| Gwyn Anderson |
The University finally gave me an incentive to retire: a bonus. So I officially (how many times has this been "official"?) retired August 31, 2003, but after the mandated 30-day requirement, I returned to a 20-hour workweek. Admittedly it was hard to leave the library and friends, and besides, I needed the extra money to fund RK and my traveling habit. Since our granddaughter started college at William Jewell in Liberty, MO, we've made several trips to see her. We made our first cruise this July 2004 with Karen and the two granddaughters, and that was great fun. Besides seeing the Tulum Mayan ruins and Cozumel, we were awed by the clearness of the water. When one visits our Texas Gulf Coast, one begins to think that all Gulf of Mexico water is brown, but lo and behold, it can be clear, green and blue.
As far as "Keeping Austin Weird," we bought t-shirts and bumper stickers that proclaim the new theme. Keeping in the spirit of weirdness, RK and I attended the Spamarama Festival for the first time. Holly Lakatos was leaving Austin for Chicago and had never attended the festival, so it was a special outing for Holly, arranged by her sister and some other friends. The festival was held at Waterloo Park, and that site in itself is an Austin tradition. There were the expected Spamarama food offerings, a contest to determine the best and the most original Spam recipes. Personally, I like my Spam fried (it must have been a Lubbock taste that I acquired), but the hot-and-sour Spam was OK. The Spam ice cream - no way. RMM actually tried to attend. Went to the entrance, and perhaps it was Leslie there in his Austin Weird costume (g-string and tattoos) that made RMM decide to turn away; the crowd was just too bizarre. The music was good; the crowd was not too rowdy (it was early in the afternoon); Holly enjoyed it; and RK and I were glad to feel a part of an Austin phenomenon.
Rhea Ballard-Thrower
Well, the biggest news for the Ballard-Thrower family in 2003 was the arrival of Greyson Edward Alexander Thrower on August 25th. As with any parents, we are blessed and amazed by the addition of this wonderful new person. Of course, we try to resist the temptation to compare our baby to all the others, but we do think ours is pretty darn terrific. When not sitting in awe of Greyson s latest accomplishment (rolling over, blowing bubbles, etc. it doesn't take much to excite us), you will find us at our daily locations. Lawrence has completed another year with the D.C. office of the Cochran Firm (yes, as in Johnnie.) Mr. Cochran and his firm no longer handle criminal law cases, to the chagrin of some. At the end of May, I will complete my third year as the director of the Howard Law Library. Fifty years ago, attorneys and faculty affiliated with Howard Law School were pivotal in the Brown v. Board of Education decision. It has been a wonderful year participating in the Howard Brown@50 activities.
As for my favorite place in Austin, it would have to be Neiman Marcus Last Call. Those who know me, are not surprised by my choice.
Lourenda Block
This spring I had the opportunity to go to Baghdad to work with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). I wasn't able to stay as long as I would have liked, but the time that I spent there has had a profound impact on my life. There is something about being there that has given me a unique perspective on the United States ' involvement in the rebuilding process in Iraq, a perspective that the mainstream news media ignore. There are many Iraqis who worked for the CPA as translators and other professions. They took a huge risk each day to come and work for us. It was very dangerous to them and to their families for them to make the trek to the Green Zone, the main CPA Compound, to work everyday. Many of them would take a cab to another neighborhood in the evenings and hang out there for several hours before taking another cab to their homes so that the cab drivers would not know that they worked for the Americans, as many cab drivers were spies for the insurgents. A U.S. Air Force officer and I were speaking to one of our translators in the office one day in March and we asked her what it was like a year before during the time that the Americans were doing bombing runs over Baghdad, she said that she knew it would bring a better day. She and many others are so full of hope for the future and they know that the Americans have done a good thing by taking Sadaam out of power.
If I could, I would go back in a heartbeat. Yes, it is dangerous there, it still is very much a combat zone, but to fully live our lives we must take risks. It was a risk to move to Washington DC when I did, there is still risk associated with living in the metro area, but that does not deter me from remaining here to live and work and look to the future.
Nelson Block
By the time you read this, the Block family will have (hopefully) moved into the new house they built after tearing down the house flooded in Tropical Storm Allison almost three years ago. Nelson's dream study now has enough shelf space to house RMM's collected works (or maybe a shorter set, like the West Reporter System).
