library and information community as an award-winning librarian, teacher, speaker, consultant, researcher and innovator. Dr. Chen is an advocate for a free and open information society and for improving information services for everyone.

I am very encouraged to see an Asian attempting to fulfill such a major leadership role, and wish her success in her endeavor (she's got my vote for sure!) I think that it is a good sign to have more Asians taking active roles in any political process. We need the exposure. We need to be heard!

Speaking of getting our voices heard, I am sure that all of you are aware of the pending purchase of West Publishing Company by Thompson Professional Publishing Company. While the Dept. of Justice is looking into the antitrust implications of this sale, the Executive Board of the AALL has decided to take a neutral position in this regard. Patrick Kehoe, AALL President, will give an explanation in the next issue of the AALL Newsletter. If you have serious concerns on the "merger" of these two major legal publishers, it is time to make your views known by contacting the Executive Board members. This is the time for you to speak up, or, forever hold your peace.

Best wishes to you all!

The elections for the 1996-97 AALLC offices will be held at the Caucus' next business meeting in July in Indianapolis. The candidates are:

@ Heija B. Ryoo, Head of Technical Services and Associate Professor, Southern Illinois University School of Law Library, spent her sabbatical leave for the fall 1995 semester at the Seoul National University College of Law, South Korea. While doing research on Korean legal materials, Heija worked on a number of projects. Along with some other SNU faculty members, she was involved in the law school's program on "Computerization of Legal Studies and Education." She presented a special lecture on "American Law School Libraries in the Information Age and the Legal Information Resources on the Internet" to the law faculty and graduate assistants. In addition, she made two presentations on library automation and the Internet to the staff of the SNU's Main Library. Furthermore, she gave small group hands-on training sessions for the law faculty on the use of the Internet and the online database FirstSearch. With the help of an assistant from the computer lab, she designed and set up the SNU College of Law Web page. -- by Wei Luo.

@ Chin Kim, Professor of Law & Director of California Western School of Law Library in San Diego, published recently a book titled Selected Writings on Comparative and Private International Law. The book was released in 1995 by F.B.Rothman.

I'd like to thank Grace Ooi, head of Bibliographical Control Dept. at Columbia University Law Library, who has volunteered to work for the Newsletter. Welcome aboard, Grace!

For the Newsletter to become informative and useful, I need contributions from all of you, our members. Any news items, articles, announcements, Internet resources, and so forth, are welcome. Please share any information which may be of interest to our membership.

The 1995 business meeting of the Asian- American Law Librarians Caucus (AALLC) was held on Tuesday, July 18, 1995, at the Crawford Room of the Pittsburgh Vista Hotel Convention Center. Approximately twenty-eight members attended the meeting. The meeting was called to order by President Paul Fu at 4:30pm.

1. Approval of the Last Meeting's Minutes

The minutes from the business meeting held on July 10, 1994 was submitted by Wendy Hu for approval. Bill McCloy motioned to correct "Wing Luck Museum" contained in the minutes to "Wing Luke Museum" and to pass the minutes as corrected. Mon-Ying Lung seconded the motion, and the minutes were accepted as amended.

2. Remarks from President Paul Fu

Paul Fu remarked that the Caucus had a good and productive year; that he was grateful for having the opportunity to serve as the President, and that the assignments were challenging and rewarding.

Paul then thanked all Committee chairs and members for their efforts and contributions in the past year. He expressed gratitude to Wendy Hu for her willingness to assume the responsibilities of Secretary/Treasurer when Ellen Bull resigned - Wendy's appointment by the Caucus' Executive Committee became effective on March 9, 1995.

Paul also thanked Haibin Hu specially for his enthusiasm and efforts in the publication of the first issue of the AALLC Newsletter. This will be a good communication tool for exchanging ideas and keeping the members informed, especially those who do not attend the AALL (or AALLC) annual convention.

3. Remarks from the New President, Kai-yun Chiu

Kai-yun Chiu thanked Paul Fu for his able leadership and valuable contributions to the Caucus during his presidency. Kai-yun congratulated Haibin Hu on his publication of the first issue of the Newsletter, and asked the members to submit items for publication in the Newsletter. She believed that the Caucus has a lot to offer, and that it must broaden and diversify our membership to include not only Asian American law librarians but also law librarians who share an interest in Asian law. She encouraged all members to get involved with committee work and help recruit new members to the Caucus. The success of the Caucus depends on the collective efforts of the members.

