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HALL NEWSLETTER
From the President, Patti Curtis
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
AALL Update—
Mary Ann
Wacker
3
PLL Summit—
Mary Ann
Wacker
8
AALL First-
time— Joe
Lawson
10
HALL Meeting
Minutes
14
From Other
Chapters
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H O U S T O N A R E A L A W
L I B R A R I A N S HALL Newsletter J U L Y A U G U S T 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E 2 9 , N U M B E R 4
N EXT
MEETING
September 12, 2012
Speaker: Prof. Naomi Bang
Welcome to HALL 2012-2013! I’m looking forward to a very exciting year. Heather has a stellar line-up of programs for us. The program topics cover technology, history, drama, and there will even be a field trip. Don’t worry, the permission slips will go out in plenty of time. Announcements: The iPad users group will be meeting on Wednesday, September 19th at Vinson & Elkins. Thanks to Susan for hosting. The book club has chosen “The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln” by Stephen L. Carter. We will be meeting in October. Saskia will send out an announcement. Congratulations to: South Texas College of Law for being named to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s list of “Great Colleges to Work for 2012.”
continued on page 2
Continuing Education, Vice-President Heather Waltman
Over the summer, I was thrilled to hear so much enthusiastic and creative
input from our members regarding this year’s continuing education pro-
grams. Thanks for your suggestions and generous offers of help with
special thanks to Mary Ann Sears, Shelby Shanks, Mary Ann Wacker, Cathe-
rine Whitney, and, of course, Patti Curtis. I am also thankful for the six de-
grees of separation that connect everyone in the world of law libraries. We
have an exciting line-up of speakers this year.
continued on page 11
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HALL NEWSLETTER
Patti continued… Heather Kushnerick! She is now a Certified Archivist according to the Academy of Certified Archivists. Thank yous: To all who agreed to stay on as committee chairs and those who “volunteered.” I’m looking forward to working with all of you and the HALL board. If you would like to become more involved, please contact me. I’m not sure who thought it was a good idea for me to serve as VP, but I had a great time last year and am looking forward to more of the same. Here’s to a successful year!
-Patti
A note from the Newsletter Editor: In her send off, Mary Ann Wacker referred to me as “the courageous Matthew Mantel.” I am hoping that I
do not instead become “the fool-hardy Matthew Mantel,” but I volunteered for this duty so here goes
nothing.
My sincerest hope during my tenure is to have the HALL Newsletter reflect its constituents, which is anoth-
er way of saying I am looking forward to publishing something from each and every HALL member. With
that in mind I hope to introduce more content in the future from a variety of sources. I hope to get further
contributions from the governmental librarians, and I also would like to see contributions from “technical
service” librarians. And, as you can see from this issue I intend to reach beyond our membership and print
material from other chapters that I think would be of interest to our members.
I know I am trying to fill the large and skilled shoes of my predecessor, and I wish to produce a publication
that will both maintain her high standards and bring something new.
If you have any suggestions, or want to convey an idea, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
—Matthew Mantel
The HALL Newsletter, published 6 times a year by the HALL Publications Committee, is the official publication of the Houston Area Law
Librarians. The purpose is to communicate information to its members. Send contributions, comments, news items, or advertising queries to
Matthew Mantel, Editor, [email protected]
All contributions submitted for publication are subject to editorial review. HALL does not assume responsibility for the statements of contrib-
utors. Views or opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of Houston Area Law Librarians. The HALL Newsletter
is not copyrighted, however, permission should be sought from the authors and credit given when quoting or photocopying material from this
publication.
Membership dues for HALL are $25/year. For membership information, please contact Jeannie Mazzone at [email protected] or 713-646-
2908.