Lana Caswell Garcia
Hola from Puerto Rico, Isla del Encanto! I have just passed my one year anniversary on the island and can truthfully say that it has been an enjoyable and educational experience. Puerto Rico is beautiful, and the people we have met are very charming and kind, but there are serious poverty and drug problems, and as a consequence, the society can be quite violent. As of July 20, there have already been well over 400 murders. Regardless, we are enjoying our time here and feel enriched byexperiencing another culture. My Spanish vocabulary has gotten much better, but I fear that my accent will never really be right.-- As an aside, I have gotten quite adept at explaining to online retailersthat Puerto Rico is indeedpart of the United States and not a foreign country.
Professionally, I think I have the best of all possible worlds. I consult with 4 law firms in Sherman and McKinney and spend one week of each month in Texas visiting them. I am not getting rich, but I am pretty good at locating cheap airfares. Bertstill loves his job, and mywork situation gives me the flexibility to travel with him when he asks.
Personally,we havedealt with onedelightfulevent andone sad onethis year. On August 14, 2003, our great niece Lexi Rachae Fowler was born. Rachae (pronounced Rashay and yes, her parents made it up) is just precious, and if all goes as planned, Bert is taking some time off in August so that we can be in Texas for her first birthday party. In late April, Ring, our almost 20 year old red tabby, died. He did not move to the island with us but stayed in Texas with my mother who spoiled him outrageously. He simply wore out and went very peacefully, but we all miss him terribly. His tabby/Manx mix sister Tootsie and his Border Collie brother Cap are well and have adapted to life in a condominium very well.
As U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President, we are not sure whether our time here will be a few more months or a few more years, but regardless, we came with the knowledge that it was a finite adventure, and that when it was over, we would have the good fortune of being able to move home to Texas and hopefully pick up where we left off.
John E. Christensen
John E. Christensen was recognized in May for having served as Library Director at Washburn University School of Law for 25 years. He will return to Austin in August to participate in a wedding reception for his second daughter, Lisa, who will marry Matthew Gee of Austin on August 12 in Nauvoo, Illinois. It appears that the entire family will travel to Austin and perhaps have an opportunity to visit familiar haunts. John worked at Tarlton from August 1976 - August 1979. In October he will be presenting at the "Pedagogy to Practice: Maximizing Legal Learning with Technology" conference sponsored by the ABA's Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar and its Technology Committee.
Nancy Cowden
I worked at the law library from 1978-1980 in the acquisitions and then the serials departments with Mary and Manuela and many others. It's hard to believe that 24 years have gone by. My big news this year is I'm finally a grandmother of a lovely little boy, Payton, born in June 2003. This is my step-daughter's first child and she and I are having fun being "firsts". He is a joy and a delight. I've spent my vacation days taking off to baby-sit him and I wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe someday soon, my son will make me a grandmother too.
Joanne Dugan
I've made the jump from law librarianship to legal writing professor at the University of Colorado. It's been very challenging and very rewarding. I'm looking forward to teaching advanced legal research next year!
My favorite Austin memory is of Barton Springs. What a natural treasure! There's no better relief from the Texas heat in August than a quick dip in those lovely, cool waters!
Donald J. Dunn
From Sunny Southern California
Hello to All! I have been at the University of La Verne College of Law as dean for a little over a year and have loved every minute of it (and that's not easy for any law dean to say). Cheryl and I have survived fire, draught, earthquakes, pestilence, and even the Governator. I even lived through my initial ABA site evaluation visit for provisional approval. Although our application was not successful, we will reapply, and we will prevail.
So much has happened in a short time. Only a month after we arrived and bought a house in the town of La Verne, Kevin, who was living in Oakland, decided to relocate his solo law practice to southern California. He bought a home in Running Springs, a small resort community in the San Bernardino Mountains only about an hour from us. We now see him weekly. It's wonderful! Almost immediately after arriving in the area, Kevin met the woman of his dreams, Wendy Winslow. They were married at our house on December 31, 2003. We were thrilled that RMM and Rosemary were able to attend the wedding. Wendy is now expecting (it's a boy!) and has a due date of November 28. It's hard to imagine that Cheryl and I will soon be grandparents. Wow! Kevin was born in 1969 while I was working at Tarlton. Time certainly flies.
When Cheryl and I left Massachusetts, we left behind the much-maligned (rightfully so) Boston Red Sox, the best also-ran team in baseball. We have since struggled to adopt a new team. Unfortunately, Cheryl has become an Anaheim Angels fan (proudly owning her own rally monkey), and I'm beginning to like the LA Dodgers, especially now that they are a contender. Kevin remains loyal to the Oakland A's. However, since I subscribe to the cable baseball package, I can still catch the Red Sox from time-to-time and watch them once again break the hearts of their loyal fans. But out here, minor league baseball is a big deal. The three of us go to games frequently. The local team is the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes; they play in the Epicenter; the mascot is named Tremor and his number is 4.8; and the other mascot is named Aftershock and his number is 2.4. Only in California, right?