4. Report from the Secretary/Treasurer

Wendy Hu gave the 1994-95 financial report. The Caucus received a total of $310 from member donations, and disbursed $96.90 to cover the publishing and mailing expenses of the Newsletter. The balances on hand as of July 18, 1995 were $223.10.

5. Committee Reports

Directory Committee. Mon Ying Lung, chair of the Directory Committee, reported that the 1995 Membership Directory was completed and mailed in early July. There are one hundred five members from the U.S., five from Canada, one from Japan, and one from Thailand. Mon Ying stated that the Law Library of the University of Kansas paid for all the printing and domestic mailing expenses associated with the Directory. The members present expressed appreciations to Prof. Peter Schanck (Director of University of Kansas Law Library) for his support and generosity. Mon Ying ended by submitting her resignation as chair of the Directory Committee. The new chair will be appointed by the Executive Committee at a later date.

Publicity Committee. Dan Wade, Chair of the Publicity Committee, reported on the completion and distribution of a new Caucus brochure, and welcomed comments on it from the members. One suggestion was made to add an insert to the brochure providing the time and place of the Caucus' programs and meetings to attract potential new members. Dan had created a home page on the Internet, and hoped to use electronic bulletin board to disseminate the information.

Program Committee. Mila Rush, Chair of the Program Committee, reported on the progress of the work of the Program Committee. She said that the proposed programs for the 1996 AALLC at Indianapolis and beyond had been submitted to Paul Fu and Kai-yun Chiu for review and comments. Mila asked for suggestions on program speakers.

Newsletter Committee. Haibin Hu reported that the first issue of the Caucus Newsletter had been published in June 1995, which will be issued quarterly thereafter. Haibin asked for volunteers to join him in publishing the Newsletter's future issues, and encouraged the members to submit news and other items for publication in the Newsletter.

6. Election of 1995-1996 Officers

Dorothy Li, of the Nominations Committee, named Nancy Cheng, Director of the State of Utah Law Library, for the office of Vice- President/President Elect for 1995-96. Nancy Cheng was elected unanimously by the members present.

7. Other Business

Members thanked Dorothy Li for her work in promoting the Caucus while she served on the AALL Education Committee. Paul Fu, who joins the AALL Education Committee next year, promised to continue promoting the Caucus' interests on the Committee.

Haibin Hu remarked that Jie Su, Washburn University School of Law Library, deserved a special recognition for setting up a web page for the Caucus' newsletter at his institution. Members will be able to read the Newsletter and obtain other information from the web.

A suggestion was made to have a Caucus meeting in Beijing in conjunction with the 1996 IFLA annual meeting. Paul Fu, Dan Wade and other members expressed a willingness to pursue this matter if there was enough interest in this matter from members.

Motion to adjourn the meeting was made and seconded. At 6 pm, the business meeting was concluded.

7. The Program

At the conclusion of the business meeting, Prof. Frank Liu introduced Prof. Pat Chew, of the University of Pittsburgh Law School, to be the speaker. Prof. Chew gave a speech on Asian Americans and inequality based on her recent article in William & Mary Law Review, and was well received by the audience. It was suggested that She be invited back to speak to us again next year.

8. The Dinner

After the program with Prof. Chew, thirty- two members joined in a banquet dinner at the Mandarin Gourmet Restaurant. Those members present thanked Frank Liu for his making the dinner arrangements.

The following books are recently released, which may be of interest to some of our members. Check it out for yourself!

White by Law: the Legal Construction of Race. By Ian F. Haney Lopez. New York: New York University Press, 1996.

The Spirit of Traditional Chinese Law. By Geoffrey MacCormack. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1996.

Human Rights and Chinese Values: Legal, Philosophical, and Political Perspectives. Edited by Michael C. Davis. Hong Kong; New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.

China's Legal Awakening: Legal Theory and Criminal Justice in Deng's Era. By Carlos Wing-hung Lo. Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong Press, 1995.

Application for Caucus Membership

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[   ]  I have enclosed a check of $10, as a voluntary
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Caucus.  (Please note that your check must be made
payable to American Association of Law Libraries,
instead of the Caucus.  However, you should note on
the back of the check "for AALLC".)
  
Please send your completed application to:
Wendy Hu
 Secretary/Treasurer of AALLC
 U.S. Court of Appeals Library
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