Membership form is available here: http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/hall/dues.pdf
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HALL NEWSLETTER
AALL Update by Mary Ann Wacker
V O L U M E 2 9 , N U M B E R 4
I want to start my recap by thanking the HALL Board and Grants Committee for the funds to attend the AALL Conference. I had the opportunity to listen to some great speakers, talk to several vendors, and visit with old friends. I returned energized, revived, and full of great new ideas, and convinced that law librari-ans are some of the world’s nicest, most interesting, sharpest, and most creative people in the world! There were 1823 attendees at this years meeting in Boston. The keynote speaker was Richard Susskind, author The End of Lawyers? Re-Thinking the Nature of Legal Ser-vices. He delivered a rousing, yet terrifying, speech about the future of lawyers in which he predicted the demise of the current law firm structure. Companies want their lawyers to anticipate and advise them on how to avoid problems, not just solve them once they have arrived. Lawyers should be the guard rail on a hair-pin turn on a mountain highway, not the ambulance sitting at the bottom waiting for an accident. Richard went on to discuss how the legal industry was changing, and noted three important drivers of change.
More for Less —Corporations are under tremendous pressure to reduce costs, while at the same time deal with regulatory and compliance issues. Streamlining routine, administrative, or repetitive legal work is cru-cial. Liberalization — A new entrepreneurial spirit will grip the profession — non-lawyers will be able to join firms, venture capital money will come in, and there will be new players in the for market for market legal services. The UK has already moved in this direction with the “Legal Services Act”. In response to these Changing dynamics our ABA has chosen to raise the fence and keep the status quo. Technology – Technological change means not only automating routine processes, but using technology to innovate and do something that has never been done before (for example: the ATM machine). The power of technology is advancing exponentially, especially in the area of artificial intelligence. This means law-yers need to re-think how they draft documents with AI on the horizon. Video conferencing is also improv-ing with sharp and life-like screens and audio which would also work for low-cost “virtual” courtrooms. iPads and the like will dominate how work is done.
Richard spoke of a five-part model for legal services. “Bespoke” is the first step, and where most law firms are now. This includes knowledge and skills tailor-made for a client’s specific needs, such as representing someone in court or creating a contract from scratch. Clients are still willing to pay high dollar for this. Step two is the “Standardized” model which involves lawyers re-using standard-form documents/templates or past work product, such as opinions, advice or solutions. Step three is “Systematized” which involves work
Keynote speaker Richard Susskind. He predicts the demise of the law firm as we know it.
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HALL NEWSLETTER
done internally at the firm such as automation of legal activities. For example, polished contracts are generated after users answer a series of questions. Many major law firms have developed document assembly
tools to assist in the internal generation of large bodies of complex documentation (Allen & Overy is one firm
doing this. Step Four is “Packaged” which is when this systematized process is still firm owned, but licensed to
clients.
Step Five “Commoditized” is where the pre-packaged service and forms are so commonplace that they are
available for little or no cost through the internet. Susskind believes most law firms will eventually be in the space
between steps three and four.
Susskind also believes that outsourcing will play a larger part than ever before. Some of the larger players include
Pangea3 and Axiom. Richard related the story of Rio Tinto general counsel Leah Smith who transferred all their
routine and repetitive legal work to an LPO in India (CPA Global), but also still paid high dollar fees to some
outside law firms for their specific expertise. The outsourcing project was a success and the Rio Tinto saved an enormous amount of money. Then she left and went to work for CPA Global! Large firms in London are creating their own Axiom-like companies.
Susskind also sees online dispute resolution — no need for court; a quick, cheap, non-competitive resolution as the future. “Normal young people don’t want to assemble two years after a disagreement in a wooden courtroom with people speaking a language they don’t un-derstand to sort out a difficulty — why not just do it online? “
Susskind also provided some potential new jobs for all of the future lawyers graduating from law schools:
Legal knowledge engineer - Organize the large quantities of complex legal content and processes Legal technologist – Hybrid of attorney and IT - dual qualified people who can build computer
systems for use in law Legal process analyst - Decompose the work and find the best way of sourcing it Legal project manager – If we don’t learn to do this Ernst & Young or Accenture will; an essential
new discipline; keeping people within budget and on schedule Legal management consultants – Altman Weil for example Legal risk manager – Analyze potential conflicts
He stated that when confronting change lawyers usually go through these steps before acceptance: (these don’t sound like any of MY attorneys)
1. Worthless nonsense
2. Interesting, but perverse
3. True, but unimportant 4. I’ve always said so
Successful law firms and the millionaires who own them are not interested in changing their business models. The
recession and the “new normal” (“flat is the new up”) will force this to happen.