Bottom line, the move was just what was needed for our family. It brought our small family together. I can't imagine being a granddad 3000 miles away. Plus, there's no snow (and if I want to see it, I can visit Kevin), and it really is a dry heat. My best wishes to all Tarltonites, past and present.
Charles Dyer
Charley Dyer from San Diego reports: I am finishing my year as the chair of the State, Court, and County Law Libraries Special Interest Section of AALL. With the loss of funding for many public law libraries across the country, this year's theme for the Section has been learning legislative advocacy. The SIS have been rather successful at getting the AALL Executive Board, the Legal Affairs Office, and the Government Relations Committee to focus on this issue, and I am proud of that.
My own library, the San Diego County Public Law Library, is doing relatively okay, although income is down. The Library won the PR Excellence Award from the California Library Association last fall for its e-newsletter and the Distinguished Organization Service Award from the San Diego County Bar Association for 2004. The Library is in the second year of its LSTA grant for teaching legal research and procedure to self-represented litigants. This year, the grant includes funds to help “train the trainers” at other California county law libraries. Look at the website at www.sdcpll.org to see the courses and the many other things going on there.
My wife Bert Monroe and I have had our 12-year old grandson Joe staying with us this past year. That has been a learning experience all around. Joe has been involved in a number of theater groups for pre-teens, and recently was in the chorus for Annie. His forte is improv, as Joe is a natural born comedian. Some folks may have met Joe and his older brother Dylan, who have accompanied Bert and me to AALL Meetings in the past. Joe returns to Tacoma, WA, in June.
With regard to “keep Austin weird,” I have a few points to note. I get back to the campus about three times a year. I am serving on the Advisory Council for the UT School of Information. Also, my folks live in Lockhart. I usually venture down to 6th Street to catch some blues whenever I am in town, but the crowds there keep getting younger and younger.
About a year ago I was in for an Advisory Council meeting, and I went to dinner with Dean Dillon and the gang at some place a couple miles north of campus. I had had a bit too much wine, so I went to a coffee house across the street to sober up before driving back to Lockhart. There was a couple just about my age sitting there. He was playing acoustic guitar, and she was singing very jazzy renditions of 60s folk and some originals. They were a performing duo who had finished a gig somewhere and were cooling down afterwards. As I play guitar in a rather skilled amateur jazz and blues band back in San Diego, I struck up a conversation. Pretty soon we were exchanging information and showing each other various renditions and licks. A couple of young fellows showed up who were what I'd call “street level” musicians, i.e., good enough to busk but not quite ready for true paying gigs. The professional couple very patiently talked and worked with these two, giving them about six months worth of lessons in about forty minutes. That's a piece of life you'd expect in Austin, but not many other places.
In November, I was back in town for the Law Librarianship Conference, and Kumar and his wife and several younger people let me tag along as they went downtown to a rooftop bar. We listened to loud rock music and pretended to talk. Mostly, I just enjoyed the breezy evening weather and remembered fondly my days as a college kid. Of course, San Diego on average has better weather, but you cannot beat a nice fall day in Austin. It was a bit more humid than Southern Californians are generally used to, but it makes you feel alive.
My last note. A couple years ago in the late fall, my wife and I drove to Austin to one of the Advisory Council meetings and to visit the folks. On the way back, we meandered into Luckenbach on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon. There were some 400 people in downtown Luckenbach (pop. 3), with a bunch of motorcycles and a charter bus doing a beer tour. Everyone was just enjoying the day. We just planned to get a quick beer and get back on the road. Instead, we met Denny Terry, a cowboy musician who looked sort of like a skinny Kenny Rodgers. He began to play his guitar and Bert began to harmonize. Then another female singer, Meg, an art painter from Fredericksburg with a lovely voice, joined in. He knew a bunch of Willie's songs and, of course, Waylon's song about the town, which people requested over and over. Denny kept telling the crowd that it was a vicious rumor that you couldn't buy beer for the band, so we got plenty of free beers, more than we could drink. Eventually, he turned over the guitar to me, and Bert and I sang some blues. Bert did a wonderful rendition of Sapphire's “Middle Age Blues”. She walked up to a rather drunk new groom and pretended to try coyly to flirt with him, as she sang the line “I need a young, young man to drive away these middle age blues.” He was oblivious, but his bride and the party just howled with laughter. We ended up staying four hours, and people took pictures of us as we hugged our fellow singers and left. We didn't arrive in Fort Stockton until 10 at night, but, of course, I had to keep to the speed limit through Junction.
