Managing competing priorities in unprecedented times calls for new skills. The AALL Management Institute will be held this year as a virtual event. The institute prepares managers to thrive in uncertainty, confidently navigate conflict, and build commitment to strategic goals, and equips them with managerial leadership practices to impact culture and inspire change.

We have all been dealing with COVID-19 for almost a year. With the vaccine on the horizon, more institutions and libraries look toward reopening. This informal conversation, co-moderated by Caroline Nevin (BC Courthouse Libraries) and Jenny R.F.F. Silbiger (Hawaii State Judiciary), is an opportunity to share protocols, ideas, and ask questions of your colleagues about this important safety topic.

Many law librarians do not feel that they have the power, savvy, or information needed to act as strong advocates for their libraries and push back against administrators and other stakeholders when being asked to make changes to their budget or services.

Last year taught us many things including the need for accurate, timely, and meaningful information to make sound decisions. For law firms, this means understanding the market forces impacting their businesses, and leveraging the most up-to-date competitive intelligence information possible to drive tactical and strategic decisions.

Government law libraries are funded in a variety of ways: through local, state, or federal budgets, court fees and fines, subscriptions, or a combination of all of those. Many court systems are currently re-evaluating the impacts of court fees and fines on members of the public, and government budgets are facing significant cuts due to the pandemic.​ Now more than ever, government law librarians and their allies must effectively advocate for full funding of their libraries. This webinar will empower participants with successful advocacy strategies they can implement at their institutions.

This month, in our “So You Wanna…?” interview, we will follow up on our popular interview from last May, where we began to discuss cultural competence. In light of events like the Black Lives Matter protests and the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, cultural competence is now more important than ever. Now that we’re aware of the concepts, what should we actively be doing to manage communication in our classrooms and workspaces about such an emotional topic?

Remote interviews may be the only way you will get someone hired. As follow-up to December’s program, Interviewing When You Can’t Shake Hands, the presenters will discuss the topic from an employer’s perspective.

Access the recording from the overview of the AALL eLearning platform on December 15, 2020.

Register for this 60-minute course that will introduce law library professionals to the budget process and prepare them to ask informed questions about funding, allocations, and how the library supports its strategic goals.

Three individuals engaged in library digitization projects will provide presentations and engage the audience in discussion about the problems that arise when print collections are given new discoverability through different levels of access. The presentations will include some factors that can be used to balance competing values, as well as confusing and evolving laws.​