Continued next page
The outsourcing project was such a
success and Rio Tinto saved an
enormous amount of money. Then she
left and went to work for CPA Global!
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HALL NEWSLETTER
iPad Librarian Karen Helde at Lane Powell in Seattle discussed her strategy to become the iPad go-to person at her firm. She said the lawyers got iPads, then didn’t have time to see what they can do. She thought the Library could help them realize the device’s potential. Surveys show that about 33% of firm attorneys now have iPads, so this is a fairly large group of potential users. .
She created a list of 25 apps with annotations and prices. Her “Tip of the Week” has how-to’s, comparisons, in-depth reviews of apps, and practical tips (such as battery life). She said she has gotten a very positive response and the attorneys love the tips. She also said that this expertise has gained respect for her and for the library and has led to professional advancement and speaking opportunities. She advised us, if we were to attempt anything like it, to use our own voice and incorporate our personality into it.
Some of the places she uses for ideas include:
UCLA law school’s mobile app guide
Legal Technology News Daily Alert
iPhone JD
iPad 4Lawyers
Pogue’s Post
App Advice
TabletLegal
Trial Technology blog
Lifehacker
TUAW (Apple Blog)
She recommended the following books, iPad in One Hour and iPad Apps by Tim Mighell.
Continued next page
. . .this expertise has gained
respect both for her and the
Library. . .
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E-books E-books are big this year, but since all the venders use different formats they are making it hard to determine what we should offer our attorneys. In a survey conducted before the conference, 85% of firms are not implementing an e-book initiative. West uses their ProView app for the iPad. E-books are downloaded and read using this app. West products work on the iPad only. There are quite a few books available, mostly the deskbook/rules type.
Lexis has a wide variety of e-books available to download for any device. Users can download the e-books from the Lexis e-books web site. Lexis is partnering with another company, Overdrive, which has a system where libraries can customize their holdings – with Lexis titles - and users can electronically “check out” the books. This is known as their “Digital Library.” There are still issues that remain to be hammered out regarding e-books. E-books are more expensive than print so there is no significant cost savings. All vendors have different licensing procedures and there is the issue of content ownership. What happens when an attorney leaves the firm? How can we manage these subscriptions from the Library? Positives are currency and portability; also notes and flags can be passed from one version to the next year’s; easy to skim and search O’Connor’s is not doing e-books at all, but going to an online model with a username and password.
Google Scholar I was sort of geekily thrilled to see Google engineer Anurag Acharya, one of the co-creators of Google Scholar. Working from the idea that everyone should be able to access the laws that govern them, he assembled a small team of Google engineers (six) to make legal information free to all. He wanted Scholar to be open to anyone even if they had no legal research expertise. He said he found that the opinions available online were mostly new opinions, with limited access to older cases and wanted to correct this.
With Google Scholar, all of the searches are automated and based on computer algorithms – their staff is simply not large enough to read each case and classify it. Google Scholar continuously crawls the web daily looking for new cases. The cases go back far in time – 1791 for US Supreme Court cases. Coverage varies for federal courts, bankruptcy, tax, and state courts (including Delaware Chancery). The cases are cleanly set out and easy to read. The advanced search features include specific court searching.