These are more recent reflections. Buy me a beer and maybe I'll conjure up some of the old ones.
Andrew Escude
This is my first submission to the Brief , so some of you have probably never heard of me. My name is Andrew Escude, and I worked as a cataloger from 1993 to 2000. Since leaving Tarlton, I have had a couple of different jobs. An internet start up company brought me to Dallas in the year 2000, and, like many of them, has since gone under. The private sector is certainly a different animal. After that, I got a job working for the Dallas County Law Library. I must say, it was a completely different experience from Tarlton. Serving the needs of pro se litigants can be a challenge to say the least. Those of you who work or have worked reference know what I mean. Apart from the simple do-it-yourself divorce and other serious legal issues, many patrons fall into the categories of lunatic, drunk, or crack head. You quickly learn to distinguish between them.
After two and a half years of that, I decided that I needed a change. I never really cared for Dallas all that much, and the thought of a smaller city was appealing to me. A position soon came open with the law library at the Texas Tech University School of Law, so I applied. And here I am as senior cataloger. I am loving the people here at the university and in most of Lubbock. It has a reputation as being one of the friendliest places around, and I believe it. Moving out here has also given me the opportunity to become a first time home owner, which in itself can be a challenge.
So the theme of this year's brief is “Keep Austin Weird”. That is the way it should be. With so many unique things about Austin, it is hard to choose just one. With events such as Flugtag, SXSW music festival, Eeyore's birthday party, Spamarama, the Pecan St. Folk Arts festivals, and Barton Springs, keeping Austin weird should be an easy thing to do. My all time personal favorite weird place in Austin has to be a little watering hole called Lovejoy's. It is a brewpub, taproom, music venue, coffee house and more. With its eclectic mix of Texas music, punk, alternative, goth and country, it represents what Austin means to me. A great mixture of peoples and cultures with an easy, laid back style. So, if you really wish to keep Austin weird, visit Lovejoy's and imbibe what it truly means to be free of spirit.
| Will Geeslin |
A year has gone by since the last brief and I'm still at the same position: library director for the Kentucky public defender system. I am the lone librarian for a statewide agency with thirty offices and around 300 attorneys. It is a different experience than academia and is what I think of as the frontier. I also wear an attorney hat and maintain a small appellate caseload. The KY Court of Appeals should soon rule on my first briefed case. I was turned down on my request for funding to attend AALL but I'm already scheming on making it to San Antonio in 2005.
On the personal front, I am involved with a wonderful woman named Janine who, appropriately enough, hails from Texas. She is an assistant Attorney General and handles criminal appeals. Check out a picture!
We have been together around a year and she has a son named Hunter who has also become a big part of my life. Here's a shot of Janine, Hunter and Will.
I have become involved with Special Olympics as this was Hunter's first year of competition.
Regarding Austin, I was happy there but my strong roots in Kentucky called me back. As I told Mr. Mersky, if the UT law school was relocated to Lexington, then I certainly would have applied to fill Beth Youngdale's formidable shoes. I guess my weirdest Austin moment was on the city bus on the way home one Sunday evening when an inebriated gentleman was arguing with a similarly less-than-sober fellow in the adjacent seat as to whose wife was of the loosest quality.
I hope to see you next summer as I'll make it to Austin if I can get to AALL.
Mark Giangrande
The memory that stays with me the most from Austin (outside of the withering heat for 6 months out of the year) is the availability of music. I remember stores such as the CD Xchange, and that other store near Lamar and 5 th (or was it 6 th ?) where I'd purchase music by fairly obscure artists. I'm sure during my tenure in Austin I spent more money on music than I probably did on food and other necessities. But there were some rare and unique finds, especially in English punk bands from the 70's. Certainly it is not the kind of music I would normally associate with East Texas, but it warmed my heart to know that my favorite music had penetrated beyond the northern industrial cities to America 's south heartland.
I'd describe Austin as eclectic, if the term weren't such a cliché. But it's true. The University is responsible for that in bringing students with widely diverse backgrounds from far-flung places. I remember making friends with a German student at the Law School who was a big fan of French and German bands. We would share a lot of conversation about different artists. One could bring whatever one had intellectually and culturally to Austin, and those intangibles would never be out of place in the mixture.
As Texas is described in promotional materials as “a whole ‘nuther country,” Austin was (and probably still is) a whole ‘nuther country inside Texas. I remember making the drive out to Copeland's barbeque restaurant along those dark and rural roads. Aside from the great food there was a stage area where accomplished and unknown country and western musicians would play. Tall skinny Texas boys dressed in black clothing with oversized cowboy hats would shyly begin to court young ladies in a ritual older than Texas, but here defined by Texas. My next vehicle would be a pickup truck based on this experience. Copeland's wasn't the place where you would overhear conversations on the politics of dollar versus the yen, but you'd feel welcome there even if you knew you had to research the topic the next day.
