RCLL at AALL 2025

This year, our librarians attended the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) conference in Portland, Oregon. After exploring the Windy City last year, we were excited about the conference being a bit closer to home on the west coast! Portland’s vibe welcomes coffee lovers, book collectors, and those of us who enjoy the beauty of nature. The conference was titled “Be Bold” and many of the talks reflected this sentiment. Attendees were able to learn more about bold topics such as Fake News, Artificial Intelligence, inclusivity, professionalism and more. Here is what your RCLL librarians had to say about the talks they attended:  

Victoria, Law Library Director: 

Nearly 1500 legal information professionals gathered in Portland, Oregon for the American Association of Law Libraries 118th Annual Meeting & Conference on July 19-22. Roosevelt Weeks, Director of Libraries for Fort Bend County in Austin, Texas and a long-time leader and advocate for technology, literacy, and education set the tone of the conference with his keynote address Advancing Legal Research and Innovation in Libraries. He called on librarians to step out of their naturally introverted inclinations and dare to take on the challenge of advocating for the people most in need of their services. More so, in an environment where the profession is under attack and its essential role and place in today’s legal ecosystem is being challenged, law librarians were inspired to be bold in advocating for equitable access to legal information, standing up for library values, supporting their users, defending the principles that sustain justice and democracy, freedom to read, patron privacy in the digital age, and their pursuit of lifelong learning and skills development. Weeks shared his story of how he was inspired to be a librarian. As a computer science geek, he was asked to volunteer to help a lady work in the computer lab. This lady had 3 jobs and wanted to be an executive assistant. He spent three weeks working with her in the lab. In the end, she gave him her blackberry and that’s when he decided he wanted to be a librarian. In his keynote, Weeks also talked about how to be bold, to be fearless, to speak truth to power, be subversive and strategic. He encouraged librarians to be creative in how they deliver their service amidst funding cuts and collaborate beyond what they have normally done in the past. Boldness drives progress, he added, your growth empowers others, know your worth, and be bold for what we stand for. 

Andy, User Experience Librarian: 

I attended the Opening General Session on Sunday morning with keynote speaker Roosevelt Weeks. On Monday morning, I attended a great session titled “Fake News Is Lethal: How Critical Media Literacy Aids to Avert the Violent Consequences of Disinformation.” This session explored how misinformation can fuel real-world harm and emphasized the vital role libraries play in promoting critical media literacy. Later that afternoon, I attended the “Hot Topic: Practical Application of AI in Library Functions: ShelfReading, Workflows, and More” session, which showcased how AI is being used to streamline routine library tasks. Throughout the conference, I enjoyed reconnecting with colleagues I had met last year and had fun handing out friendship bracelets as a small way to network and build community. 

Lauren, Administrative Officer/Librarian: 

This was my first year attending AALL, and I had the opportunity to attend CONELL, the pre-conference for new law librarians. I participated in speed networking, mentoring roundtables, and a marketplace of all the AALL special interest sections and causes.  

One of the highlights of the conference for me was attending a discussion with the Native Peoples Law Caucus. During the session, I met the law librarians who drafted the new Rule 22 of The Bluebook. The new rule provides instructions for citing Tribal Nations and rulings from Tribal Courts. I was surprised to find out instructions for this type of citation didn't previously exist.  

Another highlight was meeting my colleagues in-person. Over the past year I’ve been in dozens of Zoom meetings for the membership committee I co-chair, and it was nice to finally “meet” them. 

The AALL conference continues to be a thriving medium for Law Librarians and information professionals to gain the latest information on how others are improving their organization and reaching professional goals. As new questions emerged surrounding AI and intellectual freedom, it was great to see how speakers offered their time and expertise to give practical advice on how attendees can adapt to those changes. Every year, more connections are made, previous connections are strengthened, ideas are shared, and goals are expressed for the continued advancement of law libraries.