The cases are linked to follow chains of arguments. It’s easy to click through a case and link to other cases. Anurag said it is difficult to tell if a case is discussing another case or if it is discussing something unrelated – if a case shares a name with a common term for example. He also added that they must be careful since even something short can be significant. Some advanced features include citing references with depth of treatment indicators. Searchers can also get results sorted by date. Some law reviews are included, but most links send searchers to resources like Hein if the article is not available in its entirety on the web.
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HALL NEWSLETTER
Monica Ortale and Susan Yancey enjoy the Red Sox
Heather Krush-nerk, Wendy Law, Joan Stringfellow, Dan Baker, Mary Lippold, Katy Stein, and Heather Waltman at the SWALL/HALL/DALL/UNT Joint Reception
HALL Members at AALL. . . In Pictures
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HALL NEWSLETTER
Private Law Librarian’s Summit by Mary Ann Wacker
There were several recurring themes among the speakers: the legal industry is going through a period of tremendous change, there is a glut of lawyers who cannot find employment, and established firms are falling apart. Corporate law departments, in an effort to cut costs, are sending less work to law firms and utilizing other resources such as overseas outsourcing, temporary lawyers from companies such as Axiom, and pre-packaged software. .These corporate clients are also demanding fixed fees. Law firm partners are in a profit panic — revenue is stalling, raising fees at the moment is impossible, and corporate clients are discovering alternative billing arrangements and want to utilize them. Another concern discussed was the issue of hiring lateral attorneys. These newly hired attorneys bring a book of business, but have no loyalty to their new firm. Administrators fret about how to foster loyalty to the firm. Does the firm’s pay structure reward loyalty, or are all the partners simply looking out for themselves? What motivates our attorneys beyond money? The increasing need for money and profits belies the best interests of the law firm as a whole.
All law firms are now offering specific expertise to fewer and fewer clients. Most legal work tends to be repetitive (contracts and agreements) and in-house counsel cannot justify paying young associates to learn this on the job. The model for law firms now is an upside-down funnel – in the future this will be much more streamlined with fewer associates.
Many speakers discussed the need for attorneys to develop new skills to cope with the changing mar-ket. There was mention of learning project management, budgeting, scheduling, logistics, and leadership. They will need to think like business people and develop the capability to manage a project in addition to practicing law.
The speakers also addressed how we as librarians can secure our own future during these turbulent times. We should ask ourselves, do our lawyers understand what the Library does? Do they appreciate the value of the Library? The speakers’ advice was simple: delegate, outsource, and automate what you can, and do not do what is not worth your time, skills, and training. Librarians must focus on value-added services and articulate our value to those who control the budget. The Library should be regarded as an indispensable knowledge engine and not just a “cost center.”
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HALL NEWSLETTER
AALL Odds & Ends Contributed by HALL Members
The discussion after Mary Ann Wacker’s presentation was lively and informative to say the least. Ideas and lessons extracted from the AALL presentations flew back and forth across the room. Here is a list of the ones that I thought were important, and that I was able to write down. Patti Curtis; “The program chair for the upcoming AALL Annual Meeting in Seattle is soliciting ideas.”
Mary Lipold: “Bloomberg has an interesting market strategy. They held multiple receptions by invitation rather than one large one like West.” Caren Luckie: “The buzz-word this year was ‘Embedded Librarian’”. Susan Yancey: “Don’t automatically say no, say ‘yes, but’.” Mary Lipold: “The iPad isn’t the only tablet computer out there.” Katy Stein: “The entire Google Scholar legal team consists of six people, none of whom are lawyers.”