In the theme of “keeping Austin weird,” one may perceive the juxtaposition of so many cultural differences colliding in one place as jarring. Probably the weird part about Austin is that culturally it was not jarring. It was seamless. Now THAT was weird.
Professionally, most things are stable. The DePaul College of Law Library, as many of you know, remains without a permanent director since Judy Gaskell left for the Supreme Court. The search continues, and I am a member of the search committee this time around. The library continues to run well with the experienced and dedicated staff. Undoubtedly, this is the most cohesive and supportive group of librarians with whom I have worked. Perhaps this is because they, in their own way, are a lot like Austin. We have writers, playwrights, social activists, musicians, and just plain hard workers all getting along harmoniously. Just about everyone here is bright, dedicated, and friendly.
On a personal note, I've composed and recorded more music in the last year. My last band broke up about a year ago, but remains as a web presence on my newly created web site, http://www.staklofoundation.com. The pages are just going up now. The focus is content, not design, so don't expect anything slick. But over time I'll be adding more of my music and video productions. I even plan to include a lot of professional notes including materials I use in my Advanced Legal Research class. I've also recorded and produced several blues artists in Chicago. Some of these recordings are slated to be released commercially in Europe and in the United States.
I look forward to another year of working with my colleagues and pursing more artistry. I keep telling myself that I'm going to make that pilgrimage back to Texas one day, and one day I will do it. I hope it's soon. I kind of miss the place.
Jim & Ann Hambleton
Liz, Tom, Ed
Ann & Jim celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in May 2004 by visiting Liz in Australia, where she had just finished a semester studying coral reef diseases. Jim, Ann, and Liz spent three days on a dive boat over the Great Barrier Reef, diving and snorkeling. Then Liz headed to Palau and Yap for more diving, and Jim & Ann headed south for a week of touring Sydney.
Ed enjoyed his freshman year at Columbia -- so much so that he decided to stay in New York city this summer. Ed is an usher for Shakespeare in Central Park (six nights a week), plus he's working as a personal assistant for an elderly cookbook author who lives on the upper east side. She's teaching Ed all about food and wine, and she even occasionally cooks for him.
Tom came back to Dallas after his college graduation last year, and he has been busy sending out resumes and working as a Jason's Deli delivery driver. Tom's degree is in mechanical engineering, and he passed his first certification test. He is now a state licensed E.I.T. (engineer-in-training). Tom lives only a couple of miles from Ann & Jim in Dallas.
Ann is still a staff attorney at the fifth court of appeals in Dallas, and Jim is Associate Dean for Budget and Planning at Texas Wesleyan Law School. Jim's big project this coming year is working on the renovation of the law school building. That reminds him of the Tarlton building project -- 25 years ago!
| Matthew Mantel |
Reference/Government Contracts Librarian
Jacob Burns Law Library
George Washington University Law SchoolAustin: Is there a better dive bar anywhere than "The Showdown?"
Well, maybe "Deep Eddy." So many dives, what a wonderful place.
Michelle M. Mears
Dear Tarltonites:
I hope 2004 finds you all well and happy. I am in my fifth year of employment as librarian at the Texas Historical Commission in Austin -- my 13th year as an information professional. My art career is also progressing -- I have displayed my Byzantine-style icons at a couple of galleries here in Austin recently. My daughter is now 26 years old (she was born during the time I worked as Acquisitions Secretary at Tarlton) and is in England, studying English literature at Oxford through a UT program. She's been happily married for almost three years and is graduating this year with a B.A. in English, minor in biology.
I was born and grew up in Austin and have so many happy memories of the city, it would be hard to pick just one as my favorite. Probably among the happiest are all the many times that I sat with my family on the hill in Zilker Park, with a picnic, and watched the outdoor theater productions under the stars.
Roy M. Mersky
Professionally it's been a good year. The Law Library's budget continues to recover from the devastation of the 2002-2003 University shortfall, and we have moved forward with renewed vigor by establishing new programs and expanding services. The Law Library received a UTopia Grant to fund the digitization of a large portion of the working papers of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark. In November 2003, I hosted at Tarlton a small gathering of law librarians from around the country to discuss law librarianship in library schools. It was a joint effort with the ISchool's Dean Andrew Dillon to create, promote and support his legal informatics/law librarianship specialization. After an absence of many years, the Law Library staff became involved with the School of Information, offering a Spring 2004 law librarianship course. Another, on legal research, will be offered this fall.