Mary Ann Wacker listens intently to a presentation
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HALL NEWSLETTER
AALL Conference: A First Time Attendee’s Perspective
By Joseph Lawson
Having never been to an AALL annual meeting, I did not fully know what to expect as I headed to Boston. Sure, the organizers did a great job of describing the events, but questions remained about how it would all play out. How do I choose between nearly 100 programs? Where are the best places to network with librarians whose wisdom and experience might shed some light on my professional path? What exactly happens at the West party? In the end all of my questions were answered and I have a better understanding of the conference motto, “Learn, Connect, Grow.” I discovered that although a problem, program selection was a good problem to have. For a new solo librarian having so many choices was great. There are very few areas of law librarianship that can be ignored; reference, marketing, acquisitions, tech services, strategic planning, etc. The conference provided a program and a speaker who addressed each facet. I listened to the Law Librarian of Congress talk about planning for the future, state and county librarians discuss services to pro se patrons and prisoners, and academic law librarians recount their experiences with online tutorials. I gained some of the most pertinent information from an unexpected source; presentations by law firm librarians. One might assume there would be little crossover between the patrons served by firm librarians and those served by county law librarians. However,, while listening to discussions about services offered in large New York and Washington D.C. firms, I began to realize that it would be beneficial to use some of the services provided by firm librarians as inspiration for services offered to solo and small firm lawyers who make up a large chunk of my patron base. For example, several law firm libraries serve as a hub for electronic legal research and general technology support. As information retrieval and court correspondence becomes increasingly digital—even in less populated counties—solo and small firm attorneys may need assistance with learning about and using new technologies. As such, the delivery of services to lawyers in a law firm setting, as outlined by the presenters, can serve as a model for similar services provided to a large sub-group of county law library patrons — namely, solo and small firm attorneys. This realization, regardless of its specific utility in practice, broadened my viewpoint about where to look for guidance to include an entire class of talented professionals. For that, I am grateful for the opportunity to attend the conference. Now, please don’t get the wrong impression — I didn’t overdo it on the learning and the growing. There was a good deal of connecting accomplished as well. Whether it was the SCCLL reception at the Social Law Library, the Lexis Advance mixer at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, or the individual SIS exhibit tables, there were plenty of friendly people happy to help a first-timer learn the ropes. Also, I was told the West party was an event not to be missed, which turned out to be true. I’m not sure I would have believed a story about the entertainment even if it came from a reputable source. All in all it was a successful first conference with much learning, plenty of connecting, and a little bit of growth too. Joseph Lawson is the Law Librarian at the Fort Bend County Law Library.
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HALL NEWSLETTER
From our New Vice-President, Heather Waltman
continued from page 1
August kicked off the year with Mary Ann Wacker’s wonderful recap of the AALL meeting, including a review of Richard Susskind’s presentation. Patti Curtis, our entertaining mistress of ceremonies, discussed her experience at the leadership training seminar and raised our awareness of the development of Genius Bars in libraries. Wow! Cameo appearances by Mary Lippold, Dan Baker, Jane Holland, Susan Yancey, and Joe Lawson rounded out this meeting. Thanks to all for sharing your stories and experiences. For the remainder of the year, our programs include: SEPTEMBER Naomi Bang, Clinical Professor of Human Trafficking at South Texas College of Law OCTOBER Chris Dykes & Emily Lawson, O’Quinn Law Library: Apps for Law Students and Lawyers NOVEMBER Half-Day Seminar: Competitive Intelligence & Legal Marketing DECEMBER HALLiday Party JANUARY Community Service FEBRUARY Katie Brown: AALL Chapter Visit MARCH Half-Day Seminar: Harris County — Preserving the Past, Embracing the Future I think it promises to be a special year. — Heather
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SWALL News
The Program Committee for the 2013 SWALL Conference has set a deadline of October 15, 2012 for interested parties to submit session proposals for next year’s annual meeting.
The theme for the 2013 conference is “Adapt, Incorporate, Change.” Change is happening, we have to adapt to it, incorporate it into our jobs, all of which forces us to change.
Program sponsors must contact potential speakers about their willingness and availability to speak prior to proposing the session.
Please submit program proposals to any or all of the Program Committee:
Caren Luckie [email protected] Program Committee Chair
Saskia Mehlhorn [email protected]
Chris Dykes [email protected]
Katy Stein [email protected]
Fang Wang [email protected]
Thanks!
Caren Luckie, Program Committee Chair
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HALL NEWSLETTER
HALL Meeting Minutes - August SUBJECT TO APPROVAL
HALL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES August 8, 2012
South Texas College of Law Meeting called to order: at 12:02 p.m. HALL President Patti Curtis welcomed everyone including a new member, Brooks Barnes, from Baker Botts. Patti said Heather is working on a jam-packed lineup for our programs this year. The May minutes were printed in the most recent Newsletter. The minutes were approved. Treasurers Report: We have money Old Business: None. New Business: Saskia Mehlhorn reports that HALL Book Club is next week at Fulbright. Details to be an-nounced. The book is The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. DeCarlous Spearman, Law Library Director at TSU, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She will have surgery maybe next week. Patti will keep us informed. The AALL Board voted on some changes to the membership structure. The Associate member category will be eliminated. It will be up for a vote and then HALL will decide how to proceed depending on the outcome of the vote. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Archives: Heather Waltman reports in Heather Kushnerick’s place that the Archives are fine and asks if anyone has pictures from the AALL conference to send them in. Bylaws: No report. Community Service: Catherine Whitney said she is working on a project for HALL members to serve a meal at a homeless shelter, possibly the Beacon. We might also have a book drive. Continuing Education: Heather Waltman said that several programs are planned. Next month South Texas Professor Naomi Bang will discuss human trafficking and the efforts to assist a young girl by Professor Bang and her students. Half-day seminar in November will be on Marketing and Competitive Intelligence. The March Half-Day seminar will include a presentation from the Harris County District Clerk and tour of the Harris County Law Library. Government Relations: Heather Waltman says there is an informative alert coming soon. Library School Liaison: Blythe McCoy said she saw Yvonne Chandler at AALL, who is looking for firms to hire library school students as interns. Membership: Jeannie Mazzone was out, so Laura Edstrom encouraged us to submit our membership renewals. The forms are available online. Nominations: No report. Placement: One job notice went out August 7th Newsletter: New editor Matthew Mantel is ready to roll. He set a deadline of August 31 for submissions. Publications: No report Scholarships and Grants: Natalie Lira has taken over as Chair of this committee. Website: no report continued next page
V O L U M E 2 9 , N U M B E R 4
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Vendor Relations: Colleen Pincumbe reports the next Forum will be August 30 with Intelligize at Thom-son Knight. Details coming soon. Web Site: Richard Guajardo is adding a blog capability; photo directory in the works. Meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m. Submitted by Mary Ann Wacker, HALL Secretary
HALL Executive Board Meeting Minutes
Subject to Approval HALL Executive Board Meeting Minutes
August 3, 2012 Andrews & Kurth
Meeting called to order at 12:08 p.m. In attendance: Patti Curtis, Heather Waltman, Mary Ann Wacker, Catherine Whitney, Sarah Gutierrez (by phone), Saskia Mehlhorn (by phone). Old Business: None New Business: The AALL Board voted to have an election on reducing the number membership categories, eliminating the associate level. The vote will be in October. Should we change ours too? HALL bylaws say that vendors and students cannot hold office. After some discussion we decided to wait and see what happens with the election and then decide if we want to re-asses our categories. Patti would like to start a HALL iPad users group or other technology group. The group would add newsletter contents with new apps or technology news, and also be responsible for planning “Technology Summits” for HALL members. Heather went over the upcoming programs for the year: August: AALL recap September: Professor Naomi Bang will discuss human trafficking October: Emily Lawson and Chris Dykes will present information on mobile apps November: Half-Day seminar on CI and Marketing; Heather is working on lining up speakers December: HALL-iday party with “Toys for Tots” drive January: Community Service — Catherine, who is the Chair, had several ideas we discussed. She is going to investigate serving a meal at the Beacon (homeless shelter) and bringing books with us to donate. February: AALL Board member visit March: Half-Day seminar Harris County: Preserving the Past, Embracing the Future, with tours of Harris County Law Library and the 1910 Courthouse with the County Archivist, plus a presentation from District Clerk Daniel on the Historic records Digitilization Project.