The law school hosts the American Society of Legal History's annual conference, October 28-31, 2004, and I am chair of local arrangements. It should be an interesting meeting, and if you need an excuse to visit and participate in a scholarly program, we hope you consider attending. We would enjoy having a large gathering of Tarlton alums at the conference.
My long awaited update and supplement to The First One Hundred Justices was published by Wm. S. Hein. The new book, The First One Hundred Eight Justices, was co-authored by William Bader. In my acknowledgments, I recognize the many staff members and research assistants who did research for the book. After many years of research, the book I started with Gary Hartman finally reached fruition. Landmark Supreme Court Cases: The Most Influential Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States was published by Facts on File. Since the completion of the book took more time than I had anticipated, there are a number of cases which I think could be added to bring it up-to-date, and I'm working on a supplement to the book, which would add cases through the term ending in June of 2005. Again, I am grateful for all of the research assistants and current and previous staff at the Jamail Center for Legal Research and the UT-Austin School of Law who helped with research for the publication.
One of the most personally satisfying endeavors of the law school year has been my involvement as a member of the Steering Committee to establish the William Wayne Justice Fund for Public Service. I admire Judge Justice very much for his decency and for his courageous decisions that upheld constitutional freedoms and ensured equal justice for all. The response by friends and colleagues was overwhelming, and an endowment honoring Judge Justice has been funded.
Personally, it's also been a good year. Rosemary and I enjoy being a part of the traditional Austin scene. Frequently on Sundays, we drive to downtown Austin, eat breakfast at Las Manitas, then begin a walk on the Town Lake hiking/bike trail. I walk as far as the Four Seasons, where I stop to read the Sunday Austin American Statesman and the New York Times, Rosemary continues her walk. While waiting for her, I order a cup of coffee, which costs me more than our entire meal at Las Manitas. Frequently we end the outing with a bracing swim in Barton Springs.
As far as our family, Rosemary and I take great pride in our children and our grandchildren (my granddaughters: Sophia, Grace and Rebekah; and Rosemary's grandsons, Timothy, Tristan and Samuel). Of special note this year was Rebekah's Bat Mitzvah on June 5, 2004. A large crowd of relatives from around the country came to Austin to celebrate the occasion. After many months of study, Rebekah helped lead the Saturday synagogue service by reading from the Torah and making a speech before the congregation. Her parents, Ruth and Keith, her sister, Grace, her aunts, Lisa and Deborah, her cousin Sophia, and her grandparents were all so proud of her.
Rosemary and my summer plans include a trip to Australia. I have been asked to represent the University of Texas 's Center for Australia Studies, the Law School and the Library while in Australia. Among my activities, I will be participating in the Australasia Law Teachers Conference, July 8-11, 2004, in Darwin. Rosemary and I will use the time also to visit other Australian law schools, to see friends, and to spend time with Rosemary's children, daughters-in-law (Andrew and Jenny, Ross and Mel, and Bill) and grandchildren.
I'll return to the Law Library just after the new term begins. I began my career at Tarlton and UT Law School in September 1965, and each subsequent year has been interesting and challenging. I am confident that 2004-2005 will be the best one yet.
Patti Rodi Monk
I went to Mr. Mersky's Rare Books Workshop and Language & the Law Conference in Austin, with speakers from the United States and England, in December 2001 after being away for many years. Now Austin is a megalopolis with triple decker highways, almost unrecognizable to me.
I visited my daughter in Rome, with significant architecture always close, over an extended Thanksgiving holiday. Natalie, as an architect student, spent her fall semester in Italy with an apartment in the Campo dei Fiori. While she took the train on a field trip to Pompeii with her class, I went on my own field trip to Venice. In a legal vein, I toured the Doge's Palace with it law courts connected to damp prisons by the Bridge of Sighs. Back to Rome where Natalie was finishing up the semester, but we ate wonderful food together every day in a fashionable, safe city with a sublime climate.
In April at the Endeavor Library Systems national meeting in Chicago, I gave a presentation on making the WebVoyage OPAC look more like Amazon with book cover images, book reviews, tables of contents and even the occasional first chapter in full text. After I finish an article this summer I am going to visit my daughter in Bangkok where she'll be taking a course.
Last spring I took an accounting course, my personal response to corporate corruption. In advanced legal research I taught classes on banking law, trademarks and registration of domain names. Finding cases involving Ralph Lauren, Barbie, and knock-offs was both educational and entertaining for the students.