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April: Speaker from the Texas Tribune online newspaper May: Annual business meeting We also discussed adding photographs to our online HALL Directory. It would be password protected. There might be a slight cost increase by our internet provider to add more storage space. Members would be asked to provide his or her own photo. Capability for a blog has also been added to the HALL web site. Also, it was discussed if Colleen Pincumbe should use on online RSVP system through the HALL web page for HALL Vendor Forums. It’s also being discussed if the HALL Newsletter will remain in its present form or migrate to a blog or Facebook page. The meeting was adjourned at 12:52 p.m. Submitted by Mary Ann Wacker, HALL Secretary
Scenes from Boston
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From Other Chapters
In which we publish interesting articles from the newsletters of other AALL chapters. In this article a law
librarian travels to a book fair in Havana, Cuba.
Librarian in Cuba By Angela Baldree, Lake County Law Library Every February 600,000 people attend an international book fair in Havana, Cuba. This book fair is held in the San Carlos de la Cabana fortress. Built in the 18th Century by King Carlos III of Spain, the entire fortress is about 25 acres and is the largest fortress in the Americas. Visiting Cuba has been on the top of my bucket list since I was a child. Days after turning 40, I re-ceived a solicitation email stating US librarians, authors, and bibliophiles could legally attend the book fair with a proper license. Spam or not, I had to look into this. I immediately went to the web site and found a Canadian travel agency that organizes this and other cultural tours to Cuba every year. On July 9, 1963, 28 Fed. Reg. 6974 the regulations regarding American interaction with Cuba, went
into effect and ever since then the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Controls has
administered a ban on US travelers going to Cuba. There are, however, two ways for US citizens to
travel to Cuba legally. The first is though a General License. Visiting close relatives, official
government business, journalist activities, education activities, religious activities, and professional
research are just some of the reasons a US citizen can obtain a General License.
Specific Licenses are another way of legally entering Cuba. These are issued by the Treasury Department on a case by case basis for reasons not covered under the General License. Athletic competitions, public performance or exhibitions, humanitarian projects, and marketing or sales of medicine or medicinal supplies are examples of reasons for a Specific License. Travelers visiting Cuba on a Specific License need to apply for the license prior to their visit. They
must wait for the Office of Foreign Asset Control to approve their trip. General Licenses consist of a
blanket license the traveler fills out themselves and keeps with their travel documentation. Upon
re-entry into the United States, an immigration official may ask a traveler to name all the countries
visited during their time out of the US. In that case, the traveler can tell the official they were in Cuba
and provide a copy of the General License.
I traveled to Cuba on a General License. A full time professional librarian attending an international
book fair and visiting several public libraries qualifies as professional research. In preparing for this
trip, I filled out my General License which I had notarized. I also maintained verification (by way of
a letter signed by my board chair and a paystub) of my employment as a librarian, a cover letter
continued next page
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explaining my reasons for travel, a current resume, and an itinerary showing my daily research while in Cuba. Another unique preparation for this trip was the issue of money. There are no US banks in Cuba and they do not honor US currency. Unlike other international trips I have taken, I was not able to use traveler’s checks or credit cards. A week before I left, I withdrew cash from my savings account in Canadian dollars. Upon landing in Havana, I converted my Canadian dollars into Cuban Convertible Pesos. This entire process was reversed on my return trip. I arrived on a Russian jet from Cancun, Mexico. Those who enjoy irony will be amused to learn that Cubana Airlines has a first class section on their planes. I arrived on Saturday, February 11 to a windy, overcast day with temperatures in the mid-60’s. Giant waves crashed over the sea wall onto the Malecon , the picturesque main boulevard in Havana. Our group of 18 checked into the historic Hotel Nacional. This hotel has been a destination for some of Hollywood’s biggest legends including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, and Francis Ford Coppola. The hotel has also hosted Mafia meetings, like the one between Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky (similar to the one depicted in The Godfather part II). The hotel is located on the edge of the Straight of Florida and trenches and missile platforms built in 1962 are still visible today . On Sunday afternoon we finally made our way to the book fair. Imagine the AALL convention hall with it’s neat rows of publishers displaying their wares. This was nothing like that. The Havana Book Fair covers the 25 acres of the San Carlos de la Cabana fortress. Most people stood in line for ours to gain access. Our VIP passes granted us immediate entry. Once inside we were completely overwhelmed by the number of people in attendance. It was the largest gathering of people I have ever witnessed — larger than the Ohio State Fair, larger than Cedar Point Amusement Park on July 4th, larger than the security line at O’Hare Airport! continued next page.
The Hotel Nacional. Former playground to the famous and the infamous.
The Havana
Book Fair in
Full swing.
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On Monday morning we visited the Jose Marti National Library in Havana. Cuba has one national li-brary, 15 provincial libraries, and 387 local libraries. There are around a dozen Cuban publishing Companies. When they publish a new book they are required to give three copies to the national Library and one copy to each of the provincial libraries. The publisher can choose to give one to the public libraries, or the public libraries can purchase one on their own. We also visited the Cienfuegos Provincial Library on Thursday. Unlike our public libraries, only a small sample of their collection is available to be browsed by the public. Most titles are stored in closed shelving. As we toured the closed stacks the most unique item I found was a book called Kim Jon-il: Lecciones Historicas De La Construc-cion Socialista y Law Lina General De Nuestro Partido (Historical Lessons of the Socialist Construction and the Main Line of Our Party). Our trip was rounded out by a visit to a small publishing company and two return trips to the book fair. We also found Time to soak up a little sun at a near empty beach, dance Lessons at the home of a local woman and her family , as show at the Parisian Cabaret, and a tour of Habana Viejo. The Trading with the Enemy Act prohibits US citizens from purchasing goods while in Cuba, with the exception of Books, music, or art work. I purchased a handful of books, one art print, and one wooden sculpture. I was slightly Disappointed that upon re-entry to the US no one from Customs inquired about my travels, and thus I had no Chance to show my General License. Next year’s book fair is from February 9-16. If you’re interested, let me know. This article originally appeared in the ORALL Newsletter, June 2012.
The Jose Marti National Library, Havana, Cuba
Kim Jong-Il’s book translated into Spanish.
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HALL NEWSLETTER
Committees:
By-Laws:
Tracy Timmons
Continuing Education:
Heather Waltman
Membership:
Jeannie Mazzone
Nominations:
Kristina Lambright
Placement:
Caralinn Cole
Publications:
Barbara Szalkowski
Scholarships/Grants:
Natalie Lira
President: Patti Curtis
Vice-President/President-Elect:
Heather Waltman
Secretary: Mary Ann Wacker
Treasurer: Sarah Gutierrez
Members-at-Large:
Nanette Collins
Catherine Whitney
Past President: Saskia Mehlhorn
Archives:
Heather Kushnerick
Government Relations:
Heather Waltman
Library School Liaison:
Blythe McCoy
Community Service:
Catherine Whitney
Vendor Relations:
Colleen Pincumbe
HALL Website:
Richard Guajardo
Newsletter Editor:
Matthew Mantel
P.O. Box 61648
Houston TX 77208
Houston Area Law Librarians is a chapter of the
American Association of Law Librarians.
Our monthly meetings are held at the South Texas
College of Law. We present a half-day seminar in
the Fall and a full-day seminar in the Spring on
legal topics.
There are close to 200 members of HALL. We are
librarians in firms, law schools, and courts as well
as vendors and Library School students.
Houston Area Law Librarians
HALL Officers and Committees
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http://www.houstonarealawlibrarians.com/