Bob Nissenbaum
Bob (Bobby J) Nissenbaum (Tarlton class of 1984) concludes in July 2004 a 16 years run as the library director of the William M. Rains Library of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and Professor of Law on Loyola's faculty. Bob moves to the Lincoln Center campus of Fordham University School of Law in New York City on August 2, 2004 as the library director of the Leo T. Kissam Memorial Library and Professor of Law on the Fordham law school faculty. His long run at Loyola Law School was marked by several library construction and renovation projects, receipt of the AALL Library Publications Award, revitalization of library services and collections, long time service on the law school's Admissions Committee and a distinguished teaching career on the Loyola faculty. He will miss his many friends and colleagues at Loyola, but looks forward to the challenges of building a new library facility for Fordham and continuing his teaching career. Bob will be relocating his residence from the pop culture Melrose District of Los Angeles to the world's financial center- Wall Street. Bob will continue to maintain his Austin home at the epicenter of the "Keep Austin Weird" movement- Austin's very own 78704 zip code. From Hollywood to Lincoln Center to Wall Street and on to Barton Springs--go figure!
Jonathan Pratter
It has been an exciting year. David Alejandro passed kindergarten magna cum laude and is looking forward to first grade. It seems like he learned as much in kindergarten as I did in third grade. Children sure do grow up fast these days. As for the Foreign and International Law Librarian, the highlight of my year was a trip to Germany that I took in June. I spent 2 weeks at the Goethe Institut in the small town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber intensively studying German. It was a great experience. My German is much improved. The more languages the Foreign and International Law Librarian knows, the better. After the course I traveled to Heidelberg where I visited two law libraries, the law library of the University of Heidelberg and the law library of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Public Law. Heidelberg is a great university town. There must be more bookstores per capita in Heidelberg than anywhere else on Earth. It seems like everybody rides a bicycle. And it's a great city for walking. Entire streets in the center of the old town have been made pedestrian only. I also visited W ü rzburg and N ü rnberg. AALL in Boston was a good meeting. I was a contestant on a Jeopardy-format program called Parlez-vous le droit?, which dealt with collecting legal materials in foreign languages. I had fun coming up with oddball wrong questions.
| Joyce Saltalamachia |
After 21 years at New York Law School, I decided to do something different. In August 2003 I took a two-year leave of absence from NYLS and became the Deputy Director at the Association of American Law Schools. This is a two-year job that rotates among legal educators, and I am the first law librarian to hold the position. I am thoroughly enjoying this new challenge and am able to utilize all the things I have learned in my years in legal education. Plus I get to be a lawyer on occasion. Washington D.C. is much more enjoyable than I had expected but I still look forward to going back to NYC most weekends. I will enjoy D.C. much more if there is a new occupant in the White House next year (not a paid political advertisement). I am grateful to NYLS and the library staff there for being so understanding and supporting me in this new adventure.
This is my first year writing for the brief. Many things have happened in my life this past year. I began working for the circulation department of the law library in November. Just one month prior, my boyfriend Kevin and I bought a house in north-central Austin. Most of our time lately has been spent working to fix it up.
This past year we were able to do some traveling. Spring Break was spent with my entire family at Disney World and Kevin and I were able to spend 4 days in Cancun during July. We also spent 3 days at the Austin City Limits music festival this year during which time we saw many bands (and people) who were doing their best to keep Austin weird!
Tom Steele
This last year was busy for our family. My stepson Justin graduated from college at Appalachian State and after two months of training in Tucson with the National Team (funded by his stepfather) decided that he didn't want to commit his life to bicycle racing. He still races in regionals and wins frequently enough but has taken a job marketing (his major) imported bicycle parts and accessories for GitaSports. Ryan, my youngest completed his first year at Oklahoma State, my alma mater, majoring in mechanical engineering.
My casebook "Materials and Cases on Law Practice Management: A Learning Tool for Law Students," was published in January. My article on the MacCrate Report and law practice management finally appeared in the symposium issue of the Pace Law Review.
This year we have had a bountiful harvest from our fruit orchard (apricots, peaches, cherries, apples and plums), our raspberry patch and from the garden in spite of a drought. I am raising over forty named heirloom tomato varieties and gave away more than two hundred tomato and pepper plants to colleagues. If anyone wants some heirloom tomato seed I will send a list.
LeAnn continues to hold two positions -- Registrar at the Law School and choirmaster/organist at church. She continues on the board of directors of the national organization for law school registrars and admissions officers.
And we are buying a house and moving this fall. Further into the country! We have tripled the acreage from under three to over six. The house comes complete with a pool, a poolhouse and a large storage building/barn. More importantly it gives me room to expand our fruit plantings and to a grow a larger garden. The latter holds great interest for the boys giving them space to work on cars away from our garage.
Stephanie Towery
Austin Librarian
Haynes and Boone LLPI used to work with Mike Widener at Tarlton. I'm currently working at Haynes and Boone in Austin by day, and by night I do my part to keep Austin weird. I am performing biweekly at the Jackalope ( 404 E. 6th St. ) in my husband Clay's lounge act, The Uncle Cuddles' Show ( 8:30 pm, every other Tuesday).
Erica-Liis Wagner
Assistant to Florence Mayne
Assistant Vice Chancellor for AdministrationErica-Liis Wagner is still a part of The University of Texas family. Working for the U.T. System Office of General Counsel since January of 1996, she accepted a promotion and has worked with the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Administration since October 2003. In March of 2003, Erica and her cat/familiar Rocky left her long-time central Austin abode to move south of the river where she continues to do her part to Keep Austin Weird. Erica is an avid camper in the indulgent style found at the Texas Renaissance Festival and the pagan festivals she attends. This has led to the addition of such essentials as a chandelier and (imitation) Turkish rugs to her impressive array of camping equipment. Now if she could only find room for the samovar... These interests have resulted in adding to her resume many interesting life-skills including circle casting, fire tending, mead making, corsetry and period costuming as well as the art of tarpology.
Mike Widener
Regarding my favorite Austin places & events, most of the ones that stick in my mind have to do with music. There are all the much-lamented venues that have disappeared over the years: the Armadillo, Liberty Lunch, Soap Creek Saloon, the Rome Inn, the Spiral Staircase. Emma & I went on our first date to Hut's, on a Sunday night when Tex Thomas & His Danglin' Wranglers were the regular band. Now that our son Henry is a blooming teenage musician, we're going back to the clubs again. The best shows we saw this past year were at the Continental: the Hot Club of Cowtown in the spring, and this summer L'il Cap'n Travis. We have a new son-in-law, Brad, who's the manager at Jovita's, where we regularly catch the Eggmen (a Beatles cover band). Brad & Clara also gave us our newest grand-daughter, Isabella Marie, in June. In vacation news, we had a great time in New York City over spring break, and at the beach in Port Aransas this summer. Emma is working on her dissertation, and Henry is playing bass in the Austin High School Jazz Band. I've had loads of fun building the Rare Book Collection this year, and I owe a special debt of gratitude to Pierrette Moreno for all her help, and especially her patience!
Linda Will
Linda Will, formerly the Director of the Research Center (8 years) and Director of Knowledge Management at Greenberg and Traurig in Miami, moved to Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis, MN this past August. Asked why the dramatic change, Linda said "even paradise can get monotonous!" Actually the real reason was the job challenge and the opportunity to work with Curt Meltzer, the Dorsey CIO. "We had served on a West Advisory Board," Linda said. "I knew Curt was creative, forward thinking, and just a great guy to have as a boss." Besides being the Director of Information Resources, Linda also serves on the Dorsey KM Committee (they take a team approach to KM which is so necessary), and the Dorsey Intranet committee. She works a great deal with Marketing and even has one of her Reference Librarians as the Competitive Intelligent Liaison to the Marketing Department. Although Linda is able to travel to Miami now and then to get a sailing "fix," she did learn how to cross country ski this past winter! "It isn't the skiing that is the tough part," Linda said. "It is getting yourself out of the snow bank once you fall in!"
Suzanne Young
I'm finding that time is passing much too quickly! I don't have a lot of news to share. My physical therapist has determined that I am unbalanced, which will come as no surprise I'm sure. I am learning about kinesthetic awareness and proprioception, and working on various exercises to strengthen my ankles, which I keep breaking on a regular basis! In this instance, "unbalanced" means that I have no sense of balance, and I don't know where I'm going to land when I take a step. I have to become an exercise maven, or I will have very unhappy golden years!
I am also the President of the Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries (ORALL) this year, and I amleading a task forceto investigatea possible name change for the chapter.Other than that, I am interested in the topic of how legal research is being taught in law schools these days, and how that might differ from theresearch skills required inlarge law firm practice. I don't know what will develop from that investigation, but I do think it's an interesting topic!
I know we're supposed to include a weird memory from Austin, or was it a memory from "weird Austin." I can't really think of anything too weird about it - mostly just the same everyday life experiences that you find anywhere. I think it was nicer when it was a smaller city. It was definitely cheaper at that time! I guess it was a little weird when Playboy (the horse) visited the Circulation Desk bright and early one morning. Oh, and another thing that I remember as weird - the entrance and exit ramps for I-35 are the same 50 feet of asphalt!
I hope everyone is having a